Warning on puppy farms

Dogs sold through pet shops or newspaper adverts can be a costly time bomb of health and behavioural problems, a pet advocacy group has warned.

Where do puppies come from? spokeswoman Vickie Davy said dog training experts had long warned against purchasing pets produced in “puppy mills”, which were often sold en masse through pet stores and newspaper advertisements.

“Because these puppies are produced in bulk, neither their long term physical or behavioural health is properly cared for,” Ms Davy said.

“This can lead to aggression, timidity or separation anxiety and cause enormous problems for the dog, its new family and the community.”

According to Where do puppies come from? a puppy mill or puppy farm is a dog breeding facility created to mass produce puppies for profit.

Likened to battery hens, the breeding dogs are kept in cages or pens for their entire life with the sole purpose of producing puppies for the pet shop, internet and overseas markets.

The most important time in a puppy’s development is between three to 12 weeks, with puppies isolated during that time much more likely develop behavioural issues and aggression than a well socialised dog, the advocacy group warns.

Where do puppies come from? says many breeds of dog are prone to conditions including hip dysplasia, chronic skin conditions, overshot jaws and heart murmurs, which good breeders test for prior to mating.

Most puppy farmers do not and, as they have no contact with the puppies once they have left the mill, they have no idea what genetic defects they are continuing to breed into these puppies.

But the advocacy group says it is easy to avoid unscrupulous operations by using a breeder registered with the Australian National Kennel Council, adopting a pet from a rescue shelter or visiting the breeder to meet the parent dogs and to see how the dogs live before buying a puppy.

RSPCA WA spokesman Richard Barry said the organisation had not received any recent complaints about puppy farms, but had fielded complaints about unscrupulous breeders.

If there were puppy farms in WA, the RSPCA could prosecute on animal welfare grounds, he said.

Mr Barry said people buying a dog should exercise common sense and make sure the animal had been vaccinated, micro-chipped and sterilised before the purchase.

“You’re trading in a live animal here and it’s a commitment that you are making for the next 16 to 18 years,” he said.

“Tick all the boxes and if you are not convinced that all the questions you have are being answered adequately - regardless of how cute that puppy may be - don’t buy it.”

Mr Barry said anyone with concerns about a dog they were planning to buy or suspicions about puppy farming or unscrupulous breeders should contact the RSPCA on 9209 9300.

From: The West Australian