Before You Buy

 Puppy Broker: A Puppy Mill Reseller

Puppy Broker: A Puppy Mill Reseller

Are you thinking of purchasing dog and considering buying a middleman instead of directly from the breeder? Buyer Beware! Here are some tips on how to educate yourself on determining if that person you are purchasing a dog from is reputable or really a puppy mill re-seller.

What is a Puppy Broker?

A puppy broker is someone who purchases bulk "lots" of animals to re-sell instead of breeding dogs within their own kennels. Since these dogs are not seen in pet stores, they can be passed off as quality dogs, or from champion lines, or whatever the puppy brokers wishes the buyer to believe. Someone selling an entire litter which they did not themselves breed is likely selling puppy mill animals. A reputable, contentious breeder would never sell puppies in bulk or in "lots".

Puppy brokers, also known as puppy mill representatives, know well how to market themselves to potential buyers and will prey upon an individual's lack of knowledge. They will pass themselves off as persons who care about the dogs and wish to protect the integrity of a given breed.

Import Brokers

A trend among puppy brokers is to present dogs as quality imports which come from "healthier, studier" European lines. Such claims of lines being healthier are often false and these may be dogs purchased from overseas puppy mills. The only way to safeguard against possible medical problems is screening for genetic defects within a breeder's program. Ask for health clearances and get them in writing.

The actual trip from Europe is very hard on the dogs. It is now being said that for every three dogs imported in this manner, two die. Many die either in flight or shortly after arrival. Stories of puppies dying shortly after being purchased are far to numerous.

How to Identify a Puppy Broker

There are two factors which allow a puppy broker to do business: your ignorance and your impatience to have a dog of a certain breed. If you want a quality, healthy dog, do not allow these things to be used against you! Educate yourself and be patient! You could pay for your impatience for the next 15 years.

What to Look For:

Puppy brokers always have dogs available. How is this? If they don't have one in stock for you today, they will have one for you shortly. They just happen to know of a great litter from champion lines about to be ready for new homes! Use common sense! Breeding is not an overnight process! Quality breeders have waiting lists for their dogs and puppies are often sold prior to the actual birth. How has this broker found you such a great dog on such short notice?

Meet the Dam

Always meet the dam of a litter and pick the puppy up on location where the dogs are kenneled/live. If a seller will not allow you to go to the actual property where the dogs live, be very suspicious. If they hesitate to allow you to meet the dam, they either have not bred the dogs themselves or the dam is not who they claim. The sire is commonly not on property, but you always have the right to contact the sire's owners. Be warned: they will go out of their way to cover the fact they themselves are not the actual breeder of a litter and may outright lie about this.

Champion Dog Lines - Maybe Not

Is the seller claiming your potential puppy is of champion bloodlines? In the internet age, it has become common for puppy brokers to take photos of champion dogs from the sites of reputable kennels and claim that these are the parents of their puppies. Often the actual owners of the sire and dam have no idea that their dogs are being used in this way. Contact them. If a puppy broker will not give you contact information, search the internet and get in touch with them yourself. Good breeders will not hesitate to speak to you about their litters. We can not stress enough how often this happens.

References

Check references. Those selling dogs should be able to produce a list of references from breed clubs, previous purchasers and at least one vet. Contact all references! We have found re-sellers of dogs who are negligent on severe medical attention which their personal dogs need, have poor reputations to being banned from breed/sport/show clubs, or do not give puppies vaccinations but sell them at too early of an age to avoid "unnecessary" expense.

Before You Buy:

Please do not support this growing industry of puppy mill re-sellers. There are many ways to determine if you are purchasing from someone wanting to make a quick profit. Do your research, ask breed/sport/show clubs, which often have online forums, and make an educated decision on where your puppy will be coming from.