Puppy Farm Awareness Rally

[Erny]

Hi Household Dog, and welcome to the forum.

Contact the MDBA (Master Dog Breeders Association), the person/s there may be able to provide you with some helpful guidance.

MDBA Contact Us Page

Your experience in hunting down a breeder and the difficulties you encounter I'm sure will provide valuable feedback as well.

Edited December 30, 2010 by Erny

[Household Dog]

Let me know if you would like me to find out the breeders name- they are in Victoria too. Word of mouth is probably the best way to find the breeder for you.

Thanks, that would be great if you could find out for me.

Contact the MDBA (Master Dog Breeders Association), the person/s there may be able to provide you with some helpful guidance.

MDBA Contact Us Page

Thanks Erny. That looks like the kind of association I am looking for.

[oakway]

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Dogs Vic have thousands of members and it would an impossibility to police everyone of them.

There are good and bad breeders all over the world. It is just finding the right breeder for.

If you go to the dogs for sale on the front page of DOL you MAY just find a suitable breeder.

[Souff]

Hi,

I am fairly new here, basically just looking for a Mini Schnauzer for my family.

I am desperately trying to avoid buying from a Puppy farm or bad breeder. I am running into troubles doing this, however.

As far as I can tell the associations aren't really in the business of policing their members. I could be wrong about this, but there are statements on the Dogs Victoria website, that seem to indicate, even registered breeders could be dodgy.

So as a general member of the public, looking for a certain breed, there is very little, firm information available.

Hi, and welcome!

You raise a very good point. There is no star rating or Michelin rating scheme for dog breeders, and if there was it would still not be foolproof.

As Erny said, contact the Master Dog Breeders & Associates. Also, talk to other owners of the breed, ask them what they think about their Schnauzer breeder.

Ask other Schnauzer owners on this site.

"Recommendations by Word of Mouth" is still one of the best referral systems going!

Souff

[Pippa]

Hi,

I am fairly new here, basically just looking for a Mini Schnauzer for my family.

I am desperately trying to avoid buying from a Puppy farm or bad breeder. I am running into troubles doing this, however.

As far as I can tell the associations aren't really in the business of policing their members. I could be wrong about this, but there are statements on the Dogs Victoria website, that seem to indicate, even registered breeders could be dodgy.

So as a general member of the public, looking for a certain breed, there is very little, firm information available.

Contact the breed club

http://www.schnauzerclubvic.com/

[Household Dog]

Thanks I have called around this afternoon and have a few leads. All the people I have called, have been most helpful and have pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of the breed to me. This alone makes me more comfortable, as it shows a good level of concern for the pups. There was certainly no hard sell.

Perhaps this is one way of telling a reputable breeder from a non reputable one?

It certainly differs from my pet shop experience, where the staff are doing their utmost, to get the dog out of the shop, ASAP. Its as if they are trying to get customers, to make a 10 year+ decision on the spur of the moment.

Anyway back to the main topic, sorry I highjacked it a little.

One question I would have is, if we totally abolished puppy farms and backyard breeders, would there be enough dogs to go around? Assuming the issues of dumping can be addressed. Is there some happy(ish) medium?

Edited December 30, 2010 by Household Dog

[Natsu chan]

Household dog I'm glad you've gotten some help and have found a few leads. Most people really want to do the right thing but they don't know how to go about it. Well done for taking the time and effort to do so.

The problem with puppy farms is you can't make them illegal due to the fair trade laws, the government knows this. So instead they are bringing in laws that will really only result in more commercial farms, as only people who can to afford to pay for the requirements of the new law will be able to continue breeding. Most good breeders don't breed to make a profit and if they appear to make one it isn't a real profit when you take all the expenses into account. The councils and governments make it difficult already with the restrictions they place on numbers and adding more restrictions and further expense is only going to make it harder for most pedigree breeders who are after all only hobbyists. It is by being a hobbyist breeder that allows these breeders the luxury of being picky about where their puppies go and who they go to, they aren't having to worry about the next litter or the cost of feeding the puppies for an extra week or two. This of course pays off most of the time at the other end in that fewer of these dogs end up in the pound system.

It's a difficult issue and one that doesn't have an easy answer.