Pet Industry Setting The Rules For Puppy Farms

[Souff]

Perhaps buyers need educating to know that they are entitled to get proper pedigree papers with a registered pup.

The microchip (if the puppy was microchipped) will lead to identification of the owner at the time of microchipping. Under the law that should be the breeder, but that wont always be the case.

Souff

Something has to be done to regulate use of labels in pet stores (& by backyard breeders, too). If they tell customers a puppy is 'purebred', that should only be permitted under Truth in Advertising, if proper pedigree papers are also provided.

But the pet stores here have made a real thing about not identifying the breeder... And it appears those selling to pet stores (registered or not), tend not to want their details passed on.

And you're right, there needs to be education about what 'papers' are, so the backyard breeders can't just type something on a piece of paper.

The UK law says that a breeder's identity must go on a means of ID that follows the puppy (each puppy is given a 'breeding' number). I don't know, if since then, that's been combined with the microchip. But it'd be a darn good thing.

I totally agree.

It is surprising how naive some puppy buyers are, and how they will believe things from people who know better and should be giving the puppy buyer the same opportunities that they were given.

Over the years, puppy buyers have told me that they saw the registration papers of the parents and when I asked where their pup's registration paper was, they said that their pup didn't come with papers.

Often the breeder told them that there was no point in belonging to a dog club if you didn't show your dogs.

My standard response is "Why? Is there something WRONG with your pup?"

I also tell them of the tiny price that it would have cost the breeder for their pup to be registered, and 9 times out of 10 they were certain that a papered pup was going to cost them a lot more!!!

Part of the culture of not buying a papered dog has come directly from the animal welfare organisations, who insist that it is just snobbery on the part of purebred dog people. It is a vicious, divisive and damaging attitude that should have been stamped out by the animal welfare organisations years ago.

Anyone involved in the selling of dogs should be promoting the purchase of good healthy dogs, and promoting the fact that buyers are entitled to get a properly CERTIFIED document that shows the pup's verifiable family history (pedigree). Not too hard and it does not damage reputations to do the right thing by the public.

Souff

edited for S & G

Edited March 7, 2012 by Souff

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

And at least with one breed in Sydney, this is already happening. Much to my disgust. I've already rescued 1 unwanted purebred puppy, 3 months after purchase.

As for the PIAA, as a rescuer I think I can smell it from here.

A genuine question, dogmad. I'm interested in what information puppy buyers are given or can get... when buying from a petshop.

How did you, or the person who surrendered the purebred puppy, know that it was indeed originally from a particular registered breeder?

It's just that I know of people who've been simply told, in pet stores, that a puppy is 'purebred'.....but no written documentation is shown or given. And certainly not the name of the breeder.

I've wondered if it would be impossible for a buyer to know, with certainty, if the puppy was from a registered breeder... or from a backyard unregistered breeder (we have one of those nearby, 'producing' a small breed).

I'm not disputing that some registered breeders sell to petshops (there is no legal barrier).

It's just that the UQ research dug out quite a number of the backyard unregistered breeders.

I've met someone who enquired about a 'purebred' puppy, directly, from one of those. And was shown a home-typed piece of paper with the mother & father's names on it. And was also shown the pedigree papers for the father.

In this particular case i do have some inside information but won't go further than that on a public forum. However, just as you say, the new owner was not given any papers from the breeder by the petshop. The owner thought the "papers" were the purchase document from petshop, ownership etc.

In another case of a petshop selling a purebred "chihuahua" to a couple who gave it to their daughter as a gift - she was going to live overseas .... what can you say about people's stupidity ..... the "chihuahua" turned out to be enormous but that's because it was some sort of kelpie cross!!