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Top Ten Ways to Spot a Ridgeback Puppy Mill #
10 The breeder
claims to have many years of experience, yet has never seen a dermoid
sinus. A
breeder that has not seen a dermoid sinus (d.s.) is not an educated
Ridgeback breeder. A line of
RRs with zero incidence of d.s. would be quite unusual.
A breeder who is experienced in detection of d.s. is important
because the d.s. is peculiar to RRs and most veterinarians have never seen
one. #
9 The
breeder claims the RR is the perfect dog for everyone.
The RR is not the dog for everyone.
They are quite active puppies and they grow fast.
They are not a good choice for people who are not willing or
physically able to spend time on obedience training.
As with the other hound breeds, most RRs are independent and
intelligent, and many are strong willed.
Not everyone enjoys this type of dog.
#
8 The
breeder claims all of their dogs hip are OFA excellent.
A breeder making this claim is very likely lying to
you. The health of a future
member of your family is at stake, so DO NOT take their word for it! Ask
for the registered names of the mother and father of any litter you are
considering, and visit the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals at www.offa.org
. You can look up the dogs on
the OFA database to see if they are truly certified, and what rating they
were given. #
7 The
breeder seems proud of having dogs over 100 pounds. The RR is not intended to be a massive animal. They were originally bred as hunting dogs, and a truly huge
animal is not capable of the speed, agility, and endurance required for
the hunt. A person looking
for a huge dog should look into another breed of dog. #
6 The
breeder advertises in the newspaper.
Legitimate
breeders rarely advertise in local newspapers.
#
5 The
breeder advertises “champion bloodlines”.
This usually means “my dogs are not champions, and their parents
probably aren’t either”. A
dog with one or two champions three or four generations back is NOT from
champion bloodlines. Ask to
see certified pedigrees of the parents, or you can look up the pedigrees
yourself for a small fee at The American
Kennel Club if you have the registered names or registration numbers. #
4 The
breeder claims to be a member of the AKC.
This is not possible. The
American Kennel Club does not allow individuals to be members, only the
national breed clubs representing all registered breeds of dogs.
An ethical breeder is usually a member of one or more dog related
organizations such as
The
Rhodesian
Ridgeback Club of the United States, or The
Trinity Valley Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of Texas.
These clubs require members to adhere to a strict code of ethics in
order to help protect puppy buyers. #
3 The
breeder offers no written guarantee, or a “replacement” only
guarantee. An ethical breeder will offer a written health
guarantee and will allow you to have the puppy examined by a vet before
the sale is final. A
guarantee that only offers a replacement puppy is not very helpful because
most people are attached to their pets and prefer to keep them even if
they find a problem. A full
or partial refund that would help pay for treatment of their current pet
is more useful to everyone involved.
Even if a replacement puppy would be preferred, there is no
guarantee that a future litter will ever be born.
If the problem is genetic, the replacement puppy could potentially
have the same problem. Be especially wary if the breeders guarantee
is linked to using a specific brand or type of vitamin or supplement that
they 'just happen' to sell. #
2 The
breeder will not let you visit the place where the puppies are kept, or
keeps large numbers of dogs on their property.
A legitimate breeder is more interested in the quality and health of
their animals than anything else. Kennels
and yards should not smell strongly of urine and feces.
Dogs should not be running free or kept in yards or pens that are
crowded. Breeders are
required by the AKC to individually identify each animal by tattoo, tag,
or microchip and must keep records of the animals.
If both males and females are present, there must be a means to
keep females in season separate from the males. And
the number one way to spot a puppy mill………… The breeder has puppies available right now, another litter at the end of the month, 2 more litters next month, and even more the next….. An ethical breeder does not churn out litter after litter of puppies. Millions of unwanted pets are destroyed each year, and the ethical breeder does not wish to contribute to this. Ethical breeders breed quality, healthy animals and are not interested in selling lots of puppies just to make a profit. Dogs are living, feeling beings and not possessions. Ethical breeding is done for love of the breed and the dogs, it is NOT a business.
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