According to the Kennel Club UK unfortunately, there are still many third party puppy sellers and puppy mills, who are breeding dogs without any concern for the puppies or their parents. The Kennel Club shared terrible statistic about puppy mills and the fact puppies are four times more likely to suffer from ill health and Parvo virus.
Parvo virus is a killer disease, so vets vaccinate puppies from around 6 weeks of age again 2 weeks later and is now recommended to add a further parvo booster at around 16-20 weeks specifically for parvo. Unfortunately many puppy mills, bad breeders and third party sellers, don't do this. The sad fact is that the excited new puppy owner takes home a puppy and often just days later they are seriously will. The cost to treat Parvo alone can be from £1000 up to £4000 and isn’t guaranteed to work.
I am pleased to say that there are many wonderful breeders out there who really do love their dogs and want to make sure that they find lovely loving forever homes for their puppies. So you can understand why it is really important to do your homework to ensure you find a dog breeder who is ethical and the needs of their dogs come first.
So where do you start when narrowing down your search for a healthy puppy breed that you have selected from a great breeder. Start asking friends and asking dog owners, also start to use services like the Kennel Club, find a puppy service, or breed clubs.
It really is important, because by buying a puppy from a puppy mill, or a third party seller, you're actually helping to fund, which should, in my mind be illegal activities, third party sellers are now illegal and they are not allowed to sell a puppy from anyone other than the actual owner and breeder of that litter. So you can't buy from Pet Shops you can't buy from friends of the original owners and you shouldn't be buying from puppy mills because as I say they tend to be unregulated going under the radar, not paying any taxes and not looking after their animals.
Often the mums are bred until their bodies give up and can die as young as four years old, because they can't cope with the amount of litters that they've had. Now I don't share this information, lightly I know it's a very upsetting subject, but I share it because I want to help people find a puppy that really suits them that comes from a great breeder so when they bring their puppy home they can actually enjoy the experience of owning a puppy.
I consider myself a regulated breeder because I am a Kennel Club assured breeder, which means that the Kennel Club regularly come to my home and thoroughly check all my paperwork for up to date vaccination, worm & flea treatment, number of litters etc. They check the living conditions of the dogs and how they are bred.
The photo shows Star my Coton de Tulear who had her first litter this year and had 2 very healthy little puppies. Star had the puppies at the end of my bed as she was relaxed and comfortable there and once she had fed them both they were moved to a birthing box with a heat lamp over, the birthing box was on the floor at the end of my bed so star could get out when she chose to eat and drink as well as check with me that she was doing things right.
Star was an amazing mum and at one point the puppies were so well fed we wondered if the puppies little legs would actually raise them up to move around.
I am sure you can see the importance of finding the right breeder and this is why I want you to be able to find your perfect puppy, and why I'm creating the information that you need to make the right choices.