1. Does not breed for pure profit, but for the betterment of the breed, and will have bred the litter for a goal to improve the breed. Those who make income from the breeding of multiple dogs and who rely on this income to pay their bills are known as a "puppy mill".

2. Does not breed multiple breeds. They breed because they are passionate about their chosen breed and want to improve it by breeding healthy puppies that will some day produce healthier dogs. The only reason to breed numerous breeds is to make income.

3. Will give the intended puppy buyers a full review of the breed, including drawbacks of the perspective breed first, such as potential health problems and exercise requirements. Will give historical information of how the breed was originally developed and especially indicating the breed temperamental "quirks" and if that temperament is suitable for the prospective family and their lifestyle. Responsible breeders do this so the puppy does not end up abandoned in a shelter because the buyer did not understand breed specific behavior and got the puppy because it was "cute" not knowing what its character would be like when grown.

4. Will have bred the litter and have at least one of the parents for you to look at. Good breeders allow new puppy owners into their home (where all the animals should live) to view living conditions of all their dogs.

5. Does not ship brachycephalic (flat faced) puppies under 12 weeks old during hot months of the year.

7. Does not advertise puppies on a website where puppies are mass marketed with other breeds and breeders on one giant web sight like puppyfind.com, puppy4you etc.

8. Breeds for sound temperament and health. Actually, does health testing on dogs bred and puppies whelped. In this breed at least spine x-rays of the pups should be done. Additional testing may be done on patellas, palate exam, heart exam, hearing, thyroid and more.

It is only a piece of paper the vet signs after taking the pup's temperature and looking for obvious signs of disease stating he examined the dog and it appears to be free of disease at the time of examination. These health certificates are required by air lines before they will allow your pet on the plane, but some breeders try and represent this paper as proof your dog was health tested by a veterinarian. This certificate has nothing to do with health testing to find a congenital condition that may show up months after you have your pet.

9. Screens the homes their puppies will go to live. Puts the puppy's well being as the number one goal. Will know breed and puppy's capabilities and match puppy to potential buyer. All puppies have different personalities just like people. A good breeder will ask you about your lifestyle and know if a puppy's personality and energy level is right for your lifestyle. The breeder will do you and the puppy a favor if they tell you that a certain puppy or this breed is not the best for you.

10. Will have a sales contract and written health guarantee of at least one year. This document will outline exactly what is expected of you as purchaser of the dog and what you can expect of the breeder as seller of the dog. This contract should protect you and the breeder of any hidden agendas.

11. Will explain average yearly cost of care for that particular breed. Proper amount of exercise, reasonable confinement, amount of food to feed, etc. ... before you purchase the dog.

12. Always be willing to answer questions long after you have paid for the dog and have taken it home. They should welcome and expect updates on the progress of the puppy's life.

13. Will be your best Veterinarian. Veterinarians have a general knowledge of most pets, however, a breeder specializes in his/her own breed.

The breeder should be well read in medical problems of the breed they are producing, have extensive knowledge of health issues of their chosen breed, and may be able to guide you in areas where your veterinarian cannot.

Should have breed club and other breeders they can share experiences with that are tried and true for their breed. Breeder should be able to recommend a veterinarian in your area that is familiar with the breed you are getting from them.

14. Will have AKC litter registered pups and not FCI or APRI that can be converted to AKC. Papers come with the puppy and not after they ship you the puppy.

15. Will provide at least a 3 generation pedigree to all puppy seekers before they purchase the puppy. Will have on the average of at least one champion in EACH generation.

16. Is well respected by other breeders in their breed and belongs to breed specific organizations that educate and protect the breed.

Mass produced puppy mill FRENCH Bulldogs (both US and overseas-Russia and Western Europe) are not bred for health or temperament - many have diseases that may show up right away or months later costing their new owners lots of money in vet bills or tragic heartache in a long illness and early death. Puppy mills also breed multiple breeds to maximize their income and are experiencing a "boom" since the Internet now allows them direct access to buyers.

PUPPY MILLS are the only source large enough to supply the mass market demand of pups for the many uneducated people who buy on impulse or are not willing to wait and get one from a reputable breeder.

It is very unusual for a commercial breeder or puppy mill to allow you to see their facilitiy. Most who sell directly to the public will offer to bring the puppy to you, ship the puppy to you, or, at the most, let you see a few puppies inside their house. You are kept away from the actual breeding facility where the dogs themselves are housed.

If you're going to buy a dog, MAKE SURE you visit where the puppies are bred and born. A lot of people can't turn down a great "deal", but I can tell you from experience that it's MUCH more expensive to pay vet bills for an animal that hasn't been bred properly. PAY THE EXTRA MONEY AND ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS!!

Why avoid puppy mills?

Puppy Mills are not breeding dogs for the love of a breed. One mill will have from 100 to 800 breeding dogs of multiple breeds and breed for profit only. They are a business in which the owners breeding the dogs live off the income from selling the puppies they produce. Therefore acquiring healthy dogs to breed, providing sanitary humane living conditions, nutritious food and medical care for their dogs cuts into their profit.
The dogs and pups bred here live in inhumane squalor and NEVER receive medical attention.
Puppy mills fail to educate about the breeds they are selling and therefore fill up animal shelters with unwanted dogs that the owners bought because the puppy was cute and had no understanding of what the breed was like.
have no concern for the numbers of puppies they produce, other than ensuring that the number is a high one.
They have no concern who they sell to, other than that their check clears. They
do not health test or genetically screen their stock.
do not breed dogs that are correct for the breed standard
do not offer long-term guarantees
breed bitches every heat cycle, with no concern for health.
The keep their dogs in cramped quarters
do not socialize puppies or parents
are rarely fed proper diets,
do not receive proper vet care, parasite control or innoculations.
many are infected with coccidia, giardia, fleas or other parasites that thrive in cramped, dirty conditions
puppies are often taken from their mothers much too young, resulting in long term tempermental issues

Since pictures speak louder view this link - very disturbing.

http://canine-world.com/mills.html Do not show children.

or click here puppymill2

****Warning these pictures are graphic and not for those who wish to remain in "ignorant bliss" and buy from an Internet site featuring many breeders posting pictures of cute puppies for sale they will ship to you so you can GET A PUPPY NOW that arrives at your local airport. I don't care what the website tells you-these are puppy mill operations and their pups were NOT raised in "a loving home environment". I have even seen puppy mill websites showing a cute country cabin and representing the cabin as the "loving" home the dogs are raised in with their human family.

Besides health problems puppy mill dogs will not be a good representation of the breed in appearance or temperament. Often the puppy mill "breeding stock French Bulldogs" are imported from overseas where they are much larger and the dogs free whelp-saving cost of vet bills for cesarean births compared to American FBs. These dogs will have smaller heads and NOT have flat faces, ears will be pointed and not round on top and they will be "nosey" like a Boston terrier or Boxer and in many cases not resemble a French Bulldog in any way including temperament.

For more information on puppy mills Google-Why are puppy mills bad?

youtube- search - puppy mill videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HM8UmHM8Uo&feature=related

Why do PetSmart and Petco not sell puppies in their retail stores? -they do not support Puppy Mill operations and the only way they could have a constant supply of puppies is to buy from Puppy Millers.

PUPPY BROKERS-

Puppy brokers buy pups from puppy mills then market them for sale. They are middlemen who retail the puppies from their home, flea market stall or car by the side of the road. They advertise on the Internet, newspapers and magazines. Many of these dogs were imported to the US from out of the country puppy mills.

Brokers sell less than healthy dogs, which are called 'class B' dogs, who are often bought in bulk purchases by re-sellers. In the past, these dogs were sold at flea markets, or through seedier pet stores. Now, many of them are sold through on line puppy for sale sites. After all, buyers can't see where the dogs are being kept, and they don't usually ask to see the parents. It's even rarer for the people using puppy classified sites to think to ask to visit the 'breeder', when shipping is so readily and eagerly offered. Sellers don't even have to keep the puppies on hand - they wait until the orders come in, and then pick up what's needed from the broker warehouse facilities. Lower over head equals greater profits, and when the complaints about sick puppies come in, along with the threats of lawsuits, they simply change 'kennel names' and ad sites, and move on to scamming a new set of victims.

Red Flag *** These IMPORT dogs are FCI or APRI registered or some other obscure canine registry that is not AKC, but the sellers claim they are AKC because they say they can be converted to AKC. They won't have the Dam of the litter for you to look at.

The imports are large (30-45lbs. when grown) and do not look like our domestic French Bulldogs. These imports tend to be "out at the nose", long legged and appear more like "skinny" boxers and frequently contract Demodex mange due to stress of transport. Have more of a terrier personality.

Western Europe imports-Huge, "out at the nose" with pointed ears and hyper temperament.

White one is not acceptable color because it lacks pigment so more likely to go deaf and have severe skin allergies.

Puppy brokers advertise in the NEWSPAPERs, magazines and on Internet sites like puppyfind.com, puppy4you.com, puppydogweb.com etc. that mass market all breeds of dogs.

Red Flag *** Beware of any breeder that will not let you come to their home and look at the conditions their breeding dogs live in or who prefers to meet you somewhere away from their home with the puppy or ship you the puppy. You always want to examine the living conditions and the birth mother and make sure she is healthy and sound.

BACKYARD BREEDERS-

Backyard breeders or BYB usually do not have bad intentions, per se. Rather, the harm they do is done through ignorance - ignorance of the breed, of canine genetics, of health, and of well being and welfare.

Back yard breeders may act on a desire to make extra money, or simply out of ignorance. Sometimes back yard breeders will breed so "their children can experience the miracle of birth", or they mistakenly believe "every dog should have one litter." They may think their dog is so cute, he/she would make wonderful puppies, with little or no thought for the homes to which their puppies will go. Other back yard breeders see how much money legitimate breeders charge for pups and figure they could make some "easy money" too.

Back yard breeders usually bring two breeding animals together regardless of their quality. They are not interested in scientific breeding. Their aim is to fulfill a personal need or goal, not to improve the breed and bring excellent quality dogs to the world.

In spite of all of this, getting a pup from a back yard breeder is still a gamble, for the following reasons:

* the parents likely have not been screened for health problems
* puppies usually are not sold with contracts or any form of health gaurantee
* the breeders are not in it for the long haul, and won't be willing or able to take back the puppy if something goes wrong
* They will be working on new personal objectives in five years when your pet has a problem and you need help.

Although you may pay less for the breed of your choice from a backyard breeder, it's almost a given that in the long run, you'll pay a good deal more in vet bills and perhaps emotional bills (if the dog has to be euthanized due to a health or temperament problem), than you would from a reputable breeder.

Another thing to consider is where the backyard breeder got their breeding stock from in the first place. Since ethical breeders always sell pet puppies on a mandatory spay neuter clause, only two options exist:

* the bitch has been bred without the knowledge of the seller, meaning this litter was born unregisterable and illegally. In some cases, breeders who have learned of litters born without their consent to dogs they have sold as pets have sued and won the right to reclaim any and all puppies sold. This means you could become embroiled in a costly, potentially emotionally devestating lawsuit.

* the bitch herself came from another Back Yard Bredder, a petstore, a puppy mill or broker.

These breeders primarily advertise in the NEWSPAPER and on Internet sites like puppyfind.com, puppy4you.com, puppydogweb.com etc. that mass market all breeds of dogs. No breed specific health testing and health of puppy is uncertain.

'Rare' Colors Cost More

Brokers are always looking for the next 'hot' thing that will allow them to justify charging something outrageous for their puppies. Be wary of people who market their dogs based on their 'rarity' - disallowed colors, over or under sized dogs, and improper ear set are not an excuse to charge more for a dog.

Common Sense Isn't Very Common

Above all, use your instinct when dealing with someone you suspect is a broker. Is what they're saying setting off warning flags? Are they avoiding answering your questions? Do they seem more interested in whether your check will clear than are if you're a good family? If you answer yes to any of these questions, listen to your instincts - don't become one more victim of a puppy mill or import broker, and help break the chain of abuse.

Why do people buy from puppy mills, brokers and BYBs?

1. Ignorance- It doesn't occur to decent people that animals can be abused to produce that cute little puppy they see in the pet store window or on the internet website showing the puppy in a basket with toys and a nice photo backdrop. Nor do they realize the puppy could have been bred from a diseased malnourished dam who can't even stand up.

2. Immediate gratification- Some people want a puppy NOW! They don't want to wait. Finding a reputable breeder, researching the breed and health issues and being a responsible puppy seeker takes TIME and PATIENCE.

3. Duped- Bad breeders have gotten sophisticated and good at fooling puppy seekers who are trying to do their due diligence and find a reputable breeder. They say all the right things like "our puppies are raised in a loving home" and "of course you can see the parents" but in reality their actions do not match their word. When puppy seeker shows up to see the puppy they are brought to a show room type setting and never see where the dogs live on the property or the breeder/broker comes up with a reason the seeker cannot come to their house like they are remodeling and can they meet them some where with the puppy.

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