Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project, Inc.: Red Flags -- Warning Signs When Dealing with a Breeder

	WISCONSIN PUPPY MILL PROJECT Red Flags: Warning Signs When Dealing With A "Breeder"	( Click photo for larger view & caption.)

What Is A Puppy Mill? * What Can I Do About It? * Laws/Legislation * ACTION ALERTS!

Printer-Friendly Fact Sheet (PDF) Acrobat Reader

Use our "Warning Signs When Dealing With a Breeder" to help you identify disreputable sources for purchasing pets. If the breeder you are considering exhibits even one of these traits…EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION! You may be getting yourself into an expensive, heartbreaking problem.

Advertising: Does the Breeder —

Advertise in classified newspaper ads, flyers in stores and on classified sites on the Internet?
Use hand painted "roadside" signs to advertise puppies or other pets for sale?
Advertise "Puppies always available" or "Puppies Ready for Christmas / Easter / etc.?"
Advertise many different breeds for sale?
Advertise oddball or specialized varieties or "rare" breeds?

Sales Venue: Does the Breeder —

Offer to meet you at a parking lot or public place to sell you the pup?
Sell puppies at a public place like a dog auction, flea market, yard sale, swap meet or pet store, or out of the back of a pickup truck, car, or van?

Sales Pitch: Does the Breeder —

Tell you that the "whole deal" can be completed with one phone call or email?
Make excuses why you can't meet the parents of the pups?
Tell you that the parents of the pups are a different location and he's just acting as an "agent" to sell the puppies?
Offer stud service to the general public or sells "breeding pair?"
Tell you that he doesn't require spaying/neutering of "pet quality" puppies?
Try to sell you a puppy that is under eight weeks old?

Breeding Site: Do the adult animals onsite —

Appear dirty, poorly groomed or have poor coat quality?
Act aggressive, vicious, anti-social or overly fearful?
Spend their lives in stacked cages or poorly lit outbuildings, garages or basements?
Lack shelter protected from inclement weather or kept from getting too hot or too cold?
Have no water available or water that is available is dirty or frozen?
Appear either too thin or too heavy or just seem generally unhealthy?
Seem to be more numerous than the breeder can properly care for, exercise and socialize?

Registration: Does the Breeder —

Try to imply "quality" of the dog because he / she is "registered" or has "papers?" (See What Does Breed Registration Really Mean?)
Have suspended AKC registration privileges? Check here: http://www.akc.org/about/minutes-reports/secretarys-page/
Tell you that "Papers" are not available at time of delivery of the pup? (Please see: https://www.apps.akc.org/apps/contact//answer_center/faq_dogreg.cfm for the full American Kennel Club explanation of their Registry and why this is a "red flag.")
Use registries like American Canine Association, Continental Kennel Club Inc. or others you have never heard of? (For more on the topic of breed registries, and a list of questionable breed registries, please see one of my all-time favorites, About Dog Registries and Kennel Clubs on Wonderpuppy.net. This website also features a wonderful satire on the proliferation of "new" breed registries (also known as "paper mills").)

Legal Considerations —

Does the breeder demand cash only payment and/or does not have a State of Wisconsin Seller's Permit?
Has the breeder been the subject of complaints registered with local humane societies or sheriff's departments?
Has the breeder been convicted of a crime against animals (In Wisconsin, see http://wcca.wicourts.gov/index.xsl.)?
If in Wisconsin, is the breeder licensed by the Department of Trade, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection (DATCP)? Please see: DATCP: WI Licensed Dog Sellers Listing

In our opinion, puppy millers and back yard breeders should NOT be called "breeders." A more accurate description of these people is PET PROFITEERS. They don't care about the animals — they only care about M-O-N-E-Y. They use and abuse animals for profit, and frequently hold their own customers in contempt. (See Interview with a WI "Puppy Farmer".) If the market dries up for disreputable breeders they will no longer make a profit and will quickly lose interest in the "pets for profit" business.

Are there good breeders? A most emphatic YES! Raising sound, healthy, well socialized puppies is difficult work with some very specific demands. Quality breeders care about the animals they produce, and most say that if someone is making money breeding puppies, that person is doing something wrong! ( Please see How to identify a Quality Breeder and Breeders With Pride: Responsible Breeders Speak Out.)

Additional Resources:

Finding Your New Best Friend

Before You Buy or Adopt Guide to Finding a Pet Red Flags: Disreputable Breeders

Identifying a Quality Breeder Breeders With Pride: Responsible Breeders Speak Out

DATCP: Essential Questions to Ask Before Buying a Dog or Puppy (pdf) DATCP: Puppy Shopping (pdf)

DATCP: Shopping for a Puppy DATCP: WI Licensed Dog Sellers Listing DATCP: Information for Consumers

HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT Against a Dog Seller in Wisconsin

What Does Breed Registration Really Mean? Rehoming: Free To Good Home?