'USDA approved' and 'AKC registered' are bare-bones requirements
 

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Buying a dog? Beware of breeder
'USDA approved' and 'AKC registered' are bare-bones requirements


By Kim Campbell Thornton
MSNBC contributor
updated 3:44 p.m. MT, Tues., Jan. 22, 2008




If you're looking to get a new dog, recent headlines no doubt have warned you against buying an animal from illegal "puppy mills" run by unlicensed breeders. But don't be fooled into thinking that legal, licensed breeders and those with registration papers are a guarantee of a healthy puppy either.
When the Humane Society of the United States released a video last month charging that a Los Angeles pet store, Pets of Bel Air, purchased its pricey puppies from puppy mills, the store responded on its Web site with a statement that its dogs were purchased from pet breeders approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and that it relied on the USDA to inspect breeders and their premises.
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But just because a breeder has a license from the USDA doesn’t mean much. USDA minimum standards for housing and exercise are bare bones. The agency requirement for cage size — the primary enclosure in which breeding dogs live their lives — is just six inches taller, wider and longer than the dog inside. That is, a miniature Dachshund measuring 20 inches from nose to base of tail and standing nine inches high might be housed in a cage only 26 inches wide by 26 inches deep by 15 inches high. The USDA waives the exercise requirement of 30 minutes per day for at least five days a week if the dog is housed in a cage with twice the floor space called for by the above formula.
In addition, USDA regulations don’t address socialization — the handling and exposure a puppy needs during its first weeks of life to develop properly — or the health, temperament and quality of the parents.
American Kennel Club (AKC) or other registration papers also may not mean much. All they certify is that both parents were of the same breed. No dog registry or government agency requires breeders to socialize puppies or health-test their parents for orthopedic, eye or heart problems, or even to be knowledgeable about the breed or dogs in general.

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Good reminder! Thanks for the post!:thumbs up

I personally wouldn't buy from a USDA lisenced breeder...USDA lisence=commercial breeding