Did I just Visit a Puppy Mill?

[ssmith]

Today I went to see a breeder about purchasing a female nine-week-old yorkie. On the website, the breeder portrayed herself as a professional and well-put together businessperson but when I went to her home today, I must admit I was disappointed.

As I was standing outside her door waiting for her to answer, I could smell unpleasant odors coming from her property and when she did answer her door I was disappointed with her appearance and not in a vain sort of way, rather it was in the way in which she presented herself. I expected that she would have had a neater appearance since she was conducting business. However, I still went ahead and walked into her home hoping that I would be proven wrong. The first thing I noticed was the strong odor. The same odor that I had smelled from outside her door was present inside her home and this in itself set off some red alarms. As I stood in her living room she asked me to take a seat as she went down stairs to get the puppy I had inquired about but that seemed strange to me, I thought surely that she would be more inviting and more welcoming to a potential buyer. Everything about her demeanor seemed contradictory to what she had presented on her website.

I thought that she would have welcomed me into the part of her home where she had the dogs so that I as the potential buyer of this puppy could inspect its current living arrangement. However, it seemed to me that she was trying to do quite the opposite. When she went down stairs to get the puppy I had inquired about I heard a lot of barking and her trying to settle the dogs down, I also heard her say, “I know it’s hot down here.” Then another red flag went off in my head because why would a professional breeder who claims that she has been in the breeding business for years keep her dogs/puppies in a hot area. When she brought up the puppy that I had inquired about, she looked exactly as she had in her photos but as the breeder got closer and handed me the puppy, I noticed that the puppy had an unpleasant odor. While holding the puppy, I attempted to ask her questions about the personality of the puppy but she didn’t seem as knowledgeable or as articulate as her website made her seem. In the end, I told her that I needed time to think about buying the puppy and I thanked her letting me view the puppy and I left.

I would also like to state that I’ve read on this website that yorkies aren’t supposed to be sold until they are twelve weeks, yet this ‘experienced breeder’ with years of experience was willing to let her puppies go at nine weeks. That in itself seemed odd to me. She also stated that she preferred to be paid in cash, which again rang red in my head, because if something did go wrong with the puppy and I had to take her to court, proving that I paid her eight hundred dollars in cash may be hard to prove. I would also like to know if it is a normal practice to sell unregistered puppies for eight hundred dollars, although on her site she claimed that the dogs were registerable, but that the registration would be an additional fee. Moreover, if anyone thinks that this is indeed a small puppy mill what can I do to help the animals in her possession?

[cindersellie]

I don't know, there's a lot of things thats don't seem right though. Did you get the meet the parents? She didn't want you to see where/ how the puppy lived? And you heard a lot of dogs... I had a similar experience with buying my Cinders, and I'm torn with what to do about the rest of the dogs there. I'll be watching the replies to your post.

[lynzy420]

If you want to help right now, tell us the name of this breeder and her web address. We here at YT are very good at exposing byb's and if it helps one person, one puppy, then it was worth it....

[dawn27]

Go with your gut, if you feel that the living situation that the pup and parents were in and something doesn't feed right than walk away.

To answer your question, In all meaning of the word PM I doubt that this was that type of situation. It seems to me that this is potentially a home breeder that is in over her head and quit possibly that the dogs and the pups aren't quite being cared for as they should be. There are defiantly some red flags that should be taken into account.

[ironmike86]

Everything you did was fine. But paying in cash is okay if you get a bill of sale with a health guarantee. Some breeder will only take cash because they get screwed also. You can always do a cashier check for receipt

[Teresa Ford]

I bet you get a few back pats for 'smelling' a BYB. I will not go on and on about how to find a good AKC breeder. I think you already know how to do that.

[lynzy420]

Originally Posted by Teresa Ford

I bet you get a few back pats for 'smelling' a BYB. I will not go on and on about how to find a good AKC breeder. I think you already know how to do that.

[Lovetodream88]

First thing is you should not have even bothered with someone who was selling and willing to let a 9 week old puppy go. There is no need to even bother with breeders who are letting the pups go that early.

[lynzy420]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

First thing is you should not have even bothered with someone who was selling and willing to let a 9 week old puppy go. There is no need to even bother with breeders who are letting the pups go that early.

Yep Yorkie Puppies should stay with Mom and sibs atleast 12 wks, definitely not before 10 and sometimes longer - not before...each pup is different, you will larn lots here but you've made a good choice in posting here...Welcom to YT!!

[gracielove]

Well, did this "experienced breeder" offer to show you the puppies pedigree and did she offer to show you both parents of the puppy? Just the fact that she was too ashamed to show you the conditions she keeps her dogs in says a lot. Let's say you were either at a puppy mill or an out of control backyard breeder. Either way she was selling puppies because she sees it as an easy way to make some money at the expense of the suffering of the dogs she owns. Sad.

[concretegurl]

Originally Posted by gracielove

Well, did this "experienced breeder" offer to show you the puppies pedigree and did she offer to show you both parents of the puppy? Just the fact that she was too ashamed to show you the conditions she keeps her dogs in says a lot. Let's say you were either at a puppy mill or an out of control backyard breeder. Either way she was selling puppies because she sees it as an easy way to make some money at the expense of the suffering of the dogs she owns. Sad.

Cash is fine as long as you get a recipt at the same time and AFTER you get copies of the sales cobtract and her health guarentee aigned by both of you.

Time and breeding experience IMHO doesnt really mean squat I deal with a BYB I thought the same of her you first thought of this lady...mine had over 20 years experience....of breeding poor quality dog & having them suffer in similar sounding conditions.


Trust your instinct better safe than sorry.

[backwardsrain]

If she was running it out of her home I doubt it was an actual puppy mill. But there is a gray area between puppy mill and BYB, like a BYB who breeds a lot of dogs to try to make a profit. She sounds like a "greeder" or small-time commercial breeder.

Actually I don't find anything wrong with requiring cash or the stinky puppy. I paid my breeder cash, and I doubt any breeder would accept a check without requiring that the check clear the bank before puppy pick-up. I have read stories of breeders being given bad checks for a $1500 puppy, and that's a lot of money to lose to a bad check.

Puppies are stinky. My puppy and her litter were stinky when I visited the breeder's home. The breeder was cleaning up their pee and poop every single time they pottied, but they still managed to sit in it and rub it on each other. As long as the puppy is not matted and only mildly stinky, that's okay. Most breeders will bathe puppies right before sending them home.

[gracielove]

Originally Posted by backwardsrain

If she was running it out of her home I doubt it was an actual puppy mill. But there is a gray area between puppy mill and BYB, like a BYB who breeds a lot of dogs to try to make a profit. She sounds like a "greeder" or small-time commercial breeder.

Actually I don't find anything wrong with requiring cash or the stinky puppy. I paid my breeder cash, and I doubt any breeder would accept a check without requiring that the check clear the bank before puppy pick-up. I have read stories of breeders being given bad checks for a $1500 puppy, and that's a lot of money to los e to a bad check.

Puppies are stinky. My puppy and her litter were stinky when I visited the breeder's home. The breeder was cleaning up their pee and poop every single time they pottied, but they still managed to sit in it and rub it on each other. As long as the puppy is not matted and only mildly stinky, that's okay. Most breeders will bathe puppies right before sending them home.

I guess my problem with this would be she noticed a smell right at the door. She noticed an odor inside the home. Sorry, I have been to kennels that were well kept and had very little odor despite the owner having several dogs. Yes, puppies get dirty but if they are kept in a clean birthing and puppy area they do not stink. Most reputable breeders of small breed dogs keep their litters in the living are of the home where they can be tended to and socialized on a regular basis. Maybe not in the living room but in an area in the house. There is a big difference between a puppy that has recently gotten a bit soiled and one who has been living in a filthy area.

[cindersellie]

Puppies are stinky.



Ahhhh! That new puppy smell!!! Cinders had a bath and smelled nice for about an hour...thats when she went out and found a nice patch of dirt to roll in!!!

[LisaKuehl]

Can you post a link to her website?