Puppy mill???

[Puppyperson]

My mom recently lost her 17 year old schnauzer to old age and is completely beside herself with grief. She does not like a house without a dog in it. She loves my yorkie mix and maltese--and really loved my yorkie that passed away but she wants a dog between 20-40 lbs so she doesn't step on it.
My brother found this website for her and she fell in love with the "puggles". I immediately thought pet store or mill but I emailed them anyway to see what they were about. When I got a response--they told me it was a home. So many puppies and breeds...I told my mom I wouldn't buy from there. Tell me what you think? www.pups4kids.com
She went and looked at the shelters by her house but the dogs were all rather big for her (she has bad hips).
Thanks for your opinions, Monica

[Diego]

In my own opinion , she have too many breeds .

[ReconsMomma]

I have a friend that lives near them and she says that they do have a ton of dogs but they are all family raised and in the house with them like family members.

I personally dont know much about them though. From the look of the pics the dogs are all in the house too.

Maybe some one else on here lives near there and can give you some info.

[Laura]

I wouldn't dismiss them before a good check. The dogs all look good and the place looks clean. Try to check the references, see if the dogs grow up healthy! The extra money up front for a great family raised dog can mean a world of difference in the long run! Some people just love animals and have the money (and patience) to do what they love.

[Lady of Yorkies]

Why would you mix so many dogs? If they have the purebreds they'd make more money on them. Sorry, I just can't see mixing them on purpose. Sylvia

[Puppyperson]

I am going to check them out in a few weeks. She did seem very nice in the email. She gave me her number and said call and I can come over anytime. They all look very well taken care of and they are cute. I know that area and she probably has a huge house. I was just concerned with so many breeds but I will not dismiss her because of that. Thank you for your opinions

[jbarile]

It wouldn't hurt to take a l@@k see... you will know right away what kind of
environment it is when you check it out, If it doesn't feel right Go with your gutt feeling! If it feels right and the pup looks healthy enough etc.. Give the cute little pup a loving home good luck!

[Connie]

I don't have any advice...just wanted to say I hope your mom finds her puppy soon! Good luck!

[Laura]

Originally Posted by Lady of Yorkies

Why would you mix so many dogs? If they have the purebreds they'd make more money on them. Sorry, I just can't see mixing them on purpose. Sylvia

I see what you mean, that is something that would be interesting to find out You could ask her for us Monica? Let us know how things look out there. If I lived closer, I would love to go for a look see.

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

I think part of the mixing to achieve the hypoallergenic dog. Soem people don't like poodles but are allergic to labs so they may get a labradoodle. I would definitely go check it out. What could it hurt?

Let us know!

[Laura]

Now THAT is a good reason to mix!

[Luvmypupster]

Just be very careful when buying from someone like this. Don't do it unless you can see first hand how clean and up front everything looks. One of the biggest "scams" to a consumer is finding a website that "looks" great with pictures of nice, healthy looking dogs and the breeder sounding nice and full of knowledge. There are tons of websites out there that do just that. Also remember the possibility of someone using pirated pictures. Most people are going to sounds nice when trying to make a sale. We mentioned the Hollybelle Maltese scandal in another thread http://www.hollybellemaltese.com/ . She was a big name breeder with a great website. Her pictures looked like beautiful dogs (some of the pictures were pirated) , she had references, mentioned that she had sold to some famous people, she sounded friendly when talking to her. Her ads were in several publications and even had reference made of her in publicated articles. Some people bought from her and had no problems. Then the complaints started coming. People were not getting pups as promised, she wouldn't return emails or phone calls, problems with AKC papers, questions, accusations and scandal about bloodlines. It was a huge mess. But the ones that were lucky said that the pictures of her dogs looked great and that she was so nice! Having a website does not mean the breeder isn't good. I know some great breeders that have a website. But there are several red flags people need to watch out for when searching for a pup. Some of those are breeding a high volume of puppies & breeding multiple breeds. The best advice I can give you is to check her out and see for yourself. Always do your research on whomever you buy from and always trust your gut feeling! Good luck in finding your mom a puppy. Has she ever thought of a sheltie? They are wonderful little dogs and not too small.

[YorkieRose]

These are the types of dogs sitting in the pounds waiting to be rescued. The breeder is charging more then some charge for a purebred. I realize the pounds are full of purebreds also, but what chance does a wonderful mix-breed have if people flood the market with them?

The Lab is perfect the way he is, why experiment? What if the genes do not go along with the breeders plans..what if the Lab/poodle mix takes on the coat characteristic's of the Lab and personnality of the Poodle? Screw with Mother Nature and she will screw you right back.

[red98vett]

Originally Posted by YorkieRose

These are the types of dogs sitting in the pounds waiting to be rescued. The breeder is charging more then some charge for a purebred. I realize the pounds are full of purebreds also, but what chance does a wonderful mix-breed have if people flood the market with them?

The Lab is perfect the way he is, why experiment? What if the genes do not go along with the breeders plans..what if the Lab/poodle mix takes on the coat characteristic's of the Lab and personnality of the Poodle? Screw with Mother Nature and she will screw you right back.

I would have to agree with Pat here - and I LOVED the mother nature comment - There are THOUSANDS of dogs sitting in rescues/pounds/shelters in that weight range.....your mom could SAVE a life and find a great dog in the process....for a minimal cost

These sites popping up all over the internet is scary - there is such a huge jump in the number of sites selling puppies over the net....When you see multiple breeds - it's just a RED FLAG ....granted all these sites aren't bad.... but it is a red flag all the same.

[Luvmypupster]

Wow! I just looked at her website, she does have too many. IMO it does not look good. She's charging more for some of her mixed breeds that what I paid for either of mine. Pat's 100% correct on this..the pound is full of dogs that look just like this. I would rescue before even considering buying from her. The high volume, the mixed breeds, accepting credit cards are red flags. A few months ago during one of my trips to petsmart I saw s**tzu Rescue with several pens of adorable little dogs ready for adoption. I wanted to adopt one so bad but at this time I can only handle 2 dogs LOL. Anyway, I told a coworker about this adorable little male that was a sweet as can be and she ended up adopting him! He's a doll, very friendly and sweet natured and the best part....he came already HOUSEBROKEN!!! YEAH!!!!! The adoption fee was very minimal. Most breeds have a breed specific rescue... has your mom thought of contacting a rescue? I have to put blinders on everytime I see them set up at Petsmart or Bass Pro. I ran into Greyhound rescue at basspro a couple of years ago and wanted one of them too! I'm a sucker for brown eyes and a wagging tail!