Ethical vs Unethical Breeders
By now, most people know not to buy dogs from "puppy mills", so many unethical breeders have changed tactics to look more and more like ethical breeders without actually doing what makes breeders ethical. Look at the two descriptions of corgi breeder websites, and think about which one is ethical? Read the descriptions, read the next section on how to tell if a breeder is ethical, then finally read my breakdown of the two websites at the end.
Website 1
"We raise our puppies underfoot with children. They're raised in the house with lots of love!" This website has lots of pictures of the dogs in the house, puppies in the arms of their new families, and dogs playing. Has easy-to-find contact information. Lists prices of the puppies, broken down by price for females vs males, price for fluffy (longhair) vs shorthair, and price for different colors. Website says dogs are health tested. Website is modern, frequently updated. Information on when the next litter is available is on the website. You can choose the puppy you like the best out of the litter! You get your puppy at 8 weeks of age, plenty of time to train it how you want! |
Website 2
No pictures of dogs playing or in the house. Only have pictures of dogs posing for show wins. Contact information is difficult to find. There is no mention of prices. Website gives a link to health tests. Website is poorly-made and in bad need of modernization. It looks like it was made ten years ago and never updated. There is no information on when the next available litter might be. You have to put in a detailed application for a puppy. You get your puppy at 12 weeks old or even later. |
How do I know if a breeder is ethical?
Unethical Breeder
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Ethical Breeder
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* Please note that being reluctant to show health tests if someone is not a genuinely interested buyer is not necessarily a red flag. Unfortunately some people have made it a "hobby" to try to prove breeders are bad by demanding health tests from breeders they aren't actually interested in dogs from. If you have filled out a puppy application or expressed genuine interest in getting a dog from a breeder, they should be able to supply proof of all health testing to you though.
This breeder is very proud of their breeding program, they don't fit all the red flags, are they still bad?
Many breeders are something in between a fully unethical breeder and a fully ethical breeder. They are often what some people call a "backyard breeder". That doesn't necessarily mean they raise their dogs literally in their backyard. They may just have a family pet they wanted to get a litter from, or they might just really like puppies. They might genuinely love their dogs and think they are doing what is best for them. If they don't fully health test, prove their dogs, carefully research their lines, carefully screen buyers, and offer lifetime support (including if you need to return the dog for any reason!), they are not an ethical breeder. The vast majority of purebreds that end up in shelters and rescues come from these "backyard breeders". Newf Friends Newfoundland Dog Rescue keeps track of where their rescues come from and found that 77% of Newfoundlands that come through their rescue have come from backyard breeders. 10% came from puppy mills. 3% came from other. Only 10% of total dogs came from responsible, ethical breeders (in some cases, the breeder had passed on and was obviously unable to take the dogs back, and in other cases the buyer broke the breeder's contract and didn't give the dog back to the breeder but instead dumped it in a shelter). This number is likely due to many reasons: 1) not screening buyers carefully 2) poor temperament or health of the puppies sold, buyers were unable to handle the problems 3) not offering lifetime support.
So which of the two websites did you think was the ethical one?
Website 1 looks really good at first glance! It's fancy, easy-to-navigate, and modern. It hits buzzwords like dogs being raised in the house with children and love. It mentions health testing. Website 2 looks bad. There's really not much on it, and it looks like the dogs never get any fun, aren't loved, and only go to shows to parade around a ring. However, website 1 is my description of a known unethical breeder whereas website 2 is my description of a known very ethical breeder. Breeders who are breeding for profit have learned marketing so as to maximize their buyers and profit. They know puppy buyers are more educated about puppy mills now and want to see pictures of dogs looking happy and loved. Many breeders who are breeding to do everything right are already losing money on their dogs. They usually have long waitlists and don't need to advertise, so they never bother with updating their website or marketing.
Surprised? Most people are! Website 1 is a breeder (I won't name names, but we will call them "Pretty Puppies") who claims health testing but only does partial health testing. They do Embark DNA panels on their stud dog but not on their females. Embark DNA, while useful for Cardigan Welsh corgis, is not complete testing (and is utterly worthless for some breeds). For complete health testing, both parents need to also have hip scores from OFA or PennHIP and yearly (or at least within a year of a litter) eye exams from a veterinary ophthalmologist (not just a regular vet). "Pretty Puppies" does raise their puppies in the house with children, but they don't do anything else to ensure proper socialization of their puppies. For more information on socializing dogs properly, [CLICK HERE]. "Pretty Puppies" intentionally breeds for incorrect colors and coat types instead of to better the breed. Breeding specifically for faults is a quick road to compromising on health, temperament, and structure. Speaking of those, "Pretty Puppies" doesn't do anything to prove good structure or temperament on their dogs. They don't even realize that genetically bad temperaments can come from generations back, and they assume since their parent dogs have good temperaments, every puppy they produce will, too. They only qualify "good temperaments" as dogs that can live okay in their own home, not ever taking them into public or exposing them to situations that the puppy buyers might have to expose their dogs to. They live in the country, and their dogs never go into the city. They have had puppy buyers which ended up with dogs that became fear aggressive in crowded city life, among other problems. They let you pick your own puppy. This sounds great, but its actually not a good thing. A breeder should know their puppies much better than you will. They lived with them for the first 8-12 weeks of their life. You've only ever met them once or twice. You might like the most active puppy because it is the most personable or looked the prettiest to you, but when it becomes an out-of-control non-stop energy dog, you may regret that choice if you wanted a cuddly lapdog. That puppy should instead have gone to a sport home where it would be able to burn off that mental and physical energy doing herding or agility. You get your puppy at 8 weeks old and have to go through the entire process of housebreaking and get through the fear period on your own (which can ruin the dog for life!).
Website 2 is a breeder I personally know. We will call them "Classy Cardigans". They do full health testing of their dogs and link to the health testing results as proof. They show their dogs, proving their dogs are structurally sound as well as having temperaments stable enough to handle the relative stress and chaos of shows (lots of strangers, lots of unfamiliar dogs, loud noises, lots of things going on). Their puppies are raised in the home, with a ton of love, but "Classy Cardigans" works a regular full time job and spends their free time on their dogs instead of their website. They carefully research their lines to be sure they are not accidentally breeding in bad temperaments or health problems (not all health problems have a test!). They breed to better the breed, and while they may sometimes have incorrect colors or coat types born in litters, they were not intentionally breeding for these incorrect puppies. They charge approximately the same for all puppies in a litter because it cost the same to raise one puppy as the other. They don't charge more for incorrect colors or coat types, male or female. This breeder carefully matches buyers with the puppies that best fit them instead of letting the buyers choose their own puppy. This results in a much better situation for both the humans and the puppy. This breeder keeps the puppies a little later so they can assure the puppy has started housebreaking and is not going to have an extremely bad fear period which will need an expert (such as an ethical breeder) to get through it!
Surprised? Most people are! Website 1 is a breeder (I won't name names, but we will call them "Pretty Puppies") who claims health testing but only does partial health testing. They do Embark DNA panels on their stud dog but not on their females. Embark DNA, while useful for Cardigan Welsh corgis, is not complete testing (and is utterly worthless for some breeds). For complete health testing, both parents need to also have hip scores from OFA or PennHIP and yearly (or at least within a year of a litter) eye exams from a veterinary ophthalmologist (not just a regular vet). "Pretty Puppies" does raise their puppies in the house with children, but they don't do anything else to ensure proper socialization of their puppies. For more information on socializing dogs properly, [CLICK HERE]. "Pretty Puppies" intentionally breeds for incorrect colors and coat types instead of to better the breed. Breeding specifically for faults is a quick road to compromising on health, temperament, and structure. Speaking of those, "Pretty Puppies" doesn't do anything to prove good structure or temperament on their dogs. They don't even realize that genetically bad temperaments can come from generations back, and they assume since their parent dogs have good temperaments, every puppy they produce will, too. They only qualify "good temperaments" as dogs that can live okay in their own home, not ever taking them into public or exposing them to situations that the puppy buyers might have to expose their dogs to. They live in the country, and their dogs never go into the city. They have had puppy buyers which ended up with dogs that became fear aggressive in crowded city life, among other problems. They let you pick your own puppy. This sounds great, but its actually not a good thing. A breeder should know their puppies much better than you will. They lived with them for the first 8-12 weeks of their life. You've only ever met them once or twice. You might like the most active puppy because it is the most personable or looked the prettiest to you, but when it becomes an out-of-control non-stop energy dog, you may regret that choice if you wanted a cuddly lapdog. That puppy should instead have gone to a sport home where it would be able to burn off that mental and physical energy doing herding or agility. You get your puppy at 8 weeks old and have to go through the entire process of housebreaking and get through the fear period on your own (which can ruin the dog for life!).
Website 2 is a breeder I personally know. We will call them "Classy Cardigans". They do full health testing of their dogs and link to the health testing results as proof. They show their dogs, proving their dogs are structurally sound as well as having temperaments stable enough to handle the relative stress and chaos of shows (lots of strangers, lots of unfamiliar dogs, loud noises, lots of things going on). Their puppies are raised in the home, with a ton of love, but "Classy Cardigans" works a regular full time job and spends their free time on their dogs instead of their website. They carefully research their lines to be sure they are not accidentally breeding in bad temperaments or health problems (not all health problems have a test!). They breed to better the breed, and while they may sometimes have incorrect colors or coat types born in litters, they were not intentionally breeding for these incorrect puppies. They charge approximately the same for all puppies in a litter because it cost the same to raise one puppy as the other. They don't charge more for incorrect colors or coat types, male or female. This breeder carefully matches buyers with the puppies that best fit them instead of letting the buyers choose their own puppy. This results in a much better situation for both the humans and the puppy. This breeder keeps the puppies a little later so they can assure the puppy has started housebreaking and is not going to have an extremely bad fear period which will need an expert (such as an ethical breeder) to get through it!