Watch any of the "reality" television shows starring beautiful people and you'll see something we cultivate in our culture: the pursuit of perfection. It's often difficult to resist, and it's reinforced everywhere in the media, in TV ads, magazines and newspapers. Everyone is at risk, women especially and men. Athletes and other sports performers succumb to it. These cultural messages feed the deepest insecurity in ourselves and encourage us to believe we must be something different from who we really are. We hold ourselves to an impossible standard: perfection.
Perfect Pure-breed Pups
And it is the pursuit of perfection that compels many to look for the best breed of dog, hence the existence of countless pup breeders in this world. These pup breeders could be accidental breeders, small time backyard breeders and large scale commercial breeders. It is immature to label all pup breeders unethical. Accidental breeders who happen to own two dogs that are coincidentally a male and a female sometimes fail to separate them during their mating season resulting in a litter of pups delivered. While backyard breeders only allow their dogs to mate when neighbors, friends or relatives show interests in their off springs. These people are normally looking for the perfect pups to be their pets.
The inhumane part in question is when pups are bred in large scale commercial breeding operations. These commercial breeders normally run a large scale dog breeding facility called a puppy mill or puppy farm. A puppy mill is most of the time operated with an emphasis on profits over the wellbeing of the dogs bred with substandard conditions of care often the norm. Similar types of operations also exist for other animals most commonly kept as pets or used as feed for other animals.
Puppy Mill
Many pictures of puppy mills have grazed the internet as a result of exposure by animal advocates. Pictures like below where the pups are confined in cramped up cages have drawn many animal advocates to decry puppy farming:
Puppy mills treat dogs as simple commodities to be fully exploited. Housing usually consists of a wire pen that may be shared with one or more additional dogs. As many cages as possible are crammed into each facility, with tiny cages stacked on top of each other. There is usually no bedding. Dogs spend their lives on the wire mesh, and urine and feces rain through the cages or collect on the floor. Protection from the elements may be minimal with inclement conditions in rainy season and stifling heat all year round. Accounts of conditions related during visits by animal advocates are hair-raising, stomach-turning and infuriating. Dogs of all sizes are raised in puppy mills, but the in-demand smaller breeds are especially exploited. Some operations house as many as 1000 dogs and their pups. Many breeding dogs receive inadequate food, water, and health care throughout their lives. Most get no socialization, no grooming, and no exercise. In order to maximize profits, each breeding female must have as many litters as possible. Little regard is given to producing healthy pups; if the pups are superficially appealing they will sell regardless of hidden problems. Dogs continue to be bred even when they show serious health problems or suffer injuries. When her ability to produce pups wanes, a dog may be sold at a wholesale auction or simply euthanized. Some discarded dogs become research subjects. Crowded and insanitary conditions lead to a range of health problems including both internal and external parasites, respiratory infections, eye diseases and skin conditions. Bad teeth result from bad food and lack of dental care. Some dogs go "cage crazy" from the overcrowding and lack of exercise. Some dogs are attacked and trampled by their cage mates. Pups produced under these conditions may have health problems that prematurely end their lives and saddle their owners with steep veterinary bills.
Pet Stores
Most pet stores obtain their stock from puppy mills. Many pups sold online, in magazines, and in newspaper ads are products of the factory farming of dogs. It is truly shameful, therefore, that we continue to tolerate the existence of puppy mills for churning out the maximum number of puppies with the minimum amount of effort and expenditure, and with little regard for the health or comfort of either the adult dogs or their pups. So when you are at a pet store looking for the perfect pet of yours, think of the sufferings that the pup may have had to go through. With every MYR spent on a pet store puppy, a mill is driven to produce another litter of dogs in deplorable conditions. Buying a dog is a huge commitment and shouldn’t ever be done on impulse. As much as you want to "rescue" that doggie in the window, it only continues the vicious cycle of the puppy mill industry.
Adopt from Animal Shelters
When you deal with an ethical breeder, remember there is always no pet store acting as the middleperson to take a slice of the profits. Accidental breeders and backyard breeders whom you personally know are mostly good breeders who will charge no more than what pet stores are charging for their dogs. Maybe you’ll have to wait a bit, but that’s a small price for a dog that will be right for you. Better yet, visit your local shelters and consider the adoption option! You’ll find dogs of all ages and breeds – from purebreds to the latest in “designer dogs!”
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