Good and Bad Dog and Wolfdog Breeders: Red Flag Warnings

I'd rather people adopt any breed dog or wolfdog, but being realistic I know people will buy, so I'd rather see bad breeders and con artists sink like stones in a quarry.

To be fair, legitimate breeders may do some of the things I mention here, but I’m setting up this list of warning signs that can tell you something may be fishy. Trust your gut.

What can possibly be wrong?

They run a puppy mill. The pups could be sick. The pups could be stolen. They won’t deliver/ship the pups after you pay. They may bait you with a picture and deliver a completely different animal.

So how can you be sure?

There’s no way to be sure if you buy anything online or sight unseen.

RED FLAGS

 Bad Breeders Don’t Ask Questions

Someone who cares about the animals they breed will want to screen the people they sell to. If you’ve done your homework on a particular breed, you ‘ll know what kinds of questions they should be asking. If you’re not sure, you need to do more homework.

Bad Breeders Won’t Allow Pre-Purchase Visits

Sometimes breeders don’t want someone in their home for various reasons, but this should raise a flag if you are not allowed to meet a pup before you purchase. A good breeder will want to see how you interact with a pup before they allow you to take it, and will arrange a place to meet you. Personally, I would want to see the home and one of the parents first.

 Bad Breeders Make Excuses

A bad breeder is secretive because they know what they’re doing is morally or legally wrong. They will make all kinds of excuses to keep you away from the pups and or them before a purchase. “I don’t let people see the pups because they haven’t had shots.” “I can’t get around much, so you’ll just have to take my word.” But they’ll personally pack the pup in a crate and send it off across the country on a plane. As if there are no germs on planes.

 Bad Breeders Rush You

They’re in a rush to find a buyer, so if it’s not you, you’re wasting their time, and time is money. They will tell you there are five other people who want this pup sight unseen. “Do you want it or not?”
Bad Breeders Make Guarantees
 
Con artists and bad breeders need to make a sale. They will promise the impossible. “All my pups will have great temperaments, make great house dogs, and are great with kids... I bred them like that.”

Bad Breeders Make More Excuses

If a bad breeder does meet you with a sickly puppy, she will make claims that the pup is underweight because he was stressed on the ride, or all puppies have eye drainage, or bald patches. These are professional crooks who will count on your sympathy to take that pup with you no matter what.

 Bad Breeders Must Have Full Payment Immediately

Yes, some breeders ask for deposits to hold pups and some will not breed unless they have a deposit on an approximate litter. But if they are asking for full payment immediately by PayPal, sight unseen, without even asking your address, then you may get scammed.

Spotting Bad Breeders Outright

Good breeders care about the animals they brought into this world. They want to know you, your lifestyle, and that you’d make a good match.

Puppy mill breeders and scammers only care about making money off of your ignorance or sympathy for the pup. They don’t want to know anything about you, and they don’t want you to know anything about their bad practices.

Con artists and bad breeders come in all sizes and shapes, and they even use front people to gain your trust, like sweet little old ladies, or smart looking women with twenty years of experience breeding show dogs. If you don’t feel right follow your instincts, don’t buy that puppy, you’re just encouraging them to do it again and again.

For more see Megan Lindsay’s article “Why you should not buy from a puppy mill” http://wolfermagic.blogspot.com/2013/08/responsible-ownership-why-you-should.html

This link is for a wolfdog specific article about bad breeders: http://texx-wolf-tails.webs.com/wolfdogbreeders.htm

Personally, I feel there are plenty of adoptable pups and adult dogs out there to choose from. The pups may not still have that milk fed puppy smell and the adult dogs may need a review of manners, but it’s a misconception that dogs in rescue or shelters are broken. They are usually there because the owner was broken and never considered a dog to be a lifetime commitment.

And where do these broken people get dogs… puppy mills and bad breeders.

Think about adoption first.