Info B4 Buying

[JiJi's Mom]

I felt so bad knowing I help fund a puppy mill when I purchase JiJi I did a bit of researching. I don't know if I was naive or just plain dumb or probably just ignoring the facts.

I know there's alot of browsers on this forum so hopefully this can help hit reality.

members.petfinder.org/~PA152/puppymill.htm

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://members.petfinder.org/~PA152/images/hope.jpg&imgrefurl=http://members.petfinder.org/~PA152/puppymill.htm&usg=__089TsqdBqAte8JyCm0D_Zv6gzdc=&h=250&w=293&sz=23&hl=en&start=15&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=dOIOQJXZpYZL_M:&tbnh=98&tbnw=115&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmalnourished%2Bdog%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D 1T4ADRA_enUS335US335%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1

[JesBred]

:thumbup: Great post!!

[Zanadu'sMom]

Great post indeed. You aren't dumb by the way :D

[Alana]

You didn't know.
Now you do, and knowledge is powerful.
Spread the word... and don't feel bad. You have a beautiful furbaby. Enjoy her, love her, (as I know you do!) and join in the fight...
for hopefully, in time, voices like yours, with the knowledge, will stop this horrible injustice against these wonderful little beings we all love. [Hugs]

[bellaratamalt]

You weren't dumb! It was just luck that I didn't help support a backyard breeder/puppy mill with my first maltese because it sure wasn't because I did my research! Thanks for the link

[Morkie4]

Good posting and thanks for the information. Hopefully it will help someone looking to buy a fluff. :)

[taek91]

I am new at this and I wanted to know how you could tell if the breeder you are buying from is a puppymill or not. I am looking at a maltese to buy from lancaster and I asked if they had the parents and they said no and but that the puppies had papers. please help

[JiJi's Mom]

A professional breeder will answer all your questions and will not leave you in the dark. Not wanting to show the parents is a bad sign. Most of them will ask you a lot of questions to get to know you better and once they feel comfortable about you they will welcome you to visit with the pup.

If the breeder sells different types of breed that's a big sign of puppymill. If the breeder doesn't keep up with new statistics and information regarding the breed there backyard breeders. That's why many reputable breeders are recommended to show their dogs. Another bad sign is when they have teacups when advertising there pups.

Most byb and puppymills are careless about there dogs and that's why many dogs are in the pound. Then there are those breeders who might care for there dogs but are not educated enough to know what's right or wrong.

If your looking for a place to look for a maltese I will recommend this site first:

http://www.americanmaltese.org/ama_breeder_list.htm

If your not in a hurry look for pups that might be in shelters or people who might want to rehome there fluffs. Keep away from craiglist and newspaper locals. Petfinders normally have real fluffs who are looking for great homes.

[JiJi's Mom]

OOps I forgot to mention. Anybody can get papers for there dogs so please don't assume papers are important. My girl came from a puppymill and she had AKC papers. I was very lucky, even thought she's one hyper little dog she's very healthy.

Also :mtwelcome:

I'm sure more ladies will have more to add.

[taek91]

A professional breeder will answer all your questions and will not leave you in the dark. Not wanting to show the parents is a bad sign. Most of them will ask you a lot of questions to get to know you better and once they feel comfortable about you they will welcome you to visit with the pup.

If the breeder sells different types of breed that's a big sign of puppymill. If the breeder doesn't keep up with new statistics and information regarding the breed there backyard breeders. That's why many reputable breeders are recommended to show their dogs. Another bad sign is when they have teacups when advertising there pups.

Most byb and puppymills are careless about there dogs and that's why many dogs are in the pound. Then there are those breeders who might care for there dogs but are not educated enough to know what's right or wrong.

If your looking for a place to look for a maltese I will recommend this site first:

http://www.americanmaltese.org/ama_breeder_list.htm

If your not in a hurry look for pups that might be in shelters or people who might want to rehome there fluffs. Keep away from craiglist and newspaper locals. Petfinders normally have real fluffs who are looking for great homes.

Thank you

[angeleyes]

I also welcome you to Maltese Talk, we love having new members and will help with your questions any time. Jess is correct about the papers, they can get them for almost any dog. We have a member who bought a "Maltese" and had papers and he turned out to be part Chihuahua so don't go just by papers. I bought two of my puppies from a friend who most people would call backyard breeder. I knew her and I knew what she bred and I knew mostly what I was getting. My newest one is a retiree from a good breeder and I have to say I am very unhappy with the way she takes care of her breeding females. Do not buy a puppy from a store of any kind, they come from puppy mills. The link Jess gave you is a good one to go by. Good luck on your search and keep us informed how you are doing.

[Olivia]

I love that you posted this. I don't ever want to come off as preachy, but I also would like people to think very hard about purposely seeking out teacup sized pet. It's not healthy for the pet, and it comes with a myriad of health issues and you're only setting yourself up for heartache down the road, not to mention the expense of trying to save an animal you've already become attached to.