Breeding facilities

Okay, I know I've written about Millers many times before but I'm going to do it again.  Just the other day I was surfing the web looking at breeder pages.  One page lead to another, to another and another.  It doesn't take me very long to distinguish the good from the very bad.  Even within the good and bad classifications there are a wide range.  I stumbled onto a page that boasted of their "facility."  I cringed as I looked at the huge building with a long hallway lined with cage doors.  My stomach was in knots as I thought about the dogs on the other side of those doors. 

I almost clicked away as it is so hard for me to look at these type of things.  But I stayed and surfed around the lies of their web page.  It is important to research and share to others.  Breeding dogs for the soul purpose of making money is very much a reality.  You need to know where not to go. 

No dog should live in a kennel.   The longer I stayed on the page, reading about their facility that was as comfortable as their own home, the angrier I got.  This is not what the canine/human connection is about; dogs are not herd animals, and to think that it is okay to raise dogs in a kennel is a huge statement about how that human feels about dogs. 

"A dog by my side," is a phrase that I use regularly.  No they are not always there but they should not be stuffed away in a kennel.  Dogs are suppose to live in our home with us; you know "man's best friend."  I have said this before and I will say it again.  I do not care how clean a "facility" is; it is still a Miller situation, clean or not.  The offending humans have gotten so deep into the money, money, money thing that dollar signs are all they see.  The almighty dollar has coated everything in sparkling rainbows and they believe their own lies that they spew.  

Oh look, pictures of little children and dogs; they must be wonderful breeders right?  WRONG.  Millers or puppy vendors tend to use buzz words or "in" terminology on their page.  Unsuspecting buyers see those few words and click the "buy now" button.  

I'm actually very surprised at the height of pride that one of the Miller pages had.  Boasting kennel shots with cleaning products included.  "Our kennels are disinfected daily," was one of the boasts on the page.  Disinfected?  Really?  How about nurtured and loved in your home?  The whole scene was very reminiscent of the shelter I use to volunteer at; and any other shelter facility.

Please do not be duped into buying a dog from a Miller.  The Miller status is a wide and varied one.  There are many different types but they are all in one big giant Miller bag as far as I am concerned.  There is only one reason that they are breeding, money.  They don't care about their dogs or their dogs would not be in KENNELS (yes I am yelling.)

It sickens me and I finally had to move off of the page and onto videos of happy frolicking puppies who were being raised by someone who truly cares.  

There are many choices when acquiring a puppy.  Please do not give your hard earned money to people who don't care about their dogs, your dogs or any other dogs for that matter.  Dogs are not a money making endeavor.  

Adopt, don't shop.

You've seen these signs everywhere.  It is written on people's shirts, stuck onto their bumpers and passed through the internet like wildfire.  Rescuing is a wonderful thing and as you all know I photograph rescue dogs and had a little foster girl here just last weekend.  But I also have two dogs that I purchased and care for with every ounce of nurture that is in me.   I have been scorned by some people who think that the term "shop" is a blanket statement; and that my friend is where they are very wrong.  I have pulled out my soap box to explain but alas it falls on deaf ears much of the time. 

It is the millers, don't buy from the millers.  The ones who have websites where you can buy one, two or more puppies right online.  The people who have kennels set up for multiple litters at a time.  Those who house hundreds of dogs; pumping puppies out like an assembly line.  Even when you see great, friendly websites who look like they care for their puppies; count the number of litters at a time.  I can see maybe two happening on occasion but anymore than two litters at the same time should tip you off.  When you see three, four or more litters at the same time or back to back litters then you need to move away from that breeder. 

I LOVE STANDARD POODLES; there I said it and I am proud of it.  I adore my dogs and care for them the absolute best that I can.  That said, I love dogs in general; I simply adore them.  I am not ashamed that my dogs are not rescues.  The only time you ever need to feel ashamed is when you have knowingly filled a filthy millers pockets.  By filthy I mean the type of human, not cleanliness.  When you purchase from them because you can't wait or it is easy; you have then continued the horrors that the breeder dogs live. 

When you start to look for a puppy with the intention of purchasing you must take extreme precaution.  You must ask, ask, and ask some more.  If you are going in blind you can be easily duped.  There are a great deal of dubious breeders out there.  They know what to say, they know how to get around the incorrect answers that you are looking for.  They know all too well how to push their goods and reap the benefits.  So you need to be well educated in what you are looking for. 

Over the years I have talked to many breeders.  When I've been looking for a puppy of my own, for someone else and for photography purposes.  I can weed through the BS and find the truth very easily.  When I am looking for a breeder I want someone who I mesh with; someone who believes in much of what I believe as far as dogs are concerned.  It is not always easy; good breeders can be very possessive of their goods as they should be.  A good breeder may put you through the ringer and you might end up on a very long waiting list.  This is also how it should be. 

You may even be told no; a good breeder turns people away when they don't feel that you are a good match for their dogs.  I have been told NO, that's right and I was indeed shocked; but it was only once.   Years ago I had been making plans to purchase a puppy and was then told that the very puppy I was planning had been sold to someone else.  That was a huge shocker; but again totally up to the breeder.  It is their decision entirely who puppies go to.  There was another puppy that I was told was available and while I discussed it with my family their decision to let the puppy go changed and they kept her.

Purchasing a puppy is not like going into a store and buying a pair of shoes.  No, there is a huge amount of work to do and their can be heartache involved.  It is never good to get your hopes up until that magical moment when your puppy is placed into your arms.  Although a good breeder's word should be golden; once stated that you can indeed have a puppy, only Mother Nature should revoke that word.  Things happen, life has a way of keeping us on our toes.  Not all litters are born with the perfect number that are needed for buyers. 

The bottom line is that if you want a particular breed of dog; do your homework.  Research like crazy and find a good, reputable and ethical breeder.  Someone who cares about their dogs as much as you will care about yours.  Do not pay for a puppy who is the product of a greedy humans desire.  When someone makes a living out of selling puppies; it can never end well for the dogs.  If waiting and researching is what you need to do to find a great breeder, do it.