(05-27-2018, 09:28 AM)flsprtsgod Wrote:

(05-27-2018, 08:30 AM)TheO-LineMatters Wrote: Actually, this would be good. Many pet stores are supplied by puppy mills, where the dogs are living in filthy conditions, being bred over and over, often to their siblings or parent. Dogs who are inbred are more prone to birth defects, diseases and mental issues, the same as humans.

I would expect the store to provide a quality product, aren't there already legal means to address such a problem?

Don't buy a dog from a puppy mill. I happen to be good friends with a pet shop manager, and he does not get any of his dogs from mills. In fact, to have 'papers' there are very strict standards on how the dogs are breed (i.e. how closely related they can be, how many pups a female is allowed to have and how often, also have to have a placement plan for the dog after they are done breeding). But I still see puppy mills all over the place in the country, and of course, craigslist. Interacting with him actually changed my perspective on purebreed dogs, I used to volunteer at the ASPCA and I thought that purebreeds shouldn't exist thanks to 'puppy mills' who would just dump the 'left overs' on us. 

Now that I understand American Kennel Club standards, I realize that those puppy mills have nothing to do with the actual papered purebreed dogs. They look like them, but how they are raised and treated are totally different.

---