BUYER BEWARE!

Definition of terms - *puppy farmer: person who breeds dogs as commercial livestock without effort applied to improving the breed *dog broker: person who acts as a middleman in the transaction of dog to buyer. He may buy the dog and resell it at a profit or may receive a commission *puppy mills: commercial dog breeding operations which may or may not keep dogs in humane conditions but who are focused on producing as many dogs as possible at as high a profit margin as possible without concerted effort toward turning out a quality product US puppy mill activity and importing by brokers reveals that*dog auction: run exactly like livestock auctions where high bidder takes the animal home An ongoing investigation of dog brokering, dog auctions,  US puppy mill activity and importing by brokers reveals that we are facing a new challenge in our breed. There is increased activity in puppy farmers' including all purebred dogs in their inventories of brood animals. We are seeing an increase also in smaller (one dog owners) using bitches who were sold with limited registrations as unsuitable breeding stock, using these bitches for breeding and selling the pups as unregistered.

Responsible breeders will provide a copy of an AKC registration certificate for the sire and dam of any pup offered for sale.

There's also an increase in activity in importation by brokers. The imported dogs are sold without their owners having contact with the dogs' breeders nor information on the dog's familial background.. Registration of puppies by foreign parents may or may not be possible. Assurance of purebred status is questionable until the foreign pedigree of an import has undergone the scrutiny of the American Kennel Club. Make sure you're getting a purebred dog by requiring proof that the parents of the dog are registered with the AKC on full privilege registrations or that the dog, itself, if imported, is registered with the AKC before you pay for it. If an imported dog is to be
registered with the AKC, this must be done by the importer. Dobermans are being offered at public auctions, events whose patrons are puppy farmers. These puppy farmers set up future suppliers for brokerages and auctions. Puppy farmers sell other puppy farmers who in turn sell to brokers who sell to pet stores who sell to buyers who have no contact with the producer of the pup and not knowledge of familial history of health.. Such producers do not know where their pups wind up and subsequently cannot follow up on the progeny of their programs. Their breeding decisions are based on factors unrelated to familial genetics because they cannot know the genetics without tracking the progeny of their programs. Responsible
breeders do not sell dogs to brokers or through agents or brokers to persons
unknown to the breeder of the dog. The public is discouraged from buying
dogs through brokers in such cases where they will have no contact with their pup's breeder.

The puppymill industry has set up several registries to combat the challenges the AKC placed before them by instituting the frequently used sires program. Included are these undesirable registries:
FIC (federation of international canines)
CKC (continental kennel club) )
These acronyms are remarkably similar to the legitimate registries, FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale) and CKC (Canadian Kennel Club). It is possible that imported puppies will be touted to be registered with the FIC. PLEASE pass word along to the public to beware of these puppymill registries.

We need to get the word out RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS PROVIDE COPIES OF American Kennel Club or Canadian Kennel Club REGISTRATION CERTIFICATES FOR ALL SIRES AND DAMS of pups offered for sale. This is to assure that the parents were registered with the AKC as breeding potential animals and that they are purebred.

To be registered with the AKC, ALL imported dogs MUST be registered by the importer. Do NOT be victimized by exploitive importers. REQUIRE AKC registration BEFORE spending money on any imported dog. The dog may not be purebred if it is not registered with the AKC.

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