Could this stop puppy mills?

Question

If the AKC limited registration to any one breeder to a certain number of litters per year, could this help stop puppy mills? Or even possibly be a step in the right direction.
Or even better yet to a certain address. For the obvious loophole of putting each dog in a different family members name.
I know it would not help with the so called designer breeds, but what about the pure bred.
I dont know just a thought. what ya think??

Answer 1

It would be fantastic to put puppy mills out of business, but the AKC is never going to do it. The AKC makes money off dog registrations, so they have a HUGE economic dis-incentive to shut them down.

Plus, pet stores are now selling dogs with registrations from other registries that will register anything. So even if the AKC stopped, someone would do it.

The best way to stop puppy mills is to make it unprofitable for pet stores to operate. Obviously don't buy a dog from a pet store that sells puppies, and don't buy anything else there.

If pet stores are losing money on pups and supplies (because they sell pups) then they will stop selling them.

Answer 2

Considering most puppy mills do not register with AKC, I don't see how that would do anything except hurt the good breeders.
If you are talking about commercial breeders, well many of them don't register with AKC either.

They did try to pass PAWS, thankfully it will not pass this year. It wouldn't have affected commercial breeders at all as they already have facilities that are up to specifications and are already USDA inspected. It WOULD have affected show breeders though! And the puppy mills, well they can't even FIND them, how ever would they inspect them???

Laws like this tend to hurt the good while the bad stay under the radar. They don't work.

If all commercial breeders were shut down, where do you think the pet buying public would buy their pets? Show/hobby breeders are only about 5% of total AKC registrations, they certainly can't supply them. *I* would never buy a commercially bred dog, but many people are very happy with them. Better a CB or BYB than a sickly puppy that was smuggled in from a country with no abuse/neglect laws, as has happened in California with their MSN law.

Answer 3

Very interesting idea! I'm not aware of the standards the AKC has, but if they do not limit the # of litters, it may indeed be a great idea. The only problem I can see is that some of these legitimate breeders use this as an honest income booster, so limiting them may put them out of business giving the puppy mills even more opportunity to sell animals without papers.

Answer 4

Well not all people that breed several deiffferent types of dogs are puppy mills. Yea they do have quite a few litters each year but some do actually take good care of there dogs. Some do let their dogs out to run and play a few times a week which is more then i can say for some people that buy dogs and keep them in the house and teach them how to use the litter box so they dont have to let the dog out because it is to much for them to do. Also most breeders are checked regualerly by animal control. So there for if they were doing something in humane animal control would do something about it. So dont just asume that everyone that breeds dogs doesnt take care of them!

Answer 5

Most puppy mills have been kicked out or voluntarily left the AKC for the puppy-mill & backyard breeder friendly CKC (Continental Kennel Club) years ago already. Or other sham-friendly registries like APRI.

It was a good thought, though. I wish something could be done to stop them, too - but the only way is to continue to try to educate the general public & advise people to seek out reputable breeders. Unfortunately, the puppy mill/backyard breeder/'designer dog' scammers are on here & all over the internet with cutsey websites, trolling for gullible buyers. We are fighting the power of advertising, and people ask questions too often AFTER they purchase their pup. Sigh.

Answer 6

The AKC put in a regulation that requires DNA be submitted on any dog that has more than 7 litters in their liftime. I have heard their registrations are down by 20% as the puppy mills bail out and go CKC APR and other much less picky registries. In other words this will have little effect on them they are already gone.......

Answer 7

Unless you are looking for specific characteristics in a dog, keep adopting from the animal shelter. Even if you want particular things calling for breeding, a bit of patience at the shelter should make a good match possible. Or, get to know your fellow dog lovers, especially those who are breeding for specifics as a hobby and for the love of animals, ie check out your local AKC and field trial clubs, depending on what you want. Learn your breeds, herding dogs are different from retrievers which are different from companion dogs and show dogs and so on. People who do breed with specific characteristics as a goal will usually only keep one or two from a litter while the rest become pets. If they are legitimate dog lovers with a goal they will insist the pets be neutered or have it done themselves before offering the puppies to anyone. I have had both mutts and purebreds. The advantage of purebreds is in eliminating undesirable characteristics and emphasizing desired ones. Some of the breeds, like Saint Bernards have hip problems that make them miserable and sometimes mean as they age. If you fancy that breed, going through the AKC will help you avoid the bloodlines that have that problem. I used to have big black labs as companion dogs and occasional hunting partners, but if I was a serious duck hunter I would go for the field trial breeding rather than the show companion dog lines. The show companion lines however make better companion and protection dogs, especially for families that are not seriously into dog training. (Mine did the job perfectly when some fool broke in in the middle of the night, even though I had never worked them on protection, just retrieving.) But, with two big black labs, I never did have grass in my yard. When they passed on I swore to myself that I would not have any more until I had at least ten acres with a one acre pond. Now my wife and I have Shi Tzus, who are excellent companions, loving and not yappy, unlike some of the small breeds. And we have grass. We also don't try for the long hair look the AKC goes for as the only time they were happy was in the dead of winter. Instead we trim them for their comfort. Occasionally we desire the patter of little paws around the house and will breed them. We advertise the puppies at well over the market price and then select homes for them of households with young girls or older ladies who really can't afford them at that price. Then we give the selected people a much lower price, just enough to make sure they will value the puppy.

Answer 8

The AKC cannot regulate, and is not capable of policing dog breeders. They are nothing more than a breed registry.
Unscrupulous breeders will always breed more puppies with or without local or national regulations as long as there is a market for their puppies.

Answer 9

Do you want the someone telling what size shoes to wear as well??? Funny thing about regulations, the people that are NOT the problem are the only ones that follow them.
AKC has enough of a problem enforcing the regulations they already have, they don't need to be burdening themselves with one that they would nave no chance of enforcing. All a person would do with litters past the AKC limit is register them with one of the bogus registries.

Answer 10

I feel like the only way to stop puppy mills is to not buy puppies from pet stores, and to be SURE you are getting your new friend from a reputable breeder.