Consumer awareness about puppy welfare has increased dramatically in recent years. Unlike decades ago, people today are getting in the habit of researching where a litter of puppies has come from before they bring home their furry friends. If you’re among these conscientious pet owners, then you also want to know that the puppy you’re […]
Consumer awareness about puppy welfare has increased dramatically in recent years. Unlike decades ago, people today are getting in the habit of researching where a litter of puppies has come from before they bring home their furry friends. If you’re among these conscientious pet owners, then you also want to know that the puppy you’re considering purchasing comes from a responsible, ethical breeder who treats their litters very well.
All puppies come from breeders. The term “breeder” simply refers to the human in charge of the birthing dogs and their litters of puppies. There are many different categories of breeders, and these categories denote the number of litters the breeder manages per year. For example, a hobby breeder will manage about two or three litters per year, while a commercial breeder could manage dozens. Your neighbor up the street whose dog just had a litter of puppies is also a type of “breeder,” albeit a novice, infrequent one.
Once a litter of puppies is born, the breeder has many options in terms of homing the puppies. They can give them away to pet owners. They can sell them directly to pet owners. They can sell them wholesale to pet stores. Or they can give them to animal shelters, but this option would be extremely rare.
FACT → 34% of dog owners get their dogs directly from the breeders
FACT → 37% of dog owners get their dogs from animal shelters
FACT → 4% of dog owners get their dogs from pet stores
FACT → Very few dogs purchased from pet stores end up in animal shelters
Only about 2 – 4% of puppy owners get their puppies from pet stores. This means that most breeders do not sell their puppies to pet stores. In fact, pet stores in general are fairly regulated, depending on the state where the pet store is located. More often than not, a pet store will work with specific breeders on a contract basis, which enables the pet store to oversee and monitor the quality of care that the breeder is providing its litters. Pet stores have a vested interest in making sure the litters are being well cared for at the breeders because the pet stores are the ones that “take the heat” and could be sued if they sell sick, diseased puppies.
The tricky thing about the pet industry is that despite the state-issued government regulations that have been passed for the purposes of ensuring animal welfare for puppies, the mistreatment of puppies is still possible, and legal. This is due to more reasons than we can cover in this article, but the main reason is that in the eyes of the law puppies are considered property, commodities, and “goods.”
In the same way that you only have to “treat” a bar of gold “well enough” to keep it in good condition while you store it on a shelf, the government believes that breeders only have to treat puppies “well enough” to “keep them in good condition” until the time of sale.
The burden of upholding high standards of care and responsible, ethical treatment falls on the breeders. Some breeders do uphold self-imposed, high standards of care for their puppies and breeding dogs that go above and beyond the legal requirements in their states. But many breeders do not.
What this means is that the second line of defense in protecting puppies is you, the pet owner.
By researching where a litter of puppies comes from and by looking into the breeders, you can effectively choose an ethical breeder, keeping the good guys in business and helping to boycott breeders whose standard of care is low, abusive, or inhumane.
If you’re considering getting a puppy from a pet store, researching the particular breeders that the pet store uses could either be easy or hard enough to challenge Sherlock Holmes!
You’ll probably discover that responsible, ethical pet stores who carefully choose the ethical breeders they work with tend to be completely transparent. Their websites will include the names and locations of the breeding kennels they work with, giving you direct access to contact the breeders and even schedule a trip to visit them!
On the other hand, if you discover that it’s virtually impossible to find out the names of the breeding kennels that a pet store works with, we recommend that you take it as a red flag and avoid that pet store. Or, you could hire Sherlock Holmes to get to the bottom of things!
In order to find out about the breeders that Petland Florida works with, you don’t have to hire a British private eye whose IQ is higher than 200. You can simply visit the Petland Cares page on our website, or keep reading this blog article.
Petland Florida works exclusively with USDA licensed breeders and distributors, but holding a license with the USDA isn’t the only requirement that we expect our breeders to maintain.
Petland’s breeders must also meet our high-standard criteria for ethical animal treatment, which includes:
Petland’s operations team also travels to our breeders for surprise visits and inspections to make sure that the litters of puppies and their parent dogs are being treated well and reflect the health that comes from the standard of care we require.
If that wasn’t enough, Petland’s Director of Animal Welfare Education works with local, state, and federal regulatory agencies and legislators concerning animal welfare issues and education.
Cloveridge Kennel is family-owned and operated by the Mullet family in beautiful, scenic southern Iowa. The Mullets have always considered raising dogs to be a passion of theirs. They said their greatest joy is getting to work together as a family and teaching their children valuable lessons about responsibility and integrity. The Mullets all help out with the care of each adult animal in their kennel, raising and socializing the puppies and introducing them to new surroundings, toys and surfaces, like their huge outdoor play areas!
The Mullets also work very closely with their veterinarian to ensure the health and safety of both the adult dogs as well as the puppies. Every puppy is properly vaccinated and dewormed, and receives prophylactic treatments that are age appropriate. All this is overseen by their vet. They then receive a thorough head to tail examination to ensure each puppy is happy, healthy and ready for their new furrr-ever home!
Daynes Ridge Kennel is the labor of love for Jeremy Rogers and his daughter, Payton. They have been breeding and placing puppies in loving homes for over 15 years. The Rogers’ raise Bernese Mountain Dogs, English Bulldogs, and French Bulldogs. They care deeply about these breeds and put a huge focus on improving and promoting them.
Daynes Ridge works closely with their veterinarian to see that the appropriate puppy vaccinations, preventative deworming, and prophylactic treatments are given to each puppy. Their vet also conducts a thorough “head to tail” examination to ensure that each puppy is healthy and ready to meet their new families in our store.
Jeremy and Payton are so proud of their state-of-the-art kennel, they allow visitors at any time. They have created an open, transparent policy for those who wish to visit Daynes Ridge. Visitors can tour their beautiful, roomy facilities and get the opportunity to meet and interact with their happy adult dogs in their large, outdoor runs.
Oak Ridge Kennel is family owned and operated by the Yoder family of Seymour, Iowa. They originally started out as a home-based, custom-built kitchen cabinet business. Levi and Wilma, along with their seven children, began raising puppies with a pair of pet Shetland Sheepdogs, and their passion for breeding was born! They loved seeing each litter of puppies come into the world and watching them grow into healthy, friendly pets.
In 2015, they built an impressive breeding facility for breeding Shetland Sheepdogs. They wanted a facility that was both friendly to the public and comfortable for their animals. The facility is state-of-the-art and draws fresh air inside from their geothermal ventilation system to keep all their puppies cool in the summer and cozy warm in the winter.
In 2016, they added a large outdoor yard for the dogs to run and play in the lush, green grass. The Yoders say it is the perfect place to watch the dogs and puppies play together, and it gives the children a good area to teach the puppies basic commands and start leash training. Levi and Wilma’s children love to help with the puppies and make sure to play with and cuddle each one daily!
Stoney Creek Kennel is family-owned and operated by the Troyer Family of Bloomfield, Iowa. Ivan and Ruth Troyer moved to Stoney Creek Farm in 2005. Where they took over a farm that was home to an organic dairy farmer. But their inherent love of dogs drove them to complete construction on a kennel of their very own. The Troyer Family—Ivan & Ruth and their five children—enjoy many happy hours together caring for their puppies. They raise Siberian Husky puppies, English Bulldog puppies, and Pomsky puppies. Their dream has always been to have a state-of-the-art, dog-friendly facility to attract both visitors and friends.
In 2015, they built a new kennel, and as a family they are excited to care for each new puppy. Inside their new facility they always have fresh air moving with their geothermal ventilation system. It keeps the dogs cool in the summer and uses radiant floor heat to keep them warm and cozy in the winter. The Troyer’s children especially enjoy playtime with each puppy. This helps make sure the puppies are socialized and ready to come from their home to yours. The highlight of their day is when they get to turn the dogs loose in their yard and play with them. The dogs get the valuable exercise they need and the children get to romp and play, too! Stoney Creek Kennel works hard to raise top quality, healthy, and socialized puppies that are ready for their new home with you.
At Petland, you can feel confident our puppies have been taken care of to the highest standards of care. Maintaining such high standards comes with additional costs, but at Petland we simply do not cut corners when it comes to the health and well-being of our puppies.
Strict and intensive processes for care can be found in each of our stores. They include:
It’s our mission to match the right owners with the right puppies, and we make sure that every one of our pets is ready to be a great part of your family with our protection programs:
There you have it! Now you know everything there is to know about where Petland Florida gets its puppies! The only thing left for you to do is come into one of our Petland Florida locations and speak with our pet counselors about the best dog breed for you, and take home a puppy to love!
