Pet store temptation - we have all suffered from it when viewing the cute and curious menagerie of animals on sale. Do you ever give some thought to where these animals come from?

Pet store puppies are rarely bred by reputable breeders, they are sourced from puppy mills. Most people won’t have heard of a puppy mill. Soon, you will probably wish you hadn’t.

Puppy mills are canine intensive breeding plants, where literally thousands of puppies are bred to supply the pet industry. It’s a sad life for a puppy mill puppy, from the very start.

Puppy mills pups tend to suffer from poor health, temperament issues and hereditary conditions. At the mill, they are taken away from their mother before the recommended weaning time of 10 weeks, therefore not receiving the right socialization and benefits of being fed by their mother.

Their substandard living conditions, where they are housed in cages, sometimes with many others also lead to health and temperament issues, as they receive little chance to bond with humans before being shipped to the petstore.

Responsible breeders will be aware of any hereditary factors which affect a particular breed, and will screen and selectively breed their dogs, always putting the welfare of their animals, be that breeding stock or pups, first. They will ensure puppies receive the correct medical attention and shots before selling them to a properly screened home.

You can check when buying a pedigree puppy if they come from a respectable breeder, by first visiting the premises, but also they should give you a certificate of bloodline. You should also get a guarantee, check with the breeder about the fine details; but you should not ever have to “exchange” the puppy.

It’s a far cry from the puppy mill, where money is the main motivator. The goal is a conveyor belt of puppies to maximize profits. There is no interest in screening parents, checking for disease or making sure bloodlines remain clean, which can lead to a huge amount of problems.

The bitches have the worst deal, as they will be made to breed relentlessly in miserable health conditions. And once spent from this terrible life, they will be rewarded with abandonment or death.

Although there are laws Puppy mills still flourish. The only way to stop them is to remove the demand by refusing to buy a puppy unless you know its origins, or if it is from an animal shelter.

Although it is tempting to save a puppy by buying him, don’t. You will create a space for the next puppy from a mill. If you want to do something, contact the authorities or an animal shelter who will be able to do something constructive.

Puppy mills, tragic and inhumane as they are, are a problem caused by the consumer, so use your spending power wisely and put an end to these hellish establishments.