What is this?

[Seravieve]

We set up at the local flea market today, for the third time, and a few spaces down from us was a dog breeder.. ugh. They've been there everytime, but this was the closest we've been set up by them. The poor dogs sit in their crates, multiple dogs in one crate, from at least 5 am... and we left at 1 pm. The whole time we sat there staring at them and listening to them cry. Its so sad to see what people will do to make a buck. While we were packing up, one lady said "Look, she's holding a ChinPin". I heard MinPin, but the second time she said it, she followed up with "Its a Chihuahua and a Min Pin." YUCK! As if I wasn't disgusted enough by all the people making impulse purchases of dogs from them. J looked at me and said that should be illegal.. I agree. There should be SOME type of dog breeding regulation.. that's just wrong. This site is too.. I can't imagine dropping $1300 for a Boxer pup when you don't even know who the breeder is!

[*LabLoverKEB*]

I'm sorry you had to witness that, Seravieve. Those poor babies. Were you able to tell how old they were?

Man I really wish there was some kind of strict breeding law(s) that EVERY breeder had to follow.
I mean, most RESPONSIBLE, REPUTABLE breeders put A LOT of time and $$ into breeding.... It's very time consuming, and if you do it correctly, very expensive. In my eyes, a good breeder should:
-Provide references
-have every possible test done on the sire/dam to check for any sort of problems
-breed to better the breed, not to make a quick buck, or because 'my dog is such a good dog, I want to make more of him/her', or 'but my dog is so cute', or 'I want my children to experience the miracle of life'
-take responsibility over the dog/cat, and if the owners of a dog/cat you bred cannot keep, or properly care for, take the animal back
-Breed maybe once a year, if that....
-Strive to produce the best possible temperament, look, & health
-Have a spay/neuter contract for every puppy/kitten
-Do not release animals until at least 8 weeks of age
-Be able to tell you a good amount of information on the breed (history, common health issues, temperament etc.)
-Have both parents on site
-Give you the necessary health records, and paperwork (such as vaccinations given, and vax schedule, and breeders phone #)
-Be able to provide you with lifetime support, and answer any questions you may have now, or later down the line

And something that I learned recently is that a good reputable breeder doesn't really need to advertise, because they get plenty of referrals from previous clients.

[Seravieve]

No, unfortunately I have no idea about their ages.. and I was too mad/upset with them to even go over there. There's no way I'd be able to form acceptable sentences around them either. They had 3 larger crates with 5 dogs or so in each... Dachshunds.. ChinPins and Bassets... probably some others as well. It was so weird to walk around and see all these people carrying little puppies in their arms. I cant IMAGINE buying a dog from a flea market, or a site like you've posted. I'm proud to say ours are all rescues. Even if Eli didnt make it to a shelter.. we still rescued him from a bad situation.

The first time we went, probably 5-6 weeks ago, the people in the booth next to us came back with a puppy they'd just bought. Said it was a Pit.. looked like there was some Lab in there too.. I just couldnt believe it. These people making these IMPULSE buys... with out even a collar or leash! I'm sure many of these flea market buys show up in the rescues/shelters soon after the people realize they made a bad decission, or when the puppy is no longer a cute little thing.

I totally agree with your last post, LabLoverKEB, something needs to be done. And if you're not breeding to better the breed... just breeding to make $$$... then you're doing it all wrong. I don't see how animals can just be bred and bought and sold like that, with out ANY paperwork. We had to sign an agreement when we bought our tree frogs from Petco for pete's sake!