Page 31 - K9 News - Issue 14 - December 2020

can be anywhere, with a council approved and should revisit in more depth at a later date.
licensed five-star kennel, fancy website and
Some breed clubs have started issuing
making all the claims in the world. If they make
guidance. The breed clubs have always been
a living out of selling puppies, they are puppy
pretty good at this, giving breed-specific advice,
farmers.
pointing people in the right direction, trying to
And then, adding further instant puppy plug the ethical gaps, but because everything
availability to that already provided by the puppy has become so much more easily available, the
farmers, we saw the growth of what has been breed clubs are not often the first point of call.
labelled ‘The Greeders’. And while they are giving advice as to what you
should expect to pay from a reputable, ethical
The Greeders are not puppy farmers. Well,
breeder, this simply isn’t filtering through. There
not long-term puppy farmers anyway. They are
are instances of people enquiring about the
opportunists. And the really sad thing is that
availability of puppies that have immediately
some are people that have bred before and
become suspicious because you have just
have done so honourably and ethically, but have
advised them that the genuine going rate is
now seen the dollar signs and the chance to fill
about a third of the one they have seen on the
the gap in their furloughed life.
internet! “Why is it so cheap? What’s wrong with
And while the Greeders of pedigree dogs are it?” We can’t win.
a relatively recent phenomenon, driven by a
The gullible public see a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’,
simple greed that is fed by a flash-in-the-pan
very rare, pink and brindle pedigree French
demand (though there has always been a few
Cockadoodledoo for only £4,500, and they are
around that have used some pretty spurious
sucked in. Or they see a genuine pedigree dog
reasons for upping their prices or justifying their
at three times the price it was six months ago
‘add ons’), the Greeders of the designer dogs
and, yes, they are sucked in. Of course, it’s
have been around a lot longer. And they, of
good. It’s expensive, so it must be. Or it’s more
course, have also jumped on the bandwagon.
expensive, so it must be even better!
Now, the breeding of designer dogs is a whole
And it’s not just the puppy farmers and the
subject on its own, and it’s not entirely specific
Greeders that fuel this. They are just taking
to this current crisis. So let’s not get bogged
advantage of a situation and creating a supply
down here, maybe we’ll visit this later in the
for a misled and misinformed demand. The
Weird World Chronicles.
public don’t help, with their impatience and their
Unfortunately, and I will probably be ostracised gullibility. And, let’s face it, the government, the
and vilified for saying this, but the rescue media, the veterinary profession, the pet food
organisations, albeit unwittingly and with all the companies, even the Kennel Club, they all have
best intentions, sadly help to feed the puppy to shoulder some of the responsibility for this.
farmers, and now the Greeders. Go to a majority
But will the lessons be learnt? Will anything be
of the rescue centres and how many pedigree
done to stem this and any future tide?
dogs will you see? A very, very large majority
of pedigree dog breeders, genuine pedigree Probably not. Because, sadly, it’s all about
dog breeders, will take back and either keep money.
or rehome any dog that they have bred at any
And in the world of dog breeding, you can’t have
time of its life, if the need arises. But the puppy
money and ethics.
farmers and the Greeders know that there will
always be someone else to clear up their mess,
pick up the pieces, and pick up the tab. So why
should they care who they sell their puppies
to? But this is another subject that, maybe, we

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K9 NEWS DIGITAL / DECEMBER 2020