STOP "free to good home" ads on Kijiji.
"Free" is all to often seen as "worthless" in the eye of the beholder or as Free to breed indiscriminately, as dog fighting bait or worse... So, Please, don’t offer your animals Free to a Good Home on Kijiji. Be VERY careful of Backyard Breeders.
What's a Backyard Breeder? The back yard breeder is the single greatest cause of pet overpopulation. Back yard breeders usually do not have bad intentions, but the results of back yard breeding are devastating. The majority of homeless or abandoned dogs come from this category in many popular breeds and mixes, they are often destroyed in pounds. Back yard breeders may act on a desire to make extra money, or simply out of ignorance. Most are sold locally through newspaper ads - the responsibility ends when the purchaser's taillights disappear from sight. Click here to read and become more aware of backyard breeders. |
How to find a responsible breeder:
A Reputable Breeder will....
1) Breed only one, or maybe two breeds
2) Not breed to make money - in fact they will probably be lucky to break even
3) Probably have a waiting list, but definitely NOT have puppies available all year-round
4) Ask you a lot of questions, such as where you live, if you have children, other pets etc.
5) Provide you with a pedigree for both the puppy's parents
6) SHOW you your puppy's parents while the puppies are STILL NURSING.
NO puppy should not be away from their mother till at least 8 weeks.
7) Guarantee your puppies health - make sure they guarantee that if your puppy becomes ill within the first 2 years of it's life, they will refund your money NOT make you return your beloved puppy and replace it with a new one. Read the contract carefully!!!
8) Not place a puppy in a new home before 8 weeks of age
10) Take back one of their puppies or dogs AT ANY TIME for ANY reason you cannot keep it
11) Be responsible for each and every puppy they bring into this world, for its entire life
12) Offer you continuing support and training advice throughout the puppy's life
13) Insist that buyers of pet puppies spay/neuter their puppy at the correct age for the breed.
14) Do NOT sell their dogs by credit card or "fly" or "deliver" the dog to you
15) Do not sell their dogs without meeting you in person at their home,
so you can SEE where the dogs are living.
If the breeder does not meet with ALL of the above, DO NOT buy that puppy! Please DO NOT be fooled by cute pictures over the internet and on websites…behind those cute pictures on the internet can be a puppymill waiting to sell you a puppy. (read about puppy mills below.)
A Reputable Breeder will....
1) Breed only one, or maybe two breeds
2) Not breed to make money - in fact they will probably be lucky to break even
3) Probably have a waiting list, but definitely NOT have puppies available all year-round
4) Ask you a lot of questions, such as where you live, if you have children, other pets etc.
5) Provide you with a pedigree for both the puppy's parents
6) SHOW you your puppy's parents while the puppies are STILL NURSING.
NO puppy should not be away from their mother till at least 8 weeks.
7) Guarantee your puppies health - make sure they guarantee that if your puppy becomes ill within the first 2 years of it's life, they will refund your money NOT make you return your beloved puppy and replace it with a new one. Read the contract carefully!!!
8) Not place a puppy in a new home before 8 weeks of age
10) Take back one of their puppies or dogs AT ANY TIME for ANY reason you cannot keep it
11) Be responsible for each and every puppy they bring into this world, for its entire life
12) Offer you continuing support and training advice throughout the puppy's life
13) Insist that buyers of pet puppies spay/neuter their puppy at the correct age for the breed.
14) Do NOT sell their dogs by credit card or "fly" or "deliver" the dog to you
15) Do not sell their dogs without meeting you in person at their home,
so you can SEE where the dogs are living.
If the breeder does not meet with ALL of the above, DO NOT buy that puppy! Please DO NOT be fooled by cute pictures over the internet and on websites…behind those cute pictures on the internet can be a puppymill waiting to sell you a puppy. (read about puppy mills below.)
Puppy Mills
Ever look online and see a mistreated dogs in rows of cages 2x too small for them? Yes, well that's a Puppy Mills.
"Well they don't happen here in Canada right?" WRONG. They do 80% of puppy mills in Ontario are owned/operated by the Amish & Mennonite Communities - they don't just have "quite a few dogs", they have hundreds.
When you are buying that cute little puppy from an Amish or Mennonite, you are not seeing the tops of the barns or outbuildings where the breeding adults are being kept. Most often, they will only bring out a few puppies for you to view, so you cannot see the conditions in which the breeding adults are being kept in.
Ever look online and see a mistreated dogs in rows of cages 2x too small for them? Yes, well that's a Puppy Mills.
"Well they don't happen here in Canada right?" WRONG. They do 80% of puppy mills in Ontario are owned/operated by the Amish & Mennonite Communities - they don't just have "quite a few dogs", they have hundreds.
When you are buying that cute little puppy from an Amish or Mennonite, you are not seeing the tops of the barns or outbuildings where the breeding adults are being kept. Most often, they will only bring out a few puppies for you to view, so you cannot see the conditions in which the breeding adults are being kept in.

"Lily was born, raised and perhaps had 13 litters of puppies at the Reedgate Kennels before we were able to buy her at auction. Her time there was spent in a wire cage with a board to sleep on and a rabbit water bottle to drink from. While in the mill she received little or no vet care and because of this she lost all her teeth and her lower jaw rotted off, which is not unusual for the smaller breeds in the puppy mills. Everything that was precious to her was taken away (her puppies). The human hand brought only misery."
Some Puppy Mills facts. It might be disturbing and sad to learn of these horrific practices that go on in our community.
- The adult breeding dogs are never groomed while in the mills. They are extremely dirty and matted. Fecal matter and urine encrust their bodies. - The breeding adult dogs are kept in their kennels and cages 24/7 and not let out for exercise. An adult breeding dog will never feel the sun on their backs, grass under their feet, and never know what it is like to run, play and be a "dog". - Adult breeding dogs always have parasites, and are infected with Coccidia and Giardia, which they pass on to their pups. When we take a puppy mill dog into rescue, the first thing we have to do is treat the dog for parasites and either Coccida or Giardia or both. Most often, both. - In the mills, the dogs are fed the cheapest dog food available to cut down on the expense of feeding them. When we take a puppy mill dog into rescue, we almost always have to have a vet do a "dental" on a dog, as their teeth are in very poor condition. - Female dogs often have large painful hernias from delivering many litters of pups. Hernias are repaired at the same time we spay the dog in rescue. - The puppies are pulled from their mothers at 5 weeks of age, which is far too young. Puppies need the antibodies in their mothers milk and should be kept with their mothers until 8 weeks of age. By pulling the pups off the mother earlier, the quicker she will dry up her milk and come back into heat so she can be re-bred again. This is why we see small, weak puppies. - Adult breeding dogs do not receive the proper veterinary treatment they need. Skin infections, ear, eye and wounds are not treated, as it cuts into the profit of the puppy miller to pay for veterinary care. - Puppy millers often sell their puppies in mass to "brokers" who in turn sell the pups on Kijiji. Kijiji is one of the worst places you can purchase a puppy. - Brokers sell puppy mill puppies in Flea Markets, to Pet Stores and advertise in News Papers (classified ads). They will also advertise "Puppies For Sale" on signs at the end of their lane ways of their farms. |
People often ask, "What Can I do about Puppy Mills?" The answer is very simple. DO NOT buy from a Pet Store. DO NOT buy from a Back Yard Breeder. If a store employee tells you their puppies came from a reputable breeder, that is simply not true. Ask the employee to provide you with the name, address and phone number of the reputable breeder, and I guarantee you they will make up an excuse!!
If you are going to purchase a puppy instead of rescue, do your homework! |
Better yet, adopt a rescued dog!