Have you bought a puppy farmed dog?

Are you prepared to talk about it?
Radio 4 You and Yours are going to cover puppy farming and puppy traffiking and are very keen to talk to people who have encountered this trade.
Many people only realise afterwards that the pup they bought was battery farmed and we need to find people who are prepared to tell their story so that others can avoid the misery.
Did you buy your dog online?
Did the 'breeder' offer to deliver your dog or meet you half way?
Did you ever see your dog's mother?
Chances are, if so, your dog came from a puppy farm.
Did your pup have health or behaviour problems?  Did the breeder refuse to take your calls or help you in any way? Was their only interest how you were going to pay?
Are you feeling guilty for messing up? Stop beating yourself up and help change things.
Breeding of dogs is pretty much unregulated. The only licenses that local authorities issue are to do more with physical housing than animal welfare.
In Sweden dogs are protected by excellent consumer legislation with teeth.
Dogs are sold with a puppy contract.
Huge simplification, but If anything goes wrong in the first three years the breeder pays - dogs come effectively with a three year warranty and that means no one breeds just to make a quick buck or does it shoddily. You have to be as professional as possible or you're going to end up in court paying out a lot of compensation. And if you insure as most good breeders do - your premiums would be unaffordable if you were to rear in battery conditions that put pups at risk of disease and behaviour issues.
Wouldn't that be good here - if we could change things by making bad breeding simply uneconomic?
It would mean fewer people breeding and those that do continue being encouraged to breed happy, healthy. sociable dogs by effective legislation that means if pups aren't fit for the purpose of being a pet dog the breeder can get taken to court.
Did you buy a dog that wasn't fit for purpose?
Did it break your heart and empty your bank account?
Please share your experience.
Let's get people asking why Britain - a supposed nation of dog lovers - so badly lets down our best friends.
 It allows them to be swapped for inanimate objects on Gumtree (the dog being swapped for a dining room table was still up earlier despite Rachael in our office bringing it to Gumtree's press office's attention several days ago).
Or people traffick dozens of pups in buckets where some will die in the crush...
Please, please share your stories.
Let's get this stopped.
My email is beverley@dogstodaymagazine.co.uk
Please let me put you in touch with You and Yours so you can try to save other dogs and families from this misery.



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