by Brenda Nelson

Created on: July 28, 2011   Last Updated: August 03, 2011

In the United States alone over 4 million more pets are born every year than there are homes for. Puppies account for a portion of the animals that animal shelters are forced to euthanize regularly simply because more pups are born than there is demand for.

Backyard breeders are producers who breed pups in hopes they will sell later. This contrasts with reputable breeders who only breed when they have a waiting list of people wanting purebred puppies. The backyard breeder does not invest time or money in determining if his, or her, dogs are worth breeding. Even if all the back yard breeders puppies do sell, it means that some other puppies, or dogs, in the shelter will not find homes. One of the ways we can reduce the number of needless euthanasias in shelters is by stopping backyard breeders from producing puppies.

The Public

The public must stop supporting the backyard breeders. These people will continue to exploit their dogs as long as the public keeps buying their pets. While the backyard breeder might not be making a lot of profit, if they run into situations where they cannot even give the pups away, they will be forced to discontinue breeding. The public must be educated, and willing, to stop supporting backyard breeders.

The public also needs to be educated that puppies bought from backyard breeders are lower quality than those from a reputable breeder, or are overpriced when compared to puppies for adoption from the shelter. The public must understand that backyard breeders often offer no guarantees and sometimes even sell sick pups to unsuspecting buyers, thus making purchasing from them a risky venture.

Puppy For Sale Advertisements

Newspapers and Internet classified ads are places where you will often find backyard breeders advertising their pups. If these advertisements were no longer allowed these people would struggle with finding buyers for their puppies. It must be noted that reputable breeders never use these marketing tools since all their pups are spoken for before even being born so making these ads illegal will not impair good breeding practices.

Spay/Neuter Incentives

Some cities are already clamping down on backyard breeders by encouraging people to spay or neuter their pets. They offer lower license fees for pets that are spayed or neutered, and higher fines for those animals that are loose and not fixed. Some places have spay and neuter programs where they offer discounts to people who are financially strapped and wish to have their pet fixed for a lower price.

Some cities are educating people about the health benefits that spaying or neutering provides their pet, such as reducing the risk of some cancers. If backyard breeders are to be stopped, one key is to showing them that their pet will, itself, be healthier in the long run if it is spayed, and offering them financial consideration towards doing so.

Summary

All in all there is a lot of work to do to see the end of backyard breeders who produce puppies. Hopefully enough people will spread the word, and cities will realize that they can reduce the number of unwanted dogs in their area simply by clamping down on backyard breeders.

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