Anyone Know If There Is A Minimum Legal Space Requirement For Dogs ?

[greyhorsewoman]

It does sound like this person has an overcrowded issue. Many states do have space requirements. Some states have dog law enforcement officers that regularly inspect large kennel operations. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of states that just collect a license fee and let it at that. I have no idea what Georgia dog laws are.

If the dog is AKC registered, you can also file a complaint with them. AKC sporadically inspects dog breeders and will look into any complaints to be sure the person is in compliance. While they have no authority to shut down a facility, they can suspend their AKC registration privileges and report them to local authorities if they think it is warranted.

This type of breeding facility exists in all the states, but the southern states, Kansas & Missouri are home to the majority of them. This is the type of facility puppies sold in pet shops come from. Some are cleaner and more up to date, some are worse than the one you visited. The buyer needs to be educated as to the type of breeder they are purchasing their dogs from. We often wear our hearts on our sleeve when purchasing a pet. We need to be as prudent as if you are researching the purchase of a new car or refrigerator.

 

[duck walk]

puppy mill...and I have seen some horrible foot and joint injuries from living on wire...just not good for the dogs...this kind of exsistence for the dogs is very like battery cage hens...

 

[chels23]

There are a lot of puppy mills here in Kansas, but you don't see them that often. Most of the people don't sell outright to people, they sell them through a broker to petstores like Petland. They don't want people to see that they are a puppy mill so they try to cover there tracks. Something that you also see a lot of is the puppies that come from these places will be registered though UKC or some other lesser know registry that isn't AKC. There is a newspaper that is given out free around here that is full of puppy mill listings and most are from Missouri. It's really sad to see that they are so obvious and get away with it (for now).

The only thing that I know of that you can do is check your state laws regarding breeding or call a humane society/rescue facility near you. They would know the laws and might even be able to help get the guy shut down.

 

[RAREROO]

Wow Thank you all for your responces, I certaintly hoped this wasnt normal and a puppy mill was actually what I was thinking too. I have seen Puppy Mills on tv like on the Animal Cops shows and I have seen how the dogs are kept several dogs in small cages and are filthy and matted but the only consolment that I can give my self if like I said this guy did make the effort to keep the place clean and they dogs looked like they were in good condition and well fed and all that, just soooo many dogs kept in horrifically small cages is the main problem I'm seeing and wire floors at that. I dont even keep my chickens on wire floors.

For those who mentioned the thing about us taking the puppy back to get her shots, we had taken her there to get the shots but he was waiting on them to come in from UPS that day and they hadnt gotten there yet and we didnt have all day to wait around, it was a Parvo shot so we picked one up from our feedstore on the way home and I gave it too here when we got home so technically he didnt give her the shot but he would have if they had been in when we got there. And he may have done if you dogs hes sold in the past though.


For those who mentioned something about the prices, this dog is supposed to be registered and she was $100 and I was also thinking that was kinda low compared to other registered Chihuahua puppies I've seen. They he had some that were colored kinda like a Huskys color for $200 and he was sayin something about how he doesnt charge as much as what they usually go for. Like he had a female Piebald Dachshund that he was raising and he said shes probably a $500 dog but he'll probably only sell her Piebald puppies for around $250

And I dont know a lot about all the show dog business and stuff becuase I have always had mutts and loved them, but he did seem to just have the breed and not necessarily quality from what little I know about it. Like his Chihuahuas were various sizes and I asked him about whether or not he had like Teacups, Toys, Apple Heads, or what becuase I dont know the difference, I just know there are different kinds and he didnt really give me a straight answer, I think he said the one I pointed at was a Deer head but I was mainly wanting to know about the puppy that we got. I think he said when he first started with the Chihuahuas, he bought a bunch of them for one price to breed with so does that sound like he probably got them from another Puppy mill.

So I dont know, its a lot to take it and have something done about with what little facts I have about it but whether there is a legal requirement or not, something is just not right with having that many dogs penned the way he had them and theres no way you can give personal attention to that many dogs and if you cant give them personal attention and know the personality of the dog then you cant know if they have the right traits that need to be bred for. Ugggghhhhh This makes me mad.

I soooo wish I had known all this before she bought it, but like I said its better sweet becuase I hate that she paid $100 into his operation but in a way I'm glad we got her out of that small cage and she now has the run of our house.

 

[thebritt]