The Difference is in the Details

So--I receive an email with images of a starving, sickly, scared and badly scarred Great Dane. I (and everyone else who was sent these pics) am appalled at the state this poor dog is in. I'm informed the 'breeder' of this dog is under investigation by one of the SPCA's.

Unfortunately, I'm all too familiar with the breeder (and I use the term here very loosely!). Many of us, who truely love the breed and work toward breeding healthier Danes with greater longevity--that is-not just for profit, have been concerned with this person's lack of ethics and knowledge for some years now.

He breeds Great Danes in the Wainfleet, Ontario area.

Sometimes the line between a reputable breeder and a puppy miller appears to be a fine one. Murky gray as opposed to crisp black and white.

By definition, a puppy mill is a large-scale breeding operation that produces large numbers of puppies for profit. The owners are many times unconcerned with health checks or breeding their 'best' animals-more often than not they don't do any health checks and they breed any animal of breeding age, not once or twice in it's lifetime but every time it comes into season throughout the animals life until, in the dog's twilight years, no longer able to produce puppies, it's simply 'disposed of' with no more thought given it than disposing of an old, bald tire.

These vermin give no thought to the animal's well-being, only their own profit. They are unethical in every sense of the word.

Most puppy millers don't go to the added expense of registering their litters and individual pups with the governing organization for purebred dog registry's...here in Canada, it's the Canadian Kennel Club (each country has it's own national registry).

This man does register his puppies, last time anyone checked....but that's about the extent of his care (after all a registered dog brings a better dollar!).

He also uses a broker...

A broker is a person in the world of breeding, who mediates between a buyer and a seller--the middleman, who is paid a percentage of the profit from a sale. A breeder employs a broker when they need a party to hide behind--for various reasons.

Their interest is purely financial, as is the interest of the breeder using them.

What ethical breeder wouldn't belong to a provincial breed club or the National breed club of their chosen breed?

This man, (who was mentored by a woman who was also a puppy miller-who showed no compassion to the poor dogs and would joke about abusing them!) is persona non gratis in both of the clubs representing Great Danes here in Ontario!!

What ethical breeder would out-source the selling of their puppies?? What breeder worth their salt would not want to represent themselves, meet potential puppy owners and personally check references??

This person who doesn't care about where his dogs end up-doesn't give them another thought after the money has changed hands, has no business referring to himself as a 'breeder.'

Unfortunately, he is not the only person in our breed who is guilty of these practices. He is one we know though and we can only hope Revenue Canada and the SPCA investigations will bare fruit.

We are onto him-and will spread the word whenever, however we can. It certainly is 'buyer beware' where his Great Dane care and management is concerned! If you're looking for a Great Dane, do yourself a favour--stay away from a broker in the Hamilton area and a breeder in the Wainfleet area.