teacup Chihuahuas, teacup yorkies, teacup poodles, internet scammers, buying a puppy online, puppymills, brokers, dog breeders,
Arte's Teacups
Purchasing a Puppy
The primary purpose of this website is Consumer Protection; in other words, “Buyer Beware.”
This website will provide educational guidelines for prospective puppy buyers on how to purchase a physically and mentally sound, happy puppy from a reputable breeder.
It is also intended to assist you in identifying unethical breeders, brokers, and puppy mill operators, also known as “Scammers.” These Scammers use specific strategies and techniques in order to win your confidence in their scam. That is why scammers are also called “con-artists,” “confidence men (women),” “scam artist,” and “flimflam man.”
While some of us are in Canada, there are some of us in California. We in California are fortunate to have the California “Puppy Lemon Law,” which sets forth certain rules and regulations that Dealers (breeders, brokers, pet shops) must adhere to for the protection of the Consumer (those who purchase a puppy for their own private use and not for the purpose of reselling it). In addition, the Dealers of kittens are also covered under this law. The following website and link SHOULD be your bible when shopping for your puppy in California. If you are not in California, check with your local Attorney General or Department of Consumer Affairs for what your State law requires of breeders. In time, we hope to offer links to each such agencies in each State. If the contract between you and a California breeder/seller has clauses that are in opposition to what is allowed in the California Puppy Lemon Law, then that contract is illegal. Do not sign your rights away to some scamming breeder. Be sure to take a copy of the law with you and compare it to the breeder's contract. If the breeder is not willing to strike out the contradicting paragraphs and initial the strike outs, do not do business with this breeder. California Puppy Lemon Law
Unfortunately, many people who purchase puppies from California breeders live in other States and in Canada. Oftentimes, when the transaction goes wrong, the Consumer becomes victimized a second time because they cannot afford to bring an action within California. Scammers know this and count on this in order to keep from having to make good on anything that has gone wrong (also not having to show the environment in which the puppies are living) with the transaction. Beware of the breeder who constantly reminds you that they ship.
Please be sure you read our Scammer Strategies section as there is much information to assist you in being able to identify a scammer. While not all scammers will have some or all of these signs, I think with your gut feel and these items you will be in a better position to make a better decision as to whether or not you want to do business with a particular breeder.
We hope the following information will assist you in purchasing that new family member who will bring much happiness and joy to your life for years to come.
Which dog registry can I count on?
When purchasing any breed of puppy, there are dog clubs which may assist you in locating a reputable breeder. The American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes the standards of all recognized breeds. These standards are not set by the AKC, but by the dog club that specializes in that particular breed. These dog club members are made up of persons who have been breeding their particular breed for many generations. Not only generations of the breed, but by generations of family members. These breeders have had numerous years studying and utilizing the pedigrees of their particular breed in order to keep the breed strong.
There are two types of qualities of a purebred dog: show and companion (pet). A reputable breeder will sell their purebred dogs with Full AKC Registration if a pup or dog meets the AKC standards as provided by the dog clubs. Those standards mean the dog is show potential and breeding quality. However, nurture as well a nature plays an important part as to whether your dog will have the personality to be show quality. Some dogs just do not have the personalities for the show ring. They do not like crowds, bright lights, or even strangers. That is why it is very important that your pup begins socialization as soon as it has had all of its vaccinations. Then there is the pup that is TOO friendly. Something like a class clown. Both dogs are perfect in conformation (standards) but just cannot adhere to the show ring protocols. However, these dogs would be well-suited for breeding purposes so as to continue the standards of its bloodline.
The companion dog is one who, although it is a purebred, does not meet all of the qualities of the breed’s standards. Its nose may be too long, legs too long, under bite or overbite, a deer head (the apple head is preferred), etc. These dogs are sold with Limited AKC Registration which means your dog will qualify to participate in other AKC events such as agility trials, obedience, tracking, and others. However, this dog does not qualify to compete in conformation because it does not meet the standards. A good breeder will also require that the Limited Registered dog be spayed or neutered so as not to pass on its undesirable traits.
Why are there so many different sizes and characteristics of the Chihuahua when some of these are registered as AKC?
Again, the quality of the breed is only as good as its breeder/owner. You have a number of mixed breeds in our shelters because of irresponsible backyard breeders and scamming puppy mill operators, unethical breeder/brokers, you name it. As one questionable breeder likes to point out, it is the responsibility of the breeder to make sure their pups are of high quality, not the dog registries. Now, this is very true. But that same breeder will offer registries such as the Continental Kennel Club (CKC) and America’s Pet Registry, Inc. (APRI). I like to think of this as “A Pedigree Registry Incognito.” Once you read what they require in order for a dog to be “registered as a purebred” you will understand my dry sense of humor.
When you are looking for your “registered” pup, ask yourself, “Why do some breeders offer AKC, CKC, APRI, etc., but not just AKC alone? Simple, one parent may be AKC, while the other parent may be APRI. AKC is the only registry that requires that BOTH parents be AKC registered in order to register the new pup as an AKC register able dog. The others only take the word of whoever is willing to “declare” and “swear” that the dogs being registered came from a purebred mating. However, AKC requires proof! That proof is the road map (Pedigree) of the ancestry of the dog being registered. That dog’s family can be traced back 50 to 100 years. The others maybe 2 years, or 4 heats! That type of recordkeeping doesn’t say much for anyone’s credibility.
In addition, some breeders will only offer the other registries, even when they do have some AKC dogs, because they have lost their AKC privileges, for some reason or another. AKC has very strict rules about how a breeder will keep records of breeding, to whom the pups were sold, how the dogs will be housed, and many more. They also require DNA to be filed with their office. Why? Because puppy mills do not keep track of which stud mated with which bitch. They will just put a bunch of in heat bitches into a kennel with studs and the mating happens. You may know who the dam is, but never know for sure who the sire is. That is where the DNA comes in. And, from what I understand, the dam’s DNA may soon be required to be on file with AKC.
If you feel uncomfortable with what a breeder is stating as to the parentage of your pup, ask for a DNA. However, expect that you will be the one who will have to pay the fee for such a test. It is not that expensive compared to spending thousands of dollars on a dog who may or may not have the parentage the breeder claims. It is a very simple procedure of swabbing the inside of the mouth of the parents and the pup. You can purchase a kit from AKC. This comes in handy for when the breeder goes to such lengths to not produce the sire or dam for inspection when you purchase your puppy.
Why would the breeder not be able to produce the sire and dam?
There is a great possibility that the breeder is actually a broker. And, if they are, they are required to be licensed as such. However, not all can pass the AKC requisites and operate underground posing as breeders. They don’t have the dam or the sire because they purchased the pup from a backyard breeder or puppy mill and will turn around and sell the pup for an even higher profit than they paid.
And then there are the breeders who just breed for profit period! These types of operations are when the breeders do not research as to whether or not the bitch is able to free whelp (give birth without C-sections). And, half the time they don’t even know if the breeding took until the bitch’s stomach begins showing signs of pregnancy because they didn’t monitor nor keep records of the breeding. So you ask why this should make a difference. It makes a difference so you will know when the pups will be born. There is a questionable breeder who doesn’t even know the gestation period of the dog! In fact, this breeder knows nothing about breeding other than how to sucker in customers.
And then, there is another such breeder who “elects” to have C-sections performed. You see, if you C-section in the early due date of the pregnancy, say the 58th day instead of the 63rd or over, you can whelp the puppies at a lower weight. For each day over the 58th day, that pup is putting on weight. Then once the pup is born they are bottle-fed after the first three days of the pup receiving important immunes from their mother, but the formula is not quite as high in calories or even as nutritious compared to that of the mother. Therefore, bottle-feeding keeps their growth at a minimum. They only give the puppy access to its mom for waste elimination (momma dogs stimulates the pup to eliminate its urine and feces). Pups who have been bottle-fed give a different appearance than those who are regularly fed by their mother. Nursing pups have an overall chubbiness about them. Their weight is evenly distributed and they are thriving to their full developmental potential. On the other hand, the bottle-fed pup tends to give the appearance of a Third World malnourished child. They have large heads and bloated stomachs with skinny little limbs. However, if the breeder has not kept proper records of the mating and “elects” to have the bitch have a C-section, it may backfire. In this particular breeder’s case, it did. The breeder lost the entire litter because the pups were premature to the point that they could not survive. Good-bye money! This is only one of many tricks of the trade some of these breeders practice. It is grizzly and it is sickening. But you have to remember what type of people you are dealing with in the dog breeding business. When I related this type of practice to a group of Chihuahua owners, a questionable breeder accused me of perverse thoughts for thinking any breeder would do such a thing. Well, I wish it were not true for the puppies and bitches involved. Fortunately, not all breeders are like this, not even some of the scamming ones. But it only takes one or two to give the entire breeding business a bad name. But you need to be aware of those who are because their puppies may not be healthy and may not possess the parentage claimed. This is just another way these “teacup” breeders get their products and, of course, by breeding the “unsafe to breed” smaller size bitch. And don’t forget about the breeders who just out-and-out lies about what size the pup will be when fully grown; like the 12 lb. Chihuahua.
Now, ironically some of these unethical breeders steal information from the websites of other breeders because they don’t know what they are doing. But, the funniest thing about it is when they steal information from the website of another scammer! So you have scammers stealing from scammers. Having said that, who knows how many others out there are lacking typical breeding skills. And you, the Consumer, are buying their puppies!
So, you ask, how do you protect yourself from these scammers? Unfortunately, some are so slick you may become their victim regardless of what you do. BUT, at least give yourself a fighting chance by learning some of their marketing strategies and some of the red flags, and tips to use when you are buying online or through the newspaper classifieds.
The following is a list of different dog registries we have provided for your information. We, personally, only endorse AKC and CKC (Canadian) and some of the international associations which are comparable to AKC and CKC. However, you may wish to purchase from a breeder who only sells APRI or CKC (Continental) registered pups and, therefore, you should at least know what the registry is all about, and WHY the breeder uses this registry.
www.continentalkennelclub (Continental Kennel Club)
www.ckc.ca/en (Canadian Kennel Club)
Λ╬╦║╔╦╣Ω
Che
(my first Chihuahua and the love of my life)
Half brother to
Wartenas Wind Me Up Tyco Toy and Aidan
Except for an underbite and bad left knee, Che is perfect in every way!
