Shunning the puppy mills!
Puppy mills need to be shunned for the inhumane behaviour meted out to dogs. Here are a few tips to stop the practice of puppy mills.
Before buying the pups one should enquire about the parents of the pup and their details. If the seller is not so sure about the parents, then that puppy is from a puppy mill. These pups are mostly not in good health condition, although they might look healthy and active at the time of buying.
The puppy mill dogs have a poor coat quality and might smell like kennels and they may be carriers of many diseases.
Problems with pups from puppy mills…
The pups who come from puppy mills can show behavioural and health problems. Some of the common behavioural problems include fear, anxiety, trembling, shyness, aggression, and they can be difficult to leash train. While, health problems might include intestinal parasites, fleas and ticks, mites, mange, matting, respiratory disorders, viral diseases, etc.
How to stop this practice?
- More awareness: We need to be more aware of this practice as many people still do not know about the puppy mills. Children in schools can be taught about how to care for pets and ways of adopting them. Pet awareness should be conducted.
- Don’t buy on impulse: Buying dogs on an impulse should be avoided.
- Take expert advice: Always take an expert or a veterinarian’s advice before buying a pup.
- Buy from reliable source: Online buying of dogs should be avoided, where you cannot check the source.
- Laws & their enforcement: Strict laws should be formed and regulated from time to time, so that people who are doing cruelty to the animals can be punished.
- Government measures: Government and state SPCAs should conduct frequent raids and ABC programmes.
- Adopt the homeless: Try to adopt more of local dogs so that the homeless dogs find a home.
(Dr Aparajita Chakraborty is at APC Pet Specialty Cliic, Kolkata)