Please be careful when buying a pom as they all look the same as pups to a novice. Only buy from a known breeder/exhibitor or contact the pom breed clubs. For help and advice please feel free to email me
A great place to learn about the breed ask questions meet people and get help https://www.facebook.com/groups/ukpoms/
JUST A SHORT NOTE
There very few if any respectable Pomeranian breeders listed on free sites so be very careful and get advice first. We get hundreds of emails why doesn't my pom look like yours? Because it came from a puppy farmer or backyard breeder who has no interest in the breed only making money. Unfortunately there are more of these than there are respectable breeders but if you really want a pom it's best to save up and buy a well bred pom from a decent breeder.
Don't be fooled by the "I'M AN ACCREDITED BREEDER" line. All that means is they have paid a fee to the kennel club and is not a guarantee of a good pom. All you have to do is fill in a form pay your fee and you are added to the list. They are not made to do any health checks they are not made to breed from only show quality healthy dogs without faults and they are not made to give support and aftercare to the people they sell to and most are left to it and tough if there is a problem.
Also another thing to avoid is "IRISH BRED POMS" these are imports from Ireland which have often been crossed with other breeds mostly spitz types and are huge compared to a pom when fully grown and have long noses and flat coats.
People in the UK are importing whole litters from Ireland, puppies at a very young age and then sell them on over here cheap and quick before they get too old.
There are a couple of very good breeders in Ireland but they would never send litters to the UK to be sold on. They don't need to.
If in doubt walk away.
Puppy farming, puppy agents and backyard breeders are something i feel very strongly about. So much so i have acted for trading standards and councils as a breed expert to bring cases against these people to court.
These people treat the dogs as machines and breed constantly or buy in litters at 6 weeks of age to sell on ether from Ireland or in the UK.
They are often advertised at a young age on free sites because once one of these puppies hits a certain age it begins to look like the cross it is and not the breed it's meant to be.
But it's half you the price of a breeder? you say --- So what this is where the expression "you pay for what you get" comes in. You get a sick dog that when fully grown looks nothing like your chosen breed. If it makes it past 12 weeks without having to be put to sleep you will have a life time of heartache and vet bills.
I will help anyone who has trouble with a puppy bought from one of these places.
1st port of call is to contact the local council of the place the puppy came from
2nd is to contact trading standards
you need to keep everything you get from them including the advert if you can.
I have helped with one puppy farm agent who has closed down and now am concentrating on the next but there are many and i need help and contacts of people who have bough from these puppy farms/agents.
If you have bought from a puppy farm in Essex or Lincoln please contact me as there are others and together they will be shut down.
THE CRUEL PUPPY TRADE
Puppy Alert was established to conduct nationwide research into the supply of puppies from multi-breed kennels or 'agents' to pet shops offering various breeds of puppies for sale. Sadly, throughout Britain and Eire, 'puppy farming', whether from licensed or unlicensed premises, is rife. Breeding bitches are frequently bred from each season and often live in solitary confinement. They are forced each season to produce excessive quantities of puppies for the pet trade, estimated at over 100,000 every year.
Purchasers of these puppies often find that within a few days the puppy is sick and needs urgent veterinary care, some suffering so badly they have died, at just a few weeks old. Other puppies have been found to be suffering from aggressive behaviour, temperament or hereditary problems
If you have purchased a puppy from a pet shop, multi-breed kennel, or 'agent' having several breeds of puppies for sale and the puppy has become sick or died shortly after purchase, we would like to hear from you.
We hope to be able to build a dossier to present to the relevant Local Councils, in the hope that they will take the correct action against these people.
We strongly advise you to contact the Environmental Health Department and Trading Standards in the area the puppy was purchased. Both departments have enforcement officers, responsible for licensing premises and ensuring that traders offer 'good practice and fair trading’. They must take your complaint seriously. They can prosecute for unlicensed trading and close premises down – but cannot act without information.
If you would like any further help or advice, then please do not hesitate to contact us - via email from the web site or by ringing one of the telephone numbers below. We will treat all calls with the utmost privacy. If you are not sure what steps to take next after losing your puppy, we will talk and guide you through it.
Help us to stop puppy farming and the selling of puppies from retail outlets. Please do not purchase a puppy from these undesirable sources. For every puppy sold another is born to take its place and so it continues…
Web Address: http://mysite.freeserve.com/puppy_alert/index.htm
Email: puppy_alert2003@yahoo.co.uk
WHAT IS A PUPPY FARMER?
Basically it is a breeder who keeps breeding bitches and producing lots of puppies (often of different breeds) with the sole intention of making money by selling them. Often (but not always) the conditions are poor, and puppies rarely have the health checks and care lavished on them that responsible breeders would do. They advertise frequently in 'free ads' newspapers, and the bitches may be bred from every season.
They make no enquiries about where the puppies are going, or who to, other than to ascertain that you have the money to pay for them. Registration (if done) can be very hit and miss, with pedigrees often being made up. They would be reluctant to take a dog back once sold. The puppies and adults would be fed on the cheapest food and have very little if any socialisation. The bitches might never see the light of day, even to the extent of being kept in dark barns or sheds or even old vehicles. They often buy in whole litters of puppies to re-sell and also provide puppies to pet shops and dealers.
These are the very worst, but there are varying degrees. Most pedigree breeds have people in them who produce far too many puppies for the good of the breed. They may do all the health checks and even vet the homes, but their sole aim seems to be to make money from their dogs.
Genuine breeders choose their breeding stock very carefully, often travelling hundreds of miles to mate a bitch to a suitable dog, they make sure all health checks are done and that the bitch and puppies have the best of everything. they are very careful who they let have their puppies, and will take back dogs for any reason if the new owner cannot keep them.
Many only breed a litter when they want a puppy to keep for themselves, and some hardly every breed, so you would have to go on a waiting list if you wanted one of their pups.
If anyone wants a pedigree puppy, they should contact either the Kennel Club for details of breed clubs, or the clubs direct who will be able to give a list of recommended breeders who may have suitable puppies available.
Unfortunately, the general public do not seem to mind buying a dog without a proper pedigree, and so have no way of knowing what their dog will turn out like, or even if it is purebred. Until people are educated to buy a pedigree puppy from a responsible breeder these puppy farms will thrive.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PICTURES AND HOW YOU CAN HELP FOLLOW THE LINKS BELOW
HOPE UK
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hopeuk/what_is_hope_you.htm
PUPPY ALERT
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/puppy_alert/index.htm
PUPPY WATCH
VOICE 4 DOGS
W.A.G
http://www.wag-ayrshire.org.uk/
CRUELTY EXPOSED
