Did anybody see Fake britain last night on the BBC?

About a fake pedigree puppy. This woman was shown the most awful piece of paper that was supposed to be its KC papers.

I have to say though, this woman found the ad in a local paper and as far as the advert did not say KC.

She saw the state of the puppies yet still bought it.

Surely this is one for Jemima, to promote how to buy a healthy registered puppy.

here is the link..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b011qhhd/Fake_Britain_Series_2_Episode_13/

Yes did see it and really failed to see what a  fake registration document had to do with the pup getting parvo. It wasn't even mentioned that the Chocolate Labrador mentioned on the cert and the puppy in the photos could not be the same dog! (The photos made me think of a small black Staffy cross.) The cert appeared to have come from the UKC in the US which is a large dog registry over there, the type people will forever argue about -some think it's good, others do not. (I'm on the not side!) Beats me WHY the pup had such a cert to start with?? (maybe it was bought on Ebay to make a pup appear legit! That does happen.) Of course, all that was said was that the pup should have been vaccinated -so not true unless it was older, and no advice given whatsoever.

The UKC, is a legitimate show organising etc entity which is respected alongside AKC, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kennel_Club, though there is anotehr with similar name and others that are simply puppy farmers registers.

Ah well there is something you learn every day. I have never heard of the UKC

I too have never heard of the UKC but i know very little so that's nothing unusual!

I have to agree with GoldenMali - Dominic kept saying the pedigree said the dog was healthy - I saw a registration certificate not a 5 generation pedigree.  I saw nothing that stated the dog was healthy and it said chocolate lab on the certificate and if I'm not mistaken that was a black puppy.  The vets also said they didn't know if it had been jabbed or not but the puppy in the photo looked far too young to have had both courses of the jab.

£350 is no doubt the price of a puppy farmed pup and any pup kept in a plastic box isn't one that people should leave with.  Thank god for the champdogs puppy buyers guide.  I agree it would be nice if Jemima could take on this fight as well - she is very passionate about the health of dogs and their welfare so maybe she could educate the general public about how to buy a puppy. 

wouldnt it be a good idea if one of the big television channels did a series about dog ownership....such as the pros and cons of puppy or rescue ...the best way to search for a puppy,what to look out for ...and simple basic training targetted at a new dog owner.There are plenty of programmes aimed at problem dogs and correcting bad behaviour but what about a series highlighting the issues surrounding purchasing a puppy introducing it into your home etc. It amazes me how many people are uneducated about these things !  I dont mean a hatchet job on breeders .more light hearted but informative ,perhaps a more up to date version of Barbara Woodhouse !!! If I were a TV producer Id sign up Matt Baker and Claire Balding to present it ......Just a thought?

Yeah get some real animal lovers in - maybe you could add Richard hammond in too what with his horses, dogs, cats, sheep, chickens etc. I'm sure he'd love it.  The thing I love about Matt Baker's take on animal presenting is that in being brought up on a farm he's practical as well as just loving them...

So sad for pup and new owner, pup didn't look pure bred or old enough to be away from its dam.

This continues when Joe Public insists on looking at newspaper ads and then knowing the pup has been raised in less than an ideal way go ahead and buy it any way.

This was an experienced dog owner who should have known better,the price would have rung alarm bells for me, hopefully she has reported the breeder to the right authorities who are dealing with the matter.

It is all too easy to cobble together fake ID when you see what that vet got away with so a fake registry would be equally as easy and fool those who don't know what the real thing looks like.

I agree with a programme aimed at pointing folk in the right direction and showing such stories of what not to do as a warning.

I have! The dog I bred that lives in the US is a UKC Champion - he is only one major short of his AKC championship too, but they finished them at a UKC cluster in one weekend which was cool. I think the top breeders don't think much of UKC though.

>Ah well there is something you learn every day. I have never heard of the UKC

> The UKC, is a legitimate show organising etc entity which is respected alongside AKC, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kennel_Club, though there is anotehr with similar name and others that are simply puppy farmers registers.

The UKC is a long-established registry in the USA, I think going back to the turn of last century.

I saw Fake Britain and the certificate was UKNC  (I think) UK National Kennel Club and at the bottom "the largest volunteer run registration organisation in the UK" or similar, definitely started with 'largest volunteer run'. At the top it had sire & dam listed with names, reg numbers, descriptions etc and did look 'official' if not 'genuine' - or would to someone who knew no better. I noticed sire was described as "Chocolate Labrador.

But as said before, if that was a chocolate lab, then it was a very poorly example or someone was trying to pull a fast one.... which wouldn't be a first from this kind of puppy farmer, would it!

Yep: this is the one...... http://www.unkc.com/ The website appears defunct, but I recognise "The Largest Volunteer Run Kennel Club in the World".

I saw Fake Britain and the certificate was UKNC  (I think) UK National Kennel Club and at the bottom "the largest volunteer run registration organisation in the UK" or similar

No it said "The oldest dog registry in the world" and it was definitely American. :)

> No it said "The oldest dog registry in the world" and it was definitely American.

BBC i-Player, 5.11 mins in.... certificate is shown.... "United National Kennel Club, An All Brood Registry" (whatever the latter means) and at the bottom: "The Largest Volunteer Run Kennel Club In the World".

Okay have just frozen it on iPlayer, and it says:
United National Kennel Club
An all brood registry
Registration certificate for: please choose name
Registration number: 000101-111-438/LD
Breed: Labrador
Sex: Female
Colour: Chocolate (yep Sue you were right and I was wrong as it's UK spelling)
Born: 16th of February 2010
Date of registration: 7th of April 2010
Breeder: (has been blanked out by the BBC)
Sire: White Night Monti
Reg.No: open
Dam: JT's Honeybee Sybil
Reg. No.: open

All you can see at the bottom is :
Signed and sealed on 7th of April 2010
....onship points: n/a
The largest volunteer run Kennel Club in the world

The bit in the middle is too far away to read but appears to mention change of ownership, something about name cannot be changed, and possibly after that endorsements.

LOL snap!!

I would think they were hedging on people confusing it with the American UKC. The question remains..... how can the uneducated be educated?

The question remains..... how can the uneducated be educated?

It's all down to money of course but wouldn't it be useful if the KC could have ads on all major puppy sale sites, in ad mags etc, saying just the very basics and giving a phone number and web address for people to contact for advice?

I've come to the conclusion that the General public are getting what they deserve. 

There's plenty of information available if a person can be bothered to look.  At the end of the day it comes down to money and availability.   They want it and they want it now.   Then they bleat about paying out for sick pups - well boo hoo, they weren't so worried when it came to handing over the cash for a pup from questionable surroundings or from a 'warehouse' and they don't appear to have any sympathy for the poor breeding bitches pumping out pups until they are unable to breed anymore

I doubt that puppy farmers and BYB's will ever be stopped while there are people willing to take their chances for a cheaper pedigree pup  :( :(

To an extent I agree with you Dill.. I dont agree that the information IS that easy to come by for some people and for those people it is easy to get 'diddled' too..

However, I do think we are a nation that has been conditioned for a long time now to see 'cheap' as 'bargain', and to really seek that in every aspect, of every purchase, ever..

In addition to that, with the invent of credit and the culture of 'get it now' and also 'pay for it later', we do not value what our money buys us..

In the past, fairly distant past now, you had to save for things, the price you paid for it you understood roughly, how that price came about. It costs money to make things from quality raw materials, it takes time to do this, for puppies, it takes time to seek out the right stud dog or brood bitch, it takes time to raise them properly (and a whole lot of other things besides).... and we were happy to save, and invest a large proportion of our income into something quality, built or bred with the very best efforts put in, with the intention for things to last and be treasured...

NOW, people want it now, they dont care where something comes from or the work that went into it, they dont know what their money is actually paying for and the paying part is SO distanced from the high cost purchase these days (by using a plastic card not real cash, by paying 12 months to 3 YEARS later, by paying monthly for something via a direct debit), and things are so disposable, not designed to last or be treasured or valued for years or decades to come.

So it is not surprising people will NOT wait for a quality puppy from a reputable breeder, do not see the value in paying for the time, effort, committment that went into breeding that puppy, cannot see that over the years the price paid is in fact very little..... because they are conditioned to think that way!

On champdogs we are always trying to reach new people to get them to think about their puppy purchases. Good for us.

Yesterday I posted this link  http://batterydogfarmingdealerspetshops.blogspot.com/

on facebook and asked everyone who loved dogs to pass it on... I don't think anybody did! :-(

Well I just posted it.

thanks for doing that. I had hoped that by posting this across facebook far and wide it might just stop somebody buying a puppy from a dodgy source, and highlight the puppy farming and dealers trafficking pups across the UK

Sorry Polly I didnt see this on FB.

Have tried to post the link and it wont show on my wall :-(

Not sure if it is an iPhone app issue or FB is playing up .

Sorry didn't see it Polly but will do - can't do on my phone or at work but promise I will x

Thanks LJS

Thanks Rachelsetters

I've just posted it to my profile as well.

Thanks. Nice to know CDers are not worried about exposing the puppy traffickers!

posted it to fb,(missed it the first time sorry polly) and ended up in an hour I thought conversation with my patner and 16 yo son.
apparentky I was pontificating to them and it is all about choice :( :( :( My partner who has bought a healthy puppy farm dag before now
(well first one died within a week from ecoli but they got given another one so thqat was okay :S(inciidentally polly it was from the lincs farm, who he says was taken over 4 years ago???) says he will always go to the healthiest option. unfpotunatly I wssnt able to convinnce them what was.
So HOW do we?????
Lea :)