Hi All,

I just wanted to make people aware of a place I went to on Saturday in Hinckley, Leicestershire.

I'm not sure what constitutes a puppy farm, but this place seemed like it could well be...
They had 5 litters of Labrador puppies for us to look at, all varying ages from about 4 weeks and under.

You could see the parents and grandparents of the puppies and all the dogs we could see were the same breed.

The main indicators to me were the sheer number of available puppies and the fact that he said that he didn't bother with hip-scoring the parents - he said that you could see all the family and that should be enough.
Also, the litters were all kept in seperate stables, with just a box to lie in with some shredded paper and the mother. They had a bit of a run outside the stable, but it still didn't seem too nice to me. They didn't have any that were older than 4 weeks, so they were all very happy in their boxes, sleeping together but I wonder what it would be like when they're nearer 8 weeks?

He also said that he pretty much always had puppies available and you could see the next potential parents sharing pens.

There was just something about it that told me not to get my puppy from there, despite really wanting to rescue them all!

Has anyone come across this place before? It's called Houston's Kennels and they're also a boarding kennel I believe...

I'll be the first to apologise if this bloke is legit and really does care for his puppies and dogs (they did all look pretty happy).

Ruth

Ruth - certainly doesn't sound the best of places. Not believing in hip-scoring for this breed is just ridiculous. Usually reputable breeders buy in stud dog services to improve their lines - not always though - but it does rather sound like a bit of a "keep it in the family" type of affair.

Pam n the boys

Hi Ruth,
As you say, the numbers of litters is very suspicious. Having that number of litters certainly makes him a commercial breeder in the eyes of the law.

Not health-testing the parents is outrageous!

What show or work qualifications did his dogs have? How many Show rosettes on the wall? Trophies on view? Photos of his dogs sat beside working trophies? Or is he just churning out quantity rather than quality?

Are the pups KC registered?

I think you ought to trust your gut feeling.

I didn't go inside the house so I wasn't shown any kind of work/show record, but to be honest, I didn't ask for any.

I'm pretty sure they're all KC registered - I think the ad that I saw said that. I asked if they came with Insurance and he said yes, 6 weeks, which I believe you get from the Kennel Club when you register the puppy in your name?

And I did trust my instinct - despite there being more choice and cheaper pups there and they would have been ready about the time I was thinking that we would be ready, I still chose to have a puppy from a different breeder whose pups were in a totally different, family/work environment. I saw all the lineage and the champions list for both the Father and the Mother - quite extensive!

I decided that although we would have to run around getting things ready for the new pup instead of being able to do it in a leisurely fashion, it was definitely worth going with this pup - and the breeder is going to help us out as much as she can, which is a great reassurance.

If I hadn't been on this forum before I went out looking, I may well have had one of his puppies and suffered as a result, so thanks to everyone who said to make sure I went to a reputable breeder who is happy to help.

Ruth

If you could please email me privately with the name and address I will make enquiries the person should at least be licensed with the council, if not I would like to know why not. I do campaign against puppy farming and the selling of puppies, from pet shops, this could be where these puppies are destined for or exported. Who knows seems rather too many pups to find good homes for so many arriving at once. Where did you see the advert? Hope you are prepared to help, I do not need any personal info about yourself just details of the breeder and location please.