I can't believe what i have just read in my local evening paper. 
Labradoodles - show breeder - £400 - £550
Dalipoos (Dalmation/poodle) - £265
I really don't understand these prices when all said and done they are X breeds or am I missing something!!!!  ( Not knocking X breeds i have 1 myself and shes lovely and i love her to bits)

thats cheap-they are usually £650-700  and puggles (beagle x pugs) are going for £950!

I also was going to say that's cheap some Labradoodles are selling for £1,000 !!  I wouldn't even pay the price that you've quoted though because as we know they don't actually turn out the way that some of these so called breeders say they do.

Also does it state that she's a show person in Labradoodles?  I suppose she could say that though even if it's only at companionship shows as the people buying them wouldn't know that this doesn't mean a thing.

There was a refreshing ad in my lcoal paper the other week. "Collie cross Spaniel pups FREE to good homes". Not saying I agree with giving pups away for free, but a first cross where they DIDN'T think up a daft name and charge a grand!

It just says show breeder!!

our local freeads this week had an advert asking for a labradoodle  bitch she could buy for her pedigree dog!!!

The 'show breeder' makes you wonder if she shows Labs or Poodles....is that possible? How knows..........mind you, there are novelty dog show classes, i won a waggy tail dog once, does that mean my collie cross was a show dog..:P

I saw a similar ad last week, it stated they were ***** Gundogs (I can't remember the kennel name as the newspaper has been disposed of). The kennel also bred pedigree labradors as well as crosses.

I know who you mean and they are currently advertising atleast 10 litters of puppies ( all different types ) on a well known website. Screams Puppy Farmer, what can we do, keep trying to educate people where not to buy puppies from.

The problem is there are only two places to advise and it never happens.  The TV and normal newspapers.

I wonder, when it comes to advertising puppies, what checks are taken to ensure what is being advertised is a good genuine kennel? With puppies that go on a breed club register, does the breeder have to supply to the club copies of certificates to prove that both the sire and dam have had their health checks and they are all KC registered? I know you have to say that you conform to the club policy when you join, but to someone not so genuine that could just be a signature, and if they don't breed many litters a year, could use the club to give a bit more respectability, or may even be in a few different clubs for different breeds, again using the club as a cloak. Bit like KC registration, unless a dna profile is available, you have to rely on the breeder to be honest when registering the puppies. Do internet breeder/puppy advertising sites make any checks on the breeders that use these services? Again, as in breed club membership, health test certificates etc? Or is it like any other publication, local paper, magazines etc, they just put the ad up when its paid for? The internet is a powerful tool, and some restrictions here on advertising puppies and breeders may help the dog population, if its more difficult to find places to sell. :)

i know i've said it before (umpteen times!) but i'll say it again anyway! and that is that trying to get the responsible message across will be a constantly uphill struggle all the while we have the sort of materialistic "I want one of those and I want it NOW" culture. as a result, puppies have, unfortunately, just become another must-have accessory and when demand threatens to outstrip supply, there's always someone disreputable in the wings waiting to cash in on consumer stupidity. add to this the ludicrous cult of celebrity which has people wanting the same dogs as some daft brainless bint whose only claim to fame is their over-exposure in the the pages of pap magazines and tabloid newspapers and the matter is made all the worse!

on here, it's mainly a case of preaching to the converted but for all that, a quick read through some of the forums will identify posts that, sadly, show the result of buying pups from less than reputable sources and the consequences of over-breeding to meet whatever breeds are currently "in fashion". and when i say this, i am not implying that the correspondents to champdogs have purchased their pups for other than the best of reasons and certainly not as accessories! however, i am constantly saddened to see the deterioration in health and temperament of previously excellent breeds.

rant over. am now off for a penguin (chocolate, not designer version) ;)

I personally think the Kennel Club needs to play a bigger part in advertising how one should go about buying a puppy and monitor who it registers in a different manner.

As we have only had rescue crossbreeds prior to our current GR pup ( another rescue) I have previously always  believed that when an advert shows that a litter's parents are KC registered it means you are getting a quality puppy who has been carefully bred and comes from healthy, monitored parents.

Most of Joe Public see the words Kennel Club Registered and believe it to mean that it is something along the lines of Corgi registered gas fitters or ABTA travel agents - i.e. if they are registered they have to adhere to certain standards and ethics so therefore they must be reliable and accountable.

Since joining this forum I have found out that KC registered does not,  necessarily mean health tested parents and I actually think that the KC does itself a diservice by not insisting that all dogs who are endorsed with their registeration are health tested in all cases. For JP it could be construed that its not worth going to a reputable breeder as the KC registeration doesn't mean much ( from a lay persons point of view) - after all how many people who need to find a service of some sort go to the phone book and look for an advert for somebody who is a member of an accepted register of tredesmen, professionals etc and take their membership as an indication of work to a certain standard.

Hi Harley, I totally agree being, until very recently, a paid up member of Jo (female version) Public. TBH just the word 'pedigree' seems to do the trick for most people, the KC being seen as some sort of body that organises dog shows and the like for 'experts and obsessives'! I have just conducted a straw poll at work that confirms this.

Sorry, just to add I have emailed this particular website twice now regarding this person selling puppies and I have not had a response, despite there anti Puppy Farmer policy which is stated on there Website. The don't seemed to be bothered that they are advertising so many litters of many different breeds. If these website aren't willing to monitor who is advertising then what can be done??

words are very cheap, bertbeagle and it's the easiest thing in the world to make statements about being anti-puppy farming but the reality is, that they have to live up to this promise and this means investigating advertisers thoroughly. something that would have a serious impact on the main purpose of the site which is to generate revenue! and to be honest, there's hardly a free-ad website or free ad paper that doesn't make grand ethical statements about this or that which may not stand up to the closest scrutiny!  also, how would you practically propose they investigate every advertiser before accepting their ads?

on the other hand, and i don't know how much time has elapsed since your emails, it may be that the site is considering what action to take because while it's easy for us to throw labels like "puppy farmer" around, you need to be pretty careful about the facts if you are the one making the accusation directly.

personally, i'd like to see the advertising of animals banned on these free ad sites and papers but can't see this becoming a reality all the while there's dosh to be made from it.

I think that the KC are getting there, but extremely slowly.  I'm glad to see that they are going to try and ensure that people who become accredited breeders follow all the health tests required by the Breed Club before being allowed to be one, but I do wonder what hppens when a breeder registers a litter which clearly shows tht the parents hven't been?  Will they deny the registrtion?  I doubt it because it will be a loss of money to the KC but I would hope tht they would deny registration from said litters.

Time will tell, I'm sure.

Oh I would love to agree with you on this one but I find it very scary after reading one of the letters in the readers letters page of Dog World today in connection with an 'Accredited Breeder' and the Kennel Club answer.  When is someone going to get a grip of things and ensure that puppies are bred correctly and with care.  I also know of a breeder (show person), that bred from a bitch under 7 months of having the last litter and the pups were all registered with the KC.. BTW, the first litter had 11 in it, the second litter was 9, how has this been allowed???

I have to say that I'm not too impressed with the Accredited Breeder scheme either. The sooner kennel inspections are carried out before they can be approved by the KC (which is what the scheme implies) the better.
Becky

I know I am ALWAYS happy to give advice to someone buying a pup who doesn't have any idea.  I was Joe Public once and it is difficult to know how to buy other than looking at Mum - and indeed we did make a bad mistake many years ago.  Even if it isn't my breed I can at least direct them here or to the breed clubs or to a show to talk to other owners.  Not the best advice but better than taking a complete chance.  And as for the price of those designer crosses well I have just got the most beautiful wirehaired dachshund puppy full of show potential for for less than some of those and even then I think it was top price (as I would have expected of course).

Louise

I do the standard poodle rescue for the area that this breeder is in. There is little we can do about it. If people ring us for a puppy we warn them about puppy farmers. We have another family that is puppy farming poodles in the north as well. The best thing we may be able to do is shop them to the Inland Revenue as I bet all these are not declaring the earnings. If enough people do it the revenue will investigate.

So do breed clubs activly check up on the members that are breeding, actually see the health certs and visit the premises, to ensure they are keeping the standards? At any time, not just to put the pups on the sales register? Its not that I'm throwing doubts on the majority, its just I wonder what checks are made and just how easy it would be to hide under the respectable cloak of breed club membership, yet not be any better than an irresponsible breeder?

The health scheme results are published in the breed records supplements every quarter and club secretaries receive these so they know exactly who has had them done and who has bred what.  Some health schemes are administered by the clubs themselves so of course those records will be held.

It is possible to hide under the respectable cloak of breed club membership but other members may report dubious activity such as more litters being advertised than registered or purchasers who received recommendations from the club may report back if unsatisfied about anything.  In this way there are safeguards that offer better protection for the unknowing purchasers than those that purchase from outside club membership.