'No legitimate breeder' will sell trendy crossbreeds, warns DSPCA
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A DSPCA spokesperson has warned people considering buying a puppy that “no legitimate breeder” will breed dogs such as labradoodles, pomskys and cockapoos.
The spokesperson for the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said that any breeder producing these kinds of fashionable crossbreeds is doing so “purely for profit”, and it raises concerns about the long-term health of these dogs.
“No legitimate breeder will crossbreed their dogs. To anybody who gets one of those crossbreed dogs, they are purely being bred for profit. A big concern is how healthy long term your dog is going to be,” they said.
“You might have a lovely healthy dog that's a year old now, but in four or five years time, it might have issues. If you've got one breed of dog that suffers badly from hip arthritis, and you have another that suffers badly from heart defects, and you've mixed those two together, then you can end up with a dog that can barely move because it’s crippled with arthritis and also has a heart condition,” they warned.
They said that with any crossbreed puppy, there is “no guarantee what you’re getting”, in terms of its health, but also in terms of how ethically that puppy has been bred.
“Because of Covid people have had to go back to meeting people in car parks. You get handed a beautiful freshly washed puppy, but you have no guarantee of the conditions the animals are being kept in.
“We have even heard of situations where the mother of puppies is taken out of the mass-produced place, and stuck in a family home, and that's where people have gone to see them and their puppies. It’s very difficult to actually legitimately get a well-bred, well cared for puppy,” they said.
Last week, Gardaí, the Dog Warden and the DSPCA seized almost 40 animals from two apartments in Citywest in Dublin.
A total of 33 dogs (one of which was deceased) were taken from inhumane living conditions, stacked in small cages with nothing to soak up the urine and faeces which covered the cage floors, and dripped down on top of the dogs in the lower cages. Many dogs seized were puppies, and others showed signs of having had multiple litters.
The DSCPA is renewing its call for people to be cautious about buying any puppy which has been bred for profit.
“People buying a puppy can think they're buying a perfect dog, but there’s no such thing. If you want a perfect dog then go down to Smiths and buy one that you can put batteries into,” said the DSPCA spokesperson.
The DSCPA maintain that the best option is to adopt a dog, but they recommended that those who do wish to buy a puppy should do so through the Irish Kennel Club, who keep a register of purebred dogs in Ireland and certify that breeding is carried out responsibly and sustainably.