Avoiding Puppy Mills in New Zealand and Finding a Reputable Breeder

It might come as a surprise to dog lovers that puppy mills in a dog-loving country like New Zealand are a growing problem. Our laws allow almost anyone to breed and sell animals with very few restrictions.

As you can imagine, this means that inhumane breeding is difficult to control and condemn. If you’re in the market for a new fur kid, you should do your best to investigate where they’re coming from. Besides, it’s easy to break the cycle by supporting ethical breeders.

What is a puppy mill?

A puppy mill or puppy farm is a large, commercial facility that makes money from breeding dogs while giving little thought to the welfare of the animals involved. This can have a devastating effect on the dogs’ physical and mental health.

There are other commercial breeding operations that do prioritise pet health over profit - these ethically minded businesses are not the focus of this article.

What is a puppy mill like and how can you spot the difference?

Unlike responsible breeders who put the care and happiness of their animals first, puppy mills treat dogs as breeding machines rather than living creatures. Dogs typically suffer poor living conditions, neglect, and health problems for both the parent dogs and the puppies.

In a puppy mill, dogs are often kept in small, crowded cages with little to no attention or care. They may be confined to these spaces without proper socialisation, exercise, or medical treatment. The focus is on producing as many puppies as possible, regardless of the impact on the animals’ health or quality of life.

There are several red flags that may hint that someone is running a puppy mill.

A responsible breeder will usually allow you to visit the breeding facility or home to see where the dogs live. If they refuse or make excuses to avoid a visit, that’s a red flag.

Look for signs of the standard of care too; where do the dogs sleep, are the water bowls clean, are the dogs in good condition?

Get an idea of the environment and the idea behind why they’re breeding. This information can sometimes be hard to obtain. But most genuine breeders will be happy to share their history and reasons for breeding with any potential puppy parents.

If a breeder won’t let see the puppy in their natural home environment, that’s a big red flag. When it comes to puppy mills in New Zealand, another red flag is a breeder who’s happy to just put the puppy on a plane or bus. This could also be a puppy scam – where you pay for a pup online that probably doesn’t even exist.

A good breeder will want an idea of who you are and what life you can offer the puppy.

Meeting the dog’s parents

Meeting the puppy’s parents is an important step in identifying unethical puppy mills, too. This can help on multiple fronts.

Firstly, it gives you a good idea of how well socialised the mum is. Often, puppy mills will keep the breeding dogs in small cages. They’ll have had limited interactions with humans and other dogs.

Secondly, seeing how the mum dog responds to the environment around her is important. Check whether she’s well cared for, as this can help you ascertain whether this is an inhumane puppy mill.

Hopefully, everything will be above board. If not though, here are 12 signs of animal abuse and some advice on how to report animal abuse appropriately.

Watch our PD vet vlog with Dr Cath Watson for tips on finding an ethical dog breeder:

Bad breeding and health conditions

Several puppy mills in New Zealand breed a copious number of dogs without any real regard for ethics or breed standards. Due to this, you’ll often see genetic conditions being passed on. These could be physical problems such as heart conditions, dental issues, autoimmune diseases, eye issues, skin issues and so on.

There also seems to be genetic predispositions to behavioural issues like being incredibly timid or afraid. Of course, some of these behavioural problems are environmental. However, an increasing number of dogs from puppy mills seem to have “hardwired” behavioural issues.

Watch this video to see what a puppy farm looks like (viewer discretion is advised):

How to stop puppy mills

You might be wondering how inhumane puppy farms manage to operate. Surely every potential pet parent wants the best beginning for their puppy? And wants to know they and their doggy parents were treated well. The answer is surely then to avoid puppy mills?

Puppy mills aren’t always easy to spot

Certainly, many buyers adopt via ethical avenues. But many others either aren’t aware of puppy mills or don’t mind buying a puppy from one. And, even for the most conscientious buyer, it isn’t always easy to identify puppy mills in New Zealand.

Some puppy mills in New Zealand have become so skilled at hiding their activities that they even hire people to offer ‘cover homes’. Unfortunately, these mills are often linked to stolen dogs , which they either resell or use for breeding purposes.

As a result you end up visiting a pretend home to meet the puppy. Behind the scenes is a puppy mill that’s the real breeding site. You could therefore think the puppy you’re playing with comes from an honest and reputable breeder. But sadly the truth is far more dire.

What else can you do to try and avoid situations like this?

How to find a reputable and ethical breeder

Dogs New Zealand is a PD partner and a membership organisation for dog owners, many of whom are professional breeders. It strongly encourages reputable and ethical breeding. Asking them for a recommendation would be a good start to identifying an ethical puppy breeder.

While reputable purebred dog breeders will be registered there, reputable crossbred breeders might not be. This is particularly true if you’re looking at hybrid dog breeds like Cavoodles, Spoodles, and more. Find out how to prove your dog is purebred and how to tell if a dog is purebred for detailed information on papers, registering, and breed standards.

So, is it safe to go to a breeder? It can be risky, but there definitely are good ones out there. If you do decide to go through a breeder, read:

• Our tips for finding ethical dog breeders
• How to buy a puppy safely in New Zealand
• How to research puppies for sale

Of course, you don’t have to shop, you could adopt instead. More on this up next.

No more puppy mills! The best way to get a puppy

One of the best ways to stop the demand for bred puppies is by adopting instead. Giving up pets for adoption is on the rise, with many New Zealand animal shelters speaking out about the increase in the number of stray dogs and cats.

When you adopt, you can be proud in bringing home an adopted dog that you’ve sourced via an ethical avenue.

Read our article on purebred dog pros and cons to see whether a purebred is right for you. And remember, even if you do want a purebred, you can often find them at shelters too.

More on dog adoption

If you’d like to adopt instead, we have a wealth of resources below:

Top Tips For Bringing Home An Adopted Dog
Older Dogs For Adoption: Pros And Cons
Retired Greyhounds Adoption In NZ
Dog Adoption Checklist For New Pup Parents

Whether you adopt or shop, be sure to give your pup a soft landing with…

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