A Tale of Two Puppies

So you are ready to adopt a puppy?  Where do you begin your search?  How do you find that RESPONSIBLE breeder that has given their puppies the best start possible?  Does it even matter where you adopt your puppy?  I will answer these questions for you and pull back the curtain a bit into the dog breeding world.  I want you to understand why our NO PUPPY MILL PROMISE and IN HOME FAMILY RAISED puppies are at the core of who we are.

I was born and raised in Lancaster County, PA or also known as "The Puppy Mill Capital".  I have witnessed two entirely different models of dog breeding and puppy raising with both resulting with puppies listed for adoption on the exact same websites claiming they are Puppy Mill Free.  Which puppy will you choose?  I’ll let you be the judge.

Model one is the mother dog and puppies are treated like livestock.  Model two is mother dog and puppies are treated like an adored family pet that is an integral part of the family.  I see these dogs listed on various puppy listing sites, pictures side-by-side, to the outside viewer you would never know which is which. In fact, there are children playing in the background of the puppy videos and pictures, both are described as healthy, happy, and well socialized.  In model one, the mother dog is fed daily, given plenty of water, and healthy, but the mother dog and the puppies rarely leave the enclosure.  I am a runner and Lancaster County has some of the best roads for running.  It breaks my heart when I am running with my dogs, and we pass a barn or a dog cage that erupts with barking because there is a dog that is kept captive in that enclosure and her sole purpose is to reproduce.  The mother rarely gets to leave her enclosure.  The only time the puppies leave the enclosure is to take that picture or video for the listing website. 

Back to model two, the mother dog is the adored family pet, the puppies are raised in the living area of the home.  When the puppies are born the entire household caters to mother dog and her puppies.  Free time is spent playing with the puppies, and mother dog is in her natural environment.  As the puppies grow, hey are introduced to various flooring textures, the vacuum cleaner sound, the occasional dish being dropped, family discussions, and all the sights and sounds of a typical household. 

Both models of puppies are adopted at eight weeks and whisked off into their new life.  The puppies arrive at their forever homes across the country by way of a Puppy Nanny, Puppy Shipping, or they are picked up directly by their new family.  I will discuss puppy transportation options in a future blog. The new adoptive family adopting a puppy from the first model has little to no idea that that puppy has never placed foot on linoleum, carpet, hardwood floor, tile and has only known the enclosure where it was raised.  As the puppy is growing up the new family wonders why the puppy is afraid of loud noises such as the vacuum cleaner, the dishwasher or various members of the family?  They may also wonder why their puppy may be more anxious or have anxious behavior as they mature.  This all points back to their first eight weeks and where they were raised. 

The key difference is in those 0 to 8 weeks of where and how the puppy was raised.  The first eight weeks are forming your puppy’s  response to noises and stimuli for life.  The second model, or the Homemade Puppy way demonstrates a better start and those first weeks are vital in your puppy’s development.  Homemade Puppies are ready for their life with you because after all you want the best for your family and so do we.

For our certified in-home raised puppies, go to www.homemadepuppies.com and click on See Available Puppies!  If your family raises puppies the Homemade Puppy Way, we want to work with you to showcase your puppies.  Let us connect you with your future puppy or let us connect your puppy to his/her future home.  For more information email me @ info@homemadepuppies.com.