There is a growing epidemic in this country. A recent spike in the
popularity of beagles has led to the rise of a great many dishonest
beagle breeders who run puppy mills to meet the growing demand for
these sweet little dogs. These puppy mills, as a general rule, supply
the majority of pet stores in this country; which is why many would-be
beagle owners wind up taking sick or dying dogs home with them.
Even honest pet storeowners are buying these puppy mill pups, never
knowing that they are purchasing unhealthy dogs from a dishonest beagle
breeder. The only real way that you can be absolutely certain that you
are getting a healthy beagle these days, is to be certain that you only
buy a pup from a well respected beagle breeder that your trusted vet
has experience with. This will help you to ensure that your new pup has
received the proper care and treatment before being delivered to you.
The biggest issue with a dishonest breeder is that they will often
continue to interbreed their dogs, so as to produce the largest amount
of pups. Since beagles are prone to certain genetic health issues to
begin with, this is a very dangerous practice.
One of the most common practices of the dishonest beagle breeder is the
practice of interbreeding several generations together, without
bringing in any new blood. This only serves to enhance the genetic
health issues that plague this breed.
Also, the beagle breed is quite prone to certain genetic health defects
that have been caused by the previous interbreeding policies of so many
unscrupulous beagle breeders. The pups that result from a puppy mill
are often the offspring of several generations that have been bred
together to create more pups quickly. Very rarely is new blood brought
into a puppy mill. This interbreeding accounts for a great many of the
health problems faced by even honest breeders.
In order to ensure that you are not helping to put money into the
pocket of a dishonest beagle breeder, it is important that you stay
away from buying a beagle at your local pet store. Even if the pet
storeowner has the best of intentions as far as not trying to buy pups
from these breeders, most of them are still only concerned for the
supply and demand that has arisen from the growing popularity of this
little dog.
Understanding that beagles require extra care and medical attention
because of the many years when interbreeding was such a common
practice, is the first step to becoming the owner of one of these sweet
little dogs. Having the responsibility to carefully research any beagle
breeder you are considering buying a pup from is the second step.
It is the hope of honest breeders everywhere that, one day, these
stores will stop carrying puppies altogether, in an effort to ensure
that there are no more unwanted dogs being discarded without a care.
