By Heidi Clayton
The Amish puppy mills in Lancaster and Ohio are able to stay in business because there is a demand for their products. Seemingly the Amish live peaceful lives, but the way they treat their animals is horrific.
Puppies and dogs are considered livestock, viewed no differently than the chickens or pigs on their farms. If they don’t produce income they don’t live.
I understand the desire to get a puppy quickly, but I caution you that buying a puppy from the Amish, no matter how cheap, can cost you not only more money in the long run, but heartbreak for the whole family.
Here are some words of caution before you make the drive up to Lancaster:
The Amish are shrewd business people with one puppy mill able to make up to a half a million dollars a year. The only state regulation they have to follow is to provide basic shots and a guarantee that the puppy is free of disease on the date of sale. Having seen many of these health certifications, the detective in me doubts any of them were issued by an actual licensed veterinarian.
Many mill puppies I have met are sold with kennel cough, the parvovirus, and horrible eye or ear infections. Stories I can relate are the Frenchie that was for sale for $2,000, despite having an awful eye infection. The family buying the dog was given a discount to $1,500, despite the untreated infection that turned out to be a serious eye disease requiring surgery.
There was the Westie puppy that only had one kidney, resulting in euthanization at three months. And the numerous Doodles or Goldens born with dysplasia or luxating knees, both painful conditions and expensive to fix.
You will never get a refund from a puppy mill if your puppy becomes deathly ill after purchase.
Don’t be fooled by the webpage showing photographs of puppies running loose on the farm with the kids. The reality is the puppies and parents actually live in cramped, awful conditions in the barn, which you will never be permitted to go inside.
Parents of the puppies never go outside and get exercise by running on a wheel. Moms that are stressed and fearful when whelping and nursing produce puppies that are stressed and fearful. Unsuspecting families that make the trip to buy a puppy are seeing puppies outside in an area designed to produce warm and fuzzy feelings that the puppies really are raised like members of the family.
Puppies shape all of their emotional responses to life by the end of their first 12 weeks. Having spent their entire existence confined to a pen in the barn leaves most puppy mill puppies completely unprepared to deal with their new life in your home. They are terrified of everything in the world, so be prepared for a difficult road ahead helping that puppy learn that humans are safe. Fear biting, fear urination, and aggressive resource guarding are the most common behaviors seen.
You will not have the typical puppy-raising experience as much of your time with a puppy mill puppy will be spent trying to teach them to trust humans and connect with you. I have several puppy mill puppies that will be on medication for the rest of their lives so they can simply relax in their own skin.
It is a very sad life for the dogs who are in a puppy mill. If people stopped buying their dogs they would go out of business. Take the time to get a puppy from a reputable breeder. Any questions please email fouronthefloorschool@gmail.com.
Heidi Clayton is a retired 25-year veteran of the Atlantic City Police Department. She started Four on the Floor Dog Training as a result of her own struggle to find a positive and reward-based dog trainer in South Jersey. She is passionate about giving every dog, even the difficult ones, a voice and the skills they need to thrive in life. She breeds, trains, and shows her own bull terriers under the SoraBully’s Kennel name.
