The breeders are trying to get maximum profit. It's all a numbers game and the poor dogs are their cash registers.
Why buy a bigger cage is you can breed a smaller dog and get more dogs per cage. Why waste money on medical care when you can just kill them if they stop breeding a litter size you consider profitable. Why worm/vaccinate/socialize the pups when you will ship them out at 6 weeks (or younger, if possible) and offer no real gaurentee on them.
I spent a summer in Amish country and was very taken by their way of life. But I think that the animals only get the level of care necessary to carry out their function. I suspect their larger animals - cows, pigs etc - are treated better because they enter the food chain and are more strictly regulated.
Consumers are so uneducated. Not entirely through their own fault but because we are so incredibly bombarded with messages in our daily life. I'll bet most people only know what Oprah had on mills - and they don't think the the beautiful website they found on the internet could possible be a mill. I recently read a post that left me dumbstruck on another board. A woman is planning on buying a dog from an internet site. The "breeder" assures her that all his animals are born spayed/neutered so she won't have to spend $$ on that. I originally thought "there's one born every minute" but in a discusiion about it someone suggested the the "breeder" is probably performing is own pediatric spay/neuters, thus saving a vet fee. And I be it might be legal in some states. Way too scary. And, yes, I'm trying t track down the "breeder".
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Chris
Foodslave, chauffer & doorperson to Elvis, Georgia, Ginger & Maggie, Crissy & Dart
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