# Puppy Mills in Ohio



## TimeB4now (Feb 13, 2018)

Hi, Is anyone out there familiar with Amish puppy mills from Millersburg Ohio? Got a pup 2 months ago from a pet store in Millersburg not knowing that area was notorious for puppy mills. Our pup is displaying noise phobia behavior to "traffic noise" when I take him outside into our fenced in yard. He will not go through the front door or fence gate into the open area of our front yard. Since he needed to get his shots we had to take him through that area and into our car to the vet. He has since become afraid of the car ride, the halter we put on him to take him to the car, the leash and now wont even walk when halter is on. Leading him with treats dose not work. Walking confidently out of the house does not work, he lies down and wont move while in the house, and claws wildly towards the door once pulled outside. Exposure to traffic noise while in the back yard playing sends him running in fear for the door where he cowers and shakes until he can escape inside. I go out with him and try to distract him with play with our grandchild which he engages only until a car drives past the house and he runs for cover. I started to do some research and found that phobias and compulsive behavior is linked to Canine chromosome 7 if the dog is carrying the CDH2 gene. I then looked up the kennel and found that it was listed under a fictitious name per the Ohio Secretary of State in 2009. I don't know if it is legal now but I would like to find out. The AKC registration only gives Sire and Dam names but when I used the first part of the names I found Kennels that matched in name and location, one of which is on the top 100 worst puppy mills listed in the US! How can this be allowed to happen? What can be done to stop terrible breeding, and more litters with unwanted chromosomes? Can anyone help?


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

You can contact your Senator or Congressman, also contact State representatives.
I did some searching, there is a Breeders Act that was passed back in 2013 regulating them.

If you do a search online for Ohio Puppy Mills, a lot of info comes up.


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## LJack (Aug 10, 2012)

Want commercial Kennels that are not doing what they should to be out of business? It is actually not hard, advocate buying only from responsible breeders that you visit or from responsible rescue organizations you can visit. 

As long as buyers want to walk into a store and buy a puppy usually on impulse with no knowledge of the background, comercial Kennels like that will still exist.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Puppies sold in stores (where no one does any vetting of the buyers- not that you're not fine people but ...) are a big piece of the problem. Breeding dogs like livestock, with no socialization, no experiences, nothing to teach puppy that the world is a safe and exciting place, that's a big piece of it too. 

The best way to halt it is to educate everyone you know about what happens when you make an impulse buy, and that it isn't a reflection of your family as much as it is that puppies are accessible to anyone who walks in off the street and has money... those precious little lives have probably all been born in a barn, or a kennel, have never had handling or experiences deliberately created to expose them to life, were probably taken from their littermates and dam at 4 weeks, put on a truck and then taken into a cold A/C store where the lights are artificial and no one cares for them. In FL there is a store called Petland that doesn't even give shots till the day they sell the puppy. They have never touched the ground until they are sold- can you imagine? Most of them come from the Amish and Mennonite who breed them as livestock. It is so sad to me. 

It will be hard for you and your family. You are going to have to deal with alot of stages and behavioral problems. Educate, educate!!


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## TimeB4now (Feb 13, 2018)

Thank you for your time and information. It is appreciated.


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## TimeB4now (Feb 13, 2018)

Dear LJack, I really get the impulse buying part and am guilty of naivete for thinking a business would not stay in business unless it has a good reputation. I didn't know that this area was notorious for puppy mills until my vet let me know that on the pup's first visit. At the pet shoppe we were shown vet visits, shot records and AKC registration. We played with the pup and checked his confirmation. He was quite socialized at 8 weeks and played well with the other pups when we took him into the play area. He showed no fear when approached, handled, or picked up, all within the interior of the pet shot, and we were not allowed to take him outside until he was purchased. I called AKC to inquire if they had DNA records on the parents that would tell me genetic predispositions that may show up in the pup and I was told AKC DNA is used to confirm the bloodline back to the Sire and Dam but was not to help the buyer detect litter health issues. Our previous dog was Sired by an AKC German Shepard and AKC Lab Dam who accidentally got together at my neighbors home. We loved him dearly and lost him the same year my husband was enduring a bone marrow transplant and intensive chemo for mantel cell lymphoma. He has been wanting a dog ever since, but had to wait until he got all of his vaccinations reissued and his CBCs showed he finally acquired some immunities. Doctors gave him a 5 year window and treatment has taken 3 years. So when he asked that we stop at the pet shoppe while visiting Amish Country and wanted to get the Golden Retriever Puppy I impulsively said yes to his request. 










kc


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## TimeB4now (Feb 13, 2018)

Dear Robin, Thank you for your time and information. It is appreciated. My last 4 legged family member enjoyed life with our family being included in swim outings, 5 mile hikes, investigation of the ocean on vacations, and visiting elderly family members to sit quietly by their side. Of course, he was not from a vetted kennel even though his Sire and Dam were AKC registered, he was given to us from a neighbor where we were both known and respected within our community; no research necessary. Please read the reason for my impulsiveness in my reply to LJack. Thanks again.


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## TimeB4now (Feb 13, 2018)

Thanks Carolina Mom for you kind response by providing information that can be acted on, instead of should have, would have past tense information that can not. I also found a lot of information on puppy mills after my vet told me my pup came from that area. I wish I would have had foresight instead of hindsight with a little less naivete and a little more time for research, but life isn't perfect. Perhaps you can understand impulse buying when you read my response to LJack. But my reason for this post is to gather information and take action so that more litters are not bred irresponsibly purely for profit, and that others don't fall in love with a pup that was brought into this world with emotional predisposition for phobias and a fearful life.


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