18/09/2026
🧬🐾 “𝗣𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗗 - 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗡𝗢 𝗣𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦.” 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥? 🐾🧬
Have a look through websites with dogs for sale and you'll see plenty of puppies advertised as:
“Purebred Labrador”
“Purebred German Shepherd”
“Full pedigree - no papers”
And they're certainly not being sold cheaply. 💰
But here's something buyers don't always think about...
If there is no documented family tree, how do you know the dogs being bred aren't closely related?
Imagine you buy a “purebred” Labrador with no papers. A year later, you absolutely adore your dog. You decide you'd like a litter from her and find another Labrador advertised as a stud.
He looks lovely. He's apparently purebred too.
But neither dog has documented lineage.
What if their fathers were brothers?
What if they share grandparents?
What if the same dogs appear repeatedly in both family lines?
You simply don't know.
🧬 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦.
Breeding closely related dogs increases the chance of harmful recessive genetic variants pairing up in puppies and can increase the risk of inherited disease.
A pedigree isn't simply a fancy piece of paper - documented ancestry gives breeders information they need when making breeding decisions.
🩺 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘'𝗦 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚...
"Both parents are perfectly healthy!"
That's lovely - but looking healthy isn't the same as being appropriately health tested before breeding.
A dog can look completely healthy while carrying a genetic variant associated with an inherited disease.
You might not realise just how important proper health screening is until you're sitting in a veterinary practice years later with a dog you absolutely adore, discovering they have an inherited condition...
💔 And then finding out that screening for that condition was available before their parents were ever bred.
Depending on the breed, responsible pre-breeding screening can include:
🦴 Hip and elbow scoring
👁️ Eye examinations
❤️ Cardiac screening
🧬 Breed-specific DNA testing
Different breeds have different inherited health risks, so responsible breeders should know which tests are appropriate for the dogs they're breeding.
And don't just accept:
"Yeah, they've been health tested."
𝗔𝗦𝗞 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗦.
If you're handing somebody €500, €1,000, €1,500 or more for a puppy, asking to see the health results and documented ancestry behind that puppy is hardly unreasonable.
🧠 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗧 𝗜𝗦𝗡'𝗧 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗣𝗛𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗...
Genetics also play a role in temperament and behaviour.
When dogs are repeatedly bred from a limited gene pool or close relatives are bred together, you aren't only increasing the chance of inherited physical conditions - undesirable behavioural traits can also become more concentrated within a line.
Research into canine genetics has found associations between inbreeding/genetic diversity and aspects of behaviour and temperament. Depending on the dogs and breeding population, concerns can include traits relating to:
🐾 Fearfulness and anxiety
🐾 Nervous or unstable temperaments
🐾 Reactivity
🐾 Sensitivity to stress
🐾 Certain unwanted or difficult behavioural tendencies
This does NOT mean an in**ed dog will automatically be aggressive, fearful or have behavioural problems.
And it certainly doesn't mean that every behavioural problem is caused by inbreeding.
Behaviour is complicated. Genetics, early development, socialisation, experiences, training, environment and physical health can all play a part.
But this is exactly why responsible breeders don't simply find two dogs of the same breed and put them together.
They should be looking at the health, temperament AND ancestry of both dogs.
Because when you breed a dog, you're not only breeding its beautiful coat, size or appearance. You're breeding from the genetics behind that dog too. 🧬
⚠️ 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼 - 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗞𝗖 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿.
Registration and documented ancestry are only part of the picture. Health testing, temperament, welfare and responsible breeding decisions matter too.
💰 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘'𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗕𝗨𝗬𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗗...If we want irresponsible breeding to stop, we have to stop making it profitable.
Imagine if, for just six months, people stopped buying puppies from breeders who couldn't provide proper documentation or evidence of appropriate health testing.
What happens when the puppies stop selling?
Suddenly the person breeding litter after litter has puppies getting bigger...
Puppies eating more...
Puppies needing vaccinations, worming and veterinary care...
Puppies making a mess...
And no €1,000+ payments arriving from buyers.
That would make an enormous difference.
Because as long as every litter sells, there is money to be made from producing another one.
🚨 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗨𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗔 𝗕𝗔𝗗 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗜𝗦𝗡'𝗧 𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗬 “𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗨𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗧.”
We understand why people do it. You see the puppy, you feel sorry for it.
You think: "I just need to get this one out of there." 💔
That individual puppy may end up having a wonderful life with you.
But the breeder still got paid.
The puppy sold.There's now space for another.
And the breeder knows another litter can make money.
Where there are genuine welfare concerns, walk away, document what you safely can and report the breeder to the appropriate authorities.
Sometimes leaving without that puppy will feel awful. But handing over hundreds or thousands of euro can simply help finance the next litter.
🐾 𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗗 𝗗𝗢𝗚𝗦.
We're asking people who choose to buy puppies to become much smarter about who they're giving their money to.
Before buying, ask:
🧬 Where is the documented lineage?
🩺 What health testing was carried out on BOTH parents?
📄 Can I see the actual results?
🐕 Why were these two particular dogs chosen to breed together?
And if the answers aren't good enough...
WALK AWAY.
Because irresponsible breeding doesn't survive on puppies alone.
It survives because people keep buying them. 💰🐾
The puppy you buy today can influence whether somebody decides to produce another litter tomorrow.
