Do homework before buying designer dogs
BACKYARD dog breeders are making a mint passing off any old pups as sought-after breeds such as cockapoos.
Prices for so-called designer dogs have rocketed in the last 10 years from around £500 to £3,500.
And locked down Brits have pushed demand through the roof in the last year with dognappings soaring to meet the clamour for pets.
The RSPCA is warning would-be owners to carefully check out breeders before handing over cash for a pet.
An RSPCA spokesman said: “Buying a puppy can be a minefield and, unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous breeders and sellers
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out there who are willing to exploit dogs and take advantage of buyers.
“We’ve seen sellers pass puppies off as different breeds, claim their puppies are older or younger, and even falsified paperwork and documents.
“Anyone who is buying a puppy should be incredibly careful when finding a breeder and can use The
Puppy Contract to help them navigate the buying process and find a happy, healthy dog.”
Liam Griffin and Tiffany
Kingdon from Coventry handed over £2,000 for what they thought was a miniature cockapoo that would grow to around 8kg.
They named her Winnie but a year later she weighed 32kg and was like a “Shetland pony”.
A DNA test found she’s a Poodle and Irish Setter cross-breed, called an Irish Doodle. Liam, 25, said: “We never expected her to get so big. We thought she’d be about 8kg or 10kg.
“The breeder passed her off as a miniature dog. It was very irresponsible but we love her to bits.”