Comparison of early socialization practices used for litters of small-scale registered dog breeders and nonregistered dog breeders

Abstract

Objective-To compare early socialization practices between litters of breeders registeredwith the Canine Control Council (CCC) and litters of nonregistered breeders advertising puppiesfor sale in a local newspaper.Design-Retrospective cohort study.Animals-80 litters of purebred and mixed-breed dogs from registered (n = 40) and nonregistered(40) breeders.Procedures-Registered breeders were randomly selected from the CCC website, andnonregistered breeders were randomly selected from a weekly advertising newspaper. Thelitter sold most recently by each breeder was then enrolled in the study. Information pertainingto socialization practices for each litter was obtained through a questionnaire administeredover the telephone.Results-Registered breeders generally had more breeding bitches and had more littersthan did nonregistered breeders. Litters of registered breeders were more likely to havebeen socialized with adult dogs, people of different appearances, and various environmentalstimuli, compared with litters of nonregistered breeders. Litters from registered breederswere also much less likely to have been the result of an unplanned pregnancy.Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Among those breeders represented, litters of registeredbreeders received more socialization experience, compared with litters of nonregisteredbreeders. People purchasing puppies from nonregistered breeders should focus on socializingtheir puppies between the time of purchase and 14 weeks of age. Additional research isrequired to determine whether puppies from nonregistered breeders are at increased risk ofbehavioral problems and are therefore more likely to be relinquished to animal shelters or euthanized,relative to puppies from registered breeders.