PremierPups.com-Puppies for Sale Online:
According to text messages with PremierPups.com employees, they are associated with 7 other websites and locations across the U.S. They are puppy broker selling puppies from USDA commercial dog breeders that are located in Ohio. The PremierPups.com location is 4150 Nichols Lane Johnstown, OH 43031.
PremierPups.com
We reached out to PremierPups to inquire about purchasing a puppy. Since the puppy was located in Ohio, they informed us that it would need to be transported to us for pickup at their local location.
Puppies are transported weekly from Ohio to the different locations based on where they are ordered. There are also shipping options.
PremierPups.com explained they are a middleman and their seven sister websites are linked to PremierPups. This large puppy marketplace network operates regional fronts.
The sites include:
WindyCityPups.com (Chicago, IL)
LoneStarPups.com (Texas)
SimplySouthernPups.com (Southern U.S.)
FloridaFurBabies.com (Punta Gorda, FL)
PilesGrovePups.com (Pilesgrove, NJ)
SeasidePups.com (East Coast locations)
PuppyLovePR.com (Puerto Rico)
Each of these websites shares the same layout, inventory, and business model. When a puppy is reserved on one site, it disappears from the rest.
They give what we feel is limited information on the puppy’s parents and where the puppies comes from. Upon submitting your private information, they will send a link to photos of the parents and OFA certificates. They were unable to show us current photos of the parents.
The OFA Orthopedic Foundation for Animals Certificate for the dog we were looking at, showed he was only tested for one of the four screenings, the OFA suggests for that breed. Also, the OFA certification was registered to an LLC that is associated with the puppy broker, not the breeder.
We asked for breeder information so we could do our research. We were sent a link to a website that had a kennel name and general information but told us nothing about the breeder or where our puppy was coming from. We looked up the kennel name in the Ohio online kennel search tool as well as the USDA search tool and found nothing. In fact the puppies shown in the photos on the website did not include the breed of dog we were buying. When we questioned it, they explained their breeders do not use the internet and have little presence online.
This multi location online puppy broker platform did not provide detailed information on the breeder of the puppy we were interested in.
What we consider Red Flags about Premier Pups and its sister websites.
✔ 8 websites almost identical with same or similar design, photos and wording located in areas around the county.
✔ Hundreds of puppies for sale at any time.
✔ Claim to have an exclusive breeder network but does not provide breeder contact details.
✔ Breeders don’t allow visits or pickups.
✔ You can’t meet the mother dog.
✔ Will ship or deliver puppies to you.
✔ High-pressure sales tactics pushing deposits before receiving the puppy.
✔ Won’t give the breeders state or federal license numbers claiming they don’t want customers buying the puppy directly from the breeder.
✔ PremierPups offers a 10-year warranty which requires the purchase of major medical pet insurance for 6 months from the date of purchase. An additional expense.
Premier Pups requires a deposit before you can meet the puppy in person. Transparency and ethical breeding practices are crucial when purchasing a puppy, and relying solely on a broker can obscure these important factors especially when they make money on the sale of each puppy.
Ohio is known for its high concentration of commercial dog breeding facilities, many of which are found in Holmes County and its surrounding rural communities. Many of which have been criticized for unethical practices.
PremierPups.com claims to use USDA licensed commercial dog breeders. A USDA license does not ensure ethical breeding practices. Inspections reports of USDA kennels show the systemic problems with commercial dog breeding, including dogs housed in stacked wire cages with minimal socialization and poor veterinary care..
We caution anyone who is looking to buy a puppy online. We do not recommend buying a puppy based off a picture ever and we never recommend buying a puppy from a website or meeting a breeder or delivery service in a parking lot. We do not recommend buying a puppy from any of the PremierPups.com websites.
Please Contact Us if you have more questions about PremierPups.com or want to report a puppy mill or a report a sick puppy
To read first hand stories of families who have purchased puppies online visit our puppy mill news.
This is the story of a family who recently purchased a Cocker Spaniel puppy from PuppySpot.com The puppy arrived covered in ticks and very sick.
The lure of online puppy sellers and the harsh reality.
I unwittingly stumbled into a nightmare of deceit when buying my puppy on GreenfieldPuppies.com
USDA dog breeders keep their dogs and puppies caged in dark barns, and it’s perfectly legal.
We do not recommend buying a puppy listed for sale on the PremierPups.com website.
We do not endorse websites that list hundreds for puppies for sale, and we absolutely do not ever recommend paying for a puppy without knowing where it is coming from. You don’t want to get a poorly bred puppy. Always meet the mother dog and seeing where she and all of the dogs live .
We do not recommend buying puppies from high volume websites such as PremierPups.com or their “sister” websites WindyCityPups.com (Chicago, IL), LoneStarPups.com (Texas), SimplySouthernPups.com (Southern U.S.), FloridaFurBabies.com (Punta Gorda, FL), PilesGrovePups.com (Pilesgrove, NJ), SeasidePups.com, PuppyLovePR.com (Puerto Rico).
We do not recommend buying any dog online, nor should you ever have a puppy delivered to you by air, nanny or even meet a breeder halfway or in a parking lot. Seeing pictures of the parent dogs or even meeting the breeder over video chat is not acceptable. Websites that direct ship puppies we consider huge red flag. PremierPups.com is no exception.
You should be able to see where your puppy was born and see the condition of the mother dog. In fact, if they won’t give you breeder information until your puppy has been delivered to you, that is a red flag. If you are not able to pick up the puppy in person, meet the mother dog and where she and all of the breeder’s dogs live, you might be supporting a puppy mill.
Since PremierPups.com does not tell you breeder information until you pay for the puppy, you do not really know where your puppy is coming from.
Puppy mills are any dog breeder that puts profit over the health and well-being of the breeding dogs and puppies produced. These breeders vary in size from small breeders — ten to twenty dogs — to very large breeders that have hundreds of breeding dogs. Puppy mills are legal, and some are licensed by the USDA.
To maximize profit, female dogs are kept pregnant, bred at every heat cycle to produce as many puppies as possible. The breeding dogs are usually kept in wire cages, many times stacked. The breeding dogs are not groomed, they are not given opportunity to exercise, nor do they know the touch of a loving hand.
The dogs are denied basic veterinary care, and most are living and breeding with painful conditions such as urinary tract infections, ear infections, rotten teeth, infected eyes, tumors, infected mammary glands, and sore feet from standing on wire cage floors — that never get addressed. It is important to know that any breeder can be a puppy mill. It’s hard to imagine the breeder you are talking or texting with could be a puppy mill.
It is important to know that any breeder can be a puppy mill. It’s hard to imagine the breeder you are talking or texting with could be a puppy mill. If the breeder has excuses why they won’t let you see where they keep the breeding dogs or you are not able to meet the mother dog in person, we suggest you find another breeder.
