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A broker is the "middle man." They are the ones who buy a puppy from a miller and sell the pup to the pet store, another broker, or directly to the public.
A broker will buy a puppy for say $120 from a miller (why millers breed so many puppies - they get little from the pup). Then the broker will sell the pup to a pet shop for a profit. Then the pet shop will sell the puppy to the public for even more. Say a pet shop sells a Shetland Sheepdog pup for $800.00. The miller gets $120 from the broker for every Sheltie sold. In order to make $800.00, the miller has to sell to the broker 7 - 8 Sheltie pups.
Brokers may frequent Auctions to find puppies to sell as well as breeding stock to sell back to millers.
How can you tell a broker?
Well, look for puppies being sold that were not bred by them. This is the first cue. However, some good breeders will work in conjunction with other breeders and may take puppies as stud fee and if the pup does not grow out as hoped, it will be sold as a pet. But brokers regularly sell puppies they do not breed.
Use the same questions and guide you would use for helping determine if a breeder is a miller or not.
And Please Read
Information Sessions and Committee Meeting
Sunday, 6-9-02, HIGH VOLUME BREEDERS
And this link from the Pet Board of Trade - guidelines for what brokers should be paying for pups from millers.
Now look at how little the miller gets per pup, do you really think the millers will have the best interests of the breed at heart and do all the showing, testing and work a good breeder will? No, there is not enough profit in it. Therefore, millers and brokers and pet shops need to be avoided. Good, well researched breeders and rescues should be the only sources for your pup.
Pet Board of Trade
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