Owners who spoil their pooch with luxury dog beds and dog toys may be concerned to hear that a quarter of puppies bought in the UK come from puppy farms.
To highlight the problem of puppy farms, the Kennel Club has launched Puppy Awareness Week, which kicked off today (September 12th) and will run until September 18th.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club secretary, explained that puppy farming is a trade where dogs are treated as commodities instead of living creatures.
She said: "Our worry is that in the future even more people will be fooled by puppy farmers, who hide behind the internet, being drawn in by the knock down prices without being aware of the high cost that they will pay later.
"This will simply grow the abandoned dog population and result in even more suffering."
Research by the Kennel Club found that 44 per cent of the population are not aware of what a puppy farm is, while 29 per cent have bought a dog from the internet, a pet shop or a newspaper advert. These are all places where farmed puppies are sold.
