Puppy pet store rant...

[hencackle]

Honestly, I didn't know pet stores still sold puppies. It just isn't done in my area anymore. Hasn't been for a long time. The animal shelter will bring a few dogs to the pet stores for Adopt-A-Thons, but it's a different thing.

 

[savingdogs]

Some of those breeds are expensive for a reason.
Many english bulldogs cannot even mate and have to be artificially inseminated and then c-sectioned just to have puppies! All so they have their artificially bred looks!

I've known some nice bulldogs but sheesh.

I would never buy from a pet store, no reputable breeder would sell there, they would be ashamed. You may as well make a contribution to your local puppy mill.

 

[chinbunny]

Puppy mill is just a broad term. Any breeder can be considered a puppy mill. Though most aren't. Pet shops that do carry puppies tend to buy them from commercial facilities(correct term. Not puppy nill). A few buy them from decent local breeders. However, most thatI have run into don't carry dogs at all.

I would not pay $1600 for a mixed bred pet shop dog whenyou can get them for free from the local classifieds.

 

[Cara]

It is impulse buyers with more money than sense that buy them, and soon dump them when they realise a puppy poops on the floor and chews.

 

[Emzyyy]

Petstore's like that make me sick. If your a responsible petstore owner you would be doing backup checks on these "breeders" and making sure they are healthy happy puppies AND parents. I won't even start on puppy mills. Their terrible.

 

[Laney]

I wouldn't purchase anything at a pet store that sold puppies. I paid $1200 for my purebred dog (Border Terrier for anyone who is keeping track) and we had to go through more to adopt that dog, than my husband had to go through to adopt my daughter.

He has the most amazing temperament, has had no health problems. We visited his mother 2 times before she gave birth, and his litter 2 or three times after to see which non- show pup fit with us. All the pups were the same price, show or not...it's just that we weren't going to show. We do know that if anything ever happens to us and we can't keep him, she will take him back. We would never ever give him up, but it's good to know he'd have a home anyway. We'll start saving up for a second one in a year or so.

We've done the shelter dog thing, and I think it's a great option if you are young and healthy, but we aren't. You gamble on temperament and health when you do that. We can't handle another dog that could turn out with behavior issues that we can't handle. Our last dog turned out to be a redline case when not medicated heavily. We loved him to the end at age 14 though.

We need to be sure that we don't let people like the Humane Society of America put laws into place that make small responsible breeders stop breeding these healthy dogs though, and keep spaying and neutering all shelter dogs and purebreds that aren't going to be bred purposefully to get our pet population down!

My dog is neutered is yours?

Laney

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Quote:
All but the Shih Tzu. The Shih Tzu is not spayed because she's never had a heat cycle and I do not trust a vet to spay her. I have seen WAY too many dogs die while under the knife for spaying.

 

[debilorrah]

While it may not be a rule, it certainly is proven that MOST pet store buy from puppy mills, probably not even realizing it. I would not buy one from a pet store.

That being said, there is a local pet store here, privately owned, that buys from local breeders, so I would be comfortable there, except they charge WAY too much.

 

[Skyesrocket]

My daughter and I went into a mall pet shop this past Christmas. The prices were outrageous and I doubt that breeders get anywhere near that amount when they sell them to the stores.
What I noticed was that the big dollar pups...over $2000 each...had signs on the cages saying no one under 25 could hold a pup. I thought 25 was a strange age. Since 21 is legal age?
The pet shop employees were standing infront of the glass fronted cages facing into the store with arms crossed like they were expecting a robbery or something? The whole thing seemed strange to me. I didn't see anyone holding the pups. Which is probably a good thing due to parvo being prevalent in that city.
It is much better to buy from a local breeder that is knowledgeable with their specific breed.

 

[Sammimom]

I would only buy from a breeder, so I could evaluate the situation and be satisfied as to the health and proper socialization of the puppies. One of my dogs was a pet-store purchase later dumped at a vet, and while she has a great temperment she is the most poorly bred Maltese I've ever seen. Whoever paid the big $$$ for her got ripped off.