Puppy pet store rant...

[Lensters]

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What's even worse, or maybe even funny, is that they take advantage of volunteers and low paid employees since the people want to be around the animals.

They also tend to brainwash them into being against all aspects of breeding, including showing. They tend to think their way is the only way when is comes to caring for pets and animal husbandry. Many make it almost impossible to adopt a pet from. If yo don't have a fenced yard, and have intact animals in the house, you don't get that animal. Some won't even adopt to households with children.

Sometimes they will stalk and rabidly go after some breeders, and pet owners. Just because they do not agree with their practices. i know someone who has them stalk her in real life. They have called her cell phone, her home phone, called animal control on her, and her vet. Scarey huh?

I always have to lol at their views of pet shops. The only good one is one that only carries animal food and toys. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of it being a pet shop doesn't it?

There are good rescues out there that are soley in it just for the animals who do not bother anyone.

There are many good shelters and most rescues are "good" even when they aren't being honest about why they do what they do (even to themselves). Most "animal hoarders" have been involved with a rescue group at one time.

Edited by Staff...See BYC Rule #2, please.

Back to the original topic, I raise show rabbits but won't sell my culls to pet stores for some of the reasons listed above. However, pet stores aren't the real problem it is the people with little or no impulse control and those who don't take owning an animal seriously enough to educate themselves on it's needs. People need to go into pet ownership with knowledge and commitment instead of warm fuzzies.​

 

[chinbunny]

I had a rescue worker come to my property once to pick up a stray rabbit. She insisted on having it as a pet since she was looking for a mini rex. Said my setup was fine. this was before she got involved in animal rescue. Now I am just another backyard breeder. Will never do that again. most of my encounters with rescue workers on and offline have not been good ones. They seem to have a chip on their shoulders, and seem to think they are perfect pet owners, and nobody else can take care of an animal better then them. I have yelled and screamed at and called a mill for keeping my show rabbits in a nice barn, and in wire cages. Also have been yelled at about how I keep my cockatiel and parakeet. Parakeet was in a house shaped cage. Biggest I could find, where he could easily fly in it a little bit. Cocketail was in a round cage. Those weren't good enough, and it was cruel to the animal. Have also been told that I don't deserve my animals, and that they were better off in a shelter without me. These are the same people that encoruage pet owners to dump their animals because they deem them as unworthy owners. Have also been accused of contributing to pet rabbit overpopulation. It doesn't matter what I do if I eat them, or sell them as breeding stock or pets, its still never good enough for them. Most of them support aspca, organization, and the other group. I have only run into a few rescue workers that were fairly decent to me.

I agree the american humane society is the only good group out of them. You don't see them rabidly going after people to take their animals from them (where there is no real abuse), and they mind their own business. I despise aspca, organization, and the others because they keep the money for themselves. It does not go back into their shelters. They also try use to lobby for new animal laws because they want to control everything. What they did to michigan last year is proof of that.

I also agree that impulse buyers are the problem. Not pet shops or breeders.

 

[ChickyLaura]

Just adding my two cents here.

For "designer dogs" or purebred dogs, you can go on petfinder.com, and type in the breed of dog you want and your zip code and it brings up dogs in rescue groups or pounds. Some rescue groups do charge quite a bit... But that being said, all 4 of our dogs are from shelters. All of our dogs have been healthy, except 2 came from the shelters with kennel cough. Other than that, they are now all healthy and living the good life on our couches.

I can understand wanting to have good lines and knowing the parents. I personally would rather go through our local shelter and spend $80 to get our dogs. It is taking a chance ("buyer beware"!), but so far we have had really good luck. Our last dog Oliver (a beautiful purebred Beagle) chose us! He came right up to us, and wouldn't leave our side. He loves kids!

I have spent a little time helping out walking dogs at the local shelter, and it does seem like it is run pretty well. 3 of our dogs were strays, and my chihuahua/dachshund/min pin mix was from a hoarding case (88 dogs in one house-seriously). If my dog was a stray, I would be out driving around and calling the shelters looking for my dog. I don't understand. It does take time and effort to be a responsible pet owner. That is the problem with those impulse buys. Of course the puppies are cute! That's how they make their money.

Then the puppy messes in the house, and then shoved out the door. It's just so sad.

 

[michickenwrangler]

I know I'm jumping in late, but it's my opinion that pet stores shouldn't sell puppies and kittens, thus no impulse buying. Then people would have to go through breeders. Granted, not all breeders are ethical. I used to know a woman who had a Weimaraner female that would have large litters, 9-12 pups, and sell them for $1,000 apiece. She would also breed this dog twice a year. She didn't work, made all of her money from the pups.

My brother bought two pups on two separate occasions from a pet store. First was an impulse gift for his fiancee, second was an impulse buy for himself. Both pups went through bouts of kennel cough but did recover. He did get them fixed.

But I think a lot of problems could be reduced if pet stores simply stopped carrying puppies and kittens, large parrots too. (a whole other topic right there)

 

[Cara]

I don't know whether it's a regional thing, but here we often have the ridiculous activity of selling puppies in a parking lot. Talk about an impulse buy, "let's go to Home Depot and pick up a schnauzerdoodle while we're at it". It makes me sick, none of those fools can claim to have the least regard for where their puppies are going.

 

[lorieMN]

I didnt read all these posts,,same stuff everytime and I am here once again to tell you NOT ALL PET STORES THAT SELL PUPPIES WORK THAT WAY !!!!3 of my friends own petstores,,they go way above what the general breeder does to ensure a healthy pup,they even take back dogs,I have personally seen them take back 6 month old kittens and puppies because the new "owners" couldnt or did not want to keep them,,she rehomes them herself for free,sometimes keeping them several months before she finds a home she feels is a good fit,,I have seen them refuse to sell certain breeds to certain people,they also have a better gaurantee then most breeders I know of..also about "no respectable breeders sell to stores" is a load of crap that the show breeders started and they dont even follow their own "rules" as I have seen registered pups come into the stores from some very well known kennels..with the kennel name on the papers..these big time show people that have 300 siberians in one year looking for the perfect CH..where do you think all the other pups go? I have been in the show world enough to tell you things you wouldnt belive if you hadnt heard them yourself,things "respectable breeders" do,things that normal people wouldnt ever think of..so just saying dont lump all stores into one catagory..just like all people are not the same..all business owners are not either.

 

[Equus5O]

My daughter had a pet shop Chihuahua. I asked when she was going to have him altered, and she replied that she wasn't going to, because she was going to breed him, and make money off of the litter, because he was registered.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

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That's another thing that has always bothered me - people who think their animal is show quality just because the animal is papered. Papers are just that! Paper! I've seen many papered animals that were pet quality at best and I've seen some awesome show quality animals that were not papered. People just don't understand this concept, even if you try and explain it to them.

 

[RabbitMage]

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Breeders that produce 300 puppies a year are not responsible breeders.

I refuse to even sell rabbits through a pet store.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

We're a breeder of Miniature Labradoodles. We take great care in raising our puppies and all of our dogs live in the house with us. Actually, Lulu... a puppy we bought earlier this year as a future momma (she's a lovely black poodle) is sleeping on the sofa in a tangle of blankets right now with the cat lol. I too find it disgusting how much they charge for these puppies at the pet stores, but not only that.. how some of the pet stores call themselves respectable, and use words like "breeder" and "hand raised." There was one major pet store from where I used to live that was notorious for selling sick and ailing puppies for big bucks and advertising them on Kijiji like they were a breeder. Its not only disgusting because of how the puppies are treated, the ailments they suffer from, and the price the store wanted for them but also because they were flooding really the only tool reputable breeders have for marketing their litters here.

And for the record

We don't consider our Mini Labradoodles 'designer dogs'. We've loved them from the moment we heard of Aussie doodles years ago, but never had the guts to breed our own. We bred Reg. Labrador Retrievers for a while.