Nicer than usual pet shop story

[Delisay]

Wow, that's a lot of pups! Yes you couldn't hand pick that many. It's not like that here...much less mass market.

This lady keeps a book of puppy pictures from the various breeders, and gets customers to send progress pics as the dogs get older. She's happy to take down requests for certain types, but warns that it could be many months before she can get them. She also told a story of a breeder who swore blind that his pups were purebred, but they had a splash of something else and she wasn't fooled!

In fact, after speaking with her I actually felt reassured that she has more direct experience in this game of dealing with breeders, good and bad, than I have. She's inspected a lot of pups in her time, and seen many of them grow up, so she's developed quite a keen eye and seems genuinely interested in it all.

I imagine that the massive 'chain' pet stores that exist in the US could be very different from this, with random pups channelled into the various outlets on a kind of standing order, along with carpet deodoriser and bird seed. Eech!

D.

 

[IliamnasQuest]

It amazes me that someone is on here defending a pet store that sells puppies! Delisay, you may think that the people here are miserable and negative, but to probably the vast majority of people here YOU are the one that is not a "nice, calm, balanced, cheerful individual".

I just don't understand how anyone can defend the practice of selling puppies through a mass marketing place. NO breeder of good reputation would sell to a pet store, because then they have ZERO control over who gets their puppies. This shows an incredible lack of sensitivity towards their "product" (and that's all it is to them, a product produced strictly for profit). They can't possibly have much concern for the pups they produced when they're willing to sell them "en masse" to a pet store, regardless of how nice the store appears to be. This is very objectionable to those of us who love dogs and who hate to see them produced for profit ONLY. I have nothing against a person making a little money, but when that's the only reason then it follows to reason that these puppies probably don't come from the best stock nor do they necessarily go to the best home - they go to the person with the cold hard cash (regardless of whether or not the pet store has cute little signs saying they may not recommend a certain breed). I'd be willing to bet, if a person walked in with the cash, they could get any puppy they want with little or no questioning.

Since you yourself provide birds to pet stores, you probably don't want to think of it as a bad practice.

Melanie and the gang in Alaska
.. who has never and will never purchase a single item from a pet store that sells puppies.

 

[Gillian]

I do not believe what I am reading! In no way did the OP claim that she was either approving of, or defending the public retail of puppies in pet stores. Of course none of us likes the idea of puppies in pet shops! What she stated was that she found a pet shop who is willing to at least TRY and do things in a manner which is more humane! Is it really necessary to flame her for this opinion?

In an ideal world, no one would breed any animal without being experts on the breed, having the BEST stock, a basic understanding of genetics and the best possible facilities amongst many others... BUT - this is not an ideal world, is it?? People make mistakes. It is the human condition. Unfortunately these mistakes sometimes lead to puppies landing up in pet stores. The point is; at least this one is trying to make some sort of a difference.

Might I suggest that everybody goes back and reads the original post again? Play fair...

Gillian

 

[Gillian]

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30198

'Nuff said...

 

[jess2416]

Now that I'm more tuned into these things, I took a closer look around my local store, which is quite large and sells quite a few animals. I was very pleased to see things like...

• There are pictures of puppies' mums and dads posted, with details of any health checks etc that have been done.
• There's a sign warning all about the temptation of buying cute puppies on a whim, but that owning a dog is a responsibility, etc etc.
• There's a sign about choosing the right breed or individual puppy, urging customers not to feel offended if staff recommend against a particular one.
• The puppies have a play room where they can run around sometimes during the day.
• In the middle of the afternoon, customers or no customers, puppies go off to their puppy-sitter families for the evening and over night, where they get socialised and loved.

All that is fine and dandy but at the end of the day a petstore is a petstore no matter what they do...

I for one will never support one, there are too many homeless pups/dogs in shelters being PTS everyday because there are not enough homes, because some people would rather buy a petstore puppy than go adopt...

 

[planet molosser]

What it comes down to is supply and demand.
Regardless of how well this store is treating pups and owners.
They are keeping Mills and backyard breeders and or Commercial breeders in demand.
Dry up the demand hense stop all pet stores from selling puppies and the supply dries up or at min slows down a bit.

And since this pet store is NOT requiring Spay and neuter of pets like breeders do they are setting off a chain reaction of setting up other shitty breeders with crap non breeding stock..
Dogs sold from Pet store are PETS period end of sentence but often they are bred causing what? more rescue sickness and sadness.

So when you read this thread or visit that store you have to Look outside of the box. This pet storm is simply covering ones own A-- by socializing pups and going a few baby steps better than other pet stores that sell pups.
Because law suits that are filed from owners who get sick unsocialized pups cause the profit margin to go down by decreasing , stop payments on checks , CC's and return products and legal fees and lawyers..
All they have done is increase the profit by decreasing Costs of doing business in a gray area.

They are also setting up the next generations of dog owners to think it is okay to
A. Buy from Pet stores
B Charge a puppy to a CC during Xmas season for impulse buying
C That breeders can dump their unwanted pups for profit at a pet store or breeding volume..

Last and most important forget about great breeding stock, or health tests show or work. The bottom point is where does that Maltese go when it is 7 and the owner just had major god for bid surgery and can not care for it?
The pet store is not going to take it back their responcability ended when the warranty for the dog runs out. ( average 30-90days)

So now we the real dog lovers and the city have to pay for shelters because of this. Real breeders take back their dogs not matter what and as someone said real breeders dont sell market or broker thru pet stores.

Their are 2 guarantee's in life Death and taxes _a owner keeping a dog for 10 years is not one of them not matter the good intentions on the purchase.
The people who know this is the breeders not pet owners.
Who get the calls 911 calls. And who stop their lives to help their pup and the owners.


Pet stores are middle man nothing else. A law should be passed not allowing any dogs or cats to be sold in Pet Stores PERIOD!.

 

[ToscasMom]

Before I could reserve Rylie, her breeder thoroughly interviewed me... I was sent litter pictures and puppy pictures- I have pictures from the day she was born until she was able to come home with me. I still stay in contact with her breeder, I have a great health guarantee, and Rylie is a great looking, wonderfully socialized chihuahua.
I have pictures of Chloe from the time she was 3-4 weeks old... same thing... after lots of phone conversations and questioning, I reserved Chloe.
Now, the thing about buying from responsible breeders is the waiting- it is hard. I sat and painstakingly waited for my puppies... and it was worth it when they could come home! You know why? Because their breeders cared about where they went, took the time to socialize them, and cared about bettering the breed.

Exactly. My breeder GRILLED me. My breeder talked to my vet! I grilled her too and neither of us was offended in the least. She wanted to make sure I didn't become a back yard breeder who didn't know diddly about breeding to ensure health and shore my stock against known illnesses of the breed. She wanted to ensure that I was a responsible individual and that one of her dogs wasn't going to end up at a shelter. Most of all, she and I are now friends. In fact, we just emailed each other this morning. Most dog owners are not well learned, having a relationship with the breeder helps to ease the learning process.

I wouldn't buy a car without knowing its history, used or new. Why would I buy a dog that way? When you add a dog to your family and don't know its heritage history, it could turn out to be expensive or heartbreaking. Many people cannot afford the expense of an illness that might have been preventable via good sound breeding practices. Furthermore, the shelters are full of animals bought on whims from pet stores. The process of getting a dog thru a bona fide reputable breeder places time between you and your purchase. Time to prepare. Mostly, time to THINK about whether you are ready for a dog or whether that breed is the right one for you. A reputable breeder doesn't just put a warning sign up. A reputable breeder educates you about the breed. Bad breeding and over breeding has resulted in animals that are now banned in some cities. It's all because of bad breeding, not breeding for good temperament. All of it reminds me of people who just keep having kids they can't support and don't care to bother raising themselves, leaving the rest to the rest of us. We are a society to does this to kids and animals. I really think pet shops are contributory to the overpopulation in shelters and the suffering of so many unwanted dogs, as they don't control the number of animals being produced, and they just don't care who buys a dog or whether that person will breed the dog indescriminately. Furthermore, when they don't sell a puppy, do you really have to wonder what becomes of it? I'm sure there isn't a pet shop owner in the country who keeps all the dogs they didn't sell...

 

[RD]

At least the puppies are given good care at that petstore. Compared to the Petland-type stores, that's somewhat refreshing to hear. I won't even start on the people who bred them, tho.

If my bitch whelped a litter, I would treasure those babies and could never take them to some store to be put on display and sold. They deserve the best homes possible, not the one who offers the most money.

I'm sorry if most of us can't be all happy about that petstore. Most of us have seen firsthand what BYBs and puppy mills do, not only by looking at the dogs they are breeding, but at all the dogs in shelters that are undoubtedly from their breeding as well. If BYBs would stop, so would the shelter overflow problem. I've already supported one BYB in my lifetime and that's enough. I can't support any business that makes a profit on these poorly bred dogs.

I'm sorry you're leaving, but maybe you're right. You might feel more comfortable on a forum that doesn't take breeding as seriously as this one does.

 

[Herschel]

Delisay,

Thanks for posting that. I'm glad to see that there are reasonable people left on this board. That's all I'm going to say because there is no way I can keep up with the backlash!

 

[Herschel]

I do not believe what I am reading! In no way did the OP claim that she was either approving of, or defending the public retail of puppies in pet stores. Of course none of us likes the idea of puppies in pet shops! What she stated was that she found a pet shop who is willing to at least TRY and do things in a manner which is more humane! Is it really necessary to flame her for this opinion?

In an ideal world, no one would breed any animal without being experts on the breed, having the BEST stock, a basic understanding of genetics and the best possible facilities amongst many others... BUT - this is not an ideal world, is it?? People make mistakes. It is the human condition. Unfortunately these mistakes sometimes lead to puppies landing up in pet stores. The point is; at least this one is trying to make some sort of a difference.

Might I suggest that everybody goes back and reads the original post again? Play fair...

Gillian

Exactly. Baby steps.

 

[Chul3l3ies1126]

Tsk Tsk Tsk

AaaaaaaaaaAAAARRRGGGHHHHH! I wish I hadn't spoken.
D.

You're right you should'nt have spoken about this and thought that everyone was going to be all happy and agree with you. Seriously. I am just going to say what someone else said. I can't believe someone is on here liking and promoting puppies being sold at a pet store, simple as that.

 

[planet molosser]

Small rant

At least the puppies are given good care at that petstore. Compared to the Petland-type stores, that's somewhat refreshing to hear. I won't even start on the people who bred them, tho.

I'm sorry if most of us can't be all happy about that petstore. Most of us have seen firsthand what BYBs and puppy mills

I'm sorry you're leaving, but maybe you're right. You might feel more comfortable on a forum that doesn't take breeding as seriously as this one does.

Ditto once you see the horrors of abuse and neglect you dont wear blinders any more. And the net allows people to claim one thing and do another.
Here is a pic to the work i know do with rescue .This girl was findly adopted by after her stay on the mobile whisker wagon
http://www.casdog.com/photopost/data/604/Picture_020.jpg
http://www.casdog.com/photopost/data/604/Picture_025.jpg

This is not the 50's we know smoking kills , yet we are still debating whether dogs should be sold in stores? like cabbage?
We also know that anyone selling to a pet store does NOT give a rats ass about the dogs lives.
And despite good conditions of a pet store they are selling for profit if not they would be adopting the dogs out or HOSTING one of these mobile adoption clincs. Would they make as much money? in dog sales? NO but the community would support them...And they would get the same sales of the assessories that ones needs in a new purchase of a pet or better yet A_D_O_P_T_I_O_N!!!

Mark up is 500% in those stores the mills sell them for $50-300 and they mark them up to 2,000 depending on breed.

So if anyone thinks that dogs should be sold from middle man looking to make money thats okay but thank god all of us dont think that way.
Otherwise the very little laws we do have on the books regarding dogs in pets stores would NOT exist if not for the ones who took BIG STEPS and step up to the plate and get laws made..

When i started rescue the laws did not exist _no water had to be in the cages they lived in.
Thats right NO water we tried to get laws passed that got them off the crates piled high so they would NOT **** on each other and have splayed feet, food in feeders and water.

The gov settled on back in the 80's water available all the time. FOOD on property enough to feed all dogs but not in cages, and the crates stayed.

Thats what I call SMALL STEPS way to small for me.

PS Im one of those kids who grew up in Kings plaza pet store that sold pups and I would go there to pet them- When I became a teenager and read the papers when the uhaul type trucks were found with Dead pups delivering them to the pets stores I changed my mine. And helped CLOSE over 10 of them :yikes:

So okay pups are healthy that make it to sale but what about the ones DEAD on delivery??? I guess they are the small steps we should be taking .

 

[Chul3l3ies1126]

Look I made the mistake of working at a Pet Store and I quit because of what happens behind the scenes. You might think it looks nice. But you do not know how they are treated behind the floor of the store. People who are cruel get frustrated at work and can handle those animals with the least bit of care because its something they can take their anger out on. Its a whole different view if you work at one. Try it, and then come back and support one you just saw out of the blue. Sigh... because its a sad sad thing.

 

[Chul3l3ies1126]

Honestly, some of you lot are just the most miserable, negative... Suck the joy out of simple things like it's snake venom.

So I give in!!!!! I'm going home!!! Oh, I am at home...OK, well, I'm going to find some nice, calm, balanced, cheerful individuals to chat with, here or elsewhere! (I swear, it's a sickness! OCPD!)

D.

Sigh, and oh boo hoo, and have fun. You just must not know how the real world really is. You'll find out soon. But cmon, you dont have to leave all whiny and sad. Be a grown up about it, like you've told others before! Remember?! That is really mature.

 

[ToscasMom]

Del, I would love to see and hear about your dog. We all talk about our dogs here. That would be far less controversial than some of these subjects. I was looking for a pic of your dog to break the ice, but I can't find one. Just thinkin'.

 

[~Jessie~]

No matter what a petstore does, I will never think that it is ethical or good... animals are not products, and a good breeder will never sell a dog to a petstore.

When I was little, my parents bought a pomeranian from Debby's Pet Land (yes, the store where the Hunte truck was on the way to when it crashed). He was never potty trained... would be outside in the yard for hours, then come inside and go to the bathroom everywhere. What can you expect when dogs are raised in cages? A store is not a place for a puppy. He also didn't know how to play with toys, and it took forever for him to learn.

On top of all of this, imagine how many diseases these puppies can come with when they are brought into a puppy store. A puppy is bought from a mill or a breeder with giardia, and BOOM- 10 other puppies at the store end up with it. A puppy shows up with parvo, and then all of the other pups end up dying.

Breed to better the breed, not to exploit puppies and sell them in a store.

 

[blue]

It still is a nicer story about a pet shop.

 

[Chul3l3ies1126]

yupp

No matter what a petstore does, I will never think that it is ethical or good... animals are not products, and a good breeder will never sell a dog to a petstore.
imagine how many diseases these puppies can come with when they are brought into a puppy store. A puppy is bought from a mill or a breeder with giardia, and BOOM- 10 other puppies at the store end up with it. A puppy shows up with parvo, and then all of the other pups end up dying.

Breed to better the breed, not to exploit puppies and sell them in a store.

It's like a day care center, one kid gets sick... they all do. I've seen it happen where I used to work. Those infections spread like wild fires.

 

[Delisay]

Gillian, Herschel, Blue...even RD - thanks for trying!!! (RD, I'm not really leaving. I was kidding. I understand these things for what they are...)

There's no helping some folk who just feel the need to condemn and be negative about everything, instead of see the good elements and therefore encourage progress. It's not possible to see clearly through such vehement negative emotion, so no amount of logic will hold sway. All black or all white. It's unfortunate, but also a feature of internet boards as an outlet for this kind of tendency, because people can behave like that and not meet with the harsher consequences that they would in real life.

Not to worry. Thanks again

D.

PS. Tosca's Mum, I don't have pics in digital form. I have to rummage through cupboards, then manually scan, etc. I've been meaning to do it. (She's a big (80lb) GSD...bought from a pedigree puppy miller (not by me!) that would nonetheless meet most of the criteria of a few people here for being a 'responsible' breeder.)

PPS. Planet M, it seems that you've witnessed the most horrendous, awful things, so it's understandable that you might recoil at anything even remotely associated. I urge you to consider that it doesn't have to be that way. That's so incredibly awful what you experienced...and this is so worlds apart from that - really no resemblence. It makes me wonder what kind of place you live(?)...and think how lucky I am to live instead in a society of family oriented animal lovers, with animal protection laws that would result in jail time for people who did what you describe.

 

[Char_06]

Woah ok...many many posts to read there..

I HATE pet stores that sell dogs & cats etc (any animal that needs a huggggee amount of socialising & human interaction etc etc)
Luckily being in the UK i dont see these...infact i'm no even sure if they exist here?! however i could be mistaken...fingers crossed im not.

I agree with everyone about the breeders being obviously uncaring and not botherd...i've had to give up my 7 week puppy NaNuk..& we went thru 20 interveiws before finding him the right home.

HOWEVER...i am pleased to hear this pet store seems slightly better than the rest ive heard about..but like someone has already pointed out..no-one see's behind the scenes what really happens...