Spinoff to Pet stores.....

I'm curious- to those who chose to purchase a puppy from a petshop: why the petshop over a private breeder? Considering the insane price that pet shops charge for purebreeds, why not go to a reputable breeder who usually charges much less for a pet-quality purebreed?

This is an honest question- I'm not trying to stir things up. I just know that years ago when we wanted a purebred poodle, we found that going to a breeder was MUCH cheaper than purchasing from a petstore- at least a 500 dollar difference.

Re: Spinoff to Pet stores.....

I'll answer.
Our American Bulldog we purchased from a breeder. DH and I did a ton of research about the breed and we were interviewed and questioned galore before we were called back and able to purchase one. We drove out to south hampton. we saw the mom and dad and the condition the pups lived in. It was nice and the pups were cute hard to choose just one. the cost 1k.

Our boxer we purchased from a pet store- on impulse. we went out to eat at potters in east meadow and next door is a new , well at the time when we went it was new a pet store. we wanted to buy abby some treats. we saw that they also sold cats and dogs so we looked at them- not with any intention of purchasing one. We saw in a huge cage all by himself this sad looking boxer. He was 3 months old. I noticed DH kept going over to him and giving him attention. He asked to see him so they took us into a private tiny arse room to see if the dog "bonds" with you- yea right all that dog wanted to do is play with his toy ball, couldnt care less about us. Right then and there we decided lets get this poor dog the hell out of here. We knew boxers were good family dogs too.
so we brought him home and payed 1400 for a 3 month old dog. He is the best dog, he was so bony when we got him, now he is still slim but muscular. I was afraid for the first few months to take him outside didnt want neighbors to think I was starving him. He also has very small teeth and for a male boxer he is tiny. We got his papers and he came from Oklahoma- Im sure a puppy mill. I wasnt familiar at the time about puppy mills, like I am now. I will never step foot again in a pet store that sells dogs and cats b/c I dont have the heart and my wanted to help them and get them out will only encourage these places to get more.
I am happy with my decision that we bought our boxer from a pet store , I dont regret it at all, he is so lovable and thankful to have a home.
My american bulldog she is a moosh too but she doesnt know what its like to be caged up or in a kennel and she is very spoiled.
Its a personal decision and the end result is the animal has a home.

Re: Spinoff to Pet stores.....

Since I have such a HUGE mouth about the industry I'll share my story....

DH & I, when we were dating wanted to get a very specific dog for my mother. She wanted a Japanese Chin for her b-day. This was about 9 years ago. We looked for breeders everywhere (please remember that also at this point the internet was not a huge place to go to for things like this as it is now). We tried to find local breeders for over a year, but could not find anyone within 300 miles of us. In addition, one of the breeders that kept calling back was in MO & turned out to be a Puppy Mill. (but that's beside the point).

After about 6 months of looking we gave up. We checked shelters, the want ads in the paper (this was also pre-craigslist ) & local adoption & rescue. Most had never even heard of a Japanese Chin. So about 6 months later we are shopping for Christmas in the Bay Shore mall when we go into the store to get Christmas treats & stuff for my MiniPin I had. Low & Behold in the cage crying was a tan & white male Japanese Chin. I almost fell over. I had no idea at that point how the industry worked & believed the guy at the counter when he told me that a local breeder sold him a pet-only dog that could not be shown b/c of his markings (he also has black on his tail). It sounded reasonable to me & even showed me AKC "papers." I bought the dog for the sale price of $800. Mogwai has so many health problems I cannot even list, and he was rushed to the emergency room twice before that new years b/c his sinus cavity is truncated & the kennel cough developed into severe pneumonia & he almost stopped breathing.

The vet tech at the Vet's office is the one who began to educate me about the dogs & of course her allegations were confirmed when I tried to "Register" him with his "AKC" papers, which were fake. She continued to help me find the origins of the dog, as the sinus issue could have been result of bad genetics & bad breeding. Turns out that ironically the dog had come from the same miller in MO that we had shunned earlier in the year.

Of course we love our dog, but had I known then what I was supporting & propogating by buying him, I would have walked out of the store. This is why to me, it is so important to educate others who are not of an ill-intent, but who really just do not know.

(jumping off soapbox)

Re: Spinoff to Pet stores.....

I shared this story in the other thread, but I'll go again....

We always wanted a dog but had only really talked about it and never really did anything about it. One weekend, FH was really upset about something, so I insisted that we go to the pet store to keep some of the puppies there company for a little while (yes, it was as if he was a 5 yr old, he immediately cheered up). We went in, played with a few dogs, had ZERO intention of buying a puppy that day or from a pet store at all.... but FH fell in love with Cooper and had to have him, so we bought him and nursed him back to health because he was extremely sick.

Now, we will never buy from a pet store again.. we're aware of several BT rescues, so our next one will come from either a breeder or a BT rescue.

ETA: we never once regretted our decision to buy him. in our minds, we really rescued him

Message edited 3/20/2007 9:14:51 AM.

Re: Spinoff to Pet stores.....

because there were no breeders offering the type of dog we were looking for at the time we were looking, within the proximity of what we were willing to drive. we wanted a puppy, we wanted a maltese, and we decided to get one during a time frame. i searched breeders on the internet. we also looked at numerous shelters, each more than once with no luck. after leaving one of the shelters, we went to a pet store up the road and lo and behold, we found what we were looking for. and from my searches on breeders, we paid the same at the pet store as we would have from the breeder.

Re: Spinoff to Pet stores.....

Posted by MsMBV

Since I have such a HUGE mouth about the industry I'll share my story....

DH & I, when we were dating wanted to get a very specific dog for my mother. She wanted a Japanese Chin for her b-day. This was about 9 years ago. We looked for breeders everywhere (please remember that also at this point the internet was not a huge place to go to for things like this as it is now). We tried to find local breeders for over a year, but could not find anyone within 300 miles of us. In addition, one of the breeders that kept calling back was in MO & turned out to be a Puppy Mill. (but that's beside the point).

After about 6 months of looking we gave up. We checked shelters, the want ads in the paper (this was also pre-craigslist ) & local adoption & rescue. Most had never even heard of a Japanese Chin. So about 6 months later we are shopping for Christmas in the Bay Shore mall when we go into the store to get Christmas treats & stuff for my MiniPin I had. Low & Behold in the cage crying was a tan & white male Japanese Chin. I almost fell over. I had no idea at that point how the industry worked & believed the guy at the counter when he told me that a local breeder sold him a pet-only dog that could not be shown b/c of his markings (he also has black on his tail). It sounded reasonable to me & even showed me AKC "papers." I bought the dog for the sale price of $800. Mogwai has so many health problems I cannot even list, and he was rushed to the emergency room twice before that new years b/c his sinus cavity is truncated & the kennel cough developed into severe pneumonia & he almost stopped breathing.

The vet tech at the Vet's office is the one who began to educate me about the dogs & of course her allegations were confirmed when I tried to "Register" him with his "AKC" papers, which were fake. She continued to help me find the origins of the dog, as the sinus issue could have been result of bad genetics & bad breeding. Turns out that ironically the dog had come from the same miller in MO that we had shunned earlier in the year.

Of course we love our dog, but had I known then what I was supporting & propogating by buying him, I would have walked out of the store. This is why to me, it is so important to educate others who are not of an ill-intent, but who really just do not know.

(jumping off soapbox)

Re: Spinoff to Pet stores.....

Re: Spinoff to Pet stores.....

I knew nothing about dogs. Growing up I was always afraid of them no matter what size or breed. One day DH and I happened to pass a pet store and I wanted to just stop and look. I fell in love with my puppy as soon as I saw him. We left and I couldn't stop thinking about it and DH always wanted a dog but I was against the whole idea (b/c i was so afraid). After thinking how that poor puppy was in that cage with 5 other dogs broke my heart. I told DH that I wanted to go back and buy him. Now that I have a dog, and I do more research on animals I hear the horrible horrible stories of pet stores. I guess if I would have done some research before I got my dog I would have never bought him from a store. I have to admit though that I'm so glad I went inside because he's so precious

Re: Spinoff to Pet stores.....

If it weren't for this website, I might have bought Scout from a pet store. Honestly a year ago I didn't know a thing about puppymills.

Now that I do, I won't set foot in a pet store that sells pets -- I used to LOVE to go to Yuppy Puppy in Pt Jeff just to see the pups, and now I don't think I will go ever again.

When Ebony died I was completely devestated -- floored -- it was so unexpected. I wanted to get another Lab right away (yes I am crying now) but thanks to the education I have received from you wonderful people, I knew I would search for breeders high and low to get a lab, and not use a pet store. This meant I had to pay a premium because breeders do not have litters just before the Holidays because of the chances of irresponsible buyers.

My breeder had 2 puppies - that's all. The litter was only 2. She was planning to keep them for show and to add to her kennel. I told her about Ebony, we cried together, and finally she let me come see the 2 puppies. That was it, the end. Thank God she was willing to let me have him, of course for a price, but $$ wasn't the issue.

So, thank you all for the information on puppy mills, and although it was harder to go through a breeder and in my case more $$, I am so glad I did.

Re: Spinoff to Pet stores.....