 |
Don’t
Buy that Puppy in the Window
or
10 Reasons NOT to Buy from a Pet Shop
By: Catherine
M Sheeter
Corvallis, Oregon
1. Health - That adorable puppy in the window of the pet store is
hard to resist, but you may be paying a lot of money for a dog that you know very little
about. Pet stores generally rely on impulse buys to sell their "product". There
is a good chance that the pet store puppy will develop a health problem sometime in its
life that may cost you a lot of money to remedy. When you buy a pet store puppy it is very
unlikely that the puppy’s parents were screened for genetic diseases that can be
passed to their offspring. Every breed of dog has genetic problems that are passed from
generation to generation by breeding dogs that carry the flawed gene. Many of the genetic
problems can be detected with today’s technology, but these tests are expensive.
People who are concerned about the welfare and future of their breed will have these tests
conducted to preserve and improve the future quality of their breed. Most good breeders
are more concerned about the health of the puppies that they are producing than the money
that they will or won’t make on the production of a litter.
2. The myth about American Kennel Club papers – Most pet shops would like
you to believe that if a puppy is registered by the AKC, this guarantees the puppy will be
healthy and a good example of the breed. This is not so. The only thing that AKC papers
certify is that the puppy is a purebred and produced out of AKC registered parents. Even
this can be fiction, as some producers register more puppies than are actually born in
each litter to receive extra registration slips to pass out with unregisterable puppies.
The parents of your puppy may be unhealthy or carriers of crippling or deadly health
defects which they may have passed to their offspring—your puppy. They may also be
horrible representations of the breed that you are buying. Often times the parentage of
pet store puppies is also questionable due to poor record keeping. In other words, your
puppy may not even be a purebred, even though it has AKC papers. Responsible breeders do
register their puppies with the AKC, but that is only the beginning.
3. The pet shop guarantee - Many pet stores provide a
form of guarantee or people buying puppies from them, but their guarantees may be as bad
as none at all. A not—so—uncommon scenario goes something like this: after your
family has become attached to your adorable new puppy you find out it is sick. It will
cost you several hundred dollars to treat, so you take the puppy back to the store to
receive your guarantee. What they will most likely offer to do is trade puppies—take
away your beloved pet and replace it with a new puppy, not necessarily a healthier one,
either. They will most likely euthanize the puppy you brought back, because this is
cheaper for the store. The other tactic that some stores use is to tell you your puppy
will grow out of the problem—until their guarantee has expired. Do you want to take
this risk?
4. What will the puppy look like when it is full-grown? You
may have seen specimens of the breed that you are buying, but this does not guaranteed
that this puppy will fit the breed standard. You do not know if the parents fit the
standard either and cannot see the faults that each parent has. There is no perfect dog,
but a good breeder will be willing to discuss the faults and strengths that each of their
dogs possesses. You should also be able to see at least the mother of the puppy that you
are buying if bought from a responsible breeder. Even then you cannot tell exactly what
the puppy will look like, but you will have a much better idea of what to expect. Why
spend so much money without even knowing what the puppy’s parents look like?
5. What do you know about the breed? Employees of pet
stores generally know very little about the dogs that are in the store. They can probably
tell you a little bit about the breed and then point you to a rack of generic dog books.
What do you do after you bring the puppy home, only to find that this breed is not the
right one for you and your family? Good breeders are full of information about the breed
of puppy that you are considering. They should be able to tell you the general temperament
aspects of the breed and help you predict whether this breed of dog will fit into your
lifestyle. They will also be able to warn you about specific health problems that the
breed is prone to and will be able to tell you what aspects the breed excels in. There is
no breed of dog perfect for every person and a good breeder is concerned that their puppy
goes to a home that they will fit into.
6. Housebreaking and training problems – This puppy
that you are buying from a pet store has most likely spent much of its life in a cage.
Many pet store puppies have never seen carpet and may never have even seen grass or dirt.
Due to the conditions that puppies are kept in at pet stores, they have been forced to
eliminate in the same area that they sleep and eat. This goes against the dog’s
natural instinct, but your puppy has had no choice. This habit may make housebreaking your
puppy much more difficult. A good breeder keeps the puppy area very clean and makes sure
the puppy has a separate elimination area. By the time the puppies are ready to go to
their new homes they will be well on their way to being house trained. Good breeders will
often also start teaching their puppies how to walk on a leash and to lie quietly for
grooming. A pet store puppy has most likely never walked on a leash or been brushed
before. It can be much more difficult to teach a pet store puppy these daily exercises
than a puppy that has been brought up properly. Responsible breeders also base their
breeding decisions in part on their dogs’ temperament and personality, not only on
looks or the fact that they are purebred. Most pet store puppies’ parents have not
been selected for any reason other than they can produce puppies that sell as cute
"purebred" registered by the AKC?
7. How about Socialization? - Your pet store puppy may well have
never been in a house before. If this is the case then everything will be new and scary
for them. The doorbell, vacuum cleaner, and children playing are all new sensations that
can be terrifying to an unsocialized puppy. Good breeders will expose their puppies to
many situations so that the puppies are used to them by the time that they go to their new
homes. Most responsible breeders have evaluated the temperament of each of their puppies
before they are placed in a new home. A good breeder will know, due to hours of
observation, which puppies are dominant and which are shy, which are energetic and which
are easy going. Then the breeder will be able to match the puppy to the new owner and make
sure that energetic pups go to active families and that shy puppies go to a home that can
help them overcome their insecurity. This careful evaluation enables a breeder to choose
which puppy will fit your household and much of the guesswork is taken out of the
selection process. Good breeders can help you make an educated decision about all aspects
of your puppy’s feeding, training and overall maintenance and care based on your
family situation. If you are going to spend so much money on a dog that you plan to keep
for its lifetime, why not find one that will fit into your lifestyle well?
8. What is a pedigree worth? – Some pet shops make a big
deal out of their puppies’ pedigrees. This is interesting, as the pedigree is really
just a piece of paper with names on it. Unless you know the dogs behind goes names the
pedigree is really quite useless to the new owner. Can the pet store tell you what your
puppies’ grandparents died of, or how long they lived? Do any of the dogs in your
pup’s pedigree carry genetic diseases? Most pet store employees do not know any more
about your puppy’s background then you do. A reputable breeder can tell you all of
this information about your pup’s family tree and more. When you buy a puppy from a
reputable breeder you are getting more than a piece of paper, you are getting the
important information associated with the names too. Almost all responsible breeders will
achieve titles on their dogs by showing them under unbiased judges. They will achieve
championships on their dogs, which tells that the dog is a good representative of the
breed. Some breeders also obtain obedience or other titles that relate to the job that
their breed of dog was originally bred to perform. Many also achieve Canine Good Citizen
titles on their breeding dogs. These titles will be shown on the dog’s pedigree
before and after parents’ names. Ask the breeder to explain what the letters mean.
9. Do you want to support puppy mills? -
Almost all puppies that
are in pet stores come from puppy mills. These operations are exactly what the name
implies. Most mass produce puppies with money as the prime motive. Their breeding dogs are
often kept in very poor conditions and are sometimes malnourished. The dogs are almost
never tested for genetic diseases and may not receive vaccinations. Puppy mills often
obtain their breeding dogs from people in a hurry to get rid of their dogs for some
reason, often through "free dog" ads in newspapers or public auctions.
Occasionally they are stolen from their owners. Females are generally bred every heat
cycle until they are worn out and then they are often sentenced to death. The horror of
puppy mills is encouraged every time a puppy is bought from a puppy store. How do you know
that your puppy comes from one of these places? The main reason is that almost no
responsible breeders will sell puppies to pet stores. Good breeders what to make sure that
their puppies go to good homes and are well cared for. They want to be actively involved
in screening the home that their puppies go to. Breeders are also concerned about keeping
track of their puppies after they leave the breeder’s home. They will know about any
health problems that their lines may carry, and will be interested in any health problems
that a puppy of their breeding develops. A pet store usually never hears about their
puppies once they leave the store, and generally really don’t care. Buying from a pet
store does not mean that you will save any money in the purchase price of the puppy
either. When you buy from a reputable breeder there is no middle man involved who wants to
take his share of the profit out of the price of the puppy. Often the price that good
breeders charge is no more, and sometimes less, then what you will pay buying a puppy from
a pet store.
10. After the puppy goes home – Once you take the puppy
home from the pet store they do not generally care what happens to the puppy. Most pet
shops do not care if the dog is left to run loose and kill livestock, or if it dies of
liver disease at 1 year old. If you have a training problem they will often be unable or
unwilling to give you training advice. Most do not care if you take your dog home and
breed it continually. Responsible breeders are more than people who sell puppies, they
will also be good friends to you and your puppy. They care what happens to their puppies
once they are sold. Almost all good breeders sell spray/neuter contracts or limited
registration. This practice enables breeders to keep dogs that are not breeding quality
out of the breeding population and also monitor what happens to their puppies in their new
homes. Some breeders sell show quality puppies on co-ownership, so that they retain a
portion of the dog’s ownership, for better control of what happens to their dog later
in it’s life. If you have a health or training problem a good breeder will generally
be able to offer you advise and help you through the ordeal. Most reputable breeders care
about each of their puppies’ futures and will be concerned about their welfare. They
care not only about their own dogs, but also the impact their dogs will make on the breed
as a whole.
So please, next time you are looking a new puppy to buy, do
your research. One of the best steps toward becoming an educated puppy buyer and dog
donor is to attend American Kennel Club sanctioned shows and carefully research each breed
that you are interested in. Once you decide what breed of dog you would like to add to
your household, talk to several breeders. Good breeders can inform you about genetic
diseases common in the breed you want and are generally happy to share their knowledge.
When you are ready to buy a puppy from a particular litter, ask the breeder for proof of
genetic tests specific to the breed and request to see one or both of the parents of your
new puppy.
A common excuse for buying a puppy from a pet store is that you
do not plan to show your puppy, you just want a companion. Out of each litter that a
reputable breeder produces there is a good chance that at least a portion of the puppies
in each litter will not be show quality, but would make outstanding pets. Not every puppy
that a breeder produces his destined for stardom in the show ring, but might well be the
next shining star in your household. Please pass up the next puppy you see in the pet
store and contact breed organizations. They will be able to match you with a responsible
breeder that will help you had paid well adjusted and healthy new canine member to your
family. Other positive alternatives are adopting adult from your local Humane Society or
adopting a rescue dog from various rescue organizations located throughout the United
States. Every breed of dog registered by the AKC has at least one rescue organization that
will take in dogs of that breed and places them in new, loving homes. There are endless
numbers of dogs of all shapes, sizes, ages and personalities in need of a new loving home.
When you obtain a dog from one of these organizations you are more than saving that
dog’s life. You are also sparing a female dog in some puppy mail from being condemned
to produce yet another litter for pet shop sales. So please, be rational and thoughtful
when you go to get your next dog and help prevent irresponsible pet ownership.
A pet store is generally the worst place to buy a puppy. As long
as there is a market for pet store puppies, other dogs will be condemned to death by mass
breeding, only so that a few people can make some money, often with no thought of the
welfare of their "product". This is not to say that a good pet has never come
out of a pet store; many have. For each that has, though, many others have not. Remember,
when you buy a puppy, you are adding another member to your family, not just another piece
of furniture that can be disposed of at the smallest whim. You would not have a child
without careful research and planning for the child’s future ten or fifteen years
down the road. Your new dog should be no different. Adding a dog to the family is a long
term commitment and responsibility that should be taken seriously and only acted upon
after careful consideration and research.
The author kindly permits the reprinted and dissemination of this
article.
All text and graphics are
Copyright � by LabsR4U. Please do not copy any text or graphics without permission.
|
