another doggie request

[Pea-n-Me]

I, personally, would not put a puppy on an airplane. I know it's not uncommon and many people here probably have dogs that came to them that way and they're just fine, etc, but I wouldn't.

Imagine being a puppy. One day you're scooped up and taken away from all the security and comfort you've ever known. Then you're placed in a cage and put through baggage and loaded on a plane in the cargo area, which may be hot or cold depending on the weather, but terrifyingly noisy and bumpy regardless. Your ears hurt inside during takeoff. This could last for hours. You've gone to the bathroom in your cage and boy, it's gotten messy. In fact, you couldn't help falling in it a few times. You also vomited because you're scared and you rolled in that, too. What's happening? Then you're once again loaded on a noisy, bumpy baggage carrier and finally brought inside to meet your new family. Hopefully it's a good one.

Is this really what I want one of my pet's earliest experiences to be? Geez, man, this is a living, breathing, feeling being who's just a baby. (And he'll be mine to deal with for many years to come - idiosyncracies and all.)

Somewhere around the age of 10 weeks a puppy goes through what is called a "Fear Period". He is very impressionable at this age and things that scare him can cause fears for a lifetime. Is any thought given to this from either the "breeder" or buyer?

I have also heard that, as a half hearted but careless attempt to help pups stay calm during what they KNOW is going to be a stressful experience for their dogs, "breeders" will actually MEDICATE their dogs for the flight. I would NEVER in zillion years condone this. Never. Chances are good you will find a dead puppy in the crate at the end of the flight. Anyone who'd be willing to do this for profit would not be worthy of having my business.

If I did somehow find a pup or dog that I wanted that was far away, I'd go to get it myself. If that wasn't possible, I'd look elsewhere.

Australia? Once again, you've got to be kidding.

Mickey's Minion, daisax, thanks for taking the time to try to explain the facts. I have no problem with people buying labradoodles or whatever. Just don't try to put down regular breeding programs in your quest to justify your purchase. I realize many who don't know better are probably getting this information from the people who are "breeding" these dogs for LARGE profit. Do people realize that most AKC purebred dogs usually don't cost as much as some of these "designer dogs" do?

One last word for anyone looking for a doodle or other mix dog. There are rescue sites which have plenty of them available. A pp mentioned it and I agree - in some ways it might be better to get an older dog if you're looking for something like color, fur type or size because that way you can see and know what you are getting in a dog. Otherwise, it's only a guess.

 

[ckay87]

Our next door neighbors have 2, a black one and a yellow one. They are cute dogs, very active, good personalities, but one is mnost decidely Lab (will keep fetching until he drops dead of a heart attack) and one is most decidely poodle (looks at you with disdain when you throw something for him to fetch as if he were saying "You want me to what??? No, I don't think so".) I know they paid big bucks for them...I think $1500 apiece, for, as PPs have said, dogs that are essentially mutts. But they are cute and I do enjoy petting them!

Oh that is WAAAAYYY to much money for a mutt. I was able to find my purebred Springle at the Humane Society. But the best dog I ever had was a Beagschund which was given us for free.

Sorry I couldn't resist. Nothing at all wrong with having a mixed-breed dog, but PLEASE don't pay a lot (i.e., don't encourage this) and don't look for advice on temperament (as evidenced by the post just quoted).

 

[natenapril]

I, personally, would not put a puppy on an airplane. I know it's not uncommon and many people here probably have dogs that came to them that way and they're just fine, etc, but I wouldn't.

Imagine being a puppy. One day you're scooped up and taken away from all the security and comfort you've ever known. Then you're placed in a cage and put through baggage and loaded on a plane in the cargo area, which may be hot or cold depending on the weather, but terrifyingly noisy and bumpy regardless. Your ears hurt inside during takeoff. This could last for hours. You've gone to the bathroom in your cage and boy, it's gotten messy. In fact, you couldn't help falling in it a few times. You also vomited because you're scared and you rolled in that, too. What's happening? Then you're once again loaded on a noisy, bumpy baggage carrier and finally brought inside to meet your new family. Hopefully it's a good one.

Is this really what I want one of my pet's earliest experiences to be? Geez, man, this is a living, breathing, feeling being who's just a baby. (And he'll be mine to deal with for many years to come - idiosyncracies and all.)

Somewhere around the age of 10 weeks a puppy goes through what is called a "Fear Period". He is very impressionable at this age and things that scare him can cause fears for a lifetime. Is any thought given to this from either the "breeder" or buyer?

I have also heard that, as a half hearted but careless attempt to help pups stay calm during what they KNOW is going to be a stressful experience for their dogs, "breeders" will actually MEDICATE their dogs for the flight. I would NEVER in zillion years condone this. Never. Chances are good you will find a dead puppy in the crate at the end of the flight. Anyone who'd be willing to do this for profit would not be worthy of having my business.

If I did somehow find a pup or dog that I wanted that was far away, I'd go to get it myself. If that wasn't possible, I'd look elsewhere.

Australia? Once again, you've got to be kidding.



.

I recently had a puppy flown from Iowa to Alaska. All in all he was on the flight for about 11 hours. He was 3 months old. Was he a little scared? Yeah. Is he weird from it now? NO!! Flying a dog is not the end of the world. As a military family our dogs have flown quite a bit and are healthy, happy guys.

Just wanted to add I didn't fly him up here so I could have a designer dog or purebred dog. I flew him up here because my sister was going through a divorce and couldn't keep him but wanted him to stay within the family.

 

[marymouse]

www.teddybeargoldendoodles.com She is a very nice lady and relativly close to you close to Mobile, AL.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

www.teddybeargoldendoodles.com She is a very nice lady and relativly close to you close to Mobile, AL.

Wow, another puppy mill. I think this website may be even scarier than the Cedarwoods one.

They have 15 - that is FIFTEEN *****es (females) that they are spewing puppies out of.

 

[Caribbean Kid]

Wow, another puppy mill. I think this website may be even scarier than the Cedarwoods one. They have 15 - that is FIFTEEN *****es (females) that they are spewing puppies out of.

I have no direct information on this particular breeder, but I don't believe "big" necessarily equates to "bad". There are both good and bad smaller breeders, and good and bad larger breeders.

I think the focus should be on the quality of care, on thorough health testing, comprehensive health warranties, and on making sure the puppies are placed in good homes, rather than simply the number of dogs. JMO

 

[Mickey's Minion]

I have no direct information on this particular breeder, but I don't believe "big" necessarily equates to "bad". There are both good and bad smaller breeders, and good and bad larger breeders.

I think the focus should be on the quality of care, on thorough health testing, comprehensive health warranties, and on making sure the puppies are placed in good homes, rather than simply the number of dogs. JMO

No ethical or reputable breeder would have NINE litters on the ground with puppies available.

That is a puppy mill.

Ethical breeders do not breed until they have the majority of their litter spoken for.

Having NINE litters on the ground with more on the way is in no way responsible and is by definition a puppy mill as that many puppies requires USDA licensing.

This breeder also breeds schnoodles. Another hint it is a puppy mill - copious amounts of more than one breed - puppy mill.

And lastly - they have that ridiculous guardian program where they give puppies to people, but still breed them for even more puppies.

Puppy Mill.

Ethical and responsible breeders also breed only as many puppies as they can be responsible for the lifetime of the puppy. Responsible breeders make sure their puppies are never in rescue or shelters by putting in their contracts that they will take the puppy back at any age for any reason.

There is no way that can be done if you have 50-60 puppies a month on the ground.

So, yes, numbers do matter in ethics and responsibility.

 

[Caribbean Kid]

Having NINE litters on the ground with more on the way is in no way responsible and is by definition a puppy mill as that many puppies requires USDA licensing.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree. As I said, I don't have any direct information on this particular breeder. However, I don't believe 9 litters automatically qualifies a breeder as a "puppy mill".

I think that there is a very old-fashioned attitude amongst traditional purebred breeders that frowns on anyone who breeds pups simply as "pets". They believe the only good breeders are those who breed for the showring, or for the "Advancement Of The Breed".

However, too often you see pet owners struggling with showring cast-offs, or with working breeds that are temperamentally unsuited for life in a suburban backyard.

Then there are the continually increasing health problems in purebred dogs (heart disease, cancer etc) caused by AKC sanctioned practices like linebreeding and inbreeding that continually limit genetic diversity.

Not to mention the changing fashions and fads in the show ring that have caused some purebred breeders to exaggerate physical characteristics making them so much more susceptible to health problems that the RSPCA in the UK recently slammed them for "encouraging the breeding of deformed and disabled dogs".

As a pet owner, quite frankly I'd much rather buy a puppy (be it purebred, crossbred or "Designer Dog") that was bred to be just that - a pet. But that's JMO

 

[Scurvy]

No ethical or reputable breeder would have NINE litters on the ground with puppies available.

That is a puppy mill.

Ethical breeders do not breed until they have the majority of their litter spoken for.

Having NINE litters on the ground with more on the way is in no way responsible and is by definition a puppy mill as that many puppies requires USDA licensing.

This breeder also breeds schnoodles. Another hint it is a puppy mill - copious amounts of more than one breed - puppy mill.

And lastly - they have that ridiculous guardian program where they give puppies to people, but still breed them for even more puppies.

Puppy Mill.

Ethical and responsible breeders also breed only as many puppies as they can be responsible for the lifetime of the puppy. Responsible breeders make sure their puppies are never in rescue or shelters by putting in their contracts that they will take the puppy back at any age for any reason.

There is no way that can be done if you have 50-60 puppies a month on the ground.

So, yes, numbers do matter in ethics and responsibility.

Well stated. I agree with you completely, particularly with the bolded.

 

[yoopermom]

We have only had one litter ever, and it was EXHAUSTING and EXPENSIVE to raise them right, but it was our responsibility. That was two adult humans and a teen raising six puppies. Now multiply that times 9 or 15 or 20 moms (who in large breeds can have 10-15 pups each). There is NO WAY those pups can all be handled properly, socialized properly, and started off right in life (even with a "paid staff").

Research puppy socialization/critical life stages. You will find that a shy or aggressive dog for life can happen due to a combination of poor genetics and a lack of proper upbringing in the first few months of life.

And, by the way, our pups were microchipped, and will have a "forever home" here if anything happens to their current one. That's what responsible breeders do.

Terri

 

[Caribbean Kid]

And, by the way, our pups were microchipped, and will have a "forever home" here if anything happens to their current one. That's what responsible breeders do.

I agree completely. However I also believe that the vast majority of the population want a dog as a PET, and if you breed dogs specifically to be PETS, you'll have far less relinquished in the first place. You only have to look at the number of bull breeds, terriers, and other working dogs that end up in shelters to know that.