Pet store dogs

[perla75]

We always stop into our mall pet store to visit the dogs when we are shopping.
Today I was noticing the names of the different "breeds" they were selling & noticed alot of these dogs are mixed breeds, not purebred. Now, dont get me wrong-I love mutts!-but I was surprised that the pet store was charging so much money for mixed breed dogs!

Also, I was wondering-what do pet stores do with the animals they don't sell? Meaning, they have puppy in there, no one buys him, he gets older & is no longer a puppy-does he get moved to a shelter?

 

[Maggimus]

Please do not support these type of pet stores. Just think of puppy mills... and consider adopting one.

ETA: im with you though-- charging full breed prices for mixed breeds is a little out there. I hope all the dogs get homes... but unfortunately im sure that isn't the case.

 

[livndisney]

We always stop into our mall pet store to visit the dogs when we are shopping.
Today I was noticing the names of the different "breeds" they were selling & noticed alot of these dogs are mixed breeds, not purebred. Now, dont get me wrong-I love mutts!-but I was surprised that the pet store was charging so much money for mixed breed dogs!

Also, I was wondering-what do pet stores do with the animals they don't sell? Meaning, they have puppy in there, no one buys him, he gets older & is no longer a puppy-does he get moved to a shelter?

Oh no, those are not "mutts" now they are called DESIGNER dogs. That is why they can charge so much for them.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/designerdogs.htm

 

[perla75]

Please do not support these type of pet stores. Just think of puppy mills... and consider adopting one.

ETA: im with you though-- charging full breed prices for mixed breeds is a little out there. I hope all the dogs get homes... but unfortunately im sure that isn't the case.

NO NO NO!!! I do not support buying from a pet store!! We are actually a cat household (shelter cats). We just stop in there for visits because I love dogs.

I just got to wondering about the fate of these dogs...

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Are they breeds that are mixed with poodle? There are a lot of "designer breeds" popping up to accommodate people with allergies. They are crossing everything with a poodle it seems, then attach the cute "oodle" at the end of the name. And they charge as much or more than if you were to just buy one of the original breeds in purebred form.

I have heard too many bad stories about pet shop puppies. Would never buy one from a pet store.

livndisney, that was a great article.

 

[honugirl]

Ugh, I hate those designer dogs. A friend on mine has a Golden-Doodle (golden retriever, poodle). The dog is the most HIGH maintenance dog I've ever met. It's constantly filthy even though they bathe it all the time. For being a supposed hypo-allergenic/low maintenance dog, this takes the cake... The curls on it get matted and knotted and they're constantly brushing it and taking it to the groomers. It jumps 6 foot fences. It is the most exasperating dog on the face of the planet. I would never spend the kind of money they want for those dogs. Of course though, I'm more fond of shelter dogs anyway...

 

[sunlver]

I can not even go into those type of petstores ...I use to years ago. I started volunteering for an all breeds doggie rescue, and after that, those petstores just turned my stomach

It makes me sad that these little,energetic puppies are put in these little cages and only taken out rarely. It is not the life for a dog

 

[Magic Mom]

For being a supposed hypo-allergenic/low maintenance dog, this takes the cake...

I never got that aspect of designer breeds. How can you (not you specifically of couse) guarantee the product of two different breeds will have specific characteristics of one or the other. Goldendoodles (stupid name) are supposed to have the temperament of a Golden and the hypo allergenic coat of a poodle, but how do you know it won't have the temperament of the poodle and coat of the Golden? Its just a mutt.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

I understand it's best not to buy a dog from these kinds of places. But what happens if people don't? What becomes of the dogs then?? In a perfect world there would be no "pet stores", but since there seem to still be some around I think not buying the dogs just because of where they come from doesn't help much either.

We're not talking about a dress that comes from a store we don't like. If the dress doesn't sell it gets passed on to Goodwill or donated. If a puppy doesn't sell, I hate to think of what would happen.

 

[rcraw45425]

Saw something just the other nght about for one of the agencies (I'm not sure which one governs pet stores) is coming down on Petland because they supposedly get their puppies from puppy mills. I know I don't even go into my local one, they are ridiculous. I called them, out of curiosity, before I got Sadie from her breeder, they had no SHih-Tzus at the time, had some coming, priced around $1200! THey offer financing, folks! OMG! THe one here is vtoo ashamed to put the prices on the cages, you have to ask how much they cost!

 

[Scurvy]

I never got that aspect of designer breeds. How can you (not you specifically of couse) guarantee the product of two different breeds will have specific characteristics of one or the other. Goldendoodles (stupid name) are supposed to have the temperament of a Golden and the hypo allergenic coat of a poodle, but how do you know it won't have the temperament of the poodle and coat of the Golden? Its just a mutt.

You can't. There are no guarantees with these "designer hybrids". They can just as easily have the least desirable traits of each of the breeds as the most desirable traits.

Apparently there are some people who are actually trying to turn the "Goldendoodle" into an actual breed. They track the puppies that result from each breeding, and hope to end up with a breed that has recognizable characteristics that can be expected each time two "Goldendoodles" are bred. They do all the genetic testing for any disorders that each breed are prone to, and they only chose the best specimens of each to breed. If you're going to try to make a new breed, that's the way to do it. The people I've seen who are involved in that are honest about the fact that right now, it isn't a real breed and you can't know what to expect when you cross a Golden and a Poodle.

Frankly I suspect that they'll never be a real breed. I still remember when Cockapoos were hugely popular 20 or 30 years ago. Everyone swore they were the next big thing; people were horribly offended when someone dared to call their dogs "mutts", even though that's what they were. They still aren't an accepted breed. I don't believe any of these poodle crosses will ever be accepted as actual breeds. They definitely won't be until you can reliably show that there is a "breed standard" for the puppies that result when two Goldendoodles (or Cockapoos or Maltipoos or whatever) breed.

Most "designer hybrids" are just crosses between two random dogs. The breeders are just out to make money. They are absolutely no better than the mutts you'd find in a shelter, and by buying them from a pet store all people are doing is showing that there is a demand for pet store mutts and ensuring that the puppy mills will continue to crank more out.

I love shelter mutts and hate that people are still buying dogs in pet stores. I also think it's silly that so many people get sucked in to the designer hybrid craze. I really don't like the idea of Goldendoodles, but at least some people are actually approaching it the right way since they seem determined to try to create a new breed.

 

[Maggimus]

I understand it's best not to buy a dog from these kinds of places. But what happens if people don't? What becomes of the dogs then?? In a perfect world there would be no "pet stores", but since there seem to still be some around I think not buying the dogs just because of where they come from doesn't help much either.

We're not talking about a dress that comes from a store we don't like. If the dress doesn't sell it gets passed on to Goodwill or donated. If a puppy doesn't sell, I hate to think of what would happen.

If you make these dogs less easy to sell then puppy mills will find the business much less desirable and wont see it as profitable(which trust me- these people don't have to sell them for such high prices, they could easily find homes for much cheaper... if not given away).

IMO- breeding should be illegal in certain places. There are far too many innocent dogs & cats running around that didn't ask to come into this world. If we all get our dogs fixed and take care of the ones that are already here... we would be a lot better off. Of Course- the wild will always reproduce... but you do have to start somewhere... Why pay big bucks for animals when the innocent and just as loving come free- and desire your attention and love just as much.

ETA: I know I'm strong about this animal stuff today. Probably because I just took a stray in myself and THANK GOODNESS, found it a loving home. I was its foster parent for a few days. While it did steal my heart... I'm glad to have found it a home that wanted it, not felt sorry for it... and unfortunately, that was just one dog of many many more that need to be saved. We can't save the world, and I know that... but its like they say "think globally, act locally".

 

[cassie]

I too would like to know what happens to a pup when it doesn't sell. The prices for these mixed dogs are ridiculous, and the puppy mills are nothing but animal abuse. A lot of those pups end up in shelters/and or sick. Even if you get a dog in the shelter, you don't know if it's from a puppy mill.

I got a mixed breed (not designer dog) from a shelter 14 years ago. She was an abused 7 month old pup, but I had her for 13 years and she was a wonderful loving dog. After she passed, I had to have another dog in my life. I constantly checked on all the shelters in my state through Petfinder, been accepted at a few, and always lost out to someone else. An impulse buy at my local shop that said he was born locally was my downfall. One look at him, and I walked out 30 minutes later with him in my arms. Can't believe I did that, but I love him to death. He's almost a year old now, and such a part of my family.

 

[#1hockeymom]

We have a jackrat. Bought him at a small, local, village pet store. His parents are both local and I've seen both. We fell in love with him. I don't care that he'll never be AKC or that some people think he's a stupid designer dog. We weren't looking for a specific breed, but I did want smaller and I had a list of dogs we didn't want. We love Max the super JackRat because he's AWESOME!

 

[chirurgeon]

My sister has a golden doodle. He is the sweetest dog you ever want to meet.

As far as trying to make the golden doodle its own breed, crossing breeds in the past is how we have quite a few breeds now. So this is really no different from what has happened in the past.

I hate the stores that sell dogs. A former co-worker raised german shepherds. She told me if she tried to sell any of the pups in a pet store she would have been kicked out of the national breed society.

Kim

 

[honugirl]

My friend's Golden Doodle is a very sweet dog. I'll give her that. She's just absolutely exhausting and exasperating. For a dog that's supposed to be low maintenance, baths almost every day doesn't come close in my book! (Not kidding, I had to give that dog a bath 5 days in a row! ) It smells too when it gets wet. Kind of like a wet sheep. Their other just plain old Golden is way more low maintenance, doesn't smell, not as hyperactive. Go figure? I think they have a first gen one. So maybe they just didn't have the mix right? I don't know.

 

[luvmyfam444]

I'd LOVE to find the free dogs out there - the shelters around here still charge $85 + and they have a home check first before you can be approved for a dog! YOu'd think you were adopting a kid! So if my grass isn't cut short enough I guess they won't let me adopt a dog?

 

[Scurvy]

As far as trying to make the golden doodle its own breed, crossing breeds in the past is how we have quite a few breeds now. So this is really no different from what has happened in the past.

Kim

That's true, but there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Most people who are currently breeding them are just taking a Golden Retriever and a Poodle and breeding them with the intention of selling the puppies and that's all. There are others who are doing all the research, testing, and record keeping that go into possibly creating a new breed. Until you can breed two Goldendoodles and be able to accurately predict a standard for the characteristics that the puppies will have, they will not be a real breed.

The people who just keep breeding a Golden and a Poodle (without doing all the testing and keeping all the records) are not creating a breed, they are just churning out more mixed breed puppies.

(ETA - I do love mixed-breed puppies, but I think it's irresponsible to keep breeding more when there are so many that need homes. I don't have as much of a problem with responsible breeders who are actively trying to improve their breed.)

 

[jrmasm]

We have a jackrat. Bought him at a small, local, village pet store. His parents are both local and I've seen both. We fell in love with him. I don't care that he'll never be AKC or that some people think he's a stupid designer dog. We weren't looking for a specific breed, but I did want smaller and I had a list of dogs we didn't want. We love Max the super JackRat because he's AWESOME!

So how much did you pay for your mutt?

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

I love my Cockapoo he's sweet, very loving and I wouldn't trade him for anything. He didn't cost me anymore than my beagle did and he's very smart and such a big baby.