Pet store dogs

[#1hockeymom]

So how much did you pay for your mutt?

I'm not even sure how to respond to your question, being that your word choice is so baited and mean.

Over the years we've had AKC field registered dogs, four shelter dogs and our last mutt (who's name is Max), or you can call him a JackRat but I think you'd hate doing that. AKC isn't the be all and end all of having a family pet.

He was 150 with all current shots. Coincidentally, the same price,or cheaper if we were to chose a puppy, that it would have cost to get a shelter dog. We'd been checking the shelter for months and they didn't have any dog we'd feel safe bringing home. Petfinder would have cost even more, and once again we did not find a fit. My pet shop is not a puppy mill or a small animal mill.

 

[jrmasm]

I'm not even sure how to respond to your question, being that your word choice is so baited and mean.

Over the years we've had AKC field registered dogs, four shelter dogs and our last mutt (who's name is Max), or you can call him a JackRat but I think you'd hate doing that. AKC isn't the be all and end all of having a family pet.

He was 150 with all current shots. Coincidentally, the same price,or cheaper if we were to chose a puppy, that it would have cost to get a shelter dog. We'd been checking the shelter for months and they didn't have any dog we'd feel safe bringing home. Petfinder would have cost even more, and once again we did not find a fit. My pet shop is not a puppy mill or a small animal mill.

You should have chosen the shelter dog rather than support an unethical breeder.

 

[#1hockeymom]

I didn't want a pitt bull mix. (read that part about them not having any dog we'd feel safe bringing home) I'm pretty sure I know what is right for my family.

Q: How do you know it was an unethical breeder? Do you live in my town? Know the owners? the breeders?

 

[jrmasm]

I didn't want a pitt bull mix. (read that part about them not having any dog we'd feel safe bringing home) I'm pretty sure I know what is right for my family.

Q: How do you know it was an unethical breeder? Do you live in my town? Know the owners? the breeders?

#1) I have a Pitt Mix, she is by far the best dog I have ever had.

#2) There is no reason to mix a Jack Russell and a Rat Terrier and then sell it in a pet shop. I don't need to live in your town to know this. This is simply common sense.

 

[EveDallas]

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!

My BFF and I have always said "You finance cars and houses, NOT DOGS."

 

[honugirl]

Just because a dog is at a pet store, does not mean that the breeder is unethical. There were corgi puppies at the feed store the other day that were from a local breeder. It was the easiest way to showcase the puppies to the farmers/horse enthusiasts that were probably going to buy them.

Sometimes you can't take a shelter dog home no matter how much you'd love to rescue one. If there's not one to fit your lifestyle, it's not going to work no matter how bad you want it to.

 

[#1hockeymom]

#1) I have a Pitt Mix, she is by far the best dog I have ever had.

#2) There is no reason to mix a Jack Russell and a Rat Terrier and then sell it in a pet shop. I don't need to live in your town to know this. This is simply common sense.

1. Your choice. I said I didn't want one for my family I'm glad you're happy with your dog

2.A mixed breed costs over 150 at the shelter, in the newspaper, on pet finder. We found the dog we loved at the local pet store, by accident, after we'd been looking at other sources. We were in the store to buy finch food for my classroom's finches. I'll pass on the common sense comment.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Anyone that intentionally breeds a mutt is an unethical breeder. Doesn't matter how nice they are, they are contributing to the deaths of mutts sitting on death row at the local shelter.

The Schnauzer in my sig? Adopted from a shelter. People who think they can't find small breed dogs for adoption don't look more than 10 minutes for one.

I had a Shih Tzu dumped in our neighborhood and had to find it a home. There are TONS of Shih Tzu rescues out there - they were all full so we kept her and found her a home ourselves. She was precious but I just couldn't have 4!

80% of the dogs in our local shelter are killed due to lack of homes. Half of those are purebred and many of them small breed dogs.

OP - in answer to your question, if a pet shop can't sell the dog they are either returned to the breeder (you don't want to know what happens then) or turned over to rescue. MANY people adopt pet shop dogs that are 5-6 months old because they were unsold and turned over. Local rescues in that area typically have a relationship with the local breeders and pet stores to get the cast offs so the animals aren't destroyed.

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

1. Your choice. I said I didn't want one for my family I'm glad you're happy with your dog

2.A mixed breed costs over 150 at the shelter, in the newspaper, on pet finder. We found the dog we loved at the local pet store, by accident, after we'd been looking at other sources. We were in the store to buy finch food for my classroom's finches. I'll pass on the common sense comment.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas!

Hockeymom thanks for giving a loving doggie a home!!!! Happy Thanksgiving to you too!!!

 

[cassie]

You should have chosen the shelter dog rather than support an unethical breeder.

Sometimes that is not possible.I'm all for shelters first, but they do have a lot of dogs that some familys or single people like me won't fit. I lucked out with my pup. A lot of pit bulls are there, and I've only known personly a few great pit bulls. They have such great thick necks that I love to squeese and shake. They were nice dogs.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Anyone that intentionally breeds a mutt is an unethical breeder. Doesn't matter how nice they are, they are contributing to the deaths of mutts sitting on death row at the local shelter.

I think, that's a very broad and harsh statement. These are your feelings and opinions.

I guess, Hockeymom saved a mutt from sitting on death row. Way to go Hockeymom!! I'm glad you found the perfect dog.

 

[honugirl]

Anyone that intentionally breeds a mutt is an unethical breeder. Doesn't matter how nice they are, they are contributing to the deaths of mutts sitting on death row at the local shelter.

OK, lets give credit where credit is due. While there are breeders out there intentionally breeding for profit and not doing some nice things, lets put some of the owness on the people that adopted the dog in the first place. What about those people who made the commitment to a dog, then when they find out how much work it is, they dump it on a shelter? If those people would have done their job, many more pets would have loving homes.

The Schnauzer in my sig? Adopted from a shelter. People who think they can't find small breed dogs for adoption don't look more than 10 minutes for one.

In some places there are not small dogs at the shelter. I routinely go to ours here in town and maybe have seen one small dog in 10 years. Some places just don't attract small dogs to the shelter. Or they have an overabundance of hunting/sporting dogs which end up at the shelter. I would say 90% of the dogs in my town are some sort of either lab mix or pit mix. Where I live is much more rural than other areas though.

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

In some places there are not small dogs at the shelter. I routinely go to ours here in town and maybe have seen one small dog in 10 years. Some places just don't attract small dogs to the shelter. Or they have an overabundance of hunting/sporting dogs which end up at the shelter. I would say 90% of the dogs in my town are some sort of either lab mix or pit mix. Where I live is much more rural than other areas though.

Oh no it's not just your area, our sheltor carries no small pets, they are fostered out, only big older dogs here at our sheltor....and to get a foster dog you have to go though months of visits and $$$ to receive anything, we tryed so hard to receive a corgi, but they drug it out for weeks and nearly two months and then we said forget it.

 

[ThePetLady7]

Last year, I was looking for an adult German Shepherd to adopt. There were literally hundreds within an hours drive of my home. We found one that was good with other dogs, housebroken, neutered, shots current, microchipped, and had some basic training. Oh, and he won't eat the cats either. We got him from a rescue for $250.

Last summer, we wanted to add a Pomeranian to our family. Not as many in my area, and the first one I went to see was being adopted just as I arrived. Several days later, there was a new arrival at a nearby city shelter. Less than a year old, neutered, shots current, microchipped, housebroken, and only $50.

With some time and effort, most any breed can be found through rescues/shelters. I know there are some rare breeds that are the exception, but they are just that, the exception.

A mom at my dd's cheer gym breeds these "designer dogs." Whenever she brings the latest batch of puppies to the gym, all I can think of are the overflowing shelters in our area and all the unlucky ones that are PTS because people choose to buy what used to be called a mutt instead of adopting.

 

[#1hockeymom]

Oh no it's not just your area, our sheltor carries no small pets, they are fostered out, only big older dogs here at our sheltor....and to get a foster dog you have to go though months of visits and $$$ to receive anything, we tryed so hard to receive a corgi, but they drug it out for weeks and nearly two months and then we said forget it.

We had the same experience. Our shelters are in large cities. They are no kill but they're filled with a lot of mixes that weren't suitable for our family or neighborhood. We tried to get a dachshund through petfinder and finally gave up jumping through the hoops. It would have been much more than we ended up paying for our forever dog we did buy.

ETA It sounds like shelter experience/price/types of dogs varies greatly depending on which area of the country you are in. Here they are no kill, but the trade off is they're expensive and many dogs which could be easily placed are fostered out.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I'm owned by two tonkinese cats. (if you a familiar with the breed, you know what I'm talking about) They were originally bred by crossing siamese and burmese. They were crossed because of their awesome traits. Not only are they now recognized as a breed but, are very expensive cats.

If more people chose animals that suited their wants and lifestyle.....fewer would end up in shelters or "on death row".

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

A mom at my dd's cheer gym breeds these "designer dogs." Whenever she brings the latest batch of puppies to the gym, all I can think of are the overflowing shelters in our area and all the unlucky ones that are PTS because people choose to buy what used to be called a mutt instead of adopting.

So why don't you go up to her and have a conversation about your strong feelings towards her breeding? Wouldn't that be a better thing to do than to just hide your feelings?

 

[Aimeedyan]

In some places there are not small dogs at the shelter. I routinely go to ours here in town and maybe have seen one small dog in 10 years. Some places just don't attract small dogs to the shelter. Or they have an overabundance of hunting/sporting dogs which end up at the shelter. I would say 90% of the dogs in my town are some sort of either lab mix or pit mix. Where I live is much more rural than other areas though.

It still falls back to the breeder. A good responsible breeder doesn't hand over a living being to anyone with the cash in hand. They ask for applications. They check in on the animal. Most importantly, they REQUIRE the person to return the animal to them if they can't care for it.

Dogs sitting on death row aren't bred by good breeders. Good breeders take back their dogs if the owner can no longer keep them (and have a legally binding contract to ensure that).

I have friends that transport dogs on weekends to different states. You CAN adopt an animal from another state. People do it all the time. My state, in particular, is esp bad for backyard breeders and an overpopulation of dogs. The rescues here will adopt to out of state people and do transports to get them to you. With the greatness of the internet, no one has to stick to their local shelter anymore to find the perfect home for an animal.

Sadly, that's the only way we'll solve the pet population. If people in areas with less of a problem continue to adopt from areas that are esp bad. Takes us all to save those lives

(in the same vein, reputable breeders of certain breeds are hard to find locally and people often have to travel to find one)

 

[cassie]

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!

Good for you. If he fits love him to death like I do mine from a small town local poet shop,.

 

[#1hockeymom]

I'm owned by two tonkinese cats. (if you a familiar with the breed, you know what I'm talking about) They were originally bred by crossing siamese and burmese. They were crossed because of their awesome traits. Not only are they now recognized as a breed but, are very expensive cats.

If more people chose animals that suited their wants and lifestyle.....fewer would end up in shelters or "on death row".

I completely agree. I bet many (not all, many) of the shelter dogs we see/are fostered out started out from a good breeder, but they ended up with bad "parents". The bad parents put them in the shelter.

Good for you. If he fits love him to death like I do mine from a small town local poet shop,.

He's our spoiled rotten toddler! Our kids are 23 and 15. Max has filled the next kid spot.