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| | Author | Messages | |
Pet Social Worker
Posts:0
 | | 10/28/2007 6:29 PM |
 Alert | Obviously it's only rescues for me as well, but before I was active in rescue & did research on the topic, I had purchased a dog from a pet store. I will never do it again. Not only did we pay too much for the dog, but she most likely came from a Puppy Mill since the vast majority of pet store dogs do come from inhumane breeding mills that are filthy. Because of her poor start in life, she was EXTREMELY hard to potty train, she was very starved for affection & she's probably been inbred so health issues will be a concern as she continues to age. The unsanitary conditions that puppies survive in while @ the mills also contribute to lingering health issues. She's also a hateful little thing and behavioral issues are extremely common in pet store puppies/dogs because of their poor socialization and continued inbreeding. Aggression is very common in puppy mill dogs. Another horrific thing I learned after doing some research (and adopting a soon-to-be-put-to-sleep breeder Pekingese) is that once the breeder mothers have 3-4 litters of puppies BACK TO BACK, they often develop health problems of their own and are put to sleep in often HORRIBLY inhumane ways to make room for the next young purebred mom to continue the breeding process.
OK, sorry for my rant & for getting my soap box AND for bringing you all down!
I know the pups @ the pet stores are cute & you think you're "saving" one because you get it out from behind the glass, but think twice. Do some research.
We love our little middle-aged beagle, and it took me years to learn these lessons, but I have and won't make the same mistake again. | | | |
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| | Pet Social Worker
Posts:0
| | 10/28/2007 6:41 PM |
Alert | OK, well I typed out a 10min. long diatribe about why not to adopt from a Pet Store & for some reason it is gone now.....UGH! It was much more eloquently written than what I'm going to type below, but this is what I have time for now. Sorry to bring you all down & please know that if you've purchased a pet store puppy in the past, I am not chastising you because I too have done it before I did some research & began to be in rescue. Just do your homework I assure you, you won't do it again.
Anyway here's the highlights:
The vast majority of pet store puppies are from puppy mills.
Puppy Mills are inhumane, filthy places.
The breeder mom's are bred over and over again, develop health problems & then are PTS in horrifically inhumane ways to make room for the next young female who can pump out 3 or 4 litters before she too is PTS.
Puppy Mill dogs often have behavioral problems from living in overcrowded conditions, being taken from their littermates & mother too early and from a lack of socialization.
Puppy Mill dogs are often far less healthy because of the filth they are born into & because of constant inbreeding.
Puppy Mill puppies are notoriously hard to potty train.
Puppy Mills are NOT breeding to improve the breed - quite the opposite happens in fact. They are there to make a buck only.
I'm sure I could find a bigger list of why NOT to adopt from a pet store, but it sickens me to even think about this any longer.
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| | shertex
Posts:1028
| | 10/28/2007 7:57 PM |
Alert | | TOTALLY AGREE!!!! | |
Senior Member
Posts: 5042
Joined: Jan 2006
You better make it count, cause you can't get it back! | |
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| | njparks
Posts:201
| | 10/28/2007 10:58 PM |
Alert | Kim...Pet store dogs are a crap shoot. I've heard (and have actually seen) horror stories of puppy mill dogs with loads of health problems, housetraining issues, temperament problems...all that you said.
However, I have taken into rescue, a number of dogs with full paperwork from pet stores...where did you think the majority of rescue dogs come from--backyard breeders and puppy mills... (a good breeder takes their dogs back, at any time in their life, and for any reason) ...that turned out just fine and were lovely pets.
I wouldn't recommend getting a puppy from a pet store...I hate encouraging them...but once any puppy comes home, the real work starts, as you well know. Socialization and training go a long, long way!
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Nancy | |
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| | charann
Posts:210
| | 10/29/2007 7:37 AM |
Alert | Well, now I feel completely bad about this, but, we did get a puppy on Saturday, but we got him from a pet store. I really didn't think of the horror stories behind pet stores, never owned a dog before. Only other pet I ever owned was a cat that was poisoned and thrown in my trash can when i was 10. He lived 19 years. Now, Byron has had several dogs, but they all came from breeders, all were german shepards. So, now i feel bad that we did go to a pet store, but I also won't lie about where we got him.
We did look at the pound and some rescues and it did break my heart to see and hear the animals, but the truth was, none of the animals really were what we wanted. I had high hopes we would find something we both loved, but either i wanted something and he didn't or he wanted something and i didn't.
so, we went to the mall and the pet store and that's where we got our 15 week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi, which, truth be known, this is the dog Byron wanted with all his heart and soul and I don't think he would have been as happy with any other dog, so, on that note, at least we got a dog we both love.
He is adorable, he is cute and funny, he is friendly, energtic, full of energy, more so than I thought he would. We do have him set up for training with Petsmart starting this saturday for 8 weeks. We are trying crate training, but I'm not sure we will be able to do that. We will be at work for about 10 hours a day in phoenix, so to me, it's not fair to leave an animal caged up for that long. So, we did gate off the dining room, so we will probably just let him have that room for himself while we're gone all day.
The plan is eventually to let him be outside during the day. at first, he didn't like being outside, but now, he practically begs to go outside. we are planning to fence off a part of the yard just for him, so that the doesn't get into the flowers in the yard. but he'll still have a great size playing field.
He did have a hissy fit last night, we put him in his crate to get him used to it and he did bark and bark. i wanted to go and get him, i feel bad when he just barks and i can't hold him to calm him down, but Byron said no, let him bark, because then he'll realize, mom and dad won't come and get him every time he barks.
we are trying to potty train him and that is going...well...i didn't realize it would be this hard. I know with my cat, basically just put him on his litter box a few times and that was it. now, our puppy, different story all together. he does sorta give us a sign when he has to do Number 2, he tends to go around in a circle. But peeing, we can't figure out what his sign on that is yet. we may have to figure out a way to get him some potty training classes if we can't get that figured out, then again, only had him since saturday afternoon.
We did have to take him to the doggie ER yesterday, he was bleeding when he did number 2. they did test him for parvo, which i never heard of it, but said that he was negative for that, which is good. he did test positive for 2 parasites, so we now have him on medication for about 6 days.
we are taking him in for his first vet exam today, going to get him his rabies shot today.
Please, don't hate me because we got a pet store puppy. If i really knew that they were that bad, i may have thought twice. but the important thing, Foxy makes us happy, even if he's more work than i thought he would be! | | | |
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| | Janice
Posts:108
| | 10/29/2007 10:12 AM |
Alert | | At the very least, please say you didn't finance the dog! Yikes! | |
Janice, not Janet. | |
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|  | shanakerr
Posts:43
| | 10/29/2007 10:15 AM |
Alert | That is so unfortunate, I am sure you could have found a nice puppy from a rescue group.
I wont brow beat you about the horrors of puppy mills, but a few points to bring up in your posting above.
1. Eileen and John, two good friends of mine, run Az Corgi Rescue and certainly have many Corgis available for adoption. If one isnt immediatly what you want, be sure within a few weeks the right one would have come in, and getting the RIGHT dog is what is most important.
2. A puppy is NOT the right answer for a household where you are gone ten hours a day, PERIOD, unless you plan to hire a pet sitter to come in and walk, clean, and socialize mid day. It is reall irresponsible to do anything else.
3. NO dog should be left outside all day long.... is it cold for you, hot for you, lonely for you??? If it is any of those for you, your dog feels the same way!! Domesticated pets want and need to be inside, safe from the elements, safe from being lost or stolen, they want to be inside their "den" where their pack resides as much as you do. No dog should be left outside, routinely, as a means of management for hours and hours a day. CRATE YOUR PUPPY inside, or put in a dog door that leads out into an enclosed safe outdoor pen and inside into an xpen or other gated area. Puppy, adult, senior, it doesnt matter, none should be left oputdoors all ay long!!!! Hire a petsitter and rig up a way to contain the dog safely indoors when you are gone.
In Arizona especially, can you imagine sitting outside all day in a fur coat??? if you would be hot, your dog is HOTTER. Dogs cant sweat, dogs cant take off their coats, it is MISERABLE for them. If you dont do anything else, PLEASE do not plan to leave your dog outdoors for 10 hours a day!!! I am sure your neighbors would not appreciate the barking and noise either, dog slocked outdoors all day all the time will develop bad habits, including barking and digging. Plus, you chose a high drive, snippy, yappy breed....a Corgi locked outside will make your neighbors hate you!
I am not sure a rescue would have adopted you what you were looking for, as a rescue director I can tell you we dont adopt puppies to homes where the people are gone 10 hours a day and plan to leave the dog with out mid day visits or breaks, and we never NEVER adopt them to homes where they plan to keep them outside routinely as containment. So, maybe you did the right and only thing going to a pet store, maybe it worked out as it was meant to, BUT you can now choose to make good choices for your dog to ensure it is a safe, happy and long relationship that lasts the entire life of the dog.
BTW....blood in stool and parasites is NOT acceptable when you pay that much money for a dog!!! That puppy should have been dewormed and fully checked before you took him home, thank God you dont have other pets, or they would all have the same parasites and would all need vet care and meds! Most rescue groups have all puppies on a deworming schedule, you would have paid 1/20 the price and you would not have had to deal with bloody stool and parasites! If I were you I would go back to that pet store and demand they cover your bills from the vet, I am sure they gave you some kind of health guarantee in that several thousand dollar price you financed, make them honor it, it is ridiculous to buy a brand new puppy that is sick for that type of money from a retail store!
A rescue, additionally, would have adopted you a dog wiht all current vaccines, including and most importantly current rabies shot. We are REQUIRED to do so, apparently retail dog sales establishments are not. Hmmm, funny, the county could drop here any time on our non profit pet rescue to be sure every dog we have placed and every dog on this property has a rabies vaccine record, but a puppy STORE sells you a pricey dog with no rabies shot! Ridiculous!
Anyway, good luck to you with your puppy, I hope anyone else who reads this will consider adopting or finding a reputable breeder vs. buying a pet store dog! | |
Shana Kerr
Arizona Animal Assistance
www.azanimalassistance.com
Bulldog Rescue of Arizona
www.bulldogrescueofarizona.com | |
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| | alanf
Posts:1473
| | 10/29/2007 12:41 PM |
Alert | Posted By charann on 10/29/2007 7:37 AM
Well, now I feel completely bad about this, but, we did get a puppy on Saturday, but we got him from a pet store.
Charann - Don't let them make you feel guilty!!! So what if your new 4 legged furry kid came from a puppy mill. He deserves a chance to live just like the ones getting a second chance. He may have some issues, but he is now YOURS!!! No matter what anybody says, you just saved a life. how could anybody possibly believe that saving a puppy from a rescue society is better than saving one from a pet store. Granted, somebody is making a profit, but the sad puppy never knows that does he/she???
Congratulations on the new addition to your family.
Unfortunate....PLEASE!!!! | | | |
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| | shanakerr
Posts:43
| | 10/29/2007 1:26 PM |
Alert | Yes, very unfortunate, even more unfortunate for the parents of that puppy.
Hey alanf, where do you think that sweet puppy charann is loving on right now came from?? No concern for those dogs huh? Maybe you cant think that far or make the connection, but every time you "save" a pet store dog (by the way, buying a dog for thousands of dollars from a retail store is NOT saving it......go walk the shelters, take in a dog in danger of immediate death, fix all its issues, ALTER it, and rehome it for less then it cost to care for it, THEN you have "saved" a life, and also prevented more from being lost by preventing breeding) every one bought or "saved" has parents that have just been damned to more breeding in the filth hole they live in...why?? Because you just made it worth it, you just provided the demand for the supply.
Save a life, NO, bought a puppy you intend to love the best you can just like you buy anything else in a store and in doing so you just damned the parents to a miserable life.
Please dont equate buying a puppy to saving a life, that is ridiculous and indeed MOST UNFORTUNATE......anyone can buy a puppy, especially when you can finance them (just $90 dollars a month, btw you are probably still paying just the interest by the time your dog hits the end of its life span!) if you want to save a life pull in a wandering stray, a dog some one is begging to give away or a dog off death row at the county facility, spend your bucks making it healthy and altering it and committ to its issues FOR LIFE, that is saving a life.
Being a wide eyed person in puppy love is fine and I am sure most of us have fallen victim before or will at some point, BUT do NOT equate that to "saving" a life.
Saved a life....PLEASE!!!! | |
Shana Kerr
Arizona Animal Assistance
www.azanimalassistance.com
Bulldog Rescue of Arizona
www.bulldogrescueofarizona.com | |
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| | alanf
Posts:1473
| | 10/29/2007 2:14 PM |
Alert | Wrong answer. What is unfortunate is that there are puppy mills. It is not unfortunate is that charrann bought a puppy. She found a puppy that she fell in love with at bought. Where would that puppy in the store go if nobody purchased it? Would it end up in a rescue? Or just get the shot? Rescues are great and I admire the people that keep them going. But I refuse to just let these poor guys be marked as inferior and put to sleep just to make a point. Puppy farms will keep kicking out puppies until it becomes illegal to do so. Don't Damn the poor folks that buy them.
I won't continue in your little mission or this argument. I'm just saying that the people that fall in love with a puppy shouldn't be told that it is unfortunate. I'm done.
Congrats again charann. | | | |
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| | shanakerr
Posts:43
| | 10/29/2007 4:19 PM |
Alert | Convenient to "be done", but good for you, because your argument is flat ridiculous.
Who said the puppies should be put to sleep? Where did that come from? If they dont get sold before they get bigger and no longer such a cute "little" puppy the coorporations who buy them in mass quantities practically give them away for CHEAP or free or give them to rescues they routinely work with (yes there are rescues out there that filter these dogs through and out inot pet homes, but rescues that do this are evry quiet about it), and then HERE IS THE BEST PART, they would stop buying them if the demand went away. Wow, what a concept!
No one said her puppy should be euthanised, lets not be so dramatic,what I said was it was unfortunate she got suckered into buying a puppy from a mall pet store and sold a sick dog at that.
You dont want to continue in my "little mission". JEEZ if only you were right, I wish it was a "little"mission, Lord knows anyone doing rescue prays for that every day. But, as long as people contiue to feel like you do that it is no big deal to support crappy breeding and irresponsible pet ownership, my "little mission", will be HUGE and shared by million besides just me! You said very little about "people that fall in love" being told it was unfortunate, most of what you said involved donw playing the crisis the animals in these breeding situations and puppy mill situations are in, saying it is no big deal to support it, support away!! and equating buying a puppy from a retail store to saving a life, rescuing a pet, or working with an animal welfare organization. Sad, really sad.
Thank you for bringing this very important topic to light! | |
Shana Kerr
Arizona Animal Assistance
www.azanimalassistance.com
Bulldog Rescue of Arizona
www.bulldogrescueofarizona.com | |
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| | Cheyenne
Posts:91
| | 10/29/2007 6:36 PM |
Alert | | I'm sure we all agree that puppy mills are horrible. However, educating people on the condition of these mills and puppies should be saved for a new thread. Charann started this thread while looking for a puppy, no matter how she came to find the perfect one she did indeed find her perfect puppy. What's done is done. We should be happy for her and wish her all the best with her new fur baby rather than making her feel bad about where her puppy came from. CONGRATULATIONS Charann!!! | | | |
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| | charann
Posts:210
| | 10/29/2007 7:51 PM |
Alert | Thank you, we are very happy with our puppy. He is a handful to say the least, but he is full of love and knows we are full of love to give him.
we won't be putting him outside while we're gone, although, that dog sure does like to go outside and run around. i think i may end up losing weight because of all the running around im doing with him! but he is a cute and happy puppy and we all make each other happy and that's all that matters i guess.
we will be getting a doggie door, so that he can go in and out as he pleases while we're gone. the truth is, yeah, im sure if we went to every rescue we could have found what we wanted, but we didn't go to everyone and we got the dog that we fell in love with. that's the important thing...we fell in love with him and he fell in love with us. I am sorry we did go to a pet store, but at the same time, i won't feel completely guilty, because we're happy with him.
but thank you all for the advice, even if some don't think i listened...thank you all! | | | |
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| | alwaysamytoo
Posts:0
| | 10/29/2007 8:09 PM |
Alert | | Enjoy your new dog, don't feel guilty but please be careful. Dallas our 10 month old lab is a $1600 pet store dog "healthy" as they said ... well his "good health" ended up as Kennel cough which was given to our little Abby who had major surgery. This caused her to get a severe respiratory infection turned into pneumonia starting the day after her surgery, she had a little cough the day of her surgery we noticed but thought it was just Abby. This wound up costing us over $8,000 to watch our 16 month old Yorkie die. Take your new dog to a vet for a complete check up, I don't want what happened to us happen to another family, our hearts were broken and still are to this day. | | | |
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| | ilovesubway
Posts:53
| | 10/29/2007 8:22 PM |
Alert | No, you shouldn't let us make you feel guilty.. You should feel guilty all on your own.
If you wanted to buy a puppy, why not buy one from a responsible breeder? | | | |
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| | charann
Posts:210
| | 10/29/2007 9:58 PM |
Alert | Our dog has been to 2 vets, one on Sunday as an ER visit, cause of the blood, they did all the tests, came back negative for parvo and positive for 2 parasites. He's on medication now. Went to his puppy exam today, everything seemed fine with him, both vets, the ER and the "normal" vet said he appears to be in good health, aside from the parasites, which they said will clear up with the medication. The pet store actually paid for the medication, since he had the condition before we bought him. He also has all his vaccinies that he can have at this point, only being 14 weeks old, has had 2 dosages of Parvo vaccine, had his nasal spray for the doggie flu Bordella (something like that), but the rabies has to wait till the end of November, because the vet today felt he was still a bit too young to have the rabies.
I should say, I don't feel guilty that we got him from a pet store. I realize that to some that was the worst thing we could do, but the important thing is, we have a dog who loves us as much as we love him, which means, one less dog in the world who will be abused by their owners and no matter what, we're happy. I do feel bad that there are so many animals who are in the pound and rescues, but after playing with our puppy tonight, I don't feel guilty. We did what we felt was right for us, we got the puppy we wanted.
We are going to keep monitoring his stool and make sure that the medication does work. He still has some blood, but since yesterday when the medication started, it has gotten less and less.
And we didn't finance him...we paid cash for him. He's not being financed, he is completely paid for with no payments needed to anyone.
He is a cute puppy, never realized how many people would comment on him. Left him home alone today while we did some shopping, we took a couple of days off from work to finish getting the house doggie proofed and he was pretty good on his own. he has the dining room gated for him, with all his toys in there and his crate. came home and he was sleeping in his crate, so he did well. once we go to work, i will miss him, especially being gone for so long during the day, but he'll be OK.
so far, he is a fairly quiet dog, barks for only a few minutes and then stops. aside from the parasite issue, we are both so happy with him and that is the most important thing that we're one happy family! =) | | | |
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| | alanf
Posts:1473
| | 10/30/2007 11:14 AM |
Alert | Posted By ilovesubway on 10/29/2007 8:22 PM
No, you shouldn't let us make you feel guilty.. You should feel guilty all on your own.
If you wanted to buy a puppy, why not buy one from a responsible breeder?
Here is proof that oxygen can truly be wasted.
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| | Pet Social Worker
Posts:0
| | 10/30/2007 4:03 PM |
Alert | Oh my, now look what I've started.
Part of me feels guilty that Char is taking some heat and I certainly did not mean for that to happen. Char, I am truly happy that you've found the pup you & your family were wanting.
The other part of me hopes this thread has educated some others about the horrors that adopting from a Pet Store can bring. I've seen it time & time again and often I get the call months after someone has purchased the thousand dollar cute puppy and they are asking me to rehome the pooch because they just didn't know how much work it would be or how much barking, whining, peeing, pooping would happen or how many things would be destroyed by the adorable pup. I'm not sensing that will happen in Char's case, but adopting a puppy at any stage from anyplace is something that shouldn't be taken lightly.
I'm sorry Char has taken some heat here & sorry that this thread has turned ugly, but not at all sorry for posting the reality that exists. | | | |
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| | DIRTY BIRDIE
Posts:342
| | 11/01/2007 12:56 PM |
Alert | <div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By alanf on 10/30/2007 11:14 AM
<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By ilovesubway on 10/29/2007 8:22 PM
No, you shouldn't let us make you feel guilty.. You should feel guilty all on your own.
If you wanted to buy a puppy, why not buy one from a responsible breeder?</div>
Here is proof that oxygen can truly be wasted.
</div>
LOL
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| | DIRTY BIRDIE
Posts:342
| | 11/01/2007 12:58 PM |
Alert | Congrats on the new puppy Char.
Everyone needs to chill and roll some Maui Wowi!!
Be happy mon. | | | |
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