pet stores

[jack_ss]

Green Bean, Your Aunt is a saint.

I have a friend who has worked in the pet shop trade for over 10 years. When my wife and I were thinking about getting puppies, his advice was to go to shows and meet the breeders and prospective studs/bitches (sires/dams if that sounds like porn actors to you) ourselves rather than buy our pups from pet stores.

I am glad we followed his advice as we made good friends with the breeders of both our dogs. It was a big relief to meet the parents of our pups before we bought them as the disposition and health of the parents is a good indicator of the pup’s disposition/health at adulthood. Both the breeders looked at photos of our property and had us sign papers to the effect that if we could not keep the dog, they would buy the dog back at the original price. One of the breeders allowed us to exchange the first pup we took home for another from the same litter as she had terrible seperation anxiety (cried all night and day) and my wife and I both worked the day shift.

Incidentally, even though our Rottweiler comes from OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) certified parents, she has mild dysplaysia in one hip at 32 months. So even with the best of guarantees, there are no guarantees.

[galt]

I have a friend who owns two pet stores. He spends his weekends driving all over central and southern California visiting breeders he knows and buying puppies from them. Each deal is for one or two pups, and I get the impression they’re usually ones which are “imperfect” from a dog-showing perspective, or that the breeder doesn’t think he’ll be able to sell to the types of customers who will go to a breeder. The distinction isn’t about the dog’s health, but about the “quality” of the dog, which, as a general concept, gets under my skin.

I’m not going to claim that this is the way it always is, or that it’s even common (because I have no idea), but anyone who says that pet stores never buy from breeders is full of shit.

[astro]

*Originally posted by Hail Ants *
**There are a lot of variables here. But to phrase the question, “Do pet stores ever buy from breeders?” the answer is a definite no.

Putting all morals & ethics aside it’s simply the wrong distribution channel for that supplier. Breeders generally work out of a kennel on their own property and sell to individuals who either intend on entering the animal in shows or who are simply enthusiastic enough about the breed to be willing to spend more for a pet. Pet shops cater a knotch below these people, but above those who simply want a free mutt.

The question, “Are all puppy mills run badly?” is an entirely different issue. **

And is this a guess on your part or definite knowlege? Because if it’s a guess I’m going to wager you don’t know much about the realities of retailing whether it be puppies or pullovers. So what do the breeders do with puppies that aren’t up to the perfect standards of the breed? Do you think they might wholesale them to a middleman or directly to large pet store buyer or is the dumpster for these less than perfect puppies?