Don't Buy From Breeders/ Pet Shops

Reading various posts on here, and talking to people who are interested in buying dogs, it has come to my attention that so many people find certain breeds of dogs intriguing or even 'fashionable' in some cases, and are hooked on buying that certain breed of dog to own. So many people buy dogs from dog breeders and pet shops while perfectly beautiful animals die in animal shelters because there is nobody who wants to adopt them. Throughout my life I have had 3 pet dogs, all of which were adopted from animal shelters. They were the most beautiful, friendly, happy, and healthy dogs I had ever met, and all three lived very long lives.

I have seen many posts on here about people saying they are going to go buy this breed, or that breed, but before you purchase a pet I would like to urge to think about adopting from an animal shelter instead. All dogs in animal shelters go through health examinations and personality tests. Millions of dogs each year are put down because the animal shelters can't afford to look after them forever, and nobody will adopt them. Buying from dog breeders also endorses puppy mills, terrible places where dogs are harvested like crops and treated terribly, just to make money on pure breeds and breeding.

For more information you can check out the following websites I found recently:

link removed

link removed

I'm sorry if this is off-topic or has already been discussed but it just came to my attention after reading the pet forum and I felt the need to say something about it.

Yes, ages ago, when my then partner and I decided to get a dog, we got one from the local dogs' home. We asked if there was a 'death row', which there wasn't, so we looked at all the doggies. I'd had an idea at the back of my mind as to the look of the dog I'd like - but the one who was beaming 'Take me home with you!!!!' into our brains was nothing like that. As so often happens, you don't choose your pets - they choose you.

He was wonderful. I still have his photos, and losing him was losing one of the family.

Not all breaders are bad. My brother plans on becoming one. He won't run it like a puppy mill, not the way he treats his baby.

I completely disagree with your assumption that all breeders are directly involved with "puppy mills." Just because people choose to buy from breeders rather than adopting does not make them bad people, as I feel your post borders on insinuating. Yes, dogs from shelters are just as good as pure-bred dogs purchased from breeders, on that I agree, but they are not better. I don't think anyone deserves to be looked down upon for making the conscious decision of a pure-bred over an adopted dog.

While I agree that adoption is a good choice for many people, others choose a specific breed because they can expect certain personality traits or temperment, have allergy concerns or simply because they have a preference for that particular breed.

People do need to be educated about puppy mills, but I don't agree that it's fair to say that purchasing from a breeder endorses puppy mills. There are many excellent breeders and anyone choosing to purchase a purebred should research the breeder to ensure that they're respected and reputable.

Thank you for posting this. Buying from a breeder isn't the saame as buying from a puppy mill though. Buying from a pet store is what advocates puppy mills.

There is an alternative to purchasing a dog from a breeder if you want a specific breed--look into rescues. I'm very partial to boxers & will always have one, but my next one will be purchased from a rescue. There is a rescue for every breed if you want a specific kind of dog.

No not all breeders are bad but unless you are going to enter thm into shows, they don't need to be bred. Just b/c you have a pure bred dog doesn't mean you have to breed it. There are millions of dogs who are put down every day b/c people aren't spaying & neutering their pets. Until that's under control, breeding should stop.

219 animals are put down here in Atlanta EVERY DAY. Please think about what you could be contributing to before you buy a dog or breed one--you could be responsible for other dogs being put down b/c you wanted to make some extra moiney.

Exactly. Not all breeders are bad - and I wasn't saying this - I was just bringing up puppy mills because they do exist and are often associated with pet shops. Even if a breeder is fantastic, it is still better to adopt from an animal shelter as many of these animals die if they are not adopted. Most breeders don't euthanize their dogs if nobody buys them. But the dogs at the shelters do die if nobody adopts them. And in addition to this, pet owners need to get serious about spaying and neutering their pets just as hersmudders brought up, to try and lower the amount of stray dogs on the streets.

I know some pet owners would rather go to a breeder to buy a certain breed of dog, but I was simply just wanting to let people know that they should at least consider adopting from a dog shelter as an option when thinking about getting a new pet.

I bought two cats from pet stores. One, my Siamese, cost me many $, but he is a great cat!!! I got my bf's cat from the same pet store. He was a rescue cat that they had there. They were trying to get him a good home. He was free, all I had to do was get him neutered and get him his vaccinations. Many pet stores sell or give away rescue cats. They are great pets that would go to a kill shelter otherwise. I support pet stores and no kill shelters.

I bought two cats from pet stores. One, my Siamese, cost me many $, but he is a great cat!!! I got my bf's cat from the same pet store. He was a rescue cat that they had there. They were trying to get him a good home. He was free, all I had to do was get him neutered and get him his vaccinations. Many pet stores sell or give away rescue cats. They are great pets that would go to a kill shelter otherwise. I support pet stores and no kill shelters.

That's a really good point. Up here in Canada we have a large chain of pet stores called PetSmart. They don't sell puppies or cats from any breeders, but they have an adoption centre where local shelters take turns bringing in the animals that are available for adoption, even bunnies sometimes.

That's a really good point. Up here in Canada we have a large chain of pet stores called PetSmart. They don't sell puppies or cats from any breeders, but they have an adoption centre where local shelters take turns bringing in the animals that are available for adoption, even bunnies sometimes.

It is a really good point, and fantastic that pet stores are joining in to help combat pet homelessness. I've never seen any pet shops around here do that, but now I shall look into it.

PetSmart stores in america do that too. Those are the pet stores I will support--not the ones who sell puppies.

I love PetSmart, but I got my babies from a smaller chain called Pet's Delight. They are big on rescues. I got a rescue rabbit from them, also. Great people!

I have to agree with you because I have adopted all of my cats that I have had and they have turned out just to be the sweetest and loving animals. I never had any problems in them being sick at all when I have adopted them. I don't think that it is a bad thing if a person chooses to adopted a pure bred animal from a person in their town. It's the person choice on what they choose to do. But, you can get pure breed dogs from local shelters. Though it's a personal choice but adopting from a shelter will save an animals life and will give it a happier and longer life as well.

Yes, but I have had a couple animals die shortly after I adopted them from the shelter. Sad, but true. They were unhealthy and I was never told.

I agree, there are millions of good dogs who need homes. It breaks my heart seeing abandoned animals homeless. I don't understand how anyone could abuse poor defenseless animals or kick them out on the streets... these are the animals that really need homes. Breeders are just looking to make money off selling the puppies.

Another thing to consider is that with the economy tanking like it is ALOT of purebred AKC registered dogs are ending up in shelters. Toy breeds as well as working breeds.

So you could really get a good deal on one right now. I went to my local center a few weeks ago and there were quite a few pure chihuahua,shi-tzu(sp), pug, etc that had been surendered.

Then you have hounds, doberman, dalmation, akita, etc.

Before everything started going downhill the shelter couldnt keep their mits on them long enough to post them to their site. Now they just hang around for a few weeks.

Im not going to tell anyone where to buy their pets. I just highly suggest you do research before you buy anywhere. I personally will not buy from pet stores.

Not all breaders are bad. My brother plans on becoming one. He won't run it like a puppy mill, not the way he treats his baby.

Not all breeders are bad, but you can bet any breeder who lets his or her babies into a petshop to be sold to the first person with a valid visa IS a bad breeder.

I bought two cats from pet stores. One, my Siamese, cost me many $, but he is a great cat!!! I got my bf's cat from the same pet store. He was a rescue cat that they had there. They were trying to get him a good home. He was free, all I had to do was get him neutered and get him his vaccinations. Many pet stores sell or give away rescue cats. They are great pets that would go to a kill shelter otherwise. I support pet stores and no kill shelters.

There is a huge difference in a pet store charging an adoption fee for a rescued cat and one selling them that they purchased wholesale from a breeder. A HUGE difference. PEtsmart for instance would never sell puppies they purchased from wholesale breeders but they often engage in the 'sale' of rescued kitties but it is only for adoption fees and they are working closely with local animal rescue groups> They don't profit from it, they do this as a way to help homeless animals and i applaud them for that. They also allow the SPCA to adopt out dogs at their storefront on weekends. Again I applaud that. I would not even buy so much as a dog biscuit from a pet store that sold puppies or kittens for profit. IF they are engaging in the sale of pups or kittens they won't get any of my business. The breeders of these animals are notoriously BAD and irresponsible and they do not care about the health of what they breed. Anyone who could breed a litte pup or kitten and sell it to a petstore and not care WHO adopted out their babies does not care about the animals they are bringing into this world. And some might think 'well i only want a dog, i don't care if the people who bred them are reputable" but everyone should care because these dogs are usually very unhealthy and even if they 'appear' healthy they often have huge vet care bills as the owners have to run back and forth to the vet for many genetic illnesses and disorders that can develop over time. It is heartbreaking to get attached to a dog then have to put him or her down at the age of three or four over a genetic disorder. Reputable breeders (yes they exist, but honestly and realistically they are far and few in between because good breeders don't make a profit, all of their money they make goes back into their dogs...fewer and fewer people like this exist today - they LOVE the breed of their choice and put a lot of time, effort and money ensuring the dogs they produce are a strong representation of the breed itself) will health test and make sure the dogs they produce are sound and strong representations of the breed.

OH and here is the thing with puppy mills - People who will buy from petstores and from establishments that get their dogs from puppy mills make themselves believe it is altruistic. They say 'well at least i am saving that puppies life and bringing it into a good home". It is a natural reaction, i have had unknowing friends do the same thing. But really what is happening is you are ensuring that their parents are locked into a life of misery being bred at every cycle and most often are horribly abused. YOu might save that pup, but your dollars that line the millers pockets are ensuring that the parents of these babies live a wretched life of abuse. Watch a video on a puppy mill raid. Any respecting animal lover after seeing these shop of horrors would never buy one of their dogs again. These poor breeder animals are so uncared for, live their entire life in a cage, normally have broken limbs that were never treated, and so scarcely even recognize the breed they are even supposed to be.

Sadly the laws are very lax in shutting down these operations and the ONLY way we can stop them is to stop buying their pups. It sounds cruel that these pups won't get bought, but someone will take them eventually as they are little and cute. Force the petstores into giving these dogs away by not buying them so that they will no longer find it profitable to buy dogs from puppy mills. For so long as there is a buying public they will continue to sell them and mills will stay in business.

I find it totally amazing that some of the same people I have spoken to who cry that crate training is abusive will still say that they would turn around and buy a puppy or a kitten from a petstore (not referring to the rescued pups and kittens that petstores sponsor in partnership with local animal rescue groups). It is incredulous to me.

I find it totally amazing that some of the same people I have spoken to who cry that crate training is abusive will still say that they would turn around and buy a puppy or a kitten from a petstore (not referring to the rescued pups and kittens that petstores sponsor in partnership with local animal rescue groups). It is incredulous to me.

Me too. But I think it's the fact that most people aren't aware of many these things, and aren't aware that buying a puppy from a pet store may have bad consequences in terms of bad breeders and puppy mills etc. If people were more educated on the topic and knew how it all worked and where the money goes and what the implications are etc, then things would probably be very different. Hence why I tried to start a post on it!

often, most of the dogs in puppy mills are inbred, which leads to terrible health issues. It's just an awful, awful thing that these animals go through.

Me too. But I think it's the fact that most people aren't aware of many these things, and aren't aware that buying a puppy from a pet store may have bad consequences in terms of bad breeders and puppy mills etc. If people were more educated on the topic and knew how it all worked and where the money goes and what the implications are etc, then things would probably be very different. Hence why I tried to start a post on it!

Yes, and that is why i also take every oppty i can to educate. I know that even with my own friends who have done this it was done because they didn't know.....once they hear what i say on it they are shocked because they had no clue.

Here is one of my client's dogs. He's a boxer, full blooded "with papers". Bought at a pet store.

image removed

Here is my dog, a boxer, full blooded, with papers, bought from a breeder (before I knew better). I saw both of her parents, very much show-quality boxers (for some reason that mattered to me at the time, but now it means nothing):

image removed

Here is a client's pure-bred, "with papers" Boston Terrier, bought at a pet store ("he looked so sad in the cage. I think I rescued him from that awful condition!" says my client). He's WAY too tall to be a normal Boston (he's just a little smaller than my boxer!). He has very large eyes and different coloring than what "show quality" Bostons are supposed to have:

image removed

Here is another client's Boston, bought at a breeder (he saw her parents):

image removed

The difference in the way they look is incredible. Pure breds from pet stores are hardly that. They are mixed wtih something else, inbred, whatever. They look pure bred for the most part, but they are not.

Not all breeders are bad. I personally rescued my dog and I wouldnt do it any other way. My bf got his dog from a breeder (he was looking for a particular breed) and we love him just the same. This breeder is great.