Would you ever get a puppy from a petstore?

Question

If so, why?
If not, why?
(yes I know they get their dogs from puppy mills - im just wondering what everyone else thinks )

Wow, wahootexan, you're an idiot. I'm not talking about Petsmart or Petco, I'm talking about the small chained petstores like "happiness is pets" and "petland" I pity you cause you can't read

Answer 1

Never. Even if you think you are 'rescuing' it from a sad life, you aren't. You are making room for another puppy mill puppy to be purchased. And by doing that, you are giving money to a puppy mill, which means they will breed another dog.

I don't even buy food or toys from pet stores. No need to when there are so many shops who know that it's wrong.

I know you said that you know about puppy mills, but I'm going to post a few links so that anyone who says 'yes' can learn about what they are. They have to start somewhere in their
education! : )


"You are so misinformed that I pity you. The two major pet stores we have only get their animals from rescue centers and shelters. Not mills. They have days set aside for the centers to bring animals to be adopted. Do a little more research before generalizing. If you can't get those facts, takes a simple search., How will you ever make your way to the store to buy dogfood?" Miss, you are the one who is misinformed. Your exception does not make the rule. And, if you are talking about PetCo and PetSmart, they are not 'pet stores'. They are actually committed to finding homes for adoptable cats & dogs (too bad it's not the same for the birds and small mammals they sell). I return the request to you - do more research before making generalizations. Choosing to be blind to a larger issue does not make one well-informed, it makes them say ridiculous uninformed ignorant things that 5 seconds of research can impeach.

Answer 2

NEVER!

People looking for pups should find a good breeder by going to www.akc.org or talking to people at dog shows. You can also find info about the breed clubs on the akc site - they probably have a rescue group where you can get an older dog for less money. The best breeders will be members of their breed club, promoting healthy dogs with great temperaments. They should ask you a bunch of questions to make sure their puppy will be getting a good home. If all a "breeder" seems to care about is whether your check will clear, you can be sure he won't care a week later when the pup is dying from distemper or parvo and you want your money back.

Whatever you do, DON'T go to a pet shop, a flea market or buy one sight-unseen off the Internet!!!! You'll pay top dollar for what is usually a poor quality puppy mill dog. And you'll be supporting one of the cruelest industries in the country. The breeding animals are often kept in deplorable conditions - spending their entire lives in small wire-bottomed cages. They probably haven't been vaccinated against contagious diseases or tested for any health or temperament problems or genetic diseases - that costs money and cuts into their profits. A female is often bred every time she comes into heat. When her poor little body can't take it any more, she is often clubbed in the head and tossed into a dumpster or an open ditch. Most puppy mills ship their pups to pet stores at wholesale prices and many pups die before they even get there.

These so-called "breeders" have now figured out that they can use the internet to ship a dog directly to the customer and thus make more money by cutting out the middleman. If you buy a dog from out of state, good luck getting your money back if there's something wrong with the pup. These people count on you becoming instantly attached to the poor little guy and being willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars at the vet to treat whatever is wrong with him.

Answer 3

I got my 2 yr old yorkie at Petland when he was about 12 weeks old. My husband and I don't regret it even though we knew that you shouldn't by from a petstore. He came with a 3 yr warranty. If he died in the first yr we would get half our money back, if he died in the second yr we would get so much back. If he got sick from anything other than what puppies usually get and didn't die we would recieve another yorkie. Also included in our price was everything the puppy would need. It was $1200.00 for him. But we got the warranty, dog cage, bed, toys, bowls, collar, lead, etc. So it wasn't a bad deal, b/c if we had just bought a yorkie for $800 to $900 then by the time we bought everything it needed it would have been close to the $1200.00. I think if you find a dog at a Petstore be sure to ask lots of questions about the dog and where it came from. Play with it as long as possible.

Answer 4

As much as I want to say no, it is so hard to walk into a pet store and see a poor little animal just begging to go home with you. I think it really just depends on the store though. In one of the malls, there is a pet store that is selling puppies, even mixed breeds for over $1000. You can clearly tell that they were sick and had worms. Plus they had bigger pups in tiny crate cages. It was horrible. I would never buy from a place like that.

However, I actually got a pug from my local neighborhood pet store. They are family owned and they only take puppies from people in the area. They do not go to puppy mills. I got my healthy and loving pug for only $400. Plus he was well socialized. They give a health guarantee for the first year, and provide all the first shots and medications. The workers also take the puppies and kittens home with them every night.

Answer 5

That is a very good question.
These days, with all the puppy mill news, people assume that pet shop pups are puppy mill pups. In the big cities, it is probably so.

I have lived in 6 towns in 2 states, and each of these towns only carried locally bred puppies. In the largest city, they actually bought puppies from local breeders to sell in the shop.

In all of the smaller cities they sold puppies on consignment, taking 1/3 of the price. The breeder or individual had to take the pups back home if they didn't sell by 12-14 weeks.

The advantage of local bred pups, is that if anyones pups were returned as unfit, the store wouldn't carry their pups any more.

All pups were vaccinated, and tested for worms. The store would charge the breeder for this if it wasn't already done.

In my town, there are two ladies that breed Maltese and bichons. They are sold for about $400 in two of the local pet shops.
I take care of several of those dogs in the doggy day care. They are adorable. Most of them are on heart or thyroid medication. Some are on insulin. The breeders seem to be very nice people, but are ignorant of good breeding practices.

So, in my experience, buying from a pet shop is the same as buying from a newspaper ad.... You gotta do your homework, and there are good ones and there are heartbreaks.

Answer 6

Hi: Of course in pet shops they come from puppy mills . That is how the owners of puppy mills make there money. I have been fighting against these places for years . One way to put a stop to puppy mills is Not to buy a puppy from pet shops!! If you see a puppy you want in a pet shop Ask the pet shop for proof of where they received the puppy and check it out.! Pups from a puppy mills aren't usually healthy. If anyone knows of a puppy mill report them to your Humane society!!

Answer 7

You are so misinformed that I pity you. The two major pet stores we have only get their animals from rescue centers and shelters. Not mills. They have days set aside for the centers to bring animals to be adopted. Do a little more research before generalizing. If you can't get those facts, takes a simple search., How will you ever make your way to the store to buy dogfood?

Answer 8

Yet more misinformation here. Most pet shop puppies come from commercial breeders, NOT from puppy mills. And there IS a difference!

But no, I would not buy a puppy there. I show and breed. I also would never place my puppies through a second party like that, my puppy buyers are carefully screened.

Answer 9

No, the reason is because any good breeder would never sell their puppies to a pet store just for money. Any good reputable breeder wants only good owners for their dogs and are not in it for the money. when a puppy is sold in a pet store there is no control in who buys the puppy. most of them will tell you they make very little money at breeding dogs. they do it because they love the breeds and want to better it.

Answer 10

Normally I wouldn't but I went into this pet store with my daughter just to look and fell in love with a puppy and bought it. We paid $100 for a lab/shepherd mix lol. She turned out to be a pretty good dog.