should i believe a pet store that says they dont sell from puppy mills?

Question

plz dont say u shouldnt buy from it anyway and that I shoud get it from a breeder, no matter how much its true... (wink wink)

good advice!

Answer 1

Not at all! Where else would they get their pets. No responsible, self respecting breeder w/ quality dogs would sell their puppies thru a petstore.

Petstore doesn't care who gets the dogs, as long as they have money to pay for the dog.
They don't check up to make sure you have a fence, you are allowed to have a dog, don't even care of someone has been convicted of an offense against animals..
Petstores are one of the very worst places to buy pets!

Answer 2

When you purchase a puppy you are making a commitment to caring for that animal for its entire life. Please do not be roped into buying from a pet store. The answers you have already been given are right on. No reputable breeder would hand over their puppies to a place like a pet store. I am a breeder, and would not ever think of having one of my puppies put in a disease infested pet store. I would keep every single one of them first, no matter how many there were. Responsible breeders do it for the love and bettering of the breed, and care too much to allow the puppies to go to anything other than a good home. For breeders that truly care money is not a factor. When done correctly, there really isn't any money in it. In fact, what it costs me to properly maintain my dogs is more than anything I make off the puppies. How a puppy spends the first few weeks and months of its life has everything to do with what kind of dog they become.

Answer 3

ALL puppies in pet stores come from either puppy mills, commercial breeders or backyard breeders. NO reputable, caring breeder would EVER sell their pups through a pet store or other third party.

Answer 4

No - Every pet store will tell you that. Most pet stores buy their puppies from out of state. I can guarantee you that the people who are buying the dogs for the store have never been to the dog kennel, so how would they know if they got a dog from a puppy mill or not. They will say what ever it takes to make a sale.

http://www.petstorecruelty.org/boycottpetland.htm
http://www.sniksnak.com/ac/mills.html

Answer 5

No. They might not go directly to the puppy mill to get their dogs, but puppy mills do deliver. I've seen the truck pull up to the door of one of the pet store's in my town. Cages full of puppies of various breeds, it was sickening.

If the pet store says it doesn't get their dogs from a puppy mill they either know the truth and are lying about it, or haven't asked the right questions in fear of knowing and having to lie about it. They say ignorance is bliss.

It is so hard to see the puppies in the glass enclosures in the store. Begging to get out, be held and be loved but don't encourage pet store's to do that by buying from them. I don't even set foot in that store anymore.

Breeders love their animals, they love the breed and want what's best for it. They know that a pet store will sell to the first person with enough $$$ who walks in the door. They want more than that for their babies.

If you do ask your pet store, and they say they get them from breeders, ask for the breeder's number and address. Tell them you want to see the conditions where the pup was born and weaned. Watch them sweat.

Answer 6

No you shouldn't. What do you expect the to say? "Oh yeah, we get ALL our pups from puppy mills and sell them to stupid gullible people who can't stand to see that puppy face in the window..."

No self-respecting, reputable, responsible breeder would even CONSIDER selling their puppies to PET SHOPS! Where else would they get their puppies from? A tree out the back? They ALL come from PUPPY MILLS. Just because they tell you they don't, why would they tell YOU the truth? They don't care about YOU or the heartache you will go through AFTER buying that puppy. They care about how many times the shop till goes $$$.

Answer 7

I wouldn't. I don't trust pet stores (especially the chains) when it comes to live animals. If I were in the market for a puppy, I'd look around for private breeders. Even if they're not in your immediate area, most experienced breeders will gladly ship their puppies. You'll also pay a fairer price. Pet stores will charge you double or even triple what they actually paid for the puppies. They do this with birds, too.

Answer 8

I use to work in a pet store, we were a small pet store we only had 5 local stores and we got our puppies and kittens from the community. We took the puppies off peoples hands who were going to harm them or couldn't find homes for them they were usually mix breed puppies and they were accidental litters. We would get some pure breed puppies in but we didn't get our puppies from a puppy-mill. Before we would sell the pure breed puppies we had them vet check and we gave them there shots. We would have people fill out contracts and we would follow up with them 3, 7, and 10 days after someone bought one of our puppies. So to answer your question no all pet stores get there puppies from a puppy-mill.

Answer 9

Absolutely not! I had the unfortunate experience of working for one such pet store who repeatedly lied to their customers about the origins of their "weekly shipments" of puppies.

I saw the trucks they came in, the overcrowded conditions, the genetic defects, the lice, fleas, worms, the sicknesses. I saw them dropped from an average height of 5ft. off the ground almost weekly. I saw them over medicated, under socialized, and "sent back" when they didn't sell.

Unless they allow you to meet the breeder in person, it is a lie. A responsible breeder is pleased when clients ask for proof that the dog comes from reputable sources and will be more than happy to oblige. Pet stores will give you the many excuses i heard (and was instructed to tell).

I know you don't want me to say it, but it is the truth... Please do not patronize these stores.

-RVT

Answer 10

erm, they all say that...

They get their pets from breeders, a few through private individuals as a one time deal, but mostly from breeders.

As for what you believe is a puppy mill, to breeders the pets are a commodity, so regardless of where you go, unless you buy it from a private individual, it came from a puppy mill.

As for the reason they don't want to tell you where it came from, is because breeders would just as soon sell the puppy to you (and at an astonishing discount), which in turn cuts the pet store out of their profit.

That having been said, I would somewhat prefer to get my AKC pet from an individual, but if I'm going the puppy mill route then I will likely buy mine direct from the breeder (because it's like 1/2 price or better vs. the store but you can't haggle and it's cash only please).

As for how puppy mills treat their pets, they follow the laws and regulations concerning live stock for resale (or something along those lines), again the pet is a commodity.

But most breeders are actually good guys, perhaps low income but that's the nature of this business, the pet stores aren't helping them much, as a rule the pet store is just a place to offload a litter fast but the money isn't as good, they can get probably $50 - $100 more from an individual buyer (and it's still way cheaper for the buyer).