Is it really that bad to buy a dog from a pet store?

Question

They all look so cute and scared in the cages. I'm thinking of buying one because the shelters don't have any small dogs. Am I still saving its life from a pet store? What happens if people don't buy them and where do they really come from?

Answer 1

"Cute and scared" is what the pet stores are banking on. I'll bet you that 75% of the people who buy pet store puppies do so because they feel sorry for the dogs.

You have to think about where those puppies come from -- most often, they come from puppy mills. This means that their mother is bred on every heat cycle until she's too old or sick to continue producing, and then she's euthanized. She lives in a wire cage her whole life, as does the puppy's father. They don't know anything about being anyone's pet. They are livestock.

The puppies are taken from their mother before they're old enough, in order to ensure that they will be at the "cute stage" by the time they get to a pet store. This means that they'll likely have socialization problems, in addition to the multiple health issues they may have due to poor genetics.

You don't want to support this.

If people don't buy them, the pet store generally lowers the price until someone does. Some pet stores dump unbought puppies at shelters after they've outgrown the "cute" phase.

You can get a little dog from a shelter, you just have to be patient. In addition to shelters, do google searches on breed-specific and all-breed rescues in your area. There are homeless dogs that are not in the shelters, but are being fostered in peoples' homes until they can find a home of their own.

Please DO NOT buy from a pet store.

ADDED:
The price of pet store puppies:
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/petstor.html
What is a puppy mill?
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/puppymil.html
Considering a pet shop pup?
http://www.dogplay.com/GettingDog/petshop1.html

More on puppy mills:
http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/
http://stoppuppymills.org/
http://www.puppymillrescue.com/

Answer 2

99% of the time, dogs in pet stores come from "puppy mills". A puppy mill is basically an irresponsible breeder who produces as many puppies as possible because they're only concerned with making money. The cages are small and filthy; usually stacked 3 or 4 high so that the waste from the top dogs drops onto the bottom dogs. They don't get to go outside to play, they don't get enough food/water, and they often are so traumatized that they develop behavior problems. When they're born, they are ripped away from the mother as soon as possible so that she can be bred again. They're shipped to pet stores in trucks, where they sometimes overheat or freeze to death. Buying a puppy from a pet store encourages the puppy mills to stay in business. Responsible breeders don't sell to pet stores because they want to be sure that each puppy goes to the right person, not some impulse buyer. I would keep looking at the shelters; there's a website where you can search for shelter animals in your area: www.petfinder.com. A good website to find a breeder is www.animalnetwork.com. There's probably several small-dog breeders within a couple hours' drive; many will also ship to you. It may be a little more expensive than a pet store puppy, but you get what you pay for. And by the way, puppies in pet stores are always bought by someone, so you don't have to worry about them being euthanized. It's only shelter dogs that get executed.

Answer 3

No you aren't saving a dog's life by buying from a pet store.. What you are doing is ensuring that they have more room for more dogs from puppy mills and you are supporting the whole puppy mill community.
You will ensure that you get a dog that is from a puppy mill that is being bred without regard to health or temperament or anything else for that matter. The only thought put into the breeding in a puppy mill is money...

ALL pet stores get their puppies form puppy mills.. Proof is .. NO responsible respectable ethical breeder would ever ever allow their puppies to be sold in a pet store. NEVER.

Even if you buy a dog, and convince yourself that you are saving the dog, you are just making sure that the puppy mills are able to put more puppies in that spot.. The more people buy them the more they will produce. If you want to help out a puppy mill, that's the way to do it..

Do a search on puppy mill and if you can stand the photos, the pictures of the over bred b itches, the dead bodies and the deplorable conditions, then go ahead and buy yourself a pet store dog.. If it makes you sick like it makes most people sick, then do the right thing and either rescue a dog or buy from a reputable breeder.

People are generally in too big of a rush when they want to get a dog.. They need it NOW.. Well good things come to those who wait.. Jump the gun and buy the first dog you meet, or go against what's right and buy from a petstore and you get the worst of the worst.

Puppy mills breed more than a couple of different breeds, they don't take the time to learn about the health problems and everything else about the breed, Cause they don't care.. If they don't care about their dogs, if they don't love the breed, and want them living in their homes, and aren't willing to take the best care of them.. Then why would you want a dog like that in your home.. Hard to train, hard to deal with, and most of all, hard to handle when their horrible health problems over come them, and they die... Heart wrenching...

Answer 4

Some pet stores get their puppies from puppy mills. Others get them from local breeders. The problem with puppy mills is that they are not always bred well. The dogs they use can have problems that are overlooked due to the large number of dogs that they have. This could lead to bad breeding. Bad breeding also happens sometimes when you buy from local people who don't know what they are doing. It is a gamble either way. I've had puppy mill dogs and dogs from local breeders, both have been healthly for the most part but they have their own small problems. You can check with the pet store about where they get their puppies and do some more research.

Answer 5

Yes, pet store dogs are from puppy mills. What honest, caring breeder would send their dogs to a place like that where the owner could never be predicted? Pet stores and puppy mills breed greed. Period.

The dogs look cute because they are puppies. Show me an ugly puppy. I've never seen one. They're all cute.

Shelters have puppies often and many dogs that come into shelters are pregnant and end up whelping at the shelter. Don't say shelters never have small dogs. They do. They just get home more quickly. Check more often.

You are not saving a life by buying a dog from a pet store. You are making space for another one to replace it and suffer.

If people don't buy the puppies by a certain age (usually 4 - 5 months), the dogs are sent to testing facilities where they spend their lives being administered substances for research. They don't live too long. Sometimes they are used to breed future generations of puppy mill dogs. Sometimes they are just killed. There's plenty more puppy mill puppies to choose from. Feeding dogs to sit in windows is not good for pet store profits. They have to "move" their merchandise to make a profit. It's a business.

Want to see where puppy mill puppies come from? Go here:

http://stoppuppymills.org/vidphoto.html

I want you to watch each and every video. I want you to understand what you are considering doing and what you will be supporting if you buy from a pet store. Knowledge is power.

Answer 6

No, Never buy a dog from a pet store! I know it's tempting but you are only fueling the fire of puppy mills and making more dogs unwanted by supporting them. Once you buy a puppy they will replace it with another one and breed more of them. If you don't buy the puppy and everyone else stops buying the puppies then the store won't continue to buy them because it's not good business. If the puppy mill can't sell them then they will stop breeding them or at least breed them less making less puppies and less unwanted dogs in the world. You can go to a pound or a rescue and save a puppy if you wish and it will most likely be cheaper. Sometimes shelters will take in a lot of puppies from puppy mills when one is shut down too and you can have your pick of any unwanted little dog of almost any breed. Just don't buy from a pet store!

Answer 7

As far as what happens to the dogs if they are not sold, they are either euthanized, sent to a rescue, or sent back to the breeder. Where they come from is more complicated. Depending on the reputation of the store they can get the pups from local breeders, a large scale breeder, or worse a puppy mill. Usually the people at the store may not know enough about a certain breed to give you specifics, you can look that up on Yahoo Pets or American Kennel Club. Just because a dog is cute, doesn't mean the dogs for you. My parent bought their current dog from a local pet store and she is a healthy, full grown, 3 y.o., pain in the rear, St. Bernard.

If you ask the proper questions (First Link) and do your homework, you sould be able to find a great pet and more importaintly a great companion.

P.S. Pups think of a house as a giant chew toy, so watch your wiring, remotes, shoes, bras, table/chair legs, etc.

Answer 8

Pet stores buy everything in bulk, including puppies from brokers who act as go-betweens directly from breeders who mass produce in what is called puppy mills. They pay the lowest price and generally, you get what you pay for. You have no clue who the parents were or what their health issues were or what conditions the puppy was raised in. Most of these large breeding facilities are nasty, cramped, and the dogs live in horrid conditions, and are just used for popping out puppies, no love or affection, no decent vet care, and they will breed anything with a vagina, everytime the females go in heat, until the poor dogs die from overbreeding. A dog's body simply can't keep producing pups every 6 months, it depletes their own nutrients--imagine how you'd feel if you popped out a baby every 9 months for years in a row. Every now and then you hear of animal control going in and busting one of them, but they just move on to another location and set up shop again. The likelihood of getting a good quality dog that you can show or breed is nil, and the likelihood that you are going to have health problems is very high.

As far as price, you'll pay just as much from a pet store as you will from a good breeder, because the puppy has 3 mark-ups--the puppy miller, the broker, and the pet store. A good breeder will guarantee your puppy in writing, and if health issues arise, will refund your money or take the pup back. Some will guarantee the dog for life. You read that right--for life.

Are you rescuing a dog by buying it from a pet store? Interesting way to look at it. Yes. But then you're also supporting this practice--as long as they keep selling, they'll keep buying. If the pups don't sell, they put them on sale, just like toilet paper that doesn't sell, and when the price gets low enough, somebody will buy them.

Answer 9

You may be saving one life but you keep the puppymill in business because it keeps the demand for puppies going. The one life you are saving condemns lots of other animals to a horrible life and death. Puppy mills and pet stores count on the pity people feel for the poor puppies in the cage, that is why they put them in the window.
The majority of the puppies sold in pet stores come from breeding farms called puppy mills. These dog farms typically keep dozens or hundreds of dogs in tiny, filthy pest and feces infested crates their entire lives, producing litter after litter. They rarely receive veterinary care, exercise, or attention. Most will be shot when they stop producing puppies.
Many of the puppies produced by these places have genetic defects and health problems related to the conditions they are raised in. Most of them will die young.
Click below for more information and photos on puppy mills:

http://www.mydog8it.com/puppy_mills.htm

Read the link. It wil give you 10 reasons why you should not buy from a pet store.
http://miami.craigslist.org/pet/338155491.html

In the petstore near me, if people do not buy the puppies while they are young they mark the price down until it is so low they just give it away and in some cases they put it to sleep because the health problems have started.

Answer 10

Buying from a pet store is the worst thing you can do. They come from puppy mills. By coming from such horrible conditions they tend to suffer many health problems. By buying from the store you are just adding to the demand of these horrible puppy mills. If people would stop buying from these stores, they as well as the puppy mills would go out of business which would be awesome! If you want to save a life, go to a shelter and yes they do have small dogs. Go to www.petfinder.com. Its a great site. I found my wonderful purebred yellow lab at a town shelter. Or go you can research a reputable AKC breeder in your area but I think adoption is the best way to go. Good Luck in your search.