Would you buy a puppy from a pet store?

Years ago it was common for people to buy a puppy from their local pet store but now there seems to be a certain stigma involved in doing so. Some argue that the conditions in a store are not suitable for a puppy. Although of course conditions will vary and I've personally visited stores where puppies are not caged up and have a wide open space to play in.

There is also the arguement that people should adopt dogs instead of puchasing from a pet store. As there are countless dogs in need of a loving home. In New Zew Zealand one of our largest pet store chains has even stopped selling designer breeds and works in conjunction with the RSPCA to rehome rescued dogs.

 

It's good to hear people work together to stop puppy mills. I would understand why this large pet store chain would decide to stop selling designer breeds. I think they made a great choice of helping the RSPCA.

Unfortunately we have issues with breeders who only breed for profit in my country. Most pet store puppies here have papers. They usually come from good breeders. It's the small time "breeders" that we have issues with. They're the ones who make online posts about undocumented dogs who probably don't care if their dogs are healthy. Some of them don't even have health checks or vaccinations.

And no, I wouldn't buy from a pet store because there are so many stray dogs wandering in the streets. My mom and I have adopted some ourselves.

 

Thanks for your response My mum (yes, I'm a New Zealander ) and I adopted dogs while I was growing up too. One of them Rosie is my avatar. I also think the pet store working together with the RSPCA is a wonderful idea. Hopefully the idea catches on internationally.

We have the same problems with breeders in New Zealand. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of reputable, respectable breeders but there have been stories in the media about some Breeders lying about pedigrees or health conditions. They obviously just want to make money. It's criminal that the breeders you mentioned don't put puppies through health checks!!!

I also remember hearing about one breeder who passed lambs off as rare designer dogs. I'm not joking!

 

I have not bought a puppy from a pet store and will never buy one there.
Yes, it is nice to know that there are increasing number of people who prefer to adopt rather than to buy.

 

I did buy a puppy from a pet store 25 years ago, but never again. Most of the pet store dogs come from puppy mills which in and of itself is a bad thing.

I also believe in adopting. Unless you want a specific breed for a specific reason (and I don't think a valid reason is 'i think golden retrievers are cute.') then I fully endorse adopting a dog form a shelter or rescue.

 

I bought a puppy from the pet store and I still have it. Nothing is wrong with buying it from there, so I don't understand the bad commons about it. Its better than buying them from the newspaper in my opinion.

 

That's absurd. Lambs as dogs. He must be out of his mind.

We have the same problem, tajnz. Fortunately, we have Pet Welfare Societies here that encourage adoption, as well.

That depends on what country you're from. As I've mentioned in my post. The puppies that are being sold in pet stores here usually come from good breeders. It's the small time breeders who post online and say that their puppies are healthy, without papers or prior health checks that I worry about. Selling puppies online has been a way of buying some good breeds and some bad ones as well.

Unfortunately for us, breeders here in my country do not have standards to follow which is probably the reason why some of this breeders don't care what the health of parents are. They simply put an ad online and sell the puppies cheap so that people would not question about their overall behavior and health as long they're purebred.

 

As for the man who sold lambs as dogs he wasn't crazy, he was a conman. Ok maybe a crazy conman. He actually targeted wealthy asians as he thought they'd be willing to pay several thousand dollars for such a cute rare breed. Of course he got caught though .. when the lambs grew into surprise, surprise sheep.

The puppies in pet stores in New Zealand also tend to come from good breeders. I once went to a function on a farm where puppies were bred for a well known petstore. The puppies had plenty of room to run around and play and were obviously taken care of. So you're right in a lot of circumstances their is no problem with petstores selling puppies.

In New Zealand the NZKC (New Zealand Kennel Club) have standards to which breeders must confirm if they wish to offer pedigrees.

 

No, I wouldn't, but it has nothing to do with quality of the place for me. It has way more to do with the fact that I don't see myself ever -buying- a dog in the first place. I would simply adopt from a shelter or take on a rescue dog from elsewhere. I really just don't have any interest in intentionally seeking out a young puppy.

 

Nice to hear from someone else who would be willing to adopt an adult dog. It's a shame that some older dogs get overlooked even in shelters over cute puppies. Although of course all dogs are cute in one way or another. As a child my mother and I actually adopted two adult dogs.

 

Taj, that's how we've gotten the majority of our animals, not just dogs. Our current dog was actually 13 when we adopted him and still has years to go.