I went to see the "exotic colored dachshunds"

[kerie0408]

remember when I posted about the local pet store that was advertising "exotic colored dachshunds?" Well, I finally went on my little investigation. I was so curious. I haven't been in a puppy store for years. This one was fairly typical of what I have read. The dachshunds were mostly dapple (as some of us suspected). There was one chocolate and tan. There were no reds and no black and tans. Interestingly, they were not all purebreeds and many of their puppies were older than I had imagined they'd be. There was one dachshund that was almost fully grown that was definitely a mix. He had long legs (not a dachsie trait). He was a dapple. There was no info posted about the dogs, just baby cribs with dogs in them.

There was a sign by the door, explaining that this store "represents" several quality breeders and only gets pups from breeders they know and does not support puppy mills. I do not know what to believe!! Also, there was a separate entry door that lead up a flight of stairs. The door was unlocked but it did not seem to be a part of the store that was open to the public. I could hear dogs barking upstairs. So, there were more puppies than just the display ones (unless I was wrong and I could have gone up there). The cribs that I saw were lined with paper. I saw them change the paper, but most of the dogs still had urine all over their feet. I could really tell this when looking at the breeds that had white hair!! Most of the pups did not look too healthy. There was one (a spaniel I think) that looked terrible but the rest were not as bad.

[Me&DappledDuo]

Don't know what to believe? Well certainly DON'T believe the store- who has every reason to attempt to cover the truth with blatant lies, because some people just don't know enough to question the store further.

"Quality" is obviously VERY subjective- because NO REMOTELY DECENT BREEDER would sell their puppies in this manner. Puppies need a quiet and gentle socializaton process- which they sure don't get by being dunked into a playpen on a store floor. They need proper housetraining procedures- which do NOT happen in a store environment. They need constancy- dogs, young ones in particular, THRIVE on schedules- and need to see the same faces day in and out, smell their pack. They need space to run and roughhouse- a playpen does NOT provide nearly enough.

But MOST OF ALL- a puppy needs a wonderful family. And a breeder who interviews puppy purchasers, requires them to fill out applications and offer good personal and vet references, and TURNS DOWN the guy that shows up with a fist full of cash and without a trace of knowledge (a petstore's FAVORITE customer!)- has a MUCH greater chance of finding that responible, loving, educated home for their puppies.

Perhaps what they MEANT to use on their signage was:
"We don't support puppy mills- our customers do.

And remember- if the "breeders" allow their puppies to be even a little bit "unhealthy looking"- their breeding stock is probably 100x worse. :(

[Patt]

I totally agree with Chrissie... and DO NOT BELIEVE THE SIGN!! The public is easily duped, and they will do anything to get your money. What was the price of these *exotic* dogs?

Was water available? If it were me I would report them to the ASPCA for having puppies some that are ill in that environment.

[kpm_tex]

.... and going to the pet store seemed so much fun when we were kids... ignorance is bliss I guess... now as adults when you find out where these places get their puppies from you just want to scream!!!!! New York has some pretty strick animal welfare laws. You might just want to call the ASPCA and clue them in (if they don't in fact already know about the place) and let them know what you saw. Even if they do know about the place any additional info could help them build a case to keep this guy in line of out of the puppy business all together.
And Chrissie is 100% dead on in what she said.... NO Breeder who has any ethics or morals at all would sell their dogs puppies to or from a puppy store.

[Kim H.]

They probably don't use Puppy Mills... there are usually plenty of BYBs to supply pups. My Tristan was from a pet store with a sign that said the same thing. He was poorly bred, undescended testes, nystagmus, etc. A lot of BYBs will sell the "rejects" of their litters to pet stores. :(

[Penny's mom]

But what can you do?? There will always be these kinds of so called pet stores. And shouldn't someone buy one of these pups and give it a nice home?? Now, don't get me wrong, I am TOTALLY against this kind of thing, and my dogs have always come from someones home that I went to get them from, but what do you do? We have a fairly nice pet store in the area that sells all kinds of puppies. I have been in there several times and they are well taken care of. Before I got Penny, I thought I wanted a silkie terrier. I asked about one and the owner said she could have one for me in the next couple of days!!!!!!! How do they do that? I didn't get one, and am glad, but I still think about these poor puppies in the pet store windows:(:( :(

[Me&DappledDuo]

If people wouldn't buy those "poor puppies" in the window- the endless flood of these puppies would shrink to a trickle. You can't fight this battle by putting more money into puppymills- which is the only thing that buying a puppy from a petstore accomplishes. The majority of the petstores will stop ordering a breed if the last few don't sell and they have to dump them at the shelter (which is what usually happens when deeply discounting them doesn't move them).

I think the majority of people who buy from petstores simply don't know better- but to "rescue" a puppy from a petstore is counterproductive in every way. Their parents will be forced to pump out ANOTHER litter to replace that puppy- and their cruel existance will continue on.

It's awfully easy to "rescue" that cute (albeit poorly bred and overpriced) puppy in the window- but not so fun to think about their neglected, sick, and abused parents who will continue to be neglected, sick, and abused because someone bought the product of their pain.

No petstore will admit that they get their stock from puppymills- but the fact is, 99% of them DO. BYBs are NOT often licensed with the USDA (which requires the payment of fees and annual inspections)- which ANYONE selling puppies through a broker or petstore MUST be. As sad as it is- it's best not to fool ourselves. Those puppies DO come from commercial breeders- and commercial breeding is NEVER a good thing.

It's NOT fair that those puppies have to spend their early months in the petstore- but I'd rather that they do- to free their parents and littermates from a LIFETIME of suffering.

[kerie0408]

My niece was with me at the pet shop and wanted to bring one home. I explained to her that I could find her a dog that is healthier than the pet shop dogs, would cost less and would be a good deed to have and care for. She seemed to understand and ask about "bad genes" that some dogs could have. Anyway, her mom, my sister, is a dachsie lover but they do not have a dog. So, there is some likelihood that a family in NY will be looking for a dachsie, as soon as my sister decides she is ready to commit. Right now they are content just seeing my Oscar and bringing treats! Anyway, that's at least 2 more people educated about the puppy mills!!!

[lotsadox]

Bless you for educating them. I don't know how many people I've talked to about the whole puppy mill situation. They're appalled. I've even gotten one friend to attempt to take a rescued lab instead of getting a puppy.

[babajay]

I recently bought a 7 month old L/H dapple from a family in upstate NY. He was advertised on the Dachshund Rescue Web Page for $200.00. The family wanted to find a new home for him because the mom had 3 kids and was expecting another - puppy wasn't housebroken and mom couldn't handle the stress. This pretty boy was an "impulse purchase" from a mall pet shop for $1,100.00! His papers (CKC) show he was originally from Missouri - that figures. They named him Grudge after a movie they had seen. Well, his new name is Gummy Bear and he's a little doll - gets along great with all mine and the fosters. He and Monty are 2 weeks apart in age (10 months now) and tear around the house like maniacs. I'm happy that he has a forever home with me, but there's no end to the gullible people who buy :dizzy: these poorly bred dogs for double or triple what they'd pay a breeder for a well-bred puppy.

[DoxieCrazy]

I get so upset when I read things like this. I agree, there are a lot of uneducated people out there. I have printed off information from stoppuppymills.org and posted it at my vets office (with her permission) just in the hopes that I can convince one person not to buy from a pet store.

[hawaiiandox]

So sad. :( There are many pet stores and BYB here. Mixed breed dogs sell for $900 bucks at the pet stores. We paid $1000 for our AKC championline long haired mini. They normally sell them for $2,500! He isn't perfect show quality but there isn't anything wrong with him that we can see. We just went to a pet expo and we met another owner of a daschund pup. The lady bought him from Pet's Central for $1,600, and i thought $1000 was too much. This place swears that they do not use puppy mills but who really knows. ALl of their dogs come from the UK. They get shipments weekly with an huge variety of breed. The facility/store is very clean and the workers are nice. I just wonder what the living/breeding conditions were in the UK for this pups. I know rescue dogs are big on the mainland..but what is the average price for a fullbred dog from a reputable breeder?

[kpm_tex]

This place swears that they do not use puppy mills but who really knows. ALl of their dogs come from the UK. They get shipments weekly with an huge variety of breed. The facility/store is very clean and the workers are nice. I just wonder what the living/breeding conditions were in the UK for this pups. I know rescue dogs are big on the mainland..but what is the average price for a fullbred dog from a reputable breeder?
I can tell you with absolute certainty that no and I mean NO, ZERO,ZILCH, NADA... Reputable breeder who cares about any breed of dog would sell any puppy from their breeding though a pet store. Anyone who buys that line from the pet store employees has not done any research into their breed or pet stores in general. Most buyers, I think, would be appalled if they did any research into where these stores got their puppies from. Puppy mills are just as big... if not bigger problem... in the UK and Ireland as here in the US (larger based on the size of the general population opposed to the number of commercial breeders)
It's hard to fault someone for falling for a puppy in a pet store.. but if they did resist the temptation the demand would go down and these people would be put out of business (in a perfect world which this isn't)

PS.. let me also.. while I'm on my soap box... also say that NO Reputable breeder sells their puppies through a website that has puppy pictures with PayPal buttons next to the pics.
There are Great breeders with websites... but they don't sell their puppies directly from them. Breeders who care about their dogs... screen all their potential homes.

BTW... you puppy is just adorable! :)

[hawaiiandox]

I can tell you with absolute certainty that no and I mean NO, ZERO,ZILCH, NADA... Reputable breeder who cares about any breed of dog would sell any puppy from their breeding though a pet store.

My puppy did not come from a pet store. I bought him direct from the breeder. I got to meet his mother and grandmother and see pictures of everyone else. This guy knows daschunds and has been breeding for a long time. The owner sat and talked to us for a long time and asked all kind of questions about us and our "parenting" wishes for the puppy. We went home and slept on it and went back and bought him. We email and call the breeder all the time to ask questions. He owns a nice boarding kennel, grooming business. He also shows dogs.
The pet central place where that girl paid $1600 for her dog is what i was talking about that swears they do not use puppy mills. To me they just have to, there is no way they would have that many dogs. I have seen them and most of them have broken tails. :( Very sad. I would never buy a dog from they or a pet store. When i brought up the pet stores here selling mixed breeds i was just giving a example of the cost of things here. The price of dogs here is so high its nutty. :dizzy: +

Just wanted to clear up that my puppy is not the pet store dog. :circle:

[kpm_tex]

Just wanted to clear up that my puppy is not the pet store dog. :circle:

Yes, I knew you were talking about the other persons.. never mean to imply that yours had come from the same source.

[kerie0408]

I wish I knew where Oscar was from. He is only about 14-15 months old and we got him 3 months ago. We do not know much about the former owners because they don't want us to know much. The worst part was that we had to assume that he never had shots, because his history was unknown. Sometimes I look at him and think he must have been from a great breeder b/c he is such a perfect dachsie, but then again, he was not neutered and his prior owner was not a breeder, so wherever they got him did not have a neutering policy.

I guess there are many people who just don't know whether they have puppy mill dogs.

Oh, and there are lots of adopted and rescue pups in Oscar's obedience class and not many pet store pups. I think that people are becoming aware.

[LuckysMom]

I have never ever understood the attraction of dogs from pet stores. At least the ones around here the dogs are in filthy display cases. The biggest one here covers the floor in shredded paper (like out of a paper shredder) and you can see the poop in it. They have anywhere from four to twelve dogs shoved into a six by six foot space. Its appalling.........

My first dog was a purebred German Shepherd that came from what was at the time a byb (he later grew and was eventually tried and convicted of being a puppy mill). And here I have a confession to make. My parents agreed to this wierd thing where they would not have Freae neutered and would breed her with one of this guys stud dogs. First of all she had a couple of traits that made her not the best example of her breed so never should have been bred in the first place but we did not know any better. Well she came into heat for the first time at five months of age. My dad was sick and I was only a teenager, I let her out. We had a mutt that ran loose on the farm, well her first litter was not purebred. She had ten puppies of which only one lived. It was given to someone who was a family friend that wanted a family pet. I know for a fact that Gretel was spayed very young. Then at the original breeders insistence she was bred less then a year later to his stud dog. Again a litter of ten of which five survived. We kept one and the original breeder kept one. She was bred two more times by my dad. The puppies were each sold for about $300 each.

Turns out she was a carrier for hip dysplasia. The original breeder tried to sue us claiming that we had to have done something to her since he would have never produced a dog like that. (The judge threw the case out, and in essence his trying to sue us is what led to the charges from the county of him being a puppy mill. Someone took exception to this guys behavior in court and they sent an animal welfare investigator to his home. He had over 100 dogs in wire cages in his garage.). The male we kept eventually went down with hip dysplasia and some other probs caused by recessive genes and had to be pts. When my parents sold the farm they gave my female to someone who knew a lot more then we did about rescue who read them the riot act for ever having bred her in the first place, had her spayed, and my understanding is that she lived to the ripe old age of 17 before she died of natural causes.

The question that comes to my mind is how many of my dogs siblings or other relatives ended up in pet stores being sold for outrageous prices with all of the probs and more that we later became aware of?