The Lies Pet Stores and Puppy Mills Tell You
My friend Amy over at Go Pet Friendly wrote a great piece detailing her friend’s search for an Akita and how they determined that the breeder wasn’t a responsible breeder at all. I encourage you to go read it – Internet Puppies for Blog the Change – and walk through their decision-making process.
I thought I would tag onto Amy’s piece with a list of lies that pet stores and puppy mills use to get you to buy their puppies. The truth is that the average consumer is often no match for these savvy salesmen and women. They know just the right words to say and key phrases to use to get the unsuspecting pet owner to buy their puppies (and kitties). They use emotion and act like your friend in order to sell you a puppy, but they are only focused on two goals – selling puppies and making money. Period.
I welcome any of you who have other lies to add to the list to share them in the comment section below.
The more we share, the more we educate.
The Lies Pet Stores and Puppy Mills Tell You
We only get our dogs from “good” or “responsible” breeders
Our dogs are only from USDA licensed facilities
We pick up our puppies directly from select breeders that we have chosen to do business with
We only deal with private breeders
I visit every breeder personally (to make sure they are not a puppy mill)
Our puppies are raised in our home with our family
All our dogs are inspected by a veterinarian before we sell them to the public
You can go visit or call the breeder to make sure your puppy is from a “good” breeder
The breeders don’t like to have people come see the puppies because they are so delicate
We stock the largest selection of puppies around
One-year health guarantee
Each puppy is checked by our veterinarian
All our puppies are AKC registered
We don’t buy from puppy mills
We deal with only the top breeders from across the country
We only sell healthy/happy puppies
Any breed can be special orderedMeet me in X parking lot and I’ll bring your puppy to you
We operate a clean breeding facility
I love my puppies and will only give them to loving families like yours
I only raise show dogs (but sell them in the paper)
I’ll bring the dog dog to you (i.e., I don’t want you to see my facilities)Key words to watch for…
USDA certified
USDA licensed
State issued proof
Home raised
Home bred
Top breeders
Select breeders
Private breeders
Triple health checks
We ship!
Puppies will be ready for (name of holiday)
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Sigh. These sound awfully familiar
the question is WHY do people still buy petshop pups and kitties? It’s like smoking, even when you know the consequences. If there was no market, there’d be no seller.
Good question Ms. Georgia Little Pea. It all comes down to people knowing about the connection between puppy mills and pet stores and choosing to still walk away when they see that cute little face in the window. Pet stores that sell puppies and kitties play upon people’s emotions because they know it works. Until it stops working people will continue to feel they need to save that puppy or kitty.
I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again. It always comes down to money. Nothing but money. As long as people profit, they’ll keep selling puppy mill pups, and as long as people save money, they’ll keep buying them. And there isn’t enough money for law enforcement. Where are government funds going to go– textbooks and programs for inner city schools, free medical clinics for the poor, better federal inspections of meat processing facilities, or checking up on dog breeders? There isn’t enough money for everything, and the only thing that will shut down puppy mills is lack of sales.
“Champion lines”
That’s one too
Ah Yes Jen. That is a common one too. Thanks for sharing that one.
Back before we adopted, we actually were looking at purchasing a puppy from a breeder. (Can you imagine??) We met a few of them and right away it was very obvious to even my uneducated brain which ones were awesome and which ones I wouldn’t by a stuffed animal from. Anyone willing to ship a puppy across the country, no questions asked, is not someone who cares about said puppy’s welfare.
Great list. I think many of these things should just be common sense. Sadly, people seem to ignore that when presented with a cute face.
Thank you for recognizing that there ARE reputable, responsible breeders out there who don’t deserve to be lumped in with puppy mills and the like. I’m the child of a very well-respected, reputable breeder of nearly 40 years and can tell you first-hand that such breeders are an asset as they take the time to not breed animals which will pass on genetic or other health issues in the pups (in fact, you can tell a good breeder by the fact their vet asks THEM for help with questions about that specific breed’s idiocyncrscies, etc and they are viewed as respected authorities, not simply out to make a buck). Reputable breeders, when all is said and done, make no profit from the sale of their pups, as every cent goes right back into caring for the health of their animals. Yes, there are dogs and cats in shelters that need homes, but please don’t equate responsible breeders with the unconscionable people running puppy mills (or pet stores!). Responsible breeders will always accept a puppy back if it does not work out in its new home. They screen prospective buyers better than some human adoption agencies. They don’t give 6-in-1 vaccinations like most [ahem] vets do and they do not over or unnecessarily vaccinate. Please take some time to educate yourselves on some of the dangers coming from what you probably consider a least-likely source: your vet:
http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog/2011/12/14/lifelong-immunity-–-why-vets-are-pushing-back/
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/science-vaccines/
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/is-your-dog’s-vet-a-vaccination-expert/
http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog/2011/12/17/why-vets-dont-recognize-vaccine-reactions/
I would never equate the two. I know what a responsible breeder looks like and think any comparison to them and puppy mills would be doing a huge disservice to the ones who really do love their dogs and care for them appropriately.
As horrible as this sounds, this are the things that actually happen. They don’t care for the dogs, just the profits.
The truth about puppy mills is written in this blog. A MUST READ
http://www.foundanimals.org/blog/no-puppy-mills/
A great site i used to adopt is
http://www.foundanimals.org/pet-adoption or petfriendly.com
Don’t support puppy mills, Adopt.
Thanks Quinn. I like to refer to Animal Folks MN for information about puppy mills as well. This group is based in Minnesota, but they have tons of information on puppy mills and teh work that is being done to make the laws stronger in Minnesota.
http://www.animalfolksmn.org/index.html
Ditto that. Animal Folks is working with teh Coalition in Mn to get puupy mills regulated. Great to deal with.
It is amazing after all these years of people like us telling the public not to buy pets from pet stores….The public STILL does not listen anf that is why the puppy mills are still in business.
People do not listen until it becomes too late.
Its very frustrating.
Yes, it all comes down to money like OPV said above. But you’re also talking about a product that is amazingly cute. People will believe anything while looking at a cute fuzzy face.
So agree Pamela. Money is no object when you think you are saving that cute little face.
Great post, Mel. It’s unfortunate, but playing on people’s emotions is a common practice for these people. And like Pamela said, when you’re looking into their eyes, it takes a very strong person to say no.
Thanks Amy. Your post was great too. I believe pet stores count on people’s emotions getting the best of them. They use what has always worked. I wonder what they will do when it no longer does anymore?
Well boy do I feel like a sucker. I have purchased 4 of my dogs from a pet store or the last one I purchased online from I guess you will call them a puppy mill. I guess I got lucky all of the dogs are healthy and happy their ages are 13,12,7 and 6 mos.
Nicole, your puppies from the pet store might be healthy, but their parents are in hell. I’ve been to a puppy mill aka “USDA licensed kennel”. Those dogs live in horrific conditions subsidized by the sale of their puppies. I don’t know about the online breeder. There are big differences between responsible breeders and puppy mills. If you bought it from a pet store, it came from a mill.
Great article. Also, be aware of the letters they use. Ask to see the paperwork. They may have AKC registered puppies, but AKC could also be “Amos and Kathleen’s Canines” and not necessarily “American Kennel Club.”
Really great point Steve.
Please check out http://www.pupquest.org to get good info on how to tell the difference between reputable and disreputable breeders and shelters. Reputable breeders NEVER sell their pups to pet shops. PupQuest explains USDA regs, etc. If the like the site, please share it. We are non commercial and not soliciting donations. Just a veterinarian frustrated by uninformed consumers making greedy opportunistic “breeders” rich.
Now I do know a breeder, who is responsible, shows her dogs, but will have to run ads occasionally in the papers. Her breed is one of the more rare breeds, and waiting lists are not exactly popular for it, and there have been times when pups were produced that only one person on her waiting list was capable of taking the pup they had signed up for. Family emergencies, economic downturns, they happen to everyone. She will only sell with “pet papers” and a contract stating that the dog must be spayed/neutered by a certain age, so far everyone she has sold to abides by her demands, and if the owner can no longer keep the dog it is returned to her [per the contract] where she can take care of it or re-home it as needed instead of it getting dumped in a shelter.
Thanks you for sharing a personal experience Akiska. If she does use the paper, there are other things people can look for to be sure that she is a good breeder (not that I doubt she is). Does she allow you to visit her home where the puppies are raised? Is the area where the puppies are kept lean? Does she only allow you to see them in the garage but there are lots of baking dogs coming from another building? So many other things can provide a clue so you make a great point about newspaper ads.
I have a Scottish Terrier that I bought from a reputable breeder. I know she is reputable because I went to her home to pick my little girl up and saw the home and the entire facility. I saw the parents and she was highly recommended by the AKC as a top breeder. I would have gone to a shelter but the nearest rescues were in Tennessee and Texas. I am in Illinois. I looked for months in nearby shelters but wanted a Scottie. My dog is healthy, happy and my companion for life. So there are great breeders out there. She is certified and I have the papers to prove it. I had to sign a contract to have her spayed and micro-chipped otherwise the breeder had the right to confiscate my dog and take legal action. I refuse to buy from a pet store. My dog is of show quality and the parents have numerous awards. She is a loving companion from a loving breeder who loves her dogs and will not ship anywhere. She interviewed me and asked a lot of questions. I still send her pictures and updates. I had 2 Scotties before so I am very familiar with this breed and actually had to get a recommendation from my vet that I am a responsible owner who will care for my dog 110%. That is what you need to look for when buying a dog. If I ever find another Scottie at a shelter I will snatch him/her up in a second. I hope this clears up any misconceptions about breeders. Do your research and everything will be fine.
Kathy – There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a puppy from a responsible, reputable breeder. You have provided some really great clues on how to know for sure. Thank you.
I think responsible breeders are not hard to find. We just need to dig deeper.