the true about puppy trade industry or how to buy a puppy

[omichka]

In this topic, I will try to post some information about pet trade industry in USA. Hopefully, this information will help to buy responsible, or even better will help to save a life.

This booklet is prepared specially for Anti Pets Store CAMPAIGN.

PS: Seems like there are some problems to post original pics, but will try my best. If someone wants to receive the original copy, please contact privately, and I will resend it to you. You are welcome to copy and share with others...

DO YOU KNOW WHERE PET STORES' PUPPIES COME FROM?
THE TRUTH COMES OUT!

Puppies sold in pet stores come from
PUPPY MILLS or back yard breeders

There is NO doubt about it.
NO ONE reputable breeder will never ever sell puppies to any pet store. Period.
What are Puppy Mills?
By the formal definition, a puppy mill is a large-scale breeding operation that produces large numbers of puppies for profit. What the formal definition overlooks is that most puppy mills are inhumane in their treatment of breeding dogs and puppies. Many are filthy, and are run by people who have no idea about or concern for the genetic implications of breeding or about what dogs require in terms of basic health care and socialization. Many are simply hellholes in which the breeding dogs are kept in the most deplorable conditions—dogs confined to small wire cages for their entire lives, fed inadequately, kept in unheated buildings, denied basic veterinary care. The breeding dogs are sick, wounded, and malnourished. And their lives are miserable. Females produce puppies as much as they can, twice in a year until they cannot do it any longer. When their breeding usefulness is over, they may be killed or dumped. Large-scale mills do not take their older dogs to shelters, as a rule, because they don’t want to draw attention to themselves. Puppy millers and back yard breeders sell puppies to pet stores (sometimes directly, sometimes through the broker) and online.

[omichka]

sorry, it will take time. will be much more info

[omichka]

BOYCOTT ALL PET STORES!
THINK ADOPTION FIRST!
Support local rescue and shelters
Visit shelter’s adoption events at Petco
Petfinder.com

[omichka]

Meet the parents of your pet store puppy

[omichka]

Most helpful websites & sources about Puppy Mills
(Pictures included)

Stop Puppy Mills
United Against Puppy Mills
puppymillrescue Home Page
www.nopuppymills.com
Puppymills - Information about puppy mills and how to shut them down.
Petstore Cruelty
Puppy Mill Protest | Home
PUPPYMILLS.COM
Tip: Check out the given websites above and educate yourself!
Important!

[omichka]

WHAT PET STORE’ SALEPERSON WILL TELL YOU AND WHAT NEVER WILL

Every pet shop that sells puppies will assure you, solemnly, that their puppies are different. Their puppies don't come from puppy mills, but from fine local breeders.

The reality is that responsible breeders will never place one of their puppies in a pet shop or anywhere else for resale or consignment. Never, ever, ever. Any breeder who has placed their puppy in a pet shop to be sold has immediately disqualified himself as a responsible breeder.
WHY?
Because, as commercial establishments, pet shops are required to sell a puppy to anyone who can pay. Legally, they are not allowed to "screen" buyers for suitability. Responsible breeders wouldn't be able to sleep at night wondering which of their puppies might have gone to an unsuitable home and was not being properly cared for.

But my pet shop says...

The pet shop industry has manuals and trade journals that teach pet shop owners and employees exactly what to say to persuade you to buy. Their marketing ploys include:

But my pet shop says...

"We buy only from local breeders."
When a salesperson says they get their pups from local breeders it could either be what they were trained to say or it could mean they actually do get their puppies from local commercial kennels. "Local" doesn't mean that they aren't from a LOCAL puppy mill. Our local pet store has "local" puppies too...straight from the local puppymill
What difference does this make? Whether a breeder is local or lives in Timbuktu, whether he has produced only one litter or many -- if he has placed his puppies in a pet shop, his breeding practices are irresponsible. Geographical location makes no difference at all.

But my pet shop says

...
"We buy only from private breeders."
First of all what defines a private breeder? Nothing. If there are private breeders, who are the public breeders? There's NO such thing! So when that sales kid tells you that the pup is from a private breeder he could be talking about ANY breeder in the country.

[omichka]

But my pet shop says...

"We buy only from Christian and Amish breeders "

You will be surprised and this true will hurt you. However, the most inhuman puppy mills aka back yard breeders belong to Amish families and those who loved to mention that they are good Christian. Amish country is synonymous with puppy mills, and Lancaster County is the capital of Pennsylvania puppy mills. Puppy mills are very very common here and yes they come from the Amish. The Amish view the dogs as livestock so they don't put much care into them. “In the Amish community, so-called puppy mills are a big source of income,” said Andy McIlvain, manager for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Wellsboro, Tioga County. “Part of their culture is selling lots of products, and generally the Amish look at animals as another resource to sell"
Read more:

Puppy Mill Information

The Amish: Allegations of animal neglect at puppy mills

Lancaster County Pennsylvania - The County of Cruelty

Amish Country: It’s not just buggies and furniture

YouTube - LCA Malibu Vigil for Slain Amish Puppy...

Google Image Result for http://www.awawatchdog.com/0205/000_0008s.jpg

[omichka]

pic of Amish boy

[omichka]

But my pet shop says...
"We buy only from midwest breeders and they are not puppy mills"

The true is. The Midwest is a puppy mill belt region where you will find a large concentration of puppy mills. The red areas of the map represent the puppy belt. The yellow areas areas which are active in commercial dog breeding. The pink areas contain some commercial dog breeders, but show a pattern of growing concern. Missouri is called the puppy mill capital.

To read more, go to The Puppy Belt

Remember Puppy Millers also sell their puppies online and in newspaper ads.

NEVER BUY PUPPES ONLINE

.
Some of the “puppy mill” sites are: puppyfind.com, livedeal.com, craigslist.com, oodle.com, kijiji.com, hoobly.com. Stay away from breeders that breed more than one or two breeds. Multiple breeds are one of the big red flags of puppy mill. A reputable breeder would not sell to just anyone online. Some reputable breeders will have websites, but they will want to know a lot about you and the home you will provide for their puppy before even thinking about accepting a deposit. A online pet store that will sell and ship you a puppy, no questions asked is not someone who cares about their pups! Please note: In our state we ALSO have a large concentration of puppy mills!!! They use same sites.

PS: in WA

[omichka]

But my pet shop says...
"We buy only from USDA-licensed breeders"

USDA stands for the United States Department of Agriculture. Their business is supposed to be livestock. They know little or nothing about dogs. As long as a breeder's paperwork is in order, the facilities are disinfected, cages are a minimum size, and no infectious diseases such as distemper are immediately obvious, the kennel passes.
The USDA has not the slightest interest in...
• whether the breeder knows anything about his breed
• whether the dogs used for breeding look like their breed
• whether the dogs used for breeding act like their breed
• whether the dogs used for breeding are free of genetic health problems such as hip dysplasia, luxating patella, eye diseases, liver shunt or heart defects.

USDA Breeder is a label to stay away from. The only reason someone would apply for this license is to crank out lots of puppies.

Example: This dog was approved by USDA for breeding.

[omichka]

But my pet shop says...
"All our puppies have AKC documents"

Same as USDA. Most of puppy mills dogs DO have AKC registration. Unfortunately, it means nothing. AKC has strong connection with puppy mills.

Example: Lily has 35 AKC Champion dogs in her pedigree. She was born and sold at a commercial breeding facility in Missouri, where she lived in a tiny cage and was bred to the max, for her entire life. ...

To read more, go to Puppy Mills and the AKC

[omichka]

But my pet shop says...
"All our puppies are health guaranteed!"

This "reassuring" platitude is how pet shops and irresponsible breeders seek to get around the expenses of genetic testing.
They offer to replace defective puppies rather than avoiding them in the first place by requiring their "wonderful" breeders to do genetic health tests on any parent dog used for breeding.
Don't support any breeder or pet shop who cares so little about the future life of their puppies that they do not require genetic health testing of the parents, in breeds where such health problems are virtually an epidemic.
Pet shops aren't too worried about their "guarantees", by the way. They don't have to honor many of them because most genetic health problems don't show up for six months or a year or two years. Either the guarantee has expired by then, or most people won't return a dog they've had for that long.
If your pup is healthy now, you can spend lots of money in the future for treatment your pet because of genetic health problems. For instance, luxating patella surgery will cost you up to $5,000.

Not just HEALTH problems
Obedience instructors and canine behavioral consultants will be happy to tell you about the temperament and behavior problems that develop in many pet shop puppies as they grow up.
Most pet shop puppies start out playful and friendly, but as they mature, their genes begin to assert themselves. If their parents or grandparents had shy or aggressive or hyperactive temperaments, those genes will show up during adolescence and adulthood.
Many pet shop puppies are nippy. Some were removed from their mother before 7 weeks of age, a critical period of time where she teaches them "bite inhibition." Some have learned to nip from interacting with so many potential owners wandering through the pet shop, including kids who tug and play roughly. Most of these potential owners thought the nipping was cute, didn't correct the puppy for it, and so the habit becomes entrenched.
Finally, raised in a small cage in which they're encouraged to eliminate freely, pet shop puppies are notoriously difficult to housebreak.

[omichka]

The major reason not to buy -- supporting the industry

You may wish to "rescue" a pet shop puppy. That's completely understandable. We all feel sorry for them.
But your good intentions will backfire, because you are feeding the industry by rewarding it with money.
You've emptied one cage, yes -- which creates demand for yet another litter to be produced to fill that cage. Even if you're very, very lucky, and your one individual puppy turns out okay, a large percentage of the others will not -- and YOU provided the incentive for them to be born by buying the one who came before them. YOU SUPPORT neglect, abuse and animal cruelty.

So what seems like a simple, isolated purchase actually contributes to:
• The misery of adult females who spend their lives in a cage, being bred again and again to provide puppies that you and others can buy
• The misery of these future puppies born with health and temperament problems
• The misery of future families who buy these puppies and then try to cope with the health and temperament problems
• The misery of animal rescue groups trying to deal with the flood of pet shop puppies dumped on their doorstep because families gave up on the health and temperament problems
When you buy one of those cute puppies in the pet shop window, you buy more than the puppy. You buy the budding physical and behavioral problems created by the bad genes passed on by untested parents whom you never get to see and evaluate.
Worse than that, you buy into a profit-hungry industry that is hurting innocent animals. Simply out of good conscience, a pet shop should not be anyone's choice as a source for a puppy.

[omichka]

Already Bought a Pet Store Pup?

If you have already purchased a pet store puppy and would like to know more about its origins visit

www.petshoppuppies.com

for a free puppy report.

[omichka]

If you do not want to adopt or rescue, please buy responsible:

The best choice is YTCA.org since most of show responsible breeders belong to a club.

Please, just be careful when you are looking for a yorkie puppy. Unfortunately, many back yard breeders and puppy mills in the US.

Before you chose a breeder please do your homework what responsible breeder is and its code of ethic. Just google "back yard breeder vs responsible breeder"

Below a few tips:

- reputable breeder will not sell yorkie earlier that 10 weeks. Run from a breeder who sell a pup at age less that 8 weeks. It is illegal to sell puppies younger that 8 weeks.
- reputable breeder will never ever sell puppies to a third party (broker/pet store)
- reputable breeder will try to avoid shipping and try to find a local buyer.
- reputable breeder must show at least one parent. If a breeder doesn't show the parents of puppy, this is huge RED FLAG of puppy mill.
- reputable breeder must give you a guarantee. And WITHOUT frase "no money back, only replacement a puppy". Too many sad stories when BYB sell sick puppies and no one pay a vet bills, even if pup died. Just think - do you really want to replace for another defective puppy from a BYB? Protect yorself - discuss about possible vet bills in a case of sick puppy.
- PLEASE READ STANDARD. (When I was looking for a pup, I was told that yorkie standard is 10-12 pounds). There are a few quality of yorkies (pet/show), and some breeders charge way too much money for a POOR BREED pup (fluffy coat, disproportional body, oversize, etc)
- NO such a thing as tea cup or whatever. Those word people love to use as marketing words. There is ONLY one standard: not exceed 7 pounds ! Period.
RUN from a breeder who breed too tiny yorkies less that 3 + pounds. Either run from a breeder who breed out of standard yorkies.
- Reputable breeder ALWAYS sells pet quality puppies with limited registration (spay/neuter)
- Reputable breeder must do genetic tests (for instance, luxating patellas). Those, who have any of genetic desease CANNOT be used for breeding. Run from a breeder who breed sick dog. ALWAYS ask for approval of genetic tests. Protect yorself. Luxating patella surgery is very expensive.
- Reputable breeder tries to find a best home for puppy and always will ask many questions.
- Reputable breeder does not breed more that one breed. Two are acceptable, more is definitely a puppy mill.
- Reputable breeder does not have puppies all the time and has a waiting list. According some definitions, if breeder has more that 3 litters in a year, it considers as a puppy mill.
- reputable breeder will not sell yorkie to a family with small children - yorkies are too fragile and not good match with small children.

Check references, call to AKC, etc. before you buy a puppy.

To review a references on particular breeder, go to

Wags & Wiggles Teacups User Reviews - Snohomish, WA 98290 - Citysearch

good luck