I have never had a puppy from the pet store but I have fostered the parents of pet store puppies who spend their lives in cages breeding cycle after cycle living in deplorable conditions only to be thrown out when they are unable to produce another litter. In a way the puppies are the lucky ones they only spend a short amount of time in a cage where the parents spend an entire breeding lifetime. The "lucky" retired breeders that make it into rescues or new homes then have to overcome all the emotional issues that they are scarred with. Most never quite get over the abuse they have been through. If everyone could spend time with a retired breeder they would definitely think twice about where that pet store puppy came from.

Yeah the Petland where I live and got him from is closed now.

I didn't really know about puppy mills too much. I had heard the term before but I didn't know that some backyard breeders were the same thing almost. I "thought" I was getting my dog from a good breeder but turned out she was NOT even a breeder and that my dog WAS purchased from a puppymill. I am not 100% on this but when I called the original breeder, they didn't even have the parents any more and she said they don't ship the dogs out they usually sell them to pet stores and other people who sell them for them :( My poor Stormy is living proof how bad puppy mills are, she's so sweet and innocent I can't imagine what she was born into and the condition she was in.

My Dachsie was from a pet store before I knew better. My Yorkie and YorkiePoo were/are not.

My concern is why the OP keeps starting threads asking about this over and over.

I too had the same question :confused:

Riot came from a good breeder and my/my parent's dog, a border collie named Banjo, came from a BYB.

I've always known about pet stores and puppy mills, but 10 years ago I was little and my parents had been cat people when we got Banjo from a BYB. Two days after we got him he went into the vet sick as can be. Turns out he had Parvo and luckily he pulled through but the lady we got him from didn't care. Money towards vet bills would've been nice but we were concerned about her other pups, but she didn't care.

This is not the first and only thread? That's weird!!! Does OP stand for original poster?

My Shelby Rae is from a pet store and I didn't know about petstores then...she is very healthy and i would not trade her for the world but we got baby Kaylee from a breeder in feb and that was a wonderful experience...it was bluebonnet yorkies in san antonio tx and she's a member here...and i would definitely buy a pup from her again.. Shelby rae is the love of my life outside of my two boys and my hubby..

chandracz, yes, this is the first and only thread the original poster (OP) had asked about this. It's different enough from the other queries in his/her quest to research where to buy from and what to expect.

My previous dogs were rehomings. I never questioned where they had come from. Generally, it was through a mutual acquaintence (family/friends) and I've never met the actual owners--I don't count the 6 months my Shih Tzu spent with her transition home as one of her "actual owners". My yorkie came from a hobby breeder. A couple of months before her, I was very much tempted to buy a little Shih Tzu from a pet store. She was the cutest, sweetest little thing. What stopped me was the hernia operation she had had (great that they keep honest record of it and actually don't mind letting you know), and the open fontanel she was sporting still, as well as calculating back from the age she was at the pet store, when they received her, then calculate in shipping time, she should still have been with mom in the USA suckling milk when she was instead shipped up north into Canada. I also couldn't find any information online just going by the breeder's name (supplied by the pet store when I had asked to see her paperwork). There was also another cutie of a yorkie that tempted me, but not as much as the Shih Tzu did, however, I really wanted to know the parents and their temperament since yorkie pups look so similar and yet they go through so many changes well into adulthood.

I've also taken a look at some Shih Tzu pups from a local BYB. She was giving me the speech about how even if I decide not to buy from her, I must never trust nor buy from the pet stores--I had mentioned just going by a petstore nearest to her place and looking at a sweet Shih Tzu boy who had the colouring we loved but we didn't "click". The store owner says they stock from "local breeders" and that's healthier and generally, they rarely sell purebreds because they are too sickly from line/inbreedeing and how "CKC now allows mixing in other breeds for the 'pures'"--he was referencing Lhasa Apso being bred with Shih Tzu and still being able to register them as a pure Shih Tzu.

Well, this BYB woman was no better. She claimed to breed her guys right in her living room, which was where the pups were. Inside the ex-pen, feces was mushed on and off the newspapers and the pups were crawling around in them. They haven't gotten their land legs yet but she was already selling them ready to go home! Later saw her newer ads of more pups I didn't actually see when I was visiting at her house... Makes me wonder how many more she has hidden away in the rooms.

If I hadn't read up on some things prior, I might have gotten convinced several times over by some of these people.

:yeahthat:GREAT question!! I don't know if I even want to ponder that one, it could be VERY sad, but we all have to think that they all find their forever home!

As for the original forum, I got Woody from a pet store, and Bogie from a BYB, not knowing at the time about BYB or puppy-mills. Woody has CT, but otherwise in good health (needs to lose weight though) and Bogie is a vibrant little boy. Now knowing what I have learned here, I would never do it again. I honestly would go for a rescue over anything.

never heard of puppy mills or pet stores beside petco or petsmart until YT. DH got charlie from his coworker who owns the parents. DH even went to the house to pick out charlie from his other brother.

Jasmine came from a very good breeder. We are very happy with Jasmine. But, if I seen a little puppy at a store and I thought they were going to get rid of it, well......I just don't know what I would do. I can't stand the thought of puppies not being given a chance. I don't think selling puppies at pet store or puppy mills are right by no means, but it would be difficult for me to see a little puppy in a store that pulled on my heart strings and not want to take him/her home with me. However, I haven't seen dogs sold in pet stores in a long time now. But, then again we only have Petco and some smaller stores around here. I remember several years ago, there was a pet store in the mall that sold puppies but they closed their doors a long time ago......thankfully.

My first one, Misty, came from a pet store. Didn't know about puppy mills back then. (about 30 yrs. ago). She was, thankfully, very healthy. My second one, Kayla, came from a breeder. My newest one, Abby, also came from a breeder.

None of mine came from a pet store. My first two came from breeders. What kind of breeders? I dont know. I knew nothing about puppy mills until i came to YT. My last two came from my first two. So, i know they didnt come from a byb or puppymill. They were born in my bedroom haha. So far, all of mine have been really healthy with no problems. I do know, that i for one, will NEVER buy from a pet store or puppy mill or someone where i can't see the parents or where they are kept! Thanks YT for putting me on the right path!