What do they do with older pups?
 

Does anyone know what happens to puppies that don't sell at a pet store?

The pet store I go to to buy our food has 3 puppies that have been there since late January. The price keeps going down and still no one is buying them. Must be the economy I'm guessing....I'm so tempted to "rescue" and buy one of them cause I can't for the life of me imagine what will happen to them if they don't sell. They look so sad.

i never thought about it and uuggggh not sure i want to know :( i can only imagine what pet stores would do with those poor babies

i have heard rumors about what they do but am not going to say anything because i do not want to be spreading false rumors if they end up being untrue

Adopt, don't Shop!
 

Poor babies...I also wonder about that too...hope someone that knows will answer. Maybe you can possibly ask the pet store?? I would think since the price keeps going down, maybe you'll be able to adopt one of them special pups. There's no petstores around my area that sells puppies (fortunately)...if they did, I don't think I'll be able to go in there...:(

Don't do it! You will just be opening up a cage for another puppymill puppy. This is the exact same reason that we bought our pug dog from a petstore 8 yrs ago. We felt sorry for her because noone was buying her. I knew nothing then about puppymills. We now have a dog with numerous health problems and I'm surprised that she has made it to age 8. I'm not expecting too much more time with her.

Please, please, never "rescue" a pet store puppy! You will only guarantee that more dogs will suffer in puppy mills to produce more puppies to fill the empty cage.

Thanks from Your Local Pet Store Owner

Thank you so much for buying a puppy from my pet store. Your business is important to me. After all, selling puppies is how I make my living. Every person deserves to make a living, don't they? I've gotta tell you, the pet store business is a tough one. With live merchandise you have all these extra rules and regulations the do gooders forced on us. Well they didn't make me do anything different, except now I gotta fill out a lot more paperwork. But is worth it. Puppies and kittens are important to my business and there are plenty of buyers out there.

Some people are trying to make out like pet stores are evil or something. I always get a big snicker from the sanctimonious twits who talk bad about pet shops but are always coming into my store to see the "poor puppies." They just can't seem to stop themselves. And they almost never leave without buying something. Having puppies in the store is an important part of selling the other merchandise. I try to put the puppies where people can see them as they walk by the store. That draws them in. I can make money without even selling the puppies.

I don't see why selling puppies in my pet store is any worse than raising any other kind of livestock. At least most of my puppies live longer than eight weeks! I've heard that most pet store puppies live one or two years and some much longer, eight or ten years! Much longer than chickens. I treat my puppies very well while they are here. And I use approved methods for disposing of the unsalable ones. I care about these puppies and don't want them to suffer, you know.

Do I support "puppy lemon laws"? Well they are a bit of nuisance but they don't really affect my business. It's not like a guarantee on a toaster you know. People get attached. They don't want to return the puppy. Anyway contagious disease isn't a big problem.

If I get something really contagious like Parvo I take quick action. All the puppies in the store are put down right away. Everything is disinfected and a new supply of puppies brought in. Often I have to fill the empty space with puppies from another breeder but quick action limits my costs and means I won't end up on the hook for a lot of vet bills.

As for other kinds of disease like hip dysplasia and such well frankly it just isn't a big concern. Most of this stuff doesn't show up for a long time. And the legislation doesn't cover it because it can happen even to the hobby breeder. Someone once asked me why I didn't check for genetic disease. It was all I could do not to call the person an idiot! Why should I check for genetic disease? It's expensive and almost no one ever asks so obviously they don't care. And anyway I give a six month guarantee. Pretty generous!

Not that I've ever had to pay off or anything. I have had a couple people complain but I always make sure to carefully explain that the best thing to do for their poor suffering puppy is to "put it to sleep." Most people will take the puppy away and not bother me any more about it.

Any one who walks into my store and wants to know about the health of my puppies I just tell them that they are very healthy! Of course if they want to know about genetic diseases I have to use a different strategy. First I try to explain that its always the fault of the owner if a dog gets something like patellar luxation or hip dysplasia. If they get nasty or something I ask them if they really want to buy a dog from a hobby breeder? I'm a professional, I make my living off of dogs. I breed lots and lots of puppies. I sell most of them. After all its very hard to resist that cute little puppy in the cage.

It's very simple. Every time someone buys a puppy I make at least $100, quite a bit more if they buy the puppy when its little. Yeah, puppies are cute, but you can't afford to get too sentimental. Puppy selling is a business and if you don't treat it as such then you can't stay in the game. It's all about cost/risk/benefit. If you lose sight of that you better get out of the business, just sell supplies or something.

Despite what everyone says there is a large market out there for pet store puppies. There is absolutely no need to waste good money of hip tests and other such crap. The truth is simple. Even when people know better the puppies are so cute that they just can't help themselves so they buy them. Heee hee Pretty cool. It doesn't look good to have lots of empty cages so I make sure I always have puppies on the way. Sometimes I get a bit of a scare, though. Like last year.

There was a lot a bad press about pet stores and all of the sudden no one was buying. Well of course if I'm not selling the ones in the store its pretty stupid to be breeding more, so I told my staff to hold back a bit. I was afraid for a short time that I was going to actually have to stop breeding entirely. No point in breeding if you aren't selling. Fortunately as the puppies that we had for sale got older some of those do gooder types started to get worried. I made sure my staff played off on this. They were told that if anyone asked what happened to the unsold puppies that they should just look real sad and say that they were "taken care of." I liked that. A real noncommittal answer and the absolute truth too!

I told the staff not to use a larger cage too, that would make the puppies look bigger and sadder. So of course the puppies were "rescued" from my shop. I got enough money to cover the costs of keeping them, a small profit, and the scare was over. Back to breeding. As long as there are buyers I'm going to keep raising puppies and selling them in my store. No reason not to.

I'm guilty
 

I know, I know, I shouldn't have done it - but that's how I got Sully. We saw him before xmas and no one was buying him and he was getting bigger and bigger and apparently no one wanted a bigger yorkie. His price kept going down. He started at $1,800 and after xmas he went down in price and every week I kept going back and he was still there and we would hold him and he would just look at me like he was saying "get me out of here!" and finally - I couldn't take it anymore. When he went down to $950 - I said screw this - I can't imagine what they're going to with this 5 month old puppy that won't sell so we bought him. He's the best puppy in the world. So loving, and healthy thank goodness. Yeah, he's 11 pounds but he's worth his weight in gold and I love him and look at it as I "saved him".

Please don't blast me with insults for buying at a pet store...I'm only human and my heart was breaking for his little soul.

I swore I would never do it again, but my heart is breaking again for this other "older" pup that is stuck there. I guess I should just stay away from the store - but it's really hard.

OMG! Where did you get this? How Sad! :( :mad:

If they keep reducing the price someone will come along and buy the pup

And then another one will take it's place. The cycle will not end until people stop buying pet shop puppies.

You are 100% right and I'm not going to shop there anymore. Thanks for not blasting me for my "confession" of getting Sully at that pet store. I was a bit weary about "coming out of the pet store closet" cuz I know how passionate people on here are and can be.

Until I came on this website - I was oblivious to all this puppy mill stuff - now that I know a little more, it's harder for me to justify going there. If I hadn't learned so much here - that other pup would have already been at my house over a month ago.

Your not alone. Buddy was purchased from a pet store. Yes, I
too was lucky. Today I won't even go into one. I don't purchase
a thing from stores that sell puppy's or kitten's.

:hug: Because I think you are a sweetheart and we all make mistakes. Now stay out of that pet store :mad:..................................;)

Me neither. I will not even by pet supplies in a store that sells puppies. It's best to just avoid those stores if you can't resist the temptation of buying a puppy.

Thanks Momma - I promise I will. :)

OK. I confess. I too bought my Yorkie from a pet store. She's happy, healthy, energetic and loving. However, after all I learned on this site, I will NEVER do it again. We've determined that. However, we still didn't answer the question of "what happens to these pet store puppies". We know now not to buy from a Pet Store because they are often puppymill/brokered dogs. But I just keep asking myself "what about these puppies?" I feel like we are punishing the puppies by not buying them simply because of their owners bad acts? I realize we are supporting puppy mills by buying at pet stores but what else would happen to the dogs? That frightens and worries me too. It's like a vicious cycle and I don't know how to make it end? Even if we close down every puppymill/broker in the world, we will still be left with puppies who were born before the shut down that will need homes. What do we do with them? This whole thing breaks my heart because it feels like there is no answer?

Where did you get that?

There is a Petstore in Lemoore California> The name, Animal House. The pups are behind glass doors. I do not go to this store . However, My brother stopped there recently to pick up a vaccine for his puppy . They sell them for $10 , a all in one. He was driving me to a Dr's appointment, and I ventured into the store, went straight to the puppies . Sure enough, there they were . A few of the cutiest little Chi's. All jumping up at me on the glass, just wanting to get out and play. They were very small, of course, being Chi's. And of course being overpriced. The next glass window had a couple mixed breed terrier puppies at a reduced priced, they were sleeping. ARGGG, I could not take it, all the puppies in the store , being sold like that. :mad: They always have pups . This store has been in business a long time. Any mention of where their pups come from they get in total denial , of any puppy mills . They are a mom and pop store. Not a huge corp. STill it makes my heart sick each and every time. At least nobdy is allowed to touch these puppies. So sad though. They are not given affection , but, someone is caring for them. Not the general public is handeling them, so that is a good thing, right?
Still, it is a terrible site. Poor little puppies in a pet store. Then there are the reduced babies, and because they are a mixed breed . Still the price is nearly $300 .

New kind of pet store....
 

It's weird you just mentioned all of this because I've been sitting here thinking...okay, then where do you get pups from? The mill house people deceive you into thinking they're just hobby breeding for the betterment of the breed, only to find out that their puppy mill is in their cellar...Then you have the pet stores who purchase from the puppy mill people. And then there is a small portion of the breeders who are actually doing it to standard, health and temperament but they don't have available puppies when you're looking to purchase...let's say for your kids birthday....Okay, so in my mind, now I'm like why doesn't someone, open a Puppy store that is more like a puppy day care-spa type of pet store????????? My thinking is the dogs would be better off if handled? Better for the dogs and the dog's new owners....I'm not sure why they put them in those little cages....so people won't touch them? If it's because of germs, invest in some hand temperament or rubber gloves....So, now I'm thinking a new kind of pet store, one that does it's own breeding and has employees who take care of the dogs and puppies? It might be a dumb thing but if it were done properly it could work...Yeah/neah? A very transparent pet store who breeds their own pets??? Has a nursery with windows so you can see in just like a kids day care and you can go play with pups over 8 weeks old if your hands are sanitized....open stations for the pups to run in and people interested can actually see their pups growth from when they're babies....kind of like a dog zoo but you can buy one if you want...What do you think?

HAHAHAHA! Hand sanitzer not hand temperment...lol!

Thats very true but theres always gonna be people that dont know about puppymills or do know and dont care and they will buy the pet store puppies

I guess I never thought of what they did with older pups, it is sad to think of the possibilities of what they do with them.

There is a pet store here that has quite a few puppies. They even went so far as to tell the public to buy from them and not a breeder as they were better!!:eek: It just infuriates me!!:mad:
I just wish that more people would realize that if you "rescue one" another will still takes it place keeping the cycle going, keeping the suffering going.

Does anyone know what happens?
 

I never knew about puppy mills. My father used to say never to get a pet store pup because they would get the puppies that breeders couldn't sell for whatever reason, you'd never get a real good dog...the puppy mill stuff is in a league all by itself...and much worse than just getting a puppy that couldn't sell. Also, you can go to a breeder and still get a puppy mill...it's so hard because people have mills in their homes now???? You think you're going to a home based breeder but you're actually going to a mill in someones house????? I sometimes feel like you just can't win!!!!!!!!!!! Unless you inspect someone's home from the cellar up how do you know what's going on...The "breeder" I got Ksena from (who looks like a mill puppy) went so far as to say her aunt wouldn't let me see the litter before they had their shots because she was so overprotective....breeder-pet store, sometimes they're the same....I know not always but it seems more likely than not...I'm getting a headache thinking about this again....Did I go way off the subject....oops!

Does anyone know what happens if they don't sell? Now I really want to know? My guess would be the pound?????

I believe the puppies that don't sell are probably put to sleep. Before everyone freaks out, think about what happens to the dogs in the puppy mills that are too old to be bred anymore. Or puppies born in the mills that are sick or deformed and can't be sold. They are killed and often not humanely. They are clubbed to death or have their necks broken. Or they are allowed to suffer and die and rot in their cages.

That is what you support if you buy a pet store puppy. Please don't help the cycle of cruelty and abuse continue.

Survey time...
 

That seems so unreal...I mean, I know you're not making it up but seems unreal! Like who do you get to do that job????? Really, I think I'm going to call pet shops tomorrow and just see what they say in reference to where the puppies go if not purchased...very curious now!!!!!!!! I'm takin a survey...see what on earth does happen to them....

Do you really think they will tell you the truth? They lie repeatedly when they tell customers their puppies come from local breeders.

Read these:

Untitled Document

Petstore Cruelty

Fact Sheet - Pet Shop Puppies - Companion Animal Protection Society

Watch this:

Petstore Cruelty

Wow!
 

[QUOTE=Ladymom;2621373]Do you really think they will tell you the truth? They lie repeatedly when they tell customers their puppies come from local breeders.

Read these:

I'M COMPLETELY SHOCKED! :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:THE MOST SHOCKING, MIGHT BE, I'LL CALL HER "CRAZY KATHY" PERFORMING C-SECTIONS ETC ETC WITHOUT A. BEING A VET B. NO PAIN MEDS!!!!!!!!!!! I LITERALLY HAVE A SPLITTING HEAD ACHE NOW!!! YOU KNOW WHAT ALSO IRRITATES ME, THE EMPLOYEES ARE INSTRUCTED AND HAVE THESE THINGS THAT THEY SAY THAT ARE THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE REAL TRUTH!!! DID YOU NOTICE HOW CONVINCING THEY WERE WHEN THEY WERE TRYING TO SELL THE PUPPIES....WOW! IT LOOKS LIKE THEY REALLY MEAN WHAT THEY SAY AND IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE BEING HONEST!!!!!! SICK ROOMS! WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON!? HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF DOGS IN TINY CAGES....HUH? AND LEGAL?????????????? HAMSTERS IN FREEZERS?????? SELLING SICK RODENTS AND RABBITS AS SNAKE FOOD....WHAT?

Stupid question: would eating a sick rodent or rabbit make a snake sick?

I also noticed that someone mentioned fake AKC registrations or fake info on registrations....

hmmmmm, all of it sounds a bit familiar...........

I'll read the rest tomorrow, I haven't even gotten to the Fact sheet yet....I think I need a glass of wine....

As a side note, I know some rescue organizations do take the older unwanted pups from the puppy stores that can't be sold. One is in St Louis called Posh Puppies. There website says they focus on rescues from commercialized kennels (i.e. puppy mills), liquidations, "pet store rejects". I have worked with them in the past and know that some of their dogs are the ones that got 'too old' for the pet stores.

As sad as it is I wouldn't be surprised if they are PTS if they don't sell within a certain time frame. I also wouldn't be surprised if they ship the older pups that they haven't been able to sell back to the mill (think Hunte/petland) and then they get auctioned off and either end up as a breeder dog, or with some rescue that thinks buying from auctions is rescuing them

Most older pups that don't sell, get given up to shelters.

omg..:eek:. that is just so so true..:(. I have never purchased a puppy from a pet store.. oh breeding is oh so so much more then this a** could ever think..:mad:
anne