What's a nice way to inform someone of petshop pups....
 

when they've just introduced me to their new baby they got at the mall? this has happened twice to me in the last few weeks. Today a long time customer came in with their new morkie. I asked where they got her from and they said at the petshop in the Orange mall (that mall and store is really ghetto). Most of the dogs in there are mixes and most don't have papers. The ones that do are APR, ACA, etc. they don't list prices on the windows, so i don't know how much they cost, but I can only guess.

The dog didn't look part yorkie at all. It just looked like a mutt. It had blonde hair, aren't malteses pure white?

The other time was a lady who bought from the same store, a yorkie, and they said it was a "one day special, today only" type deal. :rolleyes:

Then there was the time last summer when another local petshop raffled one off at a summer festival. the family that won her wanted a yorkie b/c the love Uni so much.

How can I politely inform my customers or other people I meet about petshops and puppymills without sounding like a total meanie raining on their new puppy parade? Most of the times the pup is right in front of me!

I would start out by telling them how adorable their new puppy is, and how lucky the puppy is to have found a good home. and then explain to them the conditions that the were born into.

Just tell them to google puppymill.com

I never know this either; I've known a few people come to me ALL excited because they just got a new pup, and
I'll ask "oh, where did you get him?" nicely and they'll reply "such-and-such pet store" and I kind of cringe inside
just because I know about it. But I also understand not everybody knows about it... I still haven't figured out
a nice way to explain to them so I usually just smile, nod, and tell them how cute their dog is. I think sometimes
even when you tell people about it... they don't quite GET it.

Although in my college speech class, I did a presentation on puppy mills to a class of about 30 and everyone
was shocked and really interested in the whole thing. They all learned something new and said I had one of
the best impacting speeches ever in the class! So it made an impact on those 30-some people, so hopefully
I made somewhat of a difference and my peers will think twice about getting a new puppy from a pet store!

If it's a yorkie invite them to YT. They'd learn quickly. :D

Maltese's are pure white, but since it was a yorkie/maltese, it's quite possible the puppy could be blonde. I've seen morkies look all kinds of ways.

I think that is a great idea, invite them to YorkieTalk. Then someone else can tell them. Most people just don't want to think about where they come from or might even think they are saving one that came from a puppy mill.

I think it's kinda hard after the fact. After all, it's not like they could bring him/her back but I always make sure I tell people beforehand. I know I have personally warned several people and none of them have bought from a pet store so maybe if we all do this, eventually as a group we will have an impact...

Oh that's a really good idea! thanks! :thumbup:

Yes, I have talked to a lot of people before they buy them, that's the easier way. But it's so hard when they just got the pup, many times, with the pup right there!

Good job Brit! :thumbup:

After they already have their pup is not the time to try to educate them. It will only make them sad about their pup and maybe mad at you for being the "bearer of bad news"

I like the idea of inviting them to YT and letting them get their own education. Maybe when they are ready for their next dog, they will know/do better.

I wish someone had told us where to get a Yorkie.

My husband was so excited that I said yes to a dog, and picked out a Yorkie (male was all i wanted!) that he went right away searching the internet for dogs for sale and we had one within 2 weeks. We were willing to wait for a breeder's litter if needed, but my husband was so excited! he had bought the crate, and puppy pads and all this shampoo, flea stuff, combs, brushes etc.. he was so excited I don't think he would have cared who it came from.

We emailed a few people, and some of them had websites, others didn't. We ended up taking a pup from a family that seemed really sweet, and were ready to deliver. Keep in mind my husband surprised me with most of this, but that's because I let him "find our Yorkie".

I tried to email the breeder recently to give them an update and pictures, but their email wasn't working :( My husband long erased their phone number, so we now have no contact with Derby's parents.

It's kind of sketchy thinking about it now...

We have a bigger Yorkie (my husband's choice, I wanted a smaller one) and we have papers for him but his breeders were not CKC registered and we assumed it because they had big Yorkies. He's a healthy guy, and had all his shots done etc but his tail is cropped too short... Not sure if they are first breeders, or what because I never met them- my husband did. I guess it was hard letting Derby go because their little girl cried when my husband took him. He was the favorite, even though he was the biggest one of the bunch.

I know now that next time we get a puppy, I am alot more educated about Yorkies and know now what i should be looking for.

Yorkietalk RULES!!!

Well just b/c he is big is not the reason he is not CKC (Canadian equivalent to AKC, am I right?) It's just if the dam and sire are CKC that the pups will be also if registered, and it's up to genetics how big the pup will get. So that is very possible a bigger dog that is still CKC (or AKC in the US).

But anyway, I guess we are in a similar boat. We did not do ANY research before we got Uni. We got SOOOOO lucky. She does not have huge medical problems, she does have grade 3 LP, which we supplement with glucosamine, thank god! She is to standard according to her size (under 7 lbs) but her color is too light, and her legs are too long (but I think they make her more agile and cat like :D)

I guess my breeder was not one of the worst. She came with 2 sets of shots and microchipped, but not one of the best. but I would not go back to her knowing what I know now. Anyway, I lost her contact info as well. She did ask about the baby (Uni) and ask for photos though. And her daughter played with the pups everyday and "named" them all. But I guess you could have called her borderline byb/hobby breeder. (Hobby breeders don't get mad, she had a dog stroller/dog clothing manufacturing company, so I know she did love dogs, just didn't do all the testing she should have.)

Yes CKC is the Canadian AKC.

Like I said, I was very uneducated..lol

Ya, we were lucky too. Derby's breeders seemed super cool and their little girl was very attached to Derby. She cried when my husband took him! but my husband said he really got a good "feeling" from the breeders and felt that they were "good people" and with a good price at $850 he thought he was getting a deal vs some ads saying $1200-$1500 for CKC pups. He came with pee pads, papers that say "Yorkshire" on it, papers with the shots they had gotten done, a few toys, food (although now we know it was crap food -Iams!-). He's on Orijen now, the vet says he's healthy and at 10 pounds we're not complaining. lol

He's definitely not puppy mill material, but I couldn't tell you if he was the first litter for these breeders, or they were backyard breeders...Honestly, I don't care.

What I would have liked to see were Derby's puppy parents. That, I never saw :( neither did my husband since these people "delivered". We didn't have a car, and they wanted to see our home and living conditions... They had a heart for who their dogs were going to at least.

I have heard that usually when the breeders will "deliver" for you that is a bad sign.... or a sign of a puppy mill..... however-- the fact that they seemed to be so in love with the puppy is wonderful..... you never know. I met the lady at a shopping area when I bought Hendrix because again- I didn't know any better and I guess that is also a big red flag of a puppy mill..... but I (just like you) don't care. I have a happy healthy puppy and that's what matters :)