Pet Stores? puppy mills?

[Yorkiemamma78]

Originally Posted by Gatord

Ah my Jack come from a puppy store.... He is so sweet! I did not know about the the puppy mill stories till after I bought him and found YT. I later found Jack came from Kentucky, poor guy.

Josie come from a breeder here locally, still didn't know alot about researching. I am not sure if her breeder is a hobby breeder or a BYB.

But I can tell such a difference between Jack and Josie. Wouldn't take nothing in the world for either though.

Are you implying that Kentucky is a bad place? A puppy mill is bad no matter where it's located. Pathetic...

[RONLYNN]

I understand your frustration....there are not a lot of yorkie breeders BUT even if you don't get a dog from a pet store it does not mean that the breeder is good either. Some people say they are breeders but they are really brokers. I would talk to breeders on here and ones on the AKC listing. You will find one and gain a lot of knowledge in the process of looking.

[LDMomma]

I understand how you're feeling. I also feel it's crazy to ask 1,500+ for a dog. I look for a dog/breeder that I am comfortable with. I guess most would consider her breeder a BYB but Roxy came from a loving home with a loving woman, of that I am certain (we are still in touch). If I ever wanted to get another, I would not hesitate to get it from her.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by LDMomma

I understand how you're feeling. I also feel it's crazy to ask 1,500+ for a dog. I look for a dog/breeder that I am comfortable with. I guess most would consider her breeder a BYB but Roxy came from a loving home with a loving woman, of that I am certain (we are still in touch). If I ever wanted to get another, I would not hesitate to get it from her.

LP surgery is more than $1500 a leg, Liver shunt surgery $2000 and up, to say nothing about the emotional investment. Your are lucky you have had good health with your dog, but some of us haven't been so lucky, and my dog's problem was a direct result for poor breeding. When this happens to you, you will learn why it's important to find the best breeder you can find, and one who breeds for health. Prices for dogs may be dropping, but vet prices aren't. Not that you can judge a dog's health on his price, some of the costliness dogs aren't healthy either, but a good breeder stands behinds her dogs.

[JolieJean]

thank you everyone for the replys and advice!! i am truley just trying to educate myself so i make the right decision... again thank you..

[AMD]

Originally Posted by JolieJean

thank you everyone for the replys and advice!! i am truley just trying to educate myself so i make the right decision... again thank you..

Good for you educating yourself to make the right decision!

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by Buster Brown

Sadly I fell for the gimmick our store does not sell puppies from puppy mills. They did and I have paid for my naivety. Buster came home with me and the first night I noticed he was coughing. It turns out he had a bad case of kennel cough which after a full month of antibiotics and care by me became Pneumonia and required a 3 day stay on IV antibiotics for $2,000.00. Then there was the Giardia and Coccidia he also came with which took over 6 months to get rid of and maybe about $400.00. Not to mention the LP (Luxating Patella = bad knees) Which just cost me $4,000.00 for one knee and the other is bad as well. Plus he has arthritis in both front legs and he is 20 months old. All this because a commercial breeder and a pet store were more interested in a profit than in breeding/selling a healthy dog. And an uninformed first time dog owner who thought she could trust what the store said. Please please please take my advice learn from my mistakes. It is so much wiser to buy from a reputable breeder. You will save money in the long run. Not to mention not having to go through the heartbreak of worrying if your dog will live and the sleepless nights taking care of them. I will do my research next time and only get a dog from a reputable breeder, rescue, or shelter. Good luck on your search. Best Wishes.

Thank you for posting! This are the exact pitfalls that puppymill breeders and back yard breeders have eager puppy parents fall into. I bet the world that you adore your baby Buster, but I also bet that you would have loved to avoid the hurt and heart ache for both you and Buster.

OP, there is no safe petstore. Even one ran by a family for generations. If a breeder can't be bothered to place a puppy themselves, you have to ask, what else can't the breeder be bothered with? Proper health testing? Properly looking at their breeding stocks history? Properly analyzing their dogs for soundness?

[DvlshAngel985]

By the way, 6 months of searching is not a lot. I joined YT after longing for a yorkie for a year, then joined YT for over a year, and then Kaji and I found each other. I still ignored so many things I should have done and I will pay for it. (Kaji has grade 3/4 LP in both knees which might cost me thousands in surgery)

Learn from our mistakes, and go to the YTCA referral page so that you and your daughter can enjoy a happy, healthy, well adjusted yorkie for many, many years.

[tammyjo]

I was like you and just tired of waiting I got Molly from a pet store, I hadn't heard of Yorkie talk till I had Molly home the second day and she had a horrible cough all of a sudden, I searched online and found Yorkie talk. Molly is on her second monthly round of antibiotics for kennel cough, praying with this and a good diet it doesn't turn into pneumonia.I wil def.go to a reputable breeder when looking for another Yorkie.I wouldn't trade Molly for the world but when I found out what a puppy mill is it broke my heart to know that's how mollys parents live.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by tammyjo

I was like you and just tired of waiting I got Molly from a pet store, I hadn't heard of Yorkie talk till I had Molly home the second day and she had a horrible cough all of a sudden, I searched online and found Yorkie talk. Molly is on her second monthly round of antibiotics for kennel cough, praying with this and a good diet it doesn't turn into pneumonia.I wil def.go to a reputable breeder when looking for another Yorkie.I wouldn't trade Molly for the world but when I found out what a puppy mill is it broke my heart to know that's how mollys parents live.

I hope Molly makes a full recovery, and I love the fact that you care how her parents live, too many people only care about the puppies and not the parents of those puppies. Molly's lucky to have found you!

[tammyjo]

oh and dont think pet shops are cheaper i paid 1700 for molly and now we have already racked up 600 in vet bills...2300 just in her and vet bills and she is only 4 1/2 months old, i dont regret getting her im not saying that just cuz i love her more than anything but explore your options before you get one and know you are for sure getting a healthy puppy, cuz the pet store gave me a garunteed healthy bill thing and her vet treatments are free if i use their vet, funny thing is their vet refuses to say she has kennel cough and that its just her "adjusting" to a new enviornment. so just be careful!!!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by tammyjo

oh and dont think pet shops are cheaper i paid 1700 for molly and now we have already racked up 600 in vet bills...2300 just in her and vet bills and she is only 4 1/2 months old, i dont regret getting her im not saying that just cuz i love her more than anything but explore your options before you get one and know you are for sure getting a healthy puppy, cuz the pet store gave me a garunteed healthy bill thing and her vet treatments are free if i use their vet, funny thing is their vet refuses to say she has kennel cough and that its just her "adjusting" to a new enviornment. so just be careful!!!

You're right, pet stores can be the most expensive way to buy a puppy. I meant a women in AZ who bought a "teacup" yorkie from a petstore, and she paid $2800. It wasn't a teacup either!

[kjcmsw]

Though a majority of pet stores buy from puppy mills, there's no way to know which ones do and which ones don't. Our local pet stores sell sick dogs ( at least the people I've spoken to all have had their pups get very sick post purchase). I would never buy from a pet store as I believe the majority of pet stores do not sell quality dogs, so why buy someone else's problem? Keep searching you'll find one eventually, if not post on YT what sex, etc., you're looking for and maybe a member who breeds lives in your area will contact you that they have pups available for you to come see.

[Princess10]

I would definitely research everything about your breeder beforehand. I was a first time dog buyer with Princess and from what I read in many books and online I still thought I was buying from a great breeder. Then I discovered YT and feel so ripped off in a way that Princess could have probably had even better chances at health, etc. Granted she is healthy, but she could have easily not been. Better not to chance it, like others have said, it is not worth in the long run. Just remember that just like a car salesman, a backyard breeder or a pet store can tell you just what you want to hear. Then when the sale is final and you bring up something they promised you they will look at you like you're nuts.
I'm glad the last known pet shop here got closed down or went out of biz over a year ago...and I'm sure with good reason.

[lillymae]

Originally Posted by Yorkiemamma78

Are you implying that Kentucky is a bad place? A puppy mill is bad no matter where it's located. Pathetic...

Ok, I just really need to say something here. This is a thread talking about Pet Stores & Mills & I do believe this person mentioned Kentucky referring to the mills NOT the state. I find this (Pathetic ) very RUDE and in my opinion looks like you are trying to start something without giving a sincere effort to find out what she meant. So lets just back up here & maybe send her a nice PM to ask if she was truly trying to Bash Kentucky or their mills. I'm truly NOT trying to get anything started but these kinds of assumptions are exactly what gets perfectly innocent threads WAY out of hand.