Pet stores VS Breeders

Pet stores scour the nation for breeders who are nearly giving their puppies away or who have a price so low, they know that by marking them up by at least 500%, they’ll make their money back and then some.

Pet store owners purchase many of their puppies under false pretenses and present themselves to breeders as a family in need for a dog that has died or  for their "children",  knowing full well that the puppy they just bought will go to their store to sit behind that window for the general public to view.   Many are sick or unhealthy or have been shuffled from pet store to pet store.   The sad fact is; it is very dangerous to purchase a puppy from a pet store.  It's very difficult to obtain a quality pet from a pet store.    No responsible breeder would ever dare sell their puppies to a pet store. One of the ways a responsible  breeder can deter pet stores from contacting them is to NOT give in and lower their price below the average price when a potential customer claims they would "give the puppy a good home, but can't afford much to pay". This is a red flag.   If a customer can not afford the price a breeder is asking, most likely they can not afford the dogs' unexpected vet bills either.

When pet stores buy their puppies for next to nothing from irresponsible breeders or uneducated breeders,   they don't even bother to research the background.   This means that they can tell their customers NOTHING about the dogs' ancestral history or pedigreed history.....most likely the person who sold them the puppy for next to nothing never bothered to order a pedigree or do any research on their breeding stock. I tell anyone that is thinking about purchasing a dog from a pet store, that as hard as it is to walk away from that cute little face begging for a new home......walk away if the pet store has no papers or history on the puppy available.  You're only asking for more trouble than you can possibly imagine. Pet stores do not offer any type of guarantee that you would get from a breeder, and offer no assistance that you CAN get from a breeder 24/7.

I know more people than I’d like to, whom after buying a pet, from the local pet store, end up contacting a local breeder asking for help. It is usually the same person who didn’t want to give a breeder their asking price, but yet paid twice as much to the pet store with no warranties. This is so frustrating to breeders because we care so much about our breed. That is where the old saying comes into play “You get what you paid for”. Once you leave the pet store, chances are you will never recoup anything, if something bad should happen or ever find anything out about your beloved puppy. Once again, things like this are all included with the price of your puppy from a reputable breeder.