responsible pet ownership

[madeofmilo]

Hi guys, as a fellow pet lover something amazing has come to my attention.
Every year thousands of breeders produce many different breeds. In that same year the RSPCA (and others) put down thousands of dogs.
I am about to adopt my first dog (the 3rd of sept) after owning two pet store bought dogs. After visiting the RSPCA I completely regret my decision to support the breeders.
I'm not hear to bad mouth breeders. Just thought I'd encourage everyone if they are after a new pet then to look at going to the local pound, because if we don't the animals will be put to sleep.

http://www.paws.com.au/FosterCare/FosterCareDogs.html

It just sucks so much.
Also I work at a petstore, and we do not sell kittens or puppies, as people tend to buy on emotion.

Cheers Dave

[Junkers]

I bought my dog from a breeder purely because I wanted that exact kind of dog and wouldn't settle for anything less... you've got to consider they will be with you for the next 14 years or so and will drive you nuts for the first 6 months, I think it's something forgotten about when people see puppies.

I hate when I see puppies locked up in fancy looking enclosures with people crowded round them in pet stores, just trying to sell them by making them look adorable and harmless. They end up as unwanted gifts and fads, then it's off to the pound or another family if their lucky.

[Entaran]

Yeah +1 to that.

We bought a pair of pure bred german shepherds, let the female breed once (13 pups!!!!), kept one pup, sold 12 and then de-sexed her.

The only reason we let her breed is because otherwise if you de-sex a shepherd before they breed, they stay in "must-procreate" mode their whole lives and it screws them up bigtime.

But yeah, we didn't buy off professional breeders, just other people doing what we were doing.

[Chris 83JA]

we've got a few dogs that were found/dumped. The only thing is, you can't be sure of their personalities, and if they've been abused enough in their youth, they could go psycho no matter how nicely you treat them.

Dave - does having no animals take away some of your business? I know pet owners still like to go into shops to look at puppies and kittens and then they impulse buy toys/accessories, you'd probably miss out on that a bit.

maybe you could get a bird that's a pet of the store and train it to speak and give it a big aviary, and that could be your drawcard.

[madeofmilo]

hey chris,

our store sells fish, rabbits and reptiles. But your right, not having kittens and puppies is a bit a dissapointing but when people hear the reason they totally agree and say "I wish my local store did that!" so it works out well.

Your right about personality. My girlfriends dog is great most of the time, but sometimes it bites at the stupiest time and it was from the pound.

Cheers Dave