Puppy Buying Dilemma – Pet Shop Or Breeder?

Knowledgeable pet owners, when approached by a novice with the question of where to buy a pet, usually recommend buying from a breeder rather than from a pet shop.

The advantages of the breeder-bought pet are many, yet the disadvantages of dealing with these breeders are often so discouraging that many prospective buyers resort to purchasing their pets through retail establishments.

In this article, we would like to explore the advantages and disadvantages of dealing with each: the breeder or the pet shop.

Pet Shops: The Dungeons Of Pet Suppliers?

Most people envision the average pet shop as a dark, dank, far from fragrant place where animals suffering from a variety of ills, crowded into small, stuffy cages, can be bought for outrageous prices. Sadly, this is all too often the case.

The pup you buy in a pet shop is often bloated with worms, teary-eyed, sniffling and, what is far worse, not inoculated. Little or no health guarantee is offered and the prices charged for pet quality animals in a pet shop can sometimes purchase a breeding, or even show quality animal, via a reputable breeder.

Pups (and kittens too), are frequently sold at five and six weeks of age – far too early for these extremely delicate infants to be placed in new homes, much less in a disease-filled pet shop.

Then too, little practical advice is given new owners on the care and feeding of the newly acquired pet. The new “parents” are left strictly to their own devices to raise their young pups. The pet shop owner is frequently unqualified to acquaint owners with the peculiarities of whatever breed they have purchased.

There Is Some Good News Here

On the positive side of pet shops, we must list, first and foremost, availability. Puppies are on the premises, ready to be bought and, for the right price, the purchaser can immediately take home any pup he desires.

Variety, too, is a significant factor, especially for those buyers who have not definitely decided what breed of dog they want to own. Then too is the lure of all those delightful pet accessories with which the average owner immediately overwhelms his new pet with.

And, when buying a purebred puppy from a pet shop, the new owner generally receives his registration and/or pedigree papers immediately with no lengthy waiting period involved.

The 2 Breeder Types

There are, on the other hand, essentially two types of breeder: the “professional” breeder and the “backyard” breeder.

The former may have one or several brood females, using his own or other complementary lines as a stud. He is well-versed in genetics, especially those factors dealing with his own favorite breed. He is usually deeply involved in the show circuit, spending great amounts of time and money to show his line of dogs.

The backyard breeder owns a purebred female of undetermined – and frequently unquestionable – quality who does not necessarily even have “papers” to prove her purebred ancestry.

He breeds his dog, usually a family pet, to a neighborhood male whose background and quality do not usually concern him, with no regard to complementary genetic factors, temperament, or lineage.

His pups are usually priced considerably lower than those of the professional breeder, but they can in no way compare in quality of appearance and temperament with those bred by the professional.

Dealing with the backyard breeder is similar in many ways to dealing with the pet shop. The pups are sold at an early age – sometimes without some or all of their inoculations. His pups may be unstable in temperament and unpredictable in size and general appearance. And while these pups sometimes come equipped with “papers”, they often resemble the typical dogs of their breed in name only.

The professional breeder deals in dogs that are good representatives of their breed. While not all champions, by any means, the pups raised by the professional breeder carry good temperaments, are stable and trustworthy, and resemble the standards drawn up by the American Kennel Club for their particular breed.

Prices depend on the quality of each pup – either pet, breeding, or show – and the purchaser interested in a pet quality dog often receives a better price than in the pet shop where all pups of any one breed are priced identically, regardless of quality (although the males are often priced higher than the females).

Pups raised by professional breeders are usually held until they are at least three months of age. Too, they are inoculated, wormed and checked by a reputable veterinarian before they are sold, generally with a lengthy health guarantee.

The Cons Of Buying From A Professional Breeder

On the other hand, trying to purchase a pup from a breeder can be an unnerving experience. The breeders seldom live close enough so that you can visit and choose your puppy. In many cases the puppy must be shipped to you, sight unseen, hundreds or thousands of miles.

From the initial written or telephone inquiry to the final acquisition of a dog can exhaust weeks – even months! And for anyone desirous of owning a pup right away, dealing with a breeder can be discouraging and disheartening.

First, one must secure a reply from the breeder in question. Easy as this may seem, even those inquiries that are cogent, intelligent, and offer large amounts of money in return for a pup often go unanswered.

Why breeders find it so difficult to answer their mail (especially e-mail) is extremely hard to understand when one takes into consideration the vast amounts of money expended each year on advertising to encourage these very same inquiries.

Second, the breeder has to have what you’re looking for, which means a pup of the right age, sex, color, quality and temperament. If she does not, she may then inform you that she is expecting a litter or litters in the near (or not so near) future and will reserve a pup for you; that is, if such a pup ever materializes.

Next, you must be prepared to be interrogated and investigated and found to be deserving of and suitable for a pup. Breeders often impose unusual and lofty standards for prospective owners. Buyers must be prepared to be subjected to a third-degree similar to one conducted by a human adoption service or even perhaps the CIA!

If the breeder suspects that the puppy may have show potential – whether or not you are interested in this form of entertainment – the breeder will often make you feel like Judas if you do not happily agree to enter the dog in competition.

Of equal annoyance is the breeder who wants to keep your dog tied to the kennel apron strings by insisting on future breedings to or from the pups they sell. One often gets the impression that he is really nothing more than a foster parent, furnishing food and shelter to someone else’s dog, even after paying so much money for the pup.

Registration and pedigree papers are all too frequently slow in coming if, in fact, they arrive at all. Much postage and pleading on the part of the owner of the pup are often expended before satisfaction is obtained in this matter.

And last, one must become accustomed to phone calls and written notes for months after the pup has been bought from an anxious breeder eager to know how the pup is faring in his new home.

So, You Ask, Where Should One Purchase A Puppy?

Pet Shop? Backyard Breeder? Professional Breeder? The final decision remains up to the individual and depends only on his degree of tolerance for the shortcomings of each of these sources.

We personally prefer the professional breeder but would like to see these breeders come down off their lofty towers and treat the dog-buying public as if they depended on it – as, in fact, they do.

We do sincerely believe that no one but a serious breeder can give a new owner the solid, factual and informative advice necessary to care for a new pup – including proper nutrition, health care and training.

With a reputable and cooperative breeder, the odds are in your favor of receiving a healthy, stable pup who will be a credit to his breed and a source of pride and enjoyment to his family.

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