Puppy farms/outlets

foreign_correspondent

the difficultiy is that these sort of places fit in very well with out 'I want it now' culture of instant gratification - I got a message from someone the other day asking if I knew where any greyhound or whippet x pups were for sale, as they had spent all day looking for one with a friend who wanted to buy one - I advised they join lurcher link and post on there...(a lurcher rescue site who very often have pups, and if not would be able to advise on good breeders) ...

I was told it's not a lurcher they want, they want a greyhound or whippet crossed with a terrier! (for those who do not know, a lurcher is the product of crossing a sighthound, eg. greyhound, whippet, saluki etc, with any other dog, eg. collie, terrier etc) - I said that it was indeed a lurcher then, but apparently this person knows all about these dogs, and has had them before - of course, they found one from a breeder the next day... even if you know the breed, I am not sure how you can be certain that the breeder is reputable without more research.

Another girl I know, who is very unfit and overweight (not criticising her for being overweight btw - I am fat, but I can walk for miles! - she cannot) showed me a picture of her new pup - a husky.... when I mentioned that they need a vast amount of exercise, and all of it on lead, so you have to walk as far as the dog does (unlike most dogs that you can let off for them to have a good runabout, huskies will tend to dissapear if let off the lead) she looked gobsmacked.... again, clearly had not read up on the breed or researched before she bought.

I don't understand this - when I am buying a car or a washer I do more research than that, and that's an inanimate object, which usually comes with a warrantly and which I will use as and when I want. With a dog, you are taking on the wellbeing and care of another living creature, who will make daily demands on your time, patience and budget, probably for the next fifteen years of your life.

It should not be a snap decision, but then again, we do live in a culture where many seem to feel that buying a pup, (or having a child!) is something to do on the spur of the moment - and a decision made more on the need for instant gratification, rather than a balanced consideration of the very real implicatons it has on one's life and lifestyle.

You can see exactly why so many pups become 'too much' for their owners, and dumped in rescues once they get past the cute and fluffy stage (which only lasts for weeks) - they liked the idea of a cute and fluffy pup, but not the reality of an exuberant, boisterous, and often by this stage, badly trained adolescent dog.

Shops like this which sell dogs as commodoties promote this buying on impulse.. when people grumble about rescues being cautions about where they home dogs, I hope they can appreciate that this is partially because so many people go for a dog on impulse, who are not actually in a position to be able to care for the animal properly, and that dogs, as sentient beings, do get damaged by being taken on, poorly handled, not living up to ideals, learning bad habits and being returned.

DKLS

Hughesy84 wrote: »

Sorry for not 'knowing' about Dogs 4 us then. I love going there to see the puppies, and im currently looking to buy one........ maybe now il go to a proper breeder? /QUOTE]

I bolded the bit of your post that made me go :eek: please go to a good breeder, you owe it to the pup.

foreign_correspondent

DKLS wrote: »

Hughesy84 wrote: »

Sorry for not 'knowing' about Dogs 4 us then. I love going there to see the puppies, and im currently looking to buy one........ maybe now il go to a proper breeder? /QUOTE]

I bolded the bit of your post that made me go :eek: please go to a good breeder, you owe it to the pup.

.. or to a rescue - there are always pups in rescue that have been born after pregnant b1tches have been brought in. I met a lady with a very new rescue dog today - a lovely gentle little hungarian pulli, who has just come from the RSPCA, where she was rehomed after a life as an ex breeding b1tch - she had a litter of pups in the rescue... There are also two pups under four months old in the rescue near me, a staffie and a wolfhound cross. It is also worth thinking about whether a pup is ideal for you, as an older, steady dog is often far easier!

DKLS

Sorry FC, should have added the the other option. Thanks for doing so.

Edit: I am in Leeds next week, I might just check this Dogs4us place out for myself, I take it both parents will be there?

Or is it simply a nice glossy shop front, which hides a much darker source of puppies.