some interesting facts about pet shops

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BJC-787

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read an interesting article in pet biz the other day
some of the points i found interesting from their research

about 9 - 14% of dogs and cats in pounds and shelters are from pet shops

80% of them are from internet classifieds and papers

80% of dogs in shelters are large breeds (mastive x ,pit bull x , kelpie x) how many times do you see these breeds in petshops

what is a puppy farm? what is the definition
large - registered breeders can be large
for profit - registered breeders make a profit (some more than puppy farms)
crossbreds - all breeds were crossbreds at one point

those are the ones i found interesting.
 
intresting, yeah lol about large breed dogs in pet shops,
they dont often take on large breed gods cause they are too big, and dont sell quickly.

but yeah intresting points
 
I agree, there are breeders out there who are registered that have massive numbers and should be labeled puppy farmers, I noticed however that you put in the section that large breeds make up 80%, but then you put in mastiff x, pitbull x, and then the kelpie x, all of these are cross breeds, not recognized breeds in their own right, and the kelpie is NOT a large breed. Why are large breed dogs so common in pounds, because they are stronger, harder to work, physically more demanding. The arguement of being pure bred or a cross breed is not just "they are all cross breeds at some stage", it goes much further than that too, pure bred dogs in Australia that are sold with pedigree papers are SUPPOSED to be held to a standard, not only standard of dogs, but also a moral and ethical standard. (Please note SUPPOSED) Not many pet stores will take on pure bred dogs due to the higher cost, why do they cost more? Simple, there are standards, if you want a pure bred dog you will be willing to part with more money, you are more likely to be thinking about your purchase and it wont be a spur of the moment purchase.

If you look at the stats in more detail, where do most pet purchases come from, it would have to be said that internet and paper ads make up the majority of purchases, it easier.

The argument against having pets sold in pet stores goes beyond dogs that are dumped, it goes into the overall welfare of the animals, you have seen threads on this forum, disgusted at the standard by which animals are housed, as a dog breeder we do not lock our pups into a small area 24 hrs a day with no access to fresh air, nor do we run them on shredded paper, only a select group of people get to view the pups once they have applied to us to be able to own one, not every Tom, Dick and Harry walking past tapping on the glass. Many pet purchases from pet stores are spur of the moment, I went in for......and came out with......Many pet stores do not have the adequate knowledge of what is better for the animals, only what they can shift. I avoid the pet stores with live animals for this reason, I will go to ones who sell product they not only recommend but also use themselves. If you look again into pet sales, most pet stores make money selling fish, this is due to the fact there is a lower moral code of ethics, its just a fish, no emotion, no feelings, so every pet store seems to sell them, they are cheap, easy to shift and can be sold off as low maintenance with all the new gismos on the market that allow a person to only have to worry about them once a week or so, just feed them and change their water occasionally and they will be fine.

Unfortunatly reptiles in pet stores are a problem due to the large number of stores (in Victoria) that actually have no idea of the proper maintenance of reptiles, what requirements they have, that arboreal species need to climb and terrestrial species need more land space. Again the store often does not sell a person what they need, but what the store needs to shift. They will sell product that is overpriced (Top of Decent $34 per can!!!), give poor back up support and generally the staff lack the knowledge to understand the animals.....I have been into some with great reputations and asked to be shown their tortoises, only to be shown turtles, told that there is no difference between a turtle and tortoise and that while DSE use the common name eastern long neck tortoise then that is what they are........(so does that mean a king brown really is a brown snake???) In Queensland the sotre has to undergo training, but once the people who have done the training leave, the store still keeps on selling the reptiles with little to no knowledge of the animals that they are selling.

Overall pet stores selling live animals should be held to a much higher standard, regularly checked on and real penalties applied for breeches of conduct, and tomorrow pigs will fly too!
 
Reptiles in QLD pet shops are appalling,ive been to around 10 in my area looking to get rodents,BUT im NOT paying $12each the size of weaners,i was selling them for $2 in NSW..The condition on some reptiles ive seen is sickening.One bluey had ticks,scales bent backwards,few scabs etc..A beardy that wouldve been around 12-16months old was so skinny,the little bit of water in the bowl was green..I had words to EVERYONE in these shops and told them if something was done,expect a visit from the authorities...NOT ALL are bad,1 around the corner that ive got a few rodents from are clean,ALL the animals have feed-clean water..and are in good condition,i even bought a 8week old Staffy x.
 
those are the facts that were in the article, i just wrote down what i read. it was a nsw magazine for people in the pet industry.
more from the article

would the person going in to buy that cute fluffy dog in the pet shop go to a shelter and get a large breed of dog?

the diference between petshops and breeders is rhat people can go into a petshop and look at and interact with the animals before they buy and also go away and think about it, when you couldn't go to a breeders just to have a look at the puppies they expect you to buy one while you are there without more thinking about it once you have seen it.

from personal experence
i was looking into getting a saint bernard and spoke to a couple of breeders about them it was going to cost me $2500 without papers or $3500 with papers
now being in the know, i know it costs registered breeders $40 to register puppies so why do they add $1000, also that it would not be microchipped, which by law it has to be before it can be sold. you tell me they are not in it for the money


The arguement of being pure bred or a cross breed is not just "they are all cross breeds at some stage", it goes much further than that too

perfect example: the bob tail boxer
a guy in the uk didn't like the boxer with a long tail so he went and got a corgi and bred it to his boxer, he picked the one that looked most like the boxer with a bob tail and bred it back to another purebred boxer, and did the same thing and the 6 generation he took one back the the canine council and they recignised it as a purebred.
 
and some of the x-breeds now are being recognized as a breed in their own right such as labradoodles, when people want to buy a pup from every breeder we have been around, they meet the breeder, they meet the pups, they come back a few times to see their development and can only pick them up at the appropriate time, in terms of chipping, this is not mandatory at the time of sale in most states due to the fact that they can migrate easily, there have been cases of chips killing pups due to this migration.

the reason you pay $3500 for a dog with papers is with those papers you are permitted to breed that dog and show that dog, they are called pick dogs/bitches, you pay more for that.....its not the difference in the paperwork. Yes of course you can breed without the papers, but they will not be recognized by the various canine associations, the litters cannot be registered through the canine association and they cannot be shown......the pure bred status of those pups would not be recognized, so if a person wanted pedigree papers for their dogs it would not be possible.
 
i was looking into getting a saint bernard and spoke to a couple of breeders about them it was going to cost me $2500 without papers or $3500 with papers
now being in the know, i know it costs registered breeders $40 to register puppies so why do they add $1000, also that it would not be microchipped, which by law it has to be before it can be sold. you tell me they are not in it for the money

We breed pedigree amstaf's and our dogs would be considered to some quite expensive, but I wouldnt go so far and say in it for money?

I would much rather breed a pair of pythons over a litter of dogs any day, the amount of time and money put into these dogs compared to pythons is crazy, also the initial invesment, our Dog was imported from America, his parents and grand parents are both grand champion show dogs over there, are bitch was sent up from high quality show lines in vic, her parents and grandparents where both grand champions, we selectivly breed our own line of dogs that are different to both original lines of both parents and we proudly stand behind our high quality animals we produce. There is alot more costs then your $40 registration fee.

Scorps
 
I think for anyone breeding any type of animal there is going to be a 'in it for the money' type attitude. If breeders could not make a profit to offset the losses caused by breeding and maintenance of their stock then they simply wouldn't really be able to do it and where there is demand for animals there will be breeders making a living or a small profit from this.
Of course a magazine that is for people in the pet industry is going to defend pet shops as opposed to their competition- being the breeders.
Having worked at a pet shop for several years and leaving due to the unethical treatment of sick and injured animals and having other poor experiences with other pet shops i would prefer to see the laws be much more restrictive on those that in many cases can't take the advise they are giving to their potential customers as well as the reduction of impulse purchases as a result.
 
As I have said, I breed, not only dogs, but reptiles too, my reptiles are usually only bred for my own needs, if I sell it is to a select few I rarely advertise animals for sale as I have many people who I know want what I am breeding, hence the reason I breed them, I will swap where possible.

Our dogs are bred to improve our lines and win more events, we work on the principle: 1 pup covers mating fees, 2 pups cover possible Caesar, one pup to cover the costs of rearing the litter and one pup for the cost of follow up vet work....thats 5 pups that need to be sold to cover costs, let alone time, we aim to keep on average at least one, maybe two from a litter to improve our lines, so now thats 7 pups...our last litter was 4.....we average 7....people dont always have the almighty dollar at heart, unless it is their means to an end!
 
they dont often take on large breed gods cause they are too big, and dont sell quickly.

but yeah intresting points

Where can I get these large breed gods from - I've always wanted my own large breed god!!!!

Though, I don't want to get one from a god shelter... please....
 
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