Puppy Liberation!

JohnK said :

How can one find a good place to buy a puppy? What’s the line between reputable breeder and a “puppy farm”?

http://kb.rspca.org.au/How-do-I-avoid-supporting-puppy-farms_325.html
Check the documents and links further down that page.

buzz819 said :

I’m not going to agree with the comments about mongrel dogs with illness etc. I currently have two cocker spaniels bought from Pet’s Paradise, they are extremely happy, healthy and pure bred.

Scare mongering from the old days when these stores were unregulated is not valid today. The dogs in the ACT have to come from breeders that have recognised standards as per ACT regulation.

For every dog you buy in a pet shop, there is a mother suffering in a puppy mill. Same goes for people who think they are “saving” the puppy – no you are helping the chain of supply and demand and the mother will continue being bred to within an inch of her life in a small dirty cage. It’s not about the puppies themselves, it’s about where they came from!

As for the dogs having to come from respectable breeders, NO respectable breeder would put their pups in a pet shop EVER. A proper breeder will make sure they place their pups in good homes and that they are not an impulse purchase on your way back to the car from Coles. They will also usually encourage you to return the dog to them if there’s any reason you can’t keep it, so they can ensure it’s wellbeing and rehome it. Complete opposite to these “privacy” issues mentioned in other posts regarding pet shops.

PLEASE don’t buy any dog – from pet shops OR the internet, unless you can go to the house and meet the parents of your pup.

This is a great site: http://www.wheredopuppiescomefrom.com.au/

JohnK said :

How can one find a good place to buy a puppy? What’s the line between reputable breeder and a “puppy farm”?

http://www.petrescue.com.au/

You can search for a puppy on this site. Many would be put down unless rescued and then rehomed. Probably worth searching NSW on the site too.

JohnK said :

How can one find a good place to buy a puppy? What’s the line between reputable breeder and a “puppy farm”?

http://www.dogzonline.com.au
All proper breeders, members of the kennel club and whatnot. Puppy farmers are evil.

How can one find a good place to buy a puppy? What’s the line between reputable breeder and a “puppy farm”?

dundle said :

maniac said :

Pet shops help support the puppy farm industry, which is a cruel and debilitating environment for the parents of the puppies. If the petshops cannot tell you where the pups come from, with histories of the parents, then don’t buy them. The only way we can put an end to puppy farms is to stop supporting petshops. The mark-up on pet shop puppies is enormous and often for a mix-breed mongrel, which looks cute, but who knows what genetic diseases they are hiding and what social disorders they have from being brought up in a dark shed with hundreds of other dogs and puppies in filthy conditions.

I was under the impression it was the pedigree pure-breds that had the debilitating genetic conditions due to inbreeding, and cross-breeds were a better bet these days.
Anyway I didn’t get my dogs from pet shops and do think it’s rather awful. But I don’t get one breed any more.

Actually genuine dog breeders have their dogs tested for genetic disorders and do not breed those diseases into their lines. Puppy farmers do not care what disorders there are in the parents (which are usually purebred) then put that into the puppies they breed, not caring about what defective genes are being passed on.

So they close the store around 5pm but don’t notice a missing puppy until midday .. presumably 3 hours after they open.

Was the puppy fed at some stage ..?

One hopes the thieves are taking better care of the puppy than the no-hopers who work in the shop.

I recommend people adopt their pets from the RSPCA.

maniac said :

Pet shops help support the puppy farm industry, which is a cruel and debilitating environment for the parents of the puppies. If the petshops cannot tell you where the pups come from, with histories of the parents, then don’t buy them. The only way we can put an end to puppy farms is to stop supporting petshops. The mark-up on pet shop puppies is enormous and often for a mix-breed mongrel, which looks cute, but who knows what genetic diseases they are hiding and what social disorders they have from being brought up in a dark shed with hundreds of other dogs and puppies in filthy conditions.

I was under the impression it was the pedigree pure-breds that had the debilitating genetic conditions due to inbreeding, and cross-breeds were a better bet these days.
Anyway I didn’t get my dogs from pet shops and do think it’s rather awful. But I don’t get one breed any more.

Peppablack said :

carnardly said :

you could’ve also bought an equally lovely crossbred dog from the RSPCA for $250.

You chose to spend that amount of money on that puppy.

Same as poodle spend $1200 on “jugs” “oodles” of any flavour – eg cavoodle, schnoodle, labradoodle etc – all of which are not designer dogs, just average crossbred ones.

Nothing wrong with a crossbred dog by any means, but they sure suck in many with a designer (cough) price tag.

Yes, I did choose to spend $ on the pup because I wanted to give her a better home than a glass box, and she was the only one left, and secondly, the pup I purchased from woden pet shop is not a designer dog xbreed as you have referred to, she is a x husky/kelpie. I was not looking for a dog that day, but wanted to give her a better home, high price tag or not. And the RSPCA has this xbreed? i don’t think so. I was just commenting on the health and well-being of animals subjected to being displayed in pet shops as an object. Oscars law is a good example on what should be done.

I second that emotion – I regularly go around all those disgraceful pet shops and buy whatever puppies they have imprisoned in those boxes to save them from the trauma and the claustrophobia and the sawdust. As I don’t like keeping dogs myself, I usually take them up into the Brindies and set them free.

Whatever you do never buy from Woodpark Puppies in VIC. they are a known puppy farm and are still breeding dogs. just Google them and read some of the horror stories.

Peppablack said :

Yes, I did choose to spend $ on the pup because I wanted to give her a better home than a glass box, and she was the only one left, and secondly, the pup I purchased from woden pet shop is not a designer dog xbreed as you have referred to, she is a x husky/kelpie. I was not looking for a dog that day, but wanted to give her a better home, high price tag or not.

Wow, they really did suck you in, didn’t they? They probably have a photo of you on a piece of butcher’s paper in their staff training room with the heading: “Customer type: emotive impulse buyer – easy”.

I’m sure you love your dog to bits, but I have huge concerns about people buying a dog on a whim. One of the other main reason why selling pups from pet stores should be banned.

carnardly said :

you could’ve also bought an equally lovely crossbred dog from the RSPCA for $250.

You chose to spend that amount of money on that puppy.

Same as poodle spend $1200 on “jugs” “oodles” of any flavour – eg cavoodle, schnoodle, labradoodle etc – all of which are not designer dogs, just average crossbred ones.

Nothing wrong with a crossbred dog by any means, but they sure suck in many with a designer (cough) price tag.

Yes, I did choose to spend $ on the pup because I wanted to give her a better home than a glass box, and she was the only one left, and secondly, the pup I purchased from woden pet shop is not a designer dog xbreed as you have referred to, she is a x husky/kelpie. I was not looking for a dog that day, but wanted to give her a better home, high price tag or not. And the RSPCA has this xbreed? i don’t think so. I was just commenting on the health and well-being of animals subjected to being displayed in pet shops as an object. Oscars law is a good example on what should be done.

dvaey said :

carnardly said :

you could’ve also bought an equally lovely crossbred dog from the RSPCA for $250.

You chose to spend that amount of money on that puppy.

Many years ago we tried to get a dog from the RSPCA, after our last dog from the RSPCA passed away at the age of 14. We underwent two interviews at the RSPCA office, then had an inspector come and visit our property. We were told that the 7′ colorbond fence was okay but the 5′ high gate was “not suitable for keeping a dog”. They apologised and off they went, without approving us to adopt a dog.

A couple of weeks later, a pup came up for sale on local noticeboard at the shops. One phone call and we were invited to come and pick a dog from the litter same-day. 7 years later, he’s a very happy healthy dog, who has not managed to scale the colorbond fence, despite RSPCA’s thoughts on it.

Many years ago, the RSPCA used to be a fantastic organisation, with the interests of rehoming animals. Over the past few years though, Ive noticed the prices have skyrocketed and their adoption process makes you feel like a criminal dog abuser before theyve even said hello. Is it any wonder the RSPCA has such a hard time rehoming dogs, when they charge as much as a pet shop and as others have mentioned, like the pet shop they will not provide any history of the animal you buy due to ‘privacy’ reasons.

I found the RSPCA’s rules were very strict when I last went to look for a dog there. I understand why they are being so cautious, but it would be nice if they could be a bit more flexible and assess potential owners on a case by case basis instead of following their checklist so rigidly.

The pound doesn’t seem to have any criteria, which I think goes a bit too far the other way. I found the rescue orgs a happy medium. Most will put you through some sort of vetting process, but they are really into matching the right dog to the right owner and a commitment to take the dog for daily walks and deal with issues as they arise scores way higher than a 7 foot fence.

buzz819 said :

Scare mongering from the old days when these stores were unregulated is not valid today. The dogs in the ACT have to come from breeders that have recognised standards as per ACT regulation.

Source? What standards and what regulations?

If you buy a pup from a pet store you most likely support puppy farming. I don’t care about the purebred factor myself – huge mongrel fan here – but puppy farms/mills are horrible places run by people who put profit before their animals’ wellbeing and health.

And keeping a pup in a pet shop where it is left alone for at least 12 hours a day is incredibly cruel too.

And also, how do you know that your pups were purebred? Does it say on the paperwork that they were registered with the ANKC?

Personally I don’t see why there is a need to buy from any breeder. There are plenty of dogs already that are looking for a home. I own my second rescue dog and I have never had a moment of regret.

Fortunately – and probably at least partially because of Canberra’s high level of education – there are many who agree with me here. We have the lowest kill rate of all pounds in Oz and at least 3/4 of the dog owners I meet here don’t know exactly what breeds their dog is because they got it from t/he pound/RSPCA/rescue organisation.

buzz819 said :

I’m not going to agree with the comments about mongrel dogs with illness etc. I currently have two cocker spaniels bought from Pet’s Paradise, they are extremely happy, healthy and pure bred.

Scare mongering from the old days when these stores were unregulated is not valid today. The dogs in the ACT have to come from breeders that have recognised standards as per ACT regulation.

Sorry but if you believe that you are clearly not aware of the truth and that though the legislation is in place, it is so easy to get around. Perhaps you should see this site: http://www.oscarslaw.org/

Watch the ABCs 7:30 report that is embedded on the Media Page of Oscars Law, then tell me how well regulated this industry is.

carnardly said :

you could’ve also bought an equally lovely crossbred dog from the RSPCA for $250.

You chose to spend that amount of money on that puppy.

Many years ago we tried to get a dog from the RSPCA, after our last dog from the RSPCA passed away at the age of 14. We underwent two interviews at the RSPCA office, then had an inspector come and visit our property. We were told that the 7′ colorbond fence was okay but the 5′ high gate was “not suitable for keeping a dog”. They apologised and off they went, without approving us to adopt a dog.

A couple of weeks later, a pup came up for sale on local noticeboard at the shops. One phone call and we were invited to come and pick a dog from the litter same-day. 7 years later, he’s a very happy healthy dog, who has not managed to scale the colorbond fence, despite RSPCA’s thoughts on it.

Many years ago, the RSPCA used to be a fantastic organisation, with the interests of rehoming animals. Over the past few years though, Ive noticed the prices have skyrocketed and their adoption process makes you feel like a criminal dog abuser before theyve even said hello. Is it any wonder the RSPCA has such a hard time rehoming dogs, when they charge as much as a pet shop and as others have mentioned, like the pet shop they will not provide any history of the animal you buy due to ‘privacy’ reasons.

While I do not condone the theft from a shop I am hopping that the puppie is somewhere safe, where he is being looked after, played with and well fed (it is a Lab after all) and doesnt involve a small glass cage.

agree with all the above about the general undesirability of puppies (and kittens) in cages in shops and about the cruelty of leaving a puppy alone for so long. They are social, and they need contact. When Animal Lib is tired of chickens on battery farms, this might be a new project.

you could’ve also bought an equally lovely crossbred dog from the RSPCA for $250. You chose to spend that amount of money on that puppy.

Same as poodle spend $1200 on “jugs” “oodles” of any flavour – eg cavoodle, schnoodle, labradoodle etc – all of which are not designer dogs, just average crossbred ones. Nothing wrong with a crossbred dog by any means, but they sure suck in many with a designer (cough) price tag.

when we got out kitten from pet rescue, the lady told us that pet shops dump kittens when they become to big to sell in the shop, just like animal circus was banned in the ACT so should pet shops that keep animals in small glass boxes.