Educated a co-worker on pet stores

For example, why do so many people want to buy "purebreds", instead of the sweet mutts down at the shelter? Hmmm. Could it have something to do with status? There are status dogs that go through the rigorous breeding/homing process. For most people who are unwilling or unable ($1200+ for a mini-schnau!) to go through that process, but still desire a status animal, "other breeders" is where they go, not the shelter.

So, the elitism of sectors of the dog world can be argued to have an affect on people's purchasing behaviors, yes? This is not judgment on my part, it's examination. I haven't said that papered purebred breeders are bad are wrong, I'm simply puzzling out pieces of the industry. What's bad about that?

 
I wanted a purebred dog from a good breeder because I wanted something specific and to know what I was getting.  I wanted the background, personality, and desire for certain jobs that comes with that breed.  I also liked the breed and wanted to continue it's history and provide a good example to those who don't know about the breed.  I also prefer whenever possible to get animals with known papered backgrounds, knowledge of the parents', grandparents', etc... health and temperament, and proper testing for health issues to avoid as many surprises and issues that could cause early retirement or even death of my new dog.  Now that I have accomplished what I wanted I'm waiting until Zami is spayed and heading down to the shelter to get some dog of mixed herding breed to fulfill the rest of what I want a dog for as well as to keep each other company and provide a playmate.  It all seems rather logical to me not elitist.  Plus supporting the good breeders that only breed the occasional high quality litter and screen well for homes may actually help with overpopulation because that's 1 less purebred dog that bad breeders are getting money for.  Honestly if I couldn't find any good breeders here I would have given up and gotten a different breed(was looking at malamutes for a backup) or a mix from the shelter.  I wouldn't go buy from an irresponsible breeder or probably even a commercial breeder just to have a purebred dog.
 
However I do also have a different example.  My sister lives on the other side of the state.  She was back here visiting and had decided they wanted a cat for their apartment.  She goes to the overflowing shelter that has cats everywhere and cages lining the hallway.  They tell her she has to fill out an application, call back in 3 days to make sure she's interested, bring everyone who lives with her to meet the animals, and then they will be considered for adoption.  Now this wasn't a spur of the moment decision but she had everything setup for the cat and didn't want to wait along with the fact she was driving home in 2 days.  So where do we end up?  The petstore 3 blocks from the shelter playing with the cute little kittens.  That's where it would have ended if I didn't tell her to call a shelter in the next town over.  They called her apartment manager, confirmed cats were alright, asked her a few questions on care and her situation, and she walked out the door with 2 kittens an hour later.  My sister is responsible enough to plan for the care of her animals and take care of them properly but she doesn't have a great deal of patience.  She will only take the animal from the shelter or the more responsible breeder if it's quicker and easier to get than from a petstore or bad breeder.  Alot of people are like that even if they do end up keeping the pet forever and taking good care of it and petstores tend to be the fastest way to get a pet.  Walk in, put down money, walk out with your new pet.

Wow, that was a great read! Thanks! Fancy that, I learned something in a thread about education! Yay!

 
He kind of cuts thru all the hype and hyperbole doesn't he.

  That is a very good article, and sham85 pretty much hits it on the head why I go to well researched breeders.  I have a pup that is purebred, but appears to just about anyone to be a yorkie mix, so much for status, which I'm too old to give a rat's patootie about anyway. 
 
  I also sympathize with the shelter being a royal pain with a kiten adoption to someone who is well qualified.  Before I went with a breeder a few months back I was working with a rescue organization, planning on adopting a rescue.  Long form with references, who were contacted, no problem.  Long phone interview, no problem there.  Home saftey inspection, sure, the last terrier lived to be nearly 16, and did so without any issues.
 
  What turned me off was the home inspection which lasted half an hour, with a little paperwork, than this woman parking her rump trying to convince us to be a foster home for their rescue program, for the next three hours.  She just didn't seem to understand that we were looking for a family pet to share our life with, long term.  You would think my two dozen aquariums, with thousands of fish in my fish breeding setup would get her thinking that I'm quite busy breeding fish, and really don't have time for foster care.  Three hours of her trying to convince us that we should foster with us not budging really put us off, so we contacted one of the breeders we were talking back & forth with.
 
  I see Mr. Winograd has a seminar here in Chicago in October, and I see in his article that he does mention arbitrary rules and such.  This looks to be an interesting seminar.
 
 
 
 

Is there a reason that a person who has chosen a purebred is made to feel like somehow LESS of a dog lover?  I see that repeatedly in this thread.  I have owned many, many wonderful mixed breeds and I've owned purebreeds.  Lets not forget that THREE of my purebreds came to me via foster care and never left.
 
I happen to LIKE the reliability of a well bred dog....knowing what to expect in size, temperment, trainability, etc.  So I guess that makes me what?  Selfish?  Status seeking?
 
I believe that if folks truly KNEW where those cute little pups in the pet stores come from they would at least think twice before plunking down the plastic.
 
 

Is there a reason that a person who has chosen a purebred is made to feel like somehow LESS of a dog lover? I see that repeatedly in this thread. I have owned many, many wonderful mixed breeds and I've owned purebreeds.

Yeah, I wonder the same.  I really wanted to do agility, so I got a dog that is OFA hips and elbows whose mother did agility until she was 11 and whose father is from sound working lines.  She's been x-rayed and given the go ahead for this type of activity.  She is very small and lean and has the correct "working" structure which is better and healthier for a dog doing activities like agility that involve a lot of running and jumping.  It can be tough on the joints so not just any dog has the right structure. If I was going to do rally, obedience, or show it wouldn't have mattered.  There was a wonderful GSD called Apollo in our shelter and I fell in love with him.  He was my pet project and it killed me when he got in a car to leave with someone else.  However, he was very large and large boned.  Not fat, but definitely not lean.  If I had adopted that shelter dog and done agility with him, he no doubt would develop arthritis and other painful joint problems in a few years.  IMO, that's just not fair to the dog, regardless of where the dog comes from and how it was bred.  It would've been irresponsible for me to adopt Apollo with the intent to work him in ways that I know his body cannot handle.  My husband on the other hand wants a dog that will play fetch in the yard and sit on his lap.  He will probably pick a nice tempered mutt from the shelter.

So call it snobbish or elitist or a status symbol or whatever, I can't deny what I know about a dog's structure and adopt a dog I feel sorry for knowing that it might end up getting hurt or lame.

I believe that if folks truly KNEW where those cute little pups in the pet stores come from they would at least think twice before plunking down the plastic.

.
Exactly!  JQP isn't THAT stubborn or THAT dumb. 

Yes, I work in rescue and yes I screen and I am very experience and efficient at it. When I say no to a family, that does not end their want to adopt a dog.

how elitist of you to refuse adoption to anyone and everyone wanting a dog from your organization. thanks for keeping the puppy mills in business.[8D]

perhaps if rescues were more lenient on approving adoptive homes, people would quit going to the nearest puppy store to buy a dog.

glenmar, yes, I see some defensiveness, too. But, I don't see any attacks that call for defensiveness. What am I missing?

Sham described some thoughts on selecting dogs, in contrast to the sister's. I thought that was really educational in explaining some contrasting motivations and efforts in buying practices.

So, do people buy from puppy mills and BYB's because they want easy access to status dogs (which is what some of us have been guessing at)? Because it's easier than adopting (which Sham and timsdat's link pointed to)? Because they are impulse buying in shopping malls (which others have suggested)? Do the reasons vary by region, like Liesje suggested? Is it exacerbated by lack of industry controls like some have discussed?

I believe that if folks truly KNEW where those cute little pups in the pet stores come from they would at least think twice before plunking down the plastic.

Exactly! JQP isn't THAT stubborn or THAT dumb.

Right, but determined anyway. I've seen people on this forum talk about buying puppy mill/byb pups because they feel sorry for them - going in and scooping up several at a time, then trying to place them.

What?  Was that tongue in check or serious?
 
I'm sure not going to hand and home raise a litter of gsds and then let them go live in someones shed so they don't "mess up the new trailer".

why do people buy from puppy mills rather than good breeders or shelters, we can either just dismiss all "those" people as stupid and lazy, or we can look at what makes up their desire for and access to animals.

perhaps because we live in a now now now society?

i could take the time to research the breed, contact various breeders and rescues to see if i qualify, and if not making necessary changes in my lifestyle to accomodate a dog.

or i can run out to the pet store and buy one in 10 minutes.

Agreed, Bradley, that is part of it.
 
Ixas, glenmar is just the log in that I got stuck with when the forum changed over.  I do not care to be addressed by my log in.  That's why I have a signature with my actual name in it.  And you are right, there have been no outright attacks, simply a lot of inuendo.

ORIGINAL: cyclefiend2000

Yes, I work in rescue and yes I screen and I am very experience and efficient at it. When I say no to a family, that does not end their want to adopt a dog.

how elitist of you to refuse adoption to anyone and everyone wanting a dog from your organization. thanks for keeping the puppy mills in business.[8D]

perhaps if rescues were more lenient on approving adoptive homes, people would quit going to the nearest puppy store to buy a dog.

edited: Sorry, misunderstanding. []

I think he was being sarcastic.  Looks to me like he was just trying to illustrate that responsible breeders use the SAME criteria to evaluate potential adopters as do rescues and shelters, so the whole "elitist", "JQP is turned away" idea doesn't really fly.

Our shelter also screens adopters and I think we have a great process.  The interview and app is mainly to help people get the RIGHT dog, not turn people away (same with a breeder's app - they want to know what you intend to do with the pup so they can give you a pup with the right temperament and drive).  The only family I've ever seen turned away had no clue about anything and said they wanted a dog but were going to keep it chained up in their yard and weren't concerned about housebreaking b/c it would never come inside.  They were trying to adopt a large Lab mix, very social, problems with manners.  We offered to help them choose a better dog and give them some literature on the proper basic care of dogs, but they just left.

liesje is completely right. it was my attempt at sarcasm.

saying a breeder is elitist because they refuse to sell to a particular person is as ridiculous as saying rescues are elitist because they refuse to adopt to a particular person.

both have the best interests of the dog in mind (or should!), and if they think someone isnt suited to owning a dog it is their right/obligation to refuse that person's application.

Yes I believe that direct purchase or POS registrations are supporting puppy mills.

Although I personally would support entry fees getting higher, I am in the minority position.

I would prefer the organization expand beyond just registering, but that is unlikely to happen.

The AKC has its good points and its bad, just like any group or individual. 

Any purchase at a store that sells puppies supports puppy mills.

ORIGINAL: cyclefiend2000

both have the best interests of the dog in mind (or should!), and if they think someone isnt suited to owning a dog it is their right/obligation to refuse that person's application.

No, there is a difference and I believe we had a discussion on this when we talked about the reputable breeder rehoming their dogs after the dog has served its usefullness in breeding.  Rescues do selfless act for the love of the dog.