Re: [pyrnet] New subscriber

["Tracy Bassett" <espinay@dynamite.com.au>]

<< I would probably have told her that when she gets the next puppy from
this place to instantly take it to a vet and seeing how much trouble she had
before
to make them give her some kind of a guarantee, after all they don't
want their business to have a bad name......  I couldn't just see this
family walking away--some of us don't have tons of money at our disposal
and to just let it go is not in my nature nor do I have the funds to go
out and buy another dog and maybe they don't either.>>  Bonnie

Hi Bonnie,

Yes, sometimes we may sound like we are being a little 'unbending' when in
comes to some things.  I guess after seeing the problems and hearbreak that
can occur time after time as the result of unscrupulous breeders, pet shops
and puppy mills and unwary owners/buyers, people tend to get just a little
frustrated.  Some notes on your suggestion:

While the pup may look healthy on that first vet visit, what happens when
the pup develops a problem a little later on, say at 6 months, or 12 months
or 2 years of age?  Lets say it gets Hip Displaysia, or develops epilepsy or
has a heart problem - things that may not show up in that first exam.  I am
afraid NO petshop is going to provide much of a guarantee after the first
few weeks.  They are not going to help the person that bought the pup to pay
for the vet bills and they are not going to ease the pain of a child that
has to say goodbye to their dog after only a few years instead of having the
opportunity to grow up with it happily and healthily.

What support is the pet shop going to provide when the pup starts to grow
into an adolescent and begins acting like one?  Will they provide guidance
at any time of the day or night when the owner has something they want to
talk over with them or wan't some advice? will they be able to provide
guidance on just why their Pyr is doing what it is doing?

What can the new owners know of the temperament of the pups parents?  Are
they nice stable temperament dogs?  With a child in the house I would
particularly want to know that the pup had a good chance or growing up sound
in mind/behaviour as well as in body.

What sort of health care and feeding has the pup been given up till this
point?  Early nutrition and care is so important.  Without knowing too much
about the condition of Erin's first pup, how much of its problems were
caused by inappropriate care?

Here is a great link put together by a friend of mine which compares some of
the things you can expect from the different places you may get a puppy:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/7244/wheretobuy.html

In the long run buying a pup from a pet store may end up more expensive both
financially and emotionally than waiting and buying from a breeder.  As I
mentioned previously, perhaps arrangements could be made for a line of
credit to buy other products from the store rather than a pup - things the
pups owners would be buying anyway.  Looking after a dog is never 'cheap' so
it would not be money going to waste.  The money that would have been spent
buying these things would just be 'switched' to buying the pup from a
reputable breeder.

Tracy Bassett
Canberra, Australia
espinay@dynamite.com.au
visit my webpage at http://members.dynamite.com.au/espinay/index.htm