Understanding the “Pet Industry”: Where Do the Pet Shop Puppies Come From?
A person seeking a Puppy for their household does need to realize that there is a Pet Industry in our United States.
The term Industry typically refers to something very large as in Fuel Industry, Electric Industry, Automobile Industry etc. Raising Dogs and Retailing Puppies to homes isn’t quite the same as manufacturing goods from raw materials directly, yet it is referred to as an industry and it does fall into the private sector of the definition.
As with all business there are varying degrees of quality offered; i.e., some apartments are nicely appointed residences and others are slums. Both are businesses, some barely legal, but it is up to the consumer to chose. Whether or not quality businesses are supported is determined by where consumers spend their money.
With the retail of Puppies as Pets there are basically two choices available. Your next pet (Puppy) will come from a Pet Shop or directly from a breeder. The advent of the Internet is bringing more awareness to the prospective new pet owner, but is also flooded with mis-information.
The Pet Shop Possibility, Where do Pet Shop Puppies come From?
The Pet Shop Option
The process starts with the BREEDER, whom produces puppies in a Kennel. This breeder needs to produce a quality puppy to get the most price from the BROKER. The BROKER is the middle-man. Their customer is the PET SHOP. Remember from my previous article that a kennel is a business and has to be profitable, thus each member in the Pet Shop Option is trying to do their best in order to continue to be profitable. Published mis-information from groups such as HSUS and PETA cannot be true as what they are stating doesn’t fit the equation.
The information that Activist Groups are publishing is the worst they can find, The hoarders, and very sub-standard facilities, operated by non-sane people are NOT where your Puppy is coming from, and are NOT the basis of the Pet Industry. Remember the breeder, broker and Pet Shop want to make a profit. This can’t be done with the methods described by HSUS and PETA. These Activist Groups are a Fund Raising Organization that have received millions in contributions, they want to keep the donations coming in too!
The Pet Store Puppy Business Circle
Unfortunately over the years “Pet Quality” in a Puppy has turned into “Poor Quality” Breeds that should mature at 15 lbs are maturing at 30. In some cases the breeds basically don’t look like their breed. The Puppy is strong, hardy and healthy, but its parents may have not had the best qualities to be breeders, thus should not have been.
- The Business Circle starts with the Breeder getting the least money, Thus the breeder has to raise more puppies just to make a living, quantity often causes suffering in quality. But the breeder has to do its best to be able to sell to the broker. The broker can’t sell their product if its sick or unhealthy.
- The Broker purchases from approved breeders, receives the puppy and holds it in a facility for approx. two weeks. After this time of evaluation the Puppy is shipped to the Pet Store. The Broker has to keep give these Puppies the best of care to continue the Business Circle or the Pet Store won’t accept them. The broker is making money on volume also and have marked up their cost to the Pet Store.
- The Pet Store has the final retail Price, the puppy may stay in the store for several weeks. The Pet Store Price is usually many times the actual cost of the puppy from the breeder, with the consumer paying an over inflated price.
I’m not against free enterprise, the above business circle is where the Puppy at the Pet Store originates. This recipe could be better if the Money in the Business Circle were spread more evenly. The consumer is paying the most, the breeder receiving the least, with those in the middle making the largest portion of profit from this business circle.
The above described method is a part of the Pet Industry, A Puppy is not a Goldfish, they require more interaction to mature into a companion that you will enjoy for many years in your household.
The most important part of the equation is MISSING leaving an often unsatisfactory answer to the question of how the Puppy will be brought up and cared for in the first 8 to 12 weeks of its life…as this time is very important on how your Puppy will turn out in the years to come.
- A breeder producing a large number of Puppies cannot have the time to properly socialize their Pups.
- The Puppy that has had little human interaction is then shipped to the Broker and is now around strange people for the holding period.
- This Puppy now is shipped again to the Pet Store, once again to strange people, and stays there until it is purchased by the consumer. Of course throughout this process the Puppy is well cared for as far as Food, Water, Cleaning, various medications for the normal puppy issues, but it has missed the socialization.
This is very much a downside.
People can and have received a very good Puppy from this process, but given the odds here is a much better process:
Purchase your Puppy directly from a reputable breeder.
This breeder will not have more dogs or puppies than it can care for. A reputable breeder wants what you want for your puppy, Health, Hardiness, just Plain Happy, and they will stand behind their Puppy. The consumer price will be reasonable for your pet, and all contact is made directly with the person who raised your Puppy. If your Puppy is flown to you, it is directly in your hands usually within six hours of leaving the breeders hands at the airport.
This is the better part of the Pet Industry and a consumer choice made in this direction encourages responsible practices, growth and provides the people who are doing good work with the funding they need to continue on that path 
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Comments
A very well written article but not all pet stores use brokers. I manage a pet store where we purchase all our puppies from local breeders directly. I love the breeders we use and the system that we have adopted. I know all the breeders and am welcome at their kennels to inspect the conditions at any time. When the puppies get to me they are taken care of with a huge amount of love. Just letting you know all pet stores are not the same.
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