The Do's and Don'ts of Getting a Dog Do you have an idea of which breed you'd like? If yes, we're ready to cover actually getting the dog. If no, see the section "How to Select the Right Dog for You".   Before reading further into this section, recall a caveat of mine in my dog discussion. When talking about selecting the dog and getting one, I am addressing the issue of purebred puppies and not shelter animals (mixed or purebred).   If you decide to adopt a dog or puppy from the shelter that's terrific! You will be providing a nice home to an animal that deserves it. Keep in mind, though, that raising a shelter dog does require special efforts from you in training it and socializing it. Puppies from breeders require training and socialization, too. Normally, with puppies, you obtain the puppy at a young enough age to properly socialize it without breaking your back (so to speak). All dogs require patience, consistancy and understanding. Most shelter dogs require an extra amount of all these things. This is not to discourage you but to make you aware of what your expectations should be. It is easier to train a new puppy than a shelter dog but both of them will turn into terrific companions.   Okay, with all this said, we're ready to start!   You've decided on your breed and now want to purchase a puppy. Let's say you've decided you want a new puppy after meeting a dog in your neighborhood and hearing from people about how great the dog is. You may even expand your research into visiting the AKC website and/or reading a dog book.   What do you do next? Well, you've always seen the cutest of puppies at your local pet store. Let's go there to check out whether they have your breed. You walk in and sure enough they have your breed (if the breed is common enough). If they don't have your breed, they can certainly find one for you and ship it in. Boy, this was easy to get a dog! All this talk about having to go through breeders and search when all you had to do was go to your local pet store. The people at the store are very helpful. They tell you that the dogs are AKC registered (which is not a guarantee about the health of the dog, but simply a statement that they filed papers). They tell you about vaccinations and health guarantees they may offer you. They weave a story about the "breeders" who supply them with dogs and may even tell you about their parents. Of course, you'll never meet the parents as they usually live in Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Iowa, etc. Perhaps they'll show you a picture but you have no guarantee that the pictures are from the actual parents.   What's wrong with this picture? Plenty. First of all, these puppies are not from "breeders" but from puppy mills. Yes, every dog from any pet store is from a puppy mill. I don't care what line they feed you, don't bite and you won't get reeled in.   Don't let the fact that their puppies are AKC registered fool you into thinking that this is a statement of quality. It isn't. The AKC is, simply, a registry. All AkC registration means is that papers were filed and a nominal fee was paid to the AKC in order to obtain registration papers. The papers do not guarantee that the parents of the puppy and/or the puppy itself are healthy and viable specimens of their breed.   Also, if you look closer at the health guarantee, you'll note that what they protect is normal or ordinary health problems and usually only for one year. Most of these puppy mill prodigy will experience health problems later on. They'll have bad hips or some other such problems that continue to be bred through the dog lines as puppy mill owners aren't concerned over the health of the breed or their dogs. Their concern is with making a nice profit off of the dogs. To them, a dog is a commodity.   If you already have a dog from a pet store, or had purchased one from a pet store, fine, but learn from that error. Don't get your next dog from a pet store. If you feel the need to rescue a dog from such a place, then seriously look into a shelter dog instead. Buying them from pet stores only helps continue the profit-making process of puppy mills.   ...more to come (I promise)...   Back to the Top the Dog-gone World

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