The Perils Of Buying Labradors From Pet Shops
When you look at those pretty sad brown eyes, it’s really hard to resist a Labrador puppy displayed on pet shop windows. But hang on a moment and wait, let me tell you about the plight of this extraordinary breed of dogs.
Labradors are considered the world’s most popular dogs. Even as we speak, Labrador breeders are competing and tirelessly trying to produce the best Lab ever. Unfortunately this article is not all about the fine points of the Labrador breed or the art of being a Labrador breeder. This article is about the sad fact that today, pet stores are the life and blood of puppy mills.
Sadly though, by you walking out of that pet store with that cute Labrador on hand makes you a purveyor of puppy mills. So you argue that the pet shop owner told me that their puppies are from reputable Labrador breeders and not a puppy mill. Before we argue upon that assertion, first let us clearly define what Labrador breeders and puppy mills are.
A puppy mill usually denotes negative connotation because they are very well known for breeding dogs like Labradors on a large scale and under poor conditions. During the World War II age, there was a surge of demand for puppies, so the puppy mill era was born at the same moment that pet stores became popular business establishments.
Labrador breeders on the other hand are pretty different, because they are artists in the dog world. They breed dogs not necessarily for income but in the quest for the perfect Labrador in looks, temperament and intelligence. Labrador breeders don’t just sell puppies to anyone they make you prove that you deserve their priced doggies before even considering of letting you own one. Like Hollywood, the pet store industry has been plagued with scandals since time immemorial. The incalculable bulk of Labradors sold at pet stores are bred from puppy mills. Pet shops are very well known to be financing and keeping the puppy mill industry alive.
The callousness does not stop there. When these puppies are shipped, they are put in cramped boxes and arrive at pet stores inundated by their own urine and excrement. What’s more, according to one pet shop employee, these puppies are kept in cat carriers and stacked in the backrooms. You can hear the puppies’ wine from hunger, dirt and sickness.
Not only that but dogs produced by commercial Labrador breeders have a tendency to be ill or genetically defective. The illnesses start with the mothers, and are passed on to the puppies. Common illnesses are fleas, ear infections, mange and bronchial illnesses. Genetics also plays a part because some puppies are a product of in breeding. Some diseases or defects may have arisen from the way these puppies traveled from the puppy mills to the pet shops. These defects are, hip deformities, sprains and bone problems. Still others are afflicted by bad vision, hearing problems and epilepsy.
Although there are pet shops that do get their puppies from responsible commercial dog breeders, Labrador breeders, and private owners, the likely hood is that there are only a few of them that do. The lure of higher profits is sometimes hard to resist for some people. So be the responsible one and don’t patronize the pet stores who are merciless to animals.
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