How to define low cost pet shops? They are those offering breed puppies at incredibly low prices. To give an estimate, one of these puppies can cost half of what we would pay to a breeder without excessive claims or neonatal education or training.
How can they offer these prices?
These puppies come from dog farms.
EHow to define low cost pet shops? They are those offering breed puppies at incredibly low prices. To give an estimate, one of these puppies can cost half of what we would pay to a breeder without excessive claims or neonatal education or training.
How can they offer these prices?
These puppies come from dog farms.
On these farms, the so-called breeders confine females in cages in unsanitary conditions, where neither their minimum basic needs are covered, with no veterinary checks, where they never see the light of day. Crossbreeds have a high degree of inbreeding. Females give birth to litter after litter until they can’t take it anymore. If they are lucky, they will die after 4 years or so, ending a life of suffering.
The puppies from this hell are sold per kilo of meat, ie instead of 30 pugs, these people buy 30 kilos of pug. The puppies are sent in trucks without air conditioning, traveling thousands of miles without receiving any assistance, without food or water. Those who survive the journey, are taken to the shop to be sold.
What happens when a pup is born into these conditions and soon separated from its mother and litter and end up in the window of a store waiting to be purchased?
First, the environmental conditions in which mating and birth takes place and the first weeks of life are crucial for good mental stability of the litter.
If the mother is in a stressful situation, she can give birth to hyperactive dogs which may have future problems such as shyness, phobias, fears or high reactivity to stimuli.
Also, parting so early from the mother (if they are separated earlier than 8 weeks) pups may show physical problems related to poorly developed immune systems: often carry serious diseases such as distemper, parvovirus, intestinal parasites ... Many of these diseases are fatal and also can be very contagious to other animals.
As they grow old, the problems persist.
Approximately at 6 months (although in my professional life, I have seen puppies at 4 months that already show these symptoms) owner will realize that these dogs do not behave as expected. Something is not right. Some of these symptoms are:
- Dropping to the ground when we try to stroke them, maybe using a certain part of their body, even try to bite our hand. This is due to the lack of care of his mother (transport, grooming, lying with his brothers, games ...) so they do not tolerate physical contact.
- They become afraid, walking in a retracted manner or barking at everything that approaches, or they are in a continuous state of alert. As a result, they pull their leash constantly.
- Reduction of its adaptability when a new stimulus appears (a person or another dog). Puppies can either withdraw or invade the space of another individual abusively or abruptly.
- Play in a highly reactive way with other dogs.
- Difficulty controlling the strength of their jaws.
- The ability to generate separation anxiety or loneliness is very high. It does not depend on what we do, they are simply not suited to be left alone (even teaching them) as the attachment bond is not formed or is unsafe. For that reason, they can also go with anyone that calls them.
- They do not have the typical character of the breed and morphologically have many differences with the established canon.
- Hyperactivity.
- Problems in learning the exercises and attention deficit disorder.
And we could go on ...
Most of these problems occur in puppies that have not had the imprint or the attachment bond. The mother has not given the feeling of security when exploring the environment and they will not be able to copy behaviour, even simple ones such as wiping, they will not play with their brothers which teaches them to control their bite, get pushed, to sleep in a heap together, to be sociable, ultimately, no one shows them how to interact with the environment.
If we add the traumatic separation, the long journey and then exhibition in a glass cage, we’ll have a host of complicated elements to address.
Is there any hope of recovering from these problems?
In almost all cases the owners realize they have bought a very cheap dog but that is going to be very expensive, especially for the pain and helplessness that will feel to see him suffer. It is very painful to have a puppy at home and see how it dies within a few hours or starts "doing strange things" when it grows or when their owners discover that it carries a genetic disease or disability. What was a dream has become a nightmare.
Unfortunately in many cases little can be done. But if you are willing to do work very hard with the advice of a specialist dog trainer, they can help you avoid much suffering and can get the dog to interact with you and the environment.
How to choose a dog then?
When we decide to share our life with a dog, think about adoption, a very good option. The staff at dogs’ shelters will advise and help you to find a partner that can live happily with your family.
But if we decide to buy, do it with responsibility, with a serious breeder, where we see both the parents and the litter, where we can choose the puppy and study its behaviour.
We have enough data to address the acquisition of our future companion to enjoy his life with love.
Do not buy puppies low cost and help us eradicate such an unethical business.
Bibliography:
Puppy problems, no problem! Brenda Aloff
Aggression in dogs Brenda Aloff
Animal Learning and motivation. Roger M. Tarpy
Genetics and the Social Behaviour of the dog. John Paul Scott and John L.Fuller.
By Ana Barbé from Educating Dogs
Educator and canine therapist
Clicker trainer C.A.P 2
www.educandoperros.com
