Buy Your Clothes, Not Your Dogs, from the Mall

Posted on Oct 14 in Where to Get a Small Dogby Jeff K.Print

Warning: The following article contains a graphic description of animal abuse. The passage is written in orange. Sensitive readers should skip the orange text.

“Let’s go to the mall, Simone.”

“You going for some reason?”

“Do I ever need a reason to crawl the mall? Actually, I want to pick up a few things. I need a new dress, some shoes, and a new dog.”

My father said “Be very careful about choosing when to use the words ‘never’ and ‘always.’” He said there were very few circumstances in which “never” or “always” applied. Those words are similar in nature to the word “perfect.” They rarely apply.

Here is one case in which the word “never” does apply. Never buy a dog from a shopping mall or outlet store. N-E-V-E-R. I am confident using that word because I have not found one instance, one example, one anecdote, or one scientific study in which buying a dog from a store is a good or ethically sound idea. On the other hand, I can find loads of evidence to support why buying a dog from a store is a horrendously bad idea.

Here are some reasons why buying a dog from a retail outlet is a terrible idea.

1. Dogs displayed in retail cases are isolated from each other. Isolation is never a good thing for adult dogs. Isolation can lead to a range of behaviors, from fearfulness, to neurotic behavior, to overt aggression. Arguably, isolation can be permanently debilitating for a puppy. Many studies have shown that puppies develop their social skills and general behavior patterns through contact with littermates. Other studies have shown that puppies  grow up fearful and unsociable, if they kept in isolation during the critical first 12 weeks of life. Some stores have tried to address this issue by letting puppies socialize in a display case or corral. It is not the same as growing up next to mother and siblings in a home.

2. When you select a dog from a crate in the mall, you have no idea about that dog’s parentage. Genetics determine a dog’s physical soundness. Genetics also help shape a dog’s behavior. You would do better to go to the pound and select a physically and mentally developed adult dog. With no parents in the picture, you are playing dog roulette at the mall. The description card about the breed may tell you the breed in the crate is characteristically gentle and loving, but the dog itself may have been taken from a hostile or indifferent parent. Some inherited physical disabilities, such as hip dysplasia, do not materialize until adulthood. Though a retail outlet may offer a warranty against such ailments, they know you will not be returning your dog a year later when it starts hobbling.

3. Dogs in malls and outlet stores are produced in livestock factories, more commonly called “puppy mills.” The number one priority of all puppy mills is revenue generation. In order to maximize profit and minimize costs, here is what the ASPCA and other organizations have discovered at some puppy mills:

*Skip the orange section if you do not wish to read about graphic descriptions of animal abuse.*

4. Store employees may know something in general about most breeds but they certainly are not experts about all the breeds they sell. They cannot say anything specific about the particular dog you are interested in because they do not know any more about its background than you do. What they do know may not even be true. Puppy mills are notorious for representing mixed breed dogs as purebreds.

My goal is to convince you to never buy a dog from the mall. I know it is tempting to buy a dog off the shelf, because retail stores have made it tempting. They put fluffy puppies in gleaming display cases under bright lighting. They give you an easy-to-read “talker” card on every crate that tells you everything you believe you need to know about each dog. The price and terms of sale are extremely clear. You are used to this environment. It is as though you are selecting a beautiful new shirt from a clothing rack at your favorite retailer. The information I have covered should tell you it is anything but fun and games at the mall. For now, go to the mall for clothes and furnishings. Stay away from the puppy store.

Sources for this article: ASPCA.com, “Fight Animal Cruelty, Puppy Mills”; HSUS.com, “Puppy Mills;” and, stoppuppymills.org.

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• How to Find a Good and Reputable Breeder says:

  November 16, 2008 at 1:45 pm

  [...] a previous article, I said you should never buy a dog from a retail outlet even though the shopping experience there [...]