By Glory Borgeson
Dog breeders know their dogs and puppies are superior to any others you can find. And they will tell you so. They say their dogs are healthier and their dogs develop a smaller percentage of defects over time.
When you ask breeders about puppies at pet shops, they nearly choke from trying too hard to get their words out. They will tell you that pet shop puppies are often bred in a "puppy mill" by uncaring owners. The pups at pet shops often have illnesses and develop defects. You can't meet the parent dogs when you purchase from a pet shop, so you don't really know how big the puppy will get or the temperament of the parents.
These are all really good points. Very convincing. So after hearing all of these persuasive arguments, why do people still purchase puppies at pet shops?
After speaking with many breeders, people who've purchased puppies from breeders, people who've purchased puppies from pet shops, and my own experience purchasing a puppy (and looking into a second purchase), I can tell you it's because the pet shop owners are easy to do business with.
Have you ever heard that phrase, "easy to do business with"? It's an old customer service banner, so to speak, and some people just use its acronym: ETDBW.
And I can tell you from experience that many dog breeders are not easy to do business with.
People like to do business with people they like, with people who make it easy to work with them.
The breeder I purchased my puppy from several years ago was the exception to the rule. She was great on the phone, sent me pictures by e-mail of puppies, was clear about the litters she had, the litters she was expecting, how many females were still available in each litter, the date on which they would be ready to pick up, how she reserved a puppy for a new owner, and how she accepted a deposit and final payment. (Sadly, I have been unable to contact her for a while.)
Other than that breeder, though, I spoke to several others who were gruff on the phone, didn't return my phone call timely, and were basically pains-in-the-neck to deal with.
The last time I spoke to a breeder more recently, while I was in the middle of a question or statement, she started speaking over me (she did this several times). She was not clear about how she reserved a puppy. After listening to her, I repeated back to her what I thought she was saying, and then she would change what she said.
The bottom line becomes: Life is too short to deal with people who are difficult to do business with.
On the contrary, pet shop owners are usually easy to do business with. So even though their puppies may come from "puppy mills," you can't "meet the parents," and the health of your puppy may be more precarious coming from a pet shop, people like to do business with people who are nice.
It all boils down to good customer service.
Are you a dog breeder? Do you know someone who is a dog breeder? Please share this article with them. If you want people to purchase puppies from dog breeders, all of you (as a group) need to change how you do business. Until then, people will buy from the people who are nicest to them and who create a pleasant buying experience.
