Beautiful BiewersDog Information Site

Thank you so much for buying a puppy from my pet store. Your business is important to me. After all, selling puppies is how I make my living. Every person deserves to make a living, don’t they? I’ve gotta tell you, the pet store business is a tough one. With live merchandise you have all these extra rules and regulations the do gooders forced on us. Well they didn’t make me do anything different, except now I gotta fill out a lot more paperwork. But is worth it. Puppies and kittens are important to my business and there are plenty of buyers out there.

Some people are trying to make out like pet stores are evil or something. I always get a big snicker from the sanctimonious twits who talk bad about pet shops but are always coming into my store to see the “poor puppies.” They just can’t seem to stop themselves. And they almost never leave without buying something. Having puppies in the store is an important part of selling the other merchandise. I try to put the puppies where people can see them as they walk by the store. That draws them in. I can make money without even selling the puppies.

I don’t see why selling puppies in my pet store is any worse than raising any other kind of livestock. At least most of my puppies live longer than eight weeks! I’ve heard that most pet store puppies live one or two years and some much longer, eight or ten years! Much longer than chickens. I treat my puppies very well while they are here. And I use approved methods for disposing of the unsalable ones. I care about these puppies and don’t want them to suffer, you know.

Do I support “puppy lemon laws”? Well they are a bit of nuisance but they don’t really affect my business. It’s not like a guarantee on a toaster you know. People get attached. They don’t want to return the puppy. Anyway contagious disease isn’t a big problem.

If I get something really contagious like Parvo I take quick action. All the pu! ppies in the store are put down right away. Everything is disinfected and a new supply of puppies brought in. Often I have to fill the empty space with puppies from another breeder but quick action limits my costs and means I won’t end up on the hook for a lot of vet bills.

As for other kinds of disease like hip dysplasia and such well frankly it just isn’t a big concern. Most of this stuff doesn’t show up for a long time. And the legislation doesn’t cover it because it can happen even to the hobby breeder. Someone once asked me why I didn’t check for genetic disease. It was all I could do not to call the person an idiot! Why should I check for genetic disease? It’s expensive and almost no one ever asks so obviously they don’t care. And anyway I give a six month guarantee. Pretty generous!

Not that I’ve ever had to pay off or anything. I have had a couple people complain but I always make sure to carefully explain that the best thing to do for their poor suffering puppy is to “put it to sleep.” Most people will take the puppy away and not bother me any more about it.

Any one who walks into my store and wants to know about the health of my puppies I just tell them that they are very healthy! Of course if they want to know about genetic diseases I have to use a different strategy. First I try to explain that its always the fault of the owner if a dog gets something like patellar luxation or hip dysplasia. If they get nasty or something I ask them if they really want to buy a dog from a hobby breeder? I’m a professional, I make my living off of dogs. I breed lots and lots of puppies. I sell most of them. After all its very hard to resist that cute little puppy in the cage.

It’s very simple. Every time someone buys a puppy I make at least $100, quite a bit more if they buy the puppy when its little. Yeah, puppies are cute, but you can’t afford to get too sentimental. Puppy selling is a business and if you don’t treat it as such then you can’t stay in the game. It’s all about cost/risk/ben! efit. If you lose sight of that you better get out of the business, just sell supplies or something.

Despite what everyone says there is a large market out there for pet store puppies. There is absolutely no need to waste good money of hip tests and other such crap. The truth is simple. Even when people know better the puppies are so cute that they just can’t help themselves so they buy them. Heee hee Pretty cool. It doesn’t look good to have lots of empty cages so I make sure I always have puppies on the way. Sometimes I get a bit of a scare, though. Like last year.

There was a lot a bad press about pet stores and all of the sudden no one was buying. Well of course if I’m not selling the ones in the store its pretty stupid to be breeding more, so I told my staff to hold back a bit. I was afraid for a short time that I was going to actually have to stop breeding entirely. No point in breeding if you aren’t selling. Fortunately as the puppies that we had for sale got older some of those do gooder types started to get worried. I made sure my staff played off on this. They were told that if anyone asked what happened to the unsold puppies that they should just look real sad and say that they were “taken care of.” I liked that. A real noncommittal answer and the absolute truth too!

I told the staff not to use a larger cage too, that would make the puppies look bigger and sadder. So of course the puppies were “rescued” from my shop. I got enough money to cover the costs of keeping them, a small profit, and the scare was over. Back to breeding. As long as there are buyers I’m going to keep raising puppies and selling them in my store. No reason not to.

A recent issue of the AKC Gazette discusses sportsmanship.  The author believes that sportsmanship has a universal definition.  She refers to sportsmanship being the conduct and attitude befitting participants in a sport; it is participating in a sport according to the rules, spirit, and etiquette for the sport while striving for fair play, courtesy towards opponents, ethical behavior, integrity, and grace in losing.  Sportsmanship is demonstrating generosity and genuine concern for others and should encompass all that is good in human nature (Dr. Laura Van Horn).

The AKC board policy manual contains the code of ethics and further defines sportsmanship.  Though the policy manual clearly discusses sportsmanship at a dog show, I have come to wonder shouldn’t sportsmanship pertain to outside the dog show ring as well.

The author provides examples of poor sportsmanship which would merit AKC intervention:

Insulting or verbally assaulting another exhibitor, dog breeder, or fancier.

Storming out of a show ring in a huff.

Threatening or physically intimidating a fellow exhibitor or their dogs.

Libeling or spreading rumors about fellow fanciers, breeders, or exhibitors online or in person.

Discouraging newcomers to the sport or to the breed.

Not treating others with fairness or honesty.

While the author asks if we each represent the AKC code of sportsmanship in our behaviors, I wonder where the ethics of good sportsmanship really begins.  Is it good sportsmanship when someone disses a fellow breeder to a potential buyer?  Is it good sportsmanship for one club to infringe on another club’s specialty?  Is it good sportsmanship for officers of a club to promote themselves in their advertising and recruiting rather than the club?  Just some thoughts to ponder on the way to AKC acceptance.

Dog Food makers may have shot themselves in the foot with bad disposal decisions and not respecting consumers’ rights regarding what’s in the pet food chain.

If you are feeding your pet any of the name brand products such as Alpo, Americas Choice, Authority, Award, Beggin, Beneful, Berkley & Jenson, Best Choice, Big Bet, Big Red, Bistro Blend, Bloom, Blue Buffalo, Bruiser, Cadilac, Canine Cat Chow, Caviar, Cesar, Champion Breed, Co-Op Gold, Companion, Companion’s Best, Compliments, Cosco/Kirkland Signature, Demoulas Market Basket, Diamond, Dr. Foster & Smith, Deli-Cat, Dog Chow, Dollar General, Eight in One, Eukanuba, Fancy Feast, Food Lion, Friskies, Giant Companion, Gravy Train, Great Choice, Hannaford, Happy Tails, Harmony Farms, Health Diet Gourmet Cuisine, Hill Country Fare, Hy- Vee, Iams, Jerky Treats, Kit ‘N Kaboodle, La Griffe, Laura Lynn, Loving Meals, Mars Petcare, Master Choice, Meijier’s Main Choice, Mighty Dog, Mixables, Muligan Stew, Natural Balance, Natural Life, Natural Way, Nu Pet, Nutriplan, Nutro, Nuture, O’l Roy, Paws, Pedigree, Perfect Pals, Performatrio, Pet Essentials, Pet Life, Pet Pride, Petrapport, Pounce, Purina, Preferred Pet, Presidents Choice, Price Chopper, Priority, ProPlan, Publix, Roche Brothers, Royal Canin, Save-A-Lot, Schnucks, Sheba, ShopRite, Special Kitty, or Whiskas, you need to be aware that a wide range of trustworthy brands may be counterfeited.

Most pet food factories are owned by large corporations such as the Mars Company, Nestles, or Proctor and Gamble. Operating around the globe with $billions in sales yearly, pet foods are easy targets for offshore counterfeiters.

If disposal of recalled products was not properly handled, those contaminated goods may now be in the hands of dishonest repackaging or counterfeit resellers.

Pet food companies are understandably reluctant to acknowledge counterfeiting problems or repercussions from disposal of recalled products. These well kept secrets would only frighten and anger consumers but the fact is that pet foods products are still making dogs and cats sick and the recalls keep occurring. When we can find no information to substantiate that recalled pet foods were destroyed, we must ask what did the companies or recyclers actually do with all the recalled pet food and where did it end up?

When the landmark article Counterfeit Dog Food – Dead Dogs was published, Mars did not respond to our query about a Taiwan website for Natural Pet Corporation even though Optima (Mars’ brand) showed up as a suspected bogus product along with Diamond, Super Saver, Holistic Recipe Solution, Devine, and Feed Rite.

Why is counterfeiting of pet food not being reported by mainstream media? Why are consumers being left to their own defenses when it comes to contaminated or poisonous pet food? Easier to slip by customs than are counterfeit designer goods, counterfeit pet products may be showing up on store shelves. They are especially likely to show up on free-floating (no location, no country) websites selling discounted products.

Consumer Affairs.com reported that the FDA was investigating one of Mars products and the FDA confirmed a probe of Nutro Dog Food. FDA did not tell us what, if anything, that probe uncovered but on April 28, 2009, only 9 days after confirming the Nutro investigation, the FDA issued another statement, this time essentially denying that Nutro was the subject of an investigation!

With our government already bailing out so many companies, the series of events involving the Mars Company leaves consumers with a lot of questions regarding the FDA and big corporations. That is news that should have been disseminated by mainstream media. Pet owners need to know if there could be a problem before they buy a new brand or a new supply of a normally safe brand. And we especially want to know that the agencies meant to protect consumers are actually on our side.

If the pet food companies do not take a stand, will all major brands fall victim to offshore counterfeiters or undesirable homegrown elements? While sick dogs and cats are the major concern, what about the economic ramifications? If this reporter is still finding bogus sites, pet food companies whose brands and credibility are being compromised, should be able to find them and put a stop to counterfeiting of their brands.

Pet food manufacturers should be able to assure us that all contaminated dog food is off the market but if they don’t know what really happens to recalled dog food and cat food, how can they do that? And consequently, how can consumers trust pet food companies?

We understand the limitations of international law and trade agreements but consumers need reassurance that recalled pet foods have not found their way back onto grocery store or distributor’s shelves as counterfeit or re-labeled goods.

Counterfeit or genuine, there are no excuses for pet food products that sicken or kill our dogs and cats! Owners need to know that counterfeit or even top brand name foods which are manufactured offshore are not subject to U.S. regulations or legal action.

Counterfeit, re-labeled, or recycled cat and dog food products may be a newly discovered gold mine for some companies but they are an international health risk that could kill thousands of American pets and untold numbers elsewhere.

• Canine Lymphoma, with Dr. Steven Suter
• Chronic Rhinitis, with Dr. Adam Birkenheuer
• Using Blood Tests to Diagnose Disease, with Dr. Heather Flaherty
• Cerebellar Degeneration, with Dr. Natasha Olby
• Reproduction, with Dr. Sylvia Bedford
• Canine Neurological Disease, with Dr. Karen Kline
• Canine Nutrition, with Dr. Joe Wakshlag
• Elbow Dysplasia, with Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little
• Canine Cardiac Disease, with Dr. Wendy Ware
• ABC’s of Breeding, with Dr. Claudia Orlandi

(tm), a blood test to be used for cancer detection in dogs.

BioCurex Inc. (OTCBB:BOCX) today announced that it has developed OncoPet(tm), a version of its RECAF(tm) blood test to be used for cancer detection in dogs. [More]

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them.
And they were comforted
And God was pleased.
And Dog was content and wagged his tail.
After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, ‘Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well.’
And God said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration.’
And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.

And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat’s eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.

And Adam and Eve learned humility.
And they were greatly improved.

And God was pleased  .. . . .. . .
And Dog was happy. . . . .