[havanese_boy]

My wife and I saw a B/W 3 month old male in Pass Pets at the Cool Springs Mall in Franklin, TN this past weekend.

It was so sad that my wife started crying (it doesn't help that she is 5 months pregnant also).

As the breed becomes more and more popular, I guess we will see more of that. The people in the store (it was packed) looked at us kind of crazy as my wife stated how can people buy puppies like they buy their groceries.

We have two males Bailey (7 yrs) and Willow (6 yrs). Both are just pet Havs, but even we know that you have to find a good breeder and do the testing to get a good Havanese.

 

[DAJsMom]

When we were trying to decide about getting a dog again, havanese in particular, I had visited a local breeder, but we hadn't gotten my husband there to see them. We were at the mall and the pet store had one. They got it out and my husband held it, and visibly melted when it snuggled up to him! I knew he'd say yes after that! The sad thing was, that puppy was sick and coughing. It laid it's head on my husband's arm and cuddled because it was miserable. I wonder if it made it to a happy home. It was also about twice the price of what we paid for Dusty, for a healthy, happy dog from a reputable breeder who cares for her dogs and does all the health testing, keeps in touch, answers my questions, and even dogsits when we need it.

I'll add that a friend of ours rescued a dog from a pet store. He's a poodle that had been in the store for months. When they brought him home he had never walked on grass. He supposedly had a health guarantee, but he has bad knees and needs surgery to correct the problem. Their other poodle they rescued from the pound. He came without the guarantee, but is the healthy one.

Other than pity, it just doesn't make sense to me to get a pet store dog. And pity would be more usefully employed keeping other dogs from suffering the same fate as the one behind the glass in the pet store. Buying the poor sick puppy just makes room in the cage for the next one.

 

[mckennasedona]

Just curious....does Havanese Rescue "rescue" dogs from pet stores? I know they check out shelters but I wonder if they check pet stores. Perhaps not, because then they would have to purchase the dog and that would encourage the pet store to replace that dog with another.

Susan

 

[anneks]

I do know that there are groups that go to dog auctions and such and get dogs that might otherwise be purchased by puppy mills and backyard breeders. I've seen some of the dogs from the rescue group websites listed as such.

 

[Havtahava]

If you "rescue" from a pet store, don't you still have to pay? Aren't you still supporting the business and encouraging the breeding & selling to continue?

It doesn't seem like the store owner or the person who bred the dogs cares what your motivation is. In their mind, you're just another sale and more money in their pocket.

 

[Cosmosmom]

I am just curious what happens to them once they get past the puppy cuteness .. What do they do with them then .
I t must be hard to sell them as they have no idea as to how to potty appropiately . Do they sell them to labs ?
Fortunately in Marin we do not have Pet stores that sell puppies . WE do have rescue groups that try and place dogs and cats In the desert it is a different story . I do not go in these places . Fortunately there are not as many as there used to be but there still are some ..Charging substantial prices I may add ..
I do not know how they get away with selling a sick dog either . Where are the fur people or maybe the ex Mrs MCartney maybe they can do something about it . She is trying to help the pigs but maybe she should take on Pet stores too . SHe has high visibility and that is what you need ..
I also wonder what happens to the stars pets as they just wear them like jewels and then discard them ..

 

[Havtahava]

Hey Susan! (mckennasedona) I totally missed your earlier comment on purchasing the dog. Doh! Somehow I also missed your intro post. Good to see you over here, neighbor!

 

[havanese_boy]

If you "rescue" from a pet store, don't you still have to pay? Aren't you still supporting the business and encouraging the breeding & selling to continue?

Yes you are supporting them, as tough as it is, you have to walk away. That's what we did and it was very tough

 

[irnfit]

Cosmosmom
I had the exact same thought. I know that as they get a little older, they reduce the price. I saw a 6 mos old Hav for $550, and they would "work with me" if I wanted it. I don't want to know what happens to these poor babies if they are not bought.

 

[ama0722]

Havanese Rescue Inc doesnt purchase dogs from the petstore but another rescue group called HALO does. There are two different thought processes when rescues go in- some go into auctions from puppy mills <before they go to the petstore> to save dogs. However, it once again puts money into the nasty puppy mills hands. It is a vicious cycle and unfortunetly there are no winners.

Although with HRI, we do have a lot of havanese that are turned in from pet stores or in my area the Amish breeding. People purchase them without thinking enough about the future or they have "issues." For instance, it is definetly going to be a challenge potty training a dog that has learned to go for several months in the spot it sleep, eats, plays, and stand 24 hours a day. Let alone when there is a puppy mill breeding dog that was turned after years of doing this. My friend who is involved with another breed rescue recently received a 4 year old dog that always lived in the same small cage. It is very sad and challenging but luckily this dog was able to get out.

I just wish people would really think about the puppy mill when they arrive at the pet store!

 

[Casper's Mommy]

Cosmosmom:

Do you live in Marin County, CA? I used to live there for 10 years. Beautiful.

I was raised in San Francisco and lived also in the southbay for about 15 years. I met a man in NY and we got married just over 2 years ago and moved east. Big change.

 

[Cosmosmom]

Interesting - I did the reverse moved from Canada to New York City & New Jersey and then we moved out to Marin .
Yes it is beautiful especially right now - everything is in full bloom . Lots of achoos !!
New York is pretty as well

 

[Theyethe]

My wife and I saw a B/W 3 month old male in Pass Pets at the Cool Springs Mall in Franklin, TN this past weekend.

It was so sad that my wife started crying (it doesn't help that she is 5 months pregnant also).

As the breed becomes more and more popular, I guess we will see more of that. The people in the store (it was packed) looked at us kind of crazy as my wife stated how can people buy puppies like they buy their groceries.

We have two males Bailey (7 yrs) and Willow (6 yrs). Both are just pet Havs, but even we know that you have to find a good breeder and do the testing to get a good Havanese.

No doubt that the world norms are changing so fast and these things are no more important that how these pets are selling and buying. The good thing is that people are now trying to keep exotic and cool animals as pet just like crocodile and others. I am linking the article which tells about the animal which are now becoming cool pets also.

 

[PaulineMi]

No doubt that the world norms are changing so fast and these things are no more important that how these pets are selling and buying. The good thing is that people are now trying to keep exotic and cool animals as pet just like crocodile and others. I am linking the article which tells about the animal which are now becoming cool pets also.

No way is the keeping of exotic pets cool. There are more reasons for why not than I'll post on our dog forum. Look it up.

I'm not sure what the point of your first sentence is but the norms in our world, the wonderful world of the Havanese, are not changing. Careful breeding, health testing and breeders who do all that they can to be certain that their puppies go to the best of the best homes is still the norm.

 

[KarMar]

No way is the keeping of exotic pets cool. There are more reasons for why not than I'll post on our dog forum. Look it up.

I'm not scure what the point of your first sentence is but the norms in our world, the wonderful world of the Havanese, are not changing. Careful breeding, health testing and breeders who do all that they can to be certain that their puppies go to the best of the best homes is still the norm.

I'd like to think thoughtful breeding is still the norm with our babies, but I worry as they grow more popular. I did have an encounter on the Facebook group with someone who informed a prospective owner that finding a quality breeder was incredibly difficult, which I had to disagree with. I was then chewed out via PM for "not knowing the first thing about the prevalence of puppy mills". I tried to inform the person that a good breeder really shouldn't be that difficult to find in the Havanese breed if the buyer was well-informed and knew where to look, but that wasn't taken well either. Some of the things I see on the Facebook group make me roll my eyes.

As far as those backyard breeders and mill operations go, though, Havs are relatively untouched. You see poorly bred Labs, Cavaliers, and even less common breeds like Westies and Papillons far more often than you see poorly bred Havanese, and I do think that is due to the hard work national and regional breed clubs put in, as well as passionate owners like those of us here.

 

[krandall]

I'd like to think thoughtful breeding is still the norm with our babies, but I worry as they grow more popular. I did have an encounter on the Facebook group with someone who informed a prospective owner that finding a quality breeder was incredibly difficult, which I had to disagree with. I was then chewed out via PM for "not knowing the first thing about the prevalence of puppy mills". I tried to inform the person that a good breeder really shouldn't be that difficult to find in the Havanese breed if the buyer was well-informed and knew where to look, but that wasn't taken well either. Some of the things I see on the Facebook group make me roll my eyes.

As far as those backyard breeders and mill operations go, though, Havs are relatively untouched. You see poorly bred Labs, Cavaliers, and even less common breeds like Westies and Papillons far more often than you see poorly bred Havanese, and I do think that is due to the hard work national and regional breed clubs put in, as well as passionate owners like those of us here.

I agree with the first part of what you've said here, Sophie... There are CERTAINLY plenty of good breeders out there, IF people choose carefully and are willing to be patient. (don't need a puppy NOW!!!)

I do NOT agree that Havanese are"relatively untouched" by the puppy mill industry. They are a VERY popular mill dog. Small, easy to handle, and everyone loves a fluffy puppy in the window. We have two "puppy mill outlets" (for lack of a better term) in MA, and they both sell lots and lots and LOTS of them. I can tell you for sure that the vast majority of the (many) Havanese puppies that show up at our training facility come from either one of these brokers or from one of a couple of "Havanese breeders" in N.E. who are just one step away from being puppy mills. (you might call them BYB's, except for the huge number of puppies they produce) These dogs are much loved by their families, but are very obviously not bred to the standard (or even close) and crooked fronts (CD or not) and bad patellas abound, as well as less than stellar dispositions. So, IMO, our breed has taken a MAJOR hit from puppy mills due to popularity... yet another reason to pound home the message about quality breeders.

And, yeah, FB can be rough. I don't participate in any Havanese pages of FB, other than our performance group, just because people can be so nasty and also spread such wild dis-information. And trying to correct them is like spitting into the wind. I just can't be bothered.

 

[davetgabby]

more and more poor quality breeders here too. Havanese have been in Canada for 26 years now.