Puppy Dealers are crawling out of the woodwork!

With the present economical situation in the US, it seems that quite a lot of unemployed people think they can make a ‘fast buck’ by breeding and/or brokering (selling) dogs. That is rather unfortunate because most, if not all, of these people have no idea what they are doing. Not only what they are doing to the dogs or puppies themselves, taking them away from their siblings and parents much too young (it is quite common to take the puppies away for resale at age 4 or 5 weeks, whereas a reputable breeder would not let his or her puppies leave until they are around 10 – 12 weeks old). The brokers/dealers also do not care about what they are doing to the breed itself. 

When a person brokers dogs, he or she usually has no interest, nor knowledge in the breed standard of the particular breed(s) he/she is brokering. Their ultimate goal is MONEY and the faster and easier that money is made, with the least effort, the better!! 

Unfortunately, apart from telling outright lies, these brokers will give all sorts of ‘health guarantees’ to the unsuspecting buyer, knowing full well that a new owner will under most circumstances rather pay lots of Dollars to get his or her new ‘baby’ healthy than giving it back to the broker, if any health issue comes up. The reason for this is usually that the new owner cannot bring him or herself to give the puppy back to the person who, in the estimation of the new owner, did not take proper care of the puppy in the first place. 

I have been told by several puppy buyers, when they asked me for help and advice, “there is no way I could send this puppy back to THAT place, I rather spend however much money it takes to get it healthy”. And that is what these brokers are banking on, the feeling of responsibility and love of the new owner. 

No-one can realistically give a health guarantee for ‘hereditary defects’ for any length of time, other than offering to replace a puppy which has shown up with a serious health issue, but letting the new owner keep the affected puppy. A broker, who usually does not know the parent dogs, nor the lines the puppies they broker, come from, gives the health guarantee to make him or herself sound good in the eyes of a prospective buyer. After all, we are not dealing with cars, where it is easy to give any sort of guarantee, we are dealing with a living creature, and this creature carries genes, which could lead to a health concern further down the road, which might only show up when that puppy is more than two or three years old. So what good is a three-year health guarantee from a broker (or pet store), who sell puppies which either come from puppy mills or from backyard breeders? 

Below are the latest brokers coming into the pet market in the USA, and I beg all of my readers, avoid these people and their stores. If you are looking for a puppy – any breed – search online for the link to a breed club’s website, or contact the AKC (http://www.akc.org ) or CKCSC (http://www.ckcsc.org) for referrals. Or go to a dog show in your area and talk in person to breeders of the breed you are interested in. Please don’t go into a pet store – no matter how up-market they appear to be (believe it, their puppies do NOT come from good breeders, no matter what you will be told by the sales associates. No good breeder, no reputable breeder would dream of placing a puppy in such a store for sale!) 

When reading the article below, please remember, NO pet store will ever be able to ‘compete’ with private ethical breeders, simply because these stores are not able to obtain top quality puppies, which come from health tested parent dogs from ethical breeders. The Codes of Ethics of ALL breed clubs (of which almost all breeders are members) prohibit their members to sell any dog or puppy through a broker or a pet store. 

Below is the latest Broker / Pet Store to make only MONEY!!! 

“Purebred Hotbed”

A group of IKEA and Gap veterans are trying their hand with puppies. Woof & Co. has opened two stores in Boston malls, with plans to add six stores in 2004 and roll national in 2005. The chain sells purebred puppies and upscale accessories, a distinct niche in the $30 billion-plus U.S. pet industry. It competes with private breeders, not big-box chains like PetsMart or PetCo. “We're not interested in going head-to-head selling dog food,” says Linda Povey, partner at consultancy Kanter International, which created Woof & Co. “Their strategy is high volume, low prices. We're a lifestyle store.”

The Edison, NJ-based start-up gets its puppies from Hunte Corp**., a Goodman, MO-based broker for U.S. breeders. Prices range from $750 to $1,800, comparable to private breeders, with a 50%-plus profit margin. Each pup has a three-year warranty against congenital and hereditary defects. Puppies travel by air-conditioned truck to stores, where they get 75% of retail space (for 80% of sales); high-end accessories get 15%; basics get 10%.

Former IKEA U.S. president Steen Kanter took a request from Meridian Venture Partners to save nine Family Pet Centers from Chapter 11 in 2002. IKEA and Gap veteran Don Jones became Woof & Co. CEO in October; Baby Gap alum Karen Oden took on operations in November.

Woof & Co. is building a database on owners and their puppies. For now, marketing is in-store only, with grand opening info mailed to pet owners within five miles. Marketing will ramp up when markets get a critical mass of stores. 

** see my article on my website about the HUNTE Corporation, one of the biggest brokers in the USA

 

Contact: deefa1@bellsouth.net