Pitbull Puppies for Sale
On the way home today, I saw a man standing in the back of an old, brown, 4X4 truck. He has holding a plywood sign with the words “Pitbull Puppies For Sale” spray painted on it. The mother of the puppies was chained to the side of the truck. She was cowering under the vehicle with her tail tucked between her legs.
What really scares me is that, during the holiday season, this man will probably sell every one of those puppies and the consumer will have no idea as to what they are really getting. Now please understand that I have nothing against Pitbulls and I think the breed, in general, has an undeserved reputation. However, there are so many questions left unanswered by a man on the side of the road. What were the puppy’s parents like? Is the poor dog, hiding underneath the truck at a busy intersection, any indication of what the puppies are supposed to be like?
When we searched for our dogs, it was a very time consuming process. We started with the typical “puppies for sale” search on the internet. We researched breeders and went onsite to meet the parents of the dogs and see where the puppies were raised. We checked the lineage of the parents and verified that the puppy’s parents and the puppies had the proper certifications (hips, eyes, etc.) We turned down several breeders before deciding on the one’s we picked.
I’ve had friends who have bred champion dogs. They all said they do it for the betterment of the breed because, typically, you really don’t make much money at it. (Some of them said they were lucky to cover the vet bills.)
Should I Get a Christmas Puppy?
A friend of mine recently wrote an article on Reasons Not To Buy A Dog For Christmas. In this article, she does a great job explaining why getting a dog for Christmas is not a good idea. There are lots of responsibilities when getting a new puppy.
We’ve recently been fostering two young puppies for a shelter while they wait to get fixed, and I can tell you it’s a lot of work. Even though it was only a year ago when Shadow was a young pup, its easy to forget during the puppy housebreaking phase how you have to constantly follow the puppy wherever they go to make sure they don’t make a mess. Puppy housebreaking is a full-time job for the first few months while the puppy gets used to its new surroundings.
In the author’s opinion, summer time is a good time to get a dog. I definitely agree, especially if you have kids. Assuming at least one adult is at home, it gives the adult more time to watch the puppy. The kids will also have a chance to help socialize the dog.
Dog Spelled Forward in Puppy Diaries: Life With a New Puppy has a good article on who they think should get a dog. For those people that have a lot of extra time on their hands, perhaps getting a puppy is a good idea. However, getting a child a puppy to teach them responsibility does not seem to be a good choice.
For my next article, I will discuss how to research and find a good dog breeder and what to look for in a puppy.
