Buying a puppy from a pet store

So our 5 month old puppy chloe recently got killed by a speeding car right by our driveway. It's been about 3 weeks since the accident and my mother is having a hard time coping with the loss of our pet. We got that puppy from a relative whose dog had a few puppies. My mother, brother, and I recently went on a trip to Winnipeg and at the mall we stopped at PetSmart. She found a really cute puppy that she really wants. My dad said absolutely not because he despises pet stores simply because he sees them as puppy mills. At first I thought he was crazy. What could be wrong with buying pets from a pet store. It's no different then buying them from a person who breaded them at home, such as our relative whom we got chloe from.

After reading some articles on the internet I'm starting to lean towards my dad's view on it. First of all you don't really know anything about the parents of the puppies. They could have diseases or dysplasia that are genetic which would be very unfortunate for us in the long-run (with surgeries and whatnot).

So this is my question to you. Do you think it's wrong to buy a puppy from a pet store? Why so?

On balance I think it's wrong. You have no idea of the parental health or temperament, and pet shop , especially large chain ones, are an encouragement to puppy farming.

Other places to look:

Ask your vet, they often know of people looking for good homes but unwilling to place in pet shops.

The local canine rescue centre. Again sadly you are unlikely to have a good history of the puppy but you will be giving a home to one that desperately needs it.

Otherwise go to a breeder where you can see the mother/parent and see the conditions the pups were whelped in.

Hope you find a new family member soon

I'll have to take the opposite side of Rodsay on this and say it's alright. That doesn't mean given the choice I'd go to a pet store to get a puppy. I'd most likely go to one of the people or places Rodsay mentioned. I'd say it's ok for the reason that a puppy is a puppy. If you really wanted to get one and there was no other way, I probably wouldn't mind going to the pet store. But because there are so many different avenues to get a puppy and from much better and reliable places, I'd say there's no reason to look carefully first elsewhere before going to a pet store. So, with regards to the topic, I'd say it's fine to go to a pet store, regardless of what articles you may read, because a puppy is a puppy. Are you just not going to take it from a pet store because you aren't sure where it has been? Is that fair to the puppy? More of a guilt trip than a good argument, but if you think about it like that, it makes the pet store idea more acceptable. But, given the options (since most those options are available to most people), I'd go to a breeder first most likely.

Even if pet shop animals aren't ill-treated as such, they probably haven't been given the same amount of attention that "home bred" dog would have received. So you'd be forgiven for not wanting to buy from a pet shop on principle. But on the other hand, a pet shop dog is probably in more need of a home. Take from this what you want- I guess there are different ways of looking at it.

I would get one from the pound over a pet store, but still, if the puppy is being treated poorly then get it! If you're saving it from harm then you're doing good

i hate the idea of "buying" from pet stores. yeah you're giving the animal a good home (hopefully its good) but the fact that the animal costs hundreds of dollars just to get ownership is bull. they should still put a price on the animal but just enough to keep the place open and not to make a huge profit. my family actually has taken a few stray animals in over time lol.

I don't think I would ever buy a pet from a pet store, you have no idea what you are buying. If you don't care, then go to the pound. If you do care, then go to a breeder....just my opinion.