New Puppy

Well my mom and I were running some errands today and I told her we should stop by the petstore to see the birds. (She's always wanted a cockatoo.) So we got there and the petstore had just aquired three puppies. A poodle, boston terrier, and a shitzu. Well immediatly my mom became uninterested in the birds and began playing with the shitzu (I'm probably not spelling this right). The price tag was $650. They said the pup was approaching 8 weeks and was up to date on her shots. My mom had been planning on getting a new couch, but got this little pup instead. She had been wanting to get Lacey a new playmate anyway since Lacey gets bored at home by herself. This little girl is so adorable. I'll get pictures up as soon as I find my camera. Right now she is crawling around near my feet, whining to be picked up. My mother has named her Bralyn (I think that's how she's spelling it)

I wouldn't buy a pup from a pet store. they usually get their dogs from puppy mills and they have a lot of health problems later on in life. just be prepared for that. please adopt next time and congrats on your new addition. I can't wait to see her.

OHHHh man, I was gonna warn you about buying puppies out of a petshop! Its not the wisest thing to do. I hope you never do that again. Puppies and kittens in petshops are gotten in 2 ways - thru puppy/kitten mills (the WORSE place to come from) and backyard breeders who let their animals breed, then dump the offspring in the pet shop.

The petshops overcharge on these poor quality animals, don't guarentee anything, and more then likely any papers you got are falsified or from one of the puppy mill registeries.

I just hope your pup doesn't have any health problems, but you may wind up with high vet bills or a pup that doesn't live long.

The biggest problem is the fact that the pup was 8 weeks old when you got it - that meant it was probably 4 weeks old when taken from its mother! WAYYYY too soon!

Congrats on your pup. Others have already mentioned that health problems can occur. I also hope he doesn't have any major behavioral problems.

Please, please, please, if your mum is interested in getting a cockatoo, have her look at this website. They are very difficult birds to keep, very very noisy, and require one to one attention (and I mean one to one attention, without being left alone) for the rest of their lives, which could be as much as 70 years. There are cockatoos in rescue places that are there because people thought they could give them a good home and found they couldn't provide the attention necessary when it came to the crunch.

And if she does get a bird, please do all that you can to keep her getting it from a pet shop - Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease is highly contagious, 100% fatal following a long period of suffering, and incurable - and spreads in pet shops like wildfire. Anyone considering a bird should go direct to a breeder, just as they should with cats and dogs. A bird from a breeder will also be well socialised, it is very difficult to resocialise a large bird from a pet shop once it has been in a cage without being handled even for just a week.

Congratulations on the new puppy, I would however exercise the same caution with any animal that I do with parrots - pet shops are not the best place to get an animal and IMO the sale of live animals through shops should be illegal.

I hope everything works out OK and that the puppy is healthy and fit

Congrats on the new puppy, can't wait to see pics

Congrats on the new pup! Shih Tzus are my heart breed, I owned a very gorgeous solid black girl for many years. She was wonderful and an excellent specimen of her breed.

Please beware though, that Shih Tzus if bred poorly can suffer from many ailments. They can have liver problems, and eye problems. Many pet shop Shih Tzus because they are poorly bred suffer from allergies, so if it is possible please get her on a simple ingredient, premium diet such as California Naturals.

These dogs are absolute sweeties, and from a pet shop or not im sure she is going to be a doll, its in their blood!

Congrats on the new puppy! I am sure she is really cute. I can't wait to see pictures!!

I'm aware that my mother should have adopted, but I knew it was a waste of breath arguing that with my mother. My mom and grandmother are kinda into the whole purebred dog thing. I don't think my grandmother has owned a mutt in her life. My mom has owned a few, but now we only have purebreds. If I would have urged her to adopt, she would have said "No, this is the one I want." and left it at that. And there is no use trying to warn her about possible problems either. She doesn't want to hear it. She's the kind of person that 'knows about pets' and 'knows best'. That is how my bearded dragon died, because she wouldn't listen to me and kept insisting we go with the substrate she bought for him. Well he swallowed some and got impacted and I got dumped with $130 in vet bills. Would have been higher but the vet didn't charge me for the surgery since he ended up having to be put down. Mother never said sorry once.

So from now on, I keep my mouth shut unless the animal has a problem. Then I pull the "I told you so" card. Ah well, I guess we shall see. I'll get pictures tomorrow if I can.

These dogs are absolute sweeties, and from a pet shop or not im sure she is going to be a doll, its in their blood!

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She loves people! Especially my brother and I. She took an immediate liking to me and she wants to play...all..the...time...either that or sleep. She's like a little ball of fluffy energy.

Congrats on the pup, but pet stores are the worst place you can get a puppy from. Be aware he may have some serious behavioral problems due to being taken away from his parents early and due to lack of human interaction while he was young. He will also probably have some serious medical problems by two years old. I hope it does not happen to this pup but it very well may, good luck with him (and check out this dog forum www.chazhound.com/forums)

First of all I wish you and family all the best of luck and health with the new puppy. Having that said, I do agree your mom should never had bought a dog from a pet store. She should have saved a dogs live by adopting from the local shelter or any shelter for that matter. I know lots of folks like the purebreds but if your not going to breed it, then save it for the breeders and go to the shelters. The normally don't have long to live since they will be put down after a certain amount of time and that is just too sad *sigh*

Your mom could have contacted breed rescue groups if she wanted a purebred dog.

Hope you told her that by buying out of a petshop, she just bought into a puppy mill dog! Question - was the dog AKC registered or one of the puppy mill registries (Contental Kennel Club, ACA, etc.).