http://www.ourdogsonline.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/215360/Re_The_Bargain_Breeder

Very sad and true.

Between Mindy (who was regrettably purchased from a pet store) and Lexi (who was purchased from a breeder), I can see so many differences. Lexi is confident and she just moves differently. Obviously I have no intention to compete in conformation shows, but Lexi sits, lays, and walks like a little pro. Her temperament seems different as well. She doesn’t mind going into her crate, and she is a quick learner.

I don’t regret for one nano second that we brought our Mindy home, but I learned that I will never EVER purchase another dog from a pet store or irresponsible breeder.

One more discussion on PETA, AKC, and breeding choices:

http://www.ourdogsonline.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/215422/Re_Ugh_PETA

What is with people these days?

They think because they buy a puppy that they should be breeding it. What is it? Do they think they are going to make a quick buck? Makes me sick.

how old does a male rat terrier have to be to start mating?

How do I know if my dog is in heat?

OMG, if you have to ask stupid questions like this, then you shouldn’t be breeding. Hello!!! Agggh. Drives me insane! At least the answers they are getting are responsible, ha, like they would listen to them anyway!

UPDATE: Since the time we brought Mindy home, my feelings about pet stores have completely changed. No matter what any pet store tells you, these puppies are from puppy mills. Plain and simple! No caring breeder would shuffle their precious babies across country in a truck or plane to be sold to strangers. Don’t believe it! And don’t support puppy stores no matter how "nice" they look or act!

I knew that both stores had Havanese puppies, and I thought that maybe it might be the breed for us. They were friendly happy dogs, but required grooming maintenance.

On Saturday (yesterday), we arrived at the Charlton Puppies Galore store and it was almost closing time. We didn’t have too much time to bond with any puppies. That turned out to be a good thing!

But when we returned home, I started to have doubts about spending all that money ($800) on a Havenese puppy that could have so many medical problems in the future, like knee problems, cataracts, or PRD. I was nervous about the puppies not being AKC registered too. Yes, AKC registered puppies would cost so much more, but would a private breeder be a better choice for our new addition??

We almost didn’t even go back to the store today (Sunday), because I really didn’t think we were ready to purchase this weekend. Funny how fate steps in.

I was in the shower and I thought maybe if I spoke with the puppy store(s) and found answers to all my nagging questions, I would feel more comfortable about purchasing our puppy from them.

We decided to go back to the Hopkington Puppy Patch store, and to be truthful, I didn’t feel any more confident about spending $800 for a Havenese puppy there. I tried playing with the little golden colored Havenese puppy but she was very lathargic, even in the private play room. The one at the Charlton store was also very sleepy but I attributed it to the lateness of the time of day.

Anyway, when we initially walked into the puppy room, we noticed that the little female Rat Terrier was still there. Mike picked her up and she kissed him. I saw how much he really loved this dog.

I tried swaying Mike away from the Rat, and we played with a little pug (Noodles was with us again this weekend, and she was in love with the Pug) along with the Havanese.

After we returned the dogs to their pens, Mike went into the restroom. I walked over to where the cute female Rat Terrier was and brought her into a play room.

A sense of calm swept over me and for the first time, I felt relaxed and comfortable about bringing a puppy home – bringing “this” puppy home.

I know it sounds terrible to admit, but she was less expensive than the other puppies at $350; but price wasn’t the only issue; she was a heartier breed and sweeter than any of the puppies we saw. She charmed her way into my heart.

When Mike came out of the restroom, I called him over to the play room where I was playing with Mindy. It didn’t take much convincing for Mike to agree that this puppy was the “one”

We had no food, no collars, no leash…we weren’t prepared for a dog today, but I wasn’t letting her go. She was meant to come home with us and that was that.

We stopped at Walmart to purchase a little collar (a cat collar with a bell, since she was so small) and leash. And we found some Eukanuba food at the local pet store in our town, along with some treats (like greenies.)

So Mindy arrived home with us today (February 20, 2005.) She is such a small little puppy and so very cute!

Actually I originally started to call her Dolly for a few minutes, until we finally decided on Mindy for her name. The three of us were searching through the list of names on the Shichon breed web site.

UPDATE: Since the time we brought Mindy home, my feelings about pet stores have completely changed. No matter what any pet store tells you, these puppies are from puppy mills. Plain and simple! No caring breeder would shuffle their precious babies across country in a truck or plane to be sold to strangers. Don’t believe it! And don’t support puppy stores no matter how "nice" they look or act!

This was the day that we met little Mindy, the female Rat Terrier, along with a batch of other wonderful little puppies.

We were just starting to look at puppies and Mike, Noodles (our niece) and I took a drive out the Puppy Patch store in Hopkington, MA and the Puppies Galore store in Charlton, MA. Both were (affiliated) stores that sold puppies from reputable kennels in the US and Canada.

We stopped at the Puppy Patch first. As you can see Mike was quite taken with this little female Rat Terrier. She was very sweet, her fur was white with a little spot of brown and black around one eye. Her ears were black too. I think she was the first dog we really noticed.

How fortunate that we have these precious photos as memories of our first meeting of Mindy. We didn’t know at the time, but Mindy would eventually become a part of our family very soon. I think she always knew she would be coming home with us. (I originally published a dozen or so photos of all the cute puppies to an online gallery. When my friend Farron saw Mindy’s photos, she commented on how she already had Mike “wrapped”)

A few other cuties we met were the Bichon, Beagle and male Rat Terrier (Mindy’s brother.)

We headed out to the Puppies Galore store next, and found many puppies there too.

There really were so many to choose from and I didn’t feel ready to make a final decision on the breed we wanted. I asked both stores all sorts of questions (in person and by phone) about their establishments and eventually we felt comfortable choosing a puppy there, as opposed to any other pet store. But there still was an uncertainty if we should find our own breeder instead. I liked the Puppies Galore store in Charlton better than the Hopkington store. It was the original store and more friendly and knowledgeable in my opinion.

(Note: Mindy was at the Puppy Patch store in Hopkington)

I was doing an enormous amount of research on breeds, and I did not think the Rat Terrier would be a good fit for us, seeing that we also had a little parakeet named Jack in the family. Rat Terriers by nature hunt little critters like mice, rats, birds, etc. I was worried about Jack’s safety.

I put the Rat Terrier breed out of the running of puppy choices. We were thinking of Havenese, Bichon Frise, and possibly even a Yorkshire Terrier. We even went to a dog show in Hartford, CT to further research the breeds.

But Mike really loved that little female Rat Terrier. (to be continued….)