Dogs Off the Shelf
I was born and spent the majority of my life in Hungary. Just like anywhere else, the country has its own animal welfare and protection issues. Some of them are the same as in any other country, some of them are completely local.
What is strange, is that you cannot find any pups or kittens in pet shops. You can buy your hamster or your new goldfish there, but no dogs allowed. The urban legend says that some decades ago a shop that started to sell puppies caused such fury, that people almost demolished the building brick by brick.
I have no idea whether this story is true, but for me it is one of the weirdest things to get dogs ‘off the shelf’ in a pet shop, just like buying rice for your dinner, and I find it hard to understand how this habit can still exist in the 21st century.
The population of abandoned dogs, and health issues of the canine are two of the major animal welfare issues that society, activists and organisations are trying to handle. Both of these are directly linked to dogs originating from pet shops.
The existence of this sort of trade has long been a debate and the subject of many animal welfare campaigns. We are all familiar with the slogan of ‘don’t shop, adopt’.
The regulations around pet shops are not unified, there are significant differences in different countries and even among the different states of the USA, for example, so it is not easy to form a generic point of view with a conclusion on this topic. For instance, there are many states in the US where pet shops can only sell shelter dogs.
There are also proposals to tighten the rules of pet shops selling dogs and enforce greater control over them. However, there are some reasons which make it impossible to turn the phenomena into something that is not against the welfare of dogs, regardless of what sort of regulations would come into being.
Different Function, Different Nature
We have conducted a huge number of scientific studies on dogs over the years. The more we learn about their cognitive abilities, the more it’s proven how fantastic and complex these creatures are.
It is a highly domesticated species, able to develop a multifaceted bond with the human. It reads our face, perceives our emotional state, can learn the meaning of words, can understand our gestures, and it even can comprehend many different signals just from eye contact.
But all these traits and features demand socialisation and interaction. It is something a dog is usually born with, but you need to ‘trigger’ these functions with the proper stimuli to bring out the full potential of a dog.
It is important to bear in mind that this process is gone through at an early stage, at the so-called sensitive period.
This concept is actually not something unique or extraordinary. The same is true regarding us humans. In the case of a neglected child, he or she is very likely to face cognitive, and behavioural problems in adulthood, plus numerous skills could potentially not be able to develop properly while the brain is evolving. Dogs are no different.
This development phase is almost completely skipped when a dog is ‘manufactured’ and sold in a pet shop.
It makes good, logical sense that if the early weeks of a pup’s life highly defines its further behaviour, then when a dog is just simply manufactured and put into a shop, then future problems will unavoidably occur. At this point, I know this sounds just like an assumption. But numerous scientific studies like this or this have revealed that pet shop dogs have more behavioural issues compared to those which originate from an environment where they have been cared for, instead of strictly being raised as a product to sell.
I heard a really strange statement once claiming that pet shop puppies are actually the really lucky ones and should be thankful for the shop environment, as in the shop they see many people passing by, thus they will get used to humans. But that is not how it works. Dogs need everyday interaction to have a proper cognitive development and learn how to adapt to the human environment and expectations. Hanging the photo of Jennifer Aniston on the wall will never activate the potential trait-set of a dog to understand and find its way in the human world and to acquire the expected behaviour.
The behaviour of dogs is so vital as it was only relatively recently their major duty became to be our companions. They need to keep us entertained, they need to make us happy. We want them to cheer up our everyday life, instead of being the source of trouble and worries. Therefore, they need to master how to behave and merge into our environment, keeping up with all our requirements.
If one keeps a goldfish or a hamster, behaviour is not really a big issue. These animals don’t need to complete very complex interactions with another really difficult species: the human.
Origins
Besides the behavioural problems which are based on lack of socialisation and human interaction, there is another important aspect where the background of a dog matters greatly: health.
The genetics of dogs has become a really trending topic, but there are further environmental effects which have a huge impact on the health of dogs. Even before a litter is born.
The stress level the mother faces during pregnancy, the physical health of the mother, the usual nutrition, veterinarian care, and the age when a pup is separated from the litter all matter and have a serious effect on further development, both of mental and physical health.
This is where the responsibility of breeders comes in. The term ‘breeder’ is both oversimplified and a bit messed up.
A breeder, in accordance with my terminology, is someone who takes the health and development of dogs as a high priority issue. That is a really brief definition because there are many additional, necessary factors needed to demonstrate that a dog was bred and not just simply produced.
When you see a Labrador at a shelter in a serious health condition or with an aggressive nature, how do you know if that dog originates from a breeder with a registered kennel? This dog can even come from one of the backyard breeders with no relevant knowledge about breeding, just a desire to add some extra cash to the family budget.
But as the dog seems to be a Labrador, we assume it is a purebred dog, consequently we feel it must come from a breeder.
Puppy farms also produce a vast number of puppies originating from ascendants from the same breed, but it does not mean automatically that the litter is the result of breeding as a conscious activity. The dogs were just mated.
It is now a widespread and often even a compulsory requirement of breeders to ensure their dogs are DNA-tested in the case of certain breeds. Otherwise they are very often not allowed to use their dogs for breeding.
There are serious problems in the gene pool of some breeds, and breeders are forced to adapt the bloodline and make sure that heritable health issues will not be passed on.
This debate is far too complex to go into fully here, but I just need to note, that I deeply doubt that any backyard breeders or puppy farms have ever spent a large sum of money on testing their dogs for any genetically-inherited diseases. And I also doubt this will become a trend in the future. Most of the time even basic veterinarian care and treatment is missing.
The complexity of conditions that surround the birth and rearing of a dog is hugely important, and defines the traits, behaviour and welfare of the dog for its whole life. Moreover, the simple choice of which animals will be the parents of a litter already determines the future of the progeny to a great extent, even before the pups are born.
All these choices and conditions are necessary to reduce any sort of risk and make it possible for a dog to have a healthy, successful life. But these things cannot really happen when we are talking about backyard breeders and puppy farms.
And as the majority of pet shops sell dogs from these sources, anyone who stops by to shop for a new pup for their family should be aware of the risks this kind of dog breeding entails.
Convoluted Arguments
When we sum up all the facts, a simple question automatically arises: If selling dogs in pet shops causes a good number of animal welfare issues, then why is it allowed at all?
First of all, money matters and it is unquestionably a huge business.
The debate around pet shops is, however, more complicated and often it’s not easy to follow the reasoning behind the arguments involved.
At the beginning of 2017, a proposal in the UK was about to ban the selling of dogs by third-parties, as it is officially stated that the pet shop system has an ‘unavoidable negative impact’ on the welfare of dogs.
But the ban was derailed. And who do you think were the ones who objected? Some of the biggest animal welfare organisations of the UK. Their actions have cause real outrage.
In spite of the fact that they were campaigning some years ago to call a ban, when it was finally about to happen, they rejected the proposal.
Both Blue Cross and the Dog Trust explained their points of view. The Dog Trust even issued a more detailed statement later.
The logic of these statements and the sometimes illogical reasoning behind their position could be thoroughly analysed at length, but I just want to pick up some major points.
The opinion of Blue Cross about handling the pet shop issue is to ‘make breeders and sellers more visible and traceable, improving animal welfare and offering greater protection for the public when buying a puppy’.
Meanwhile the Dog Trust explains their opposition as they do not want ‘to rush into a ban that would have unintended consequences for dog welfare at the current time. Therefore, a better route is a robust regime of licensing and inspection for breeders backed with increased enforcement of the law’.
These opinions suggest that is absolutely okay to keep a trading channel that causes animal welfare problems.
First of all, I do not really get the point what sort of unintended and unexpected consequences would occur? The ban is about shutting down an institute which is known to be the final destination of many puppy-farmed dogs. One option to buy these dogs in a very easy way would disappear for good. And it is just natural that these ‘breeders’ supplying pups for shops instead of disappearing would seek other channels in order to go on maintaining their profit.
But who thinks these people would also remain in business under the implementation of new, stricter regulations? Would they still be around to become visible and traceable by the authorities if the proposed licensing came into being? Would puppy farms and backyard breeders give up a portion of their profits just to keep up with and meet the requirements of legislations? I highly doubt it.
Those for whom staying in the shadow is important will always find another way, while the already registered, legitimate breeders are probably going to be faced with further administrative burdens. The breeders will be under more legislative pressure, and an ‘increased enforcement of law’. Is this really the way to promote and encourage responsible breeding activity?
Furthermore, besides all the health issues of these dogs which may be covered by the law, what sort of regulations would ever be able to enforce or legislate the correct socialisation of a dog?
I have already explained this mechanism in deeper details in my book ‘Barking Up the Wrong Tree’.
A ban on selling puppies in pet shops would also be a way to raise awareness about why the habit of buying dogs in shops is a problem.
And now, let’s take a look at the final participant of our story: the member of the public who would like to buy a healthy dog without any behavioural issues. Otherwise they are going to complain fiercely.
The truth is that they themselves are responsible for the existence of dogs in pet shops, the health issues of these dogs, and the activity of puppy farms.
As long as people think they can just pop into a shop to buy a dog along with everything else they do on a Saturday morning, driven by the sudden impulse without considering responsibility and whether a dog fits into their way of life, just like buying a new T-shirt, puppy farms will never become extinct. Regardless if these dogs are sold in a pet shop or on the Internet.
Where there is no demand, there is no supply.
Images: Dreamstime
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