Perhaps you’ve seen people picketing your local pet store because they were selling puppies. Don’t these people have anything better to do with their lives? Actually, no they don’t. What they are doing is calling attention to not how the puppies in a pet store or treated, but where pet stores buy their puppies from – puppy mills. Puppy mills are not only cruel and unsanitary, but the puppies that come from there are often sickly, have ingrained behavioral problems and are sometimes sold with false papers.
If you want a Shih Tzu or a Shih Tzu mix, then you are best off getting your puppy not from a pet store or an Internet site that sells puppies with no questions asked (except your method of payment), but from reputable Shih Tzu breeders or an animal rescue shelter. The puppies and their parents from Shih Tzu breeders are kept in ethical conditions an receive great veterinary care, often get to live inside of a house and come with health guarantees. These are some of the many advantages of buying from Shih Tzu breeders or adopting from a Shih Tzu rescue.
Even Hitler didn’t deserve to live in a puppy mill (well, maybe), let alone innocent dogs that never committed a crime or bore anyone a grudge. If you want to stop puppy mills, then you have to do certain things. You can write to your local politicians demanding the end to puppy mills. You could support charities fighting to bring about the end of puppy mills. And, you can bring down puppy mills in the nicest way of all – buying your next puppy from a Shih Tzu breeder or adopting one from a Shih Tzu rescue.
Shih Tzu breeders offer you not only a healthy, beautiful puppy, but also access to their treasure trove of Shih Tzu information. Reputable Shih Tzu breeders will never stop being concerned for all of the puppies they sell. They might even make a surprise visit just to check up to see if you are good enough for their puppies. The best Shih Tzu breeders will take back a dog at any point in the dog’s life if you have to give up the dog.
If you remember only one thing from this article, please remember this – ALWAYS buy your Shih Tzu puppy (or ANY puppy) from a reputable Shih Tzu breeder. Puppies are not like fish or mice which are very social and don’t need a lot of exercise.
Reputable Shih Tzu breeders will quiz you extensively on your Shih Tzu information and if you’ve ever lived with dogs before. Don’t be surprised if you are asked for personal references or have to have your home checked! Reputable Shih Tzu breeders, in living so closely with the puppies and their parents, will know the quirks of each puppy’s personality and match them to yours.
Reputable Shih Tzu breeders will also include health certificates, AKC registration, the first shots and worming. They usually have a limited health warranty, but often have a “right of first ownership” if, in the life of the dog, you ever have to give the dog up. The breeder would get the dog back.
This is the perfect time for them to be house trained, leash-trained and trained for all the things they need to know for their lives as companion animals. With Shih Tzu breeders, the puppies get the education they need at such a critical time.
