Why oh why do people buy Gumtree puppies?

[Bubble2bubble]

I've just been sent a FB page of a family very local to me who bought a pug puppy from a Gumtree and and she died of parvo three days later.
I am sorry for them, and to have had their new pup die in their arms must have been truly awful.
They are now working with the RSPCA, and police and have been on local radio trying to get attention for the case, having discovered that the same seller was selling multiple breeds from several set-up addresses.
But really, to buy an unvaccinated, un-microchipped puppy from a 'breeder' on Gumtree , and to collect the pup half an hour after you see the ad - how could anyone think that was a good idea? I just don't know how many times the message has to be repeated :(

People buy puppies from Gumtree because they’re selfish, unethical jerks who care more about their child having an ickle wickle puppy than they do about animal welfare.

Well I honestly think it's a sign of our instant gratification lifestyle. Nobody waits for anything anymore. Order online and get it the same day with lots of companies. No waiting 2 weeks to see photo's because they are there instantly on your phone
It's everywhere in society, everything new and everything now.

Dogs are purchased by different sets of people
The dedicated dog owners
The fashion accessory owners
And the daft shits with a houseful of rescues (that'll be me)

The 1st are brilliant
The second creates the third

Punishments for puppy farmers are simply not severe enough. The time and resources that the rspca and police put into investigating them and the bastards get away with a slap on the wrists. It's disgusting

The dogs seized are traumatised, and take a lot of time and attention to rehabilitate. Sadly for some the help comes too late. It's heart breaking but let's start at the top of the food chain with much harsher penalties

I think it's down to selfishness and the need to get what they want most of the time. People generally know these days. My in laws recently got a puppy from gumtree. They knew the issues before getting her as my DH and I said to them but they went ahead and did it anyway. Why? Because they wanted that particular breed of puppy and they wanted one now (literally days after they decided to get a pup, they got her).
There's a culture around pets and animals I think that treats them like commodities. I hear so many excuses based on what people want rather than what's best for the dogs or animals like, "I would have loved a rescue but I wanted a [insert specific dig breed here] and I couldn't find one in a rescue". It's treating dogs not much better than handbags. Or the other one, "I would have got a rescue but we have children and they won't rehome to us"- then wait until your children are older.
I think many of us think we just have this right to the things we want and even when knowing the impact of those things, we ignore that. I think people buying dogs off of Gumtree are just another example of that.

Minor and looby, I could not agree more.

I’ve learned to be very careful who I talk another dogs with, in case I say something I’ll regret. If I had a dollar for every time I heard ‘We’d love to rescue, BUT...

...the kids really want a puppy
...we need something non-shedding
...we’d like something with a known temperament
...we’ve got our hearts set on a French bulldog/cavapoo/labradoodle
...the rescues are so picky!

These people need to be honest: they don’t really want to rescue. They want exactly what they want, in age and breed, right now, and they don’t want to consider the reasons why rescues can’t/won’t facilitate that.

It really infuriates me.

I have children and 4 full pedigree rescues. It's perfectly possible and actually our breed rescue along with many others are crying out for good homes. We have more dogs than we can handle and that's how people like me end up with 4 (my limit was my own 2 and the 2 fosters but there is nowhere for my fosters to go)

We got pup from Gumtree. She is healthy, happy and a joy. We met her Mum, saw Puppy at home weeks before we got her, and I think that writing off all Gumtree puppies as farmed is not helping to prevent puppy farming. On the other hand getting an unvaccinated puppy is stupid.

Pup. Decent breeders would never put a puppy on gumtree. You've been lucky.
The parents of the dog probably not so.
Seeing "mum" (often a stunt dog) isn't a guarantee. And it may not be her home either. Puppy farmers use front properties.

"On the other hand getting an unvaccinated puppy is stupid."

Not so much, actually it tends to be dodgier breeders that routinely vaccinate puppies... you can get issues with different brands being incompatible and it's sometimes better to not vaccinate and then the new owner can do it that to have given one set that then needs to be restarted with a different brand.

A proper breeder would discuss vaccinations, not just hand you a pup which may or may not have been vaccinated ( or have fake vet records)

"On the other hand getting an unvaccinated puppy is stupid."

No it's not. Not only do the decent breeders have that discussion with you long before the vacs are due but there are legitimate reasons a puppy might come to you unvaccinated:

• do it too early and the mother's natural antibodies (passed to pup during feeding) will still be present and neutralise the effectiveness of the vaccine

• some vaccines carry risks (e.g. lepto4) and responsible owners will want to make an informed decision about whether or not to use them

• not all vaccines work well together so a breeder may allow you to do a full course with your vet rather than give them something that will be ignored and revaccinated for (using a diff brand) risking over vaccinating the puppy

• some people read up on the science and choose not to vaccinate because of the risks associated with it (not my choice as I think there is an element of herd immunity) but it is an informed decision they are making with the best intentions for their dogs

I've also seen people make comments like "well I realised it was a puppy farm but I'd already met the dog and fallen in love, so I got to anyway as I couldn't leave it there" / "I saved it from a puppy farm" - no, you're helping puppy farmers thrive!

I’ve learned to be very careful who I talk another dogs with, in case I say something I’ll regret. If I had a dollar for every time I heard ‘We’d love to rescue, BUT...

I agree with this so much Husky! I have been in a situation in the last couple of weeks where I have had to weigh up whether I can keep my mouth shut or risk losing a friendship!

I agree with a lot of the previous posts, in that the selfishness of people is to blame for what goes on. There are the lucky people who buy a puppy from gumtree and go on to have no issues at all. These people haven't given any thought to it though. No thought for the mum, (the real mum not the "stunt mum"), the stud, the other puppies, etc. etc. All that matters is that they got their puppy quickly and easily.

Our dog did not have a 'stunt' mum as she was feeding the puppies. Regulation of puppy breeding is the answer not blaming the advertising used.

We did get a rescue on the end but there were sixteen people on the list for our dog we were just lucky as the home check man lived close to us so we managed to sneak up the list.

This is why we didn’t get a rescue. There is no “waiting list” in the sense that people who have been waiting the longest get first refusal for a suitable dog.

I passed the initial assesment for many dogs. I am experienced, at home all day, older kids, semi rural environment. I lost out on every one because it simply went to someone who could get to visit the dog before me, or who lived closest for the home check.

I’d often make appts for the afternoon to visit a dog, only to get a phone call saying someone had happened to visit that morning on the off chance and reserved the dog.

Gave up after a year of this and went to a breeder. At least with a breeder we were in a queue and a dog would eventually become available. With rescue it may have been 6 weeks, 6 years, or never.

People who don’t understand breeders will often be taken in by stunt dogs and puppy farms. Much of the time they can convince themselves they are “rescuing” the puppy if they do find out the breeder isn’t responsible.

I initially decided on a rescue dog. And regularly dog walked for a year at our local rescue, however there were so few dogs suitable for a family with children (school age) and a cat. The dogs were 90% either greyhound type or staffy type, and they are not the right dog for us. Indeed the rescue would not have given us one. The 10% of suitable dogs were rehomed before I knew they existed.
I don't regret our puppy or getting it from the family we did one bit.

Reputable, responsible breeders don't sell their litters on gumtree and similar websites. You can choose to ignore that fact but it's the truth. At best you bought from a backyard breeder and at worst a puppy farm.

Most good reputable rescues will rehome puppies to families, even young families, as long as they're confident the families know what they're taking on. But you do have to be in there quick, as puppies don't get advertised online usually and are reserved within moments of going into rescue. That's the problem with online sales - people lack patience and want things rightnowthisverysecond. It may take a few months and being on the ball to find the right dog.

People also seem to only want a 8-12 week old puppy when there are plenty of 6-8 month old dogs in rescue who could work just as well and may well already have training in place.

There were a few Labrador cross puppies on the Dogs Trust website last week. Reserved pretty quick sharpish. It's not just Staffies and Lurchers out there. Looking on there now, they're reserved, but there's also a Spaniel, a couple of German Shepherds and there were some Rottweiler crosses not so long ago.

Look at this Malamute puppy at Many Tears. LOOK AT IT swoon
www.manytearsrescue.org/display_mtar_dog.php?id=20581

If you really want a purebred puppy and nothing else, go find a Kennel Club assured breeder and go on a breeder's waiting list. Or go to a breed rescue via Kennel Club who will know of any unplanned litters or youngsters. The assured breeder scheme isn't without it's flaws, but at least you'll know they're not smuggled or farmed.

Most good reputable rescues will rehome puppies to families, even young families, as long as they're confident the families know what they're taking on. But you do have to be in there quick, as puppies don't get advertised online usually and are reserved within moments of going into rescue. That's the problem with online sales - people lack patience and want things rightnowthisverysecond. It may take a few months and being on the ball to find the right dog.

People also seem to only want a 8-12 week old puppy when there are plenty of 6-8 month old dogs in rescue who could work just as well and may well already have training in place.

There were a few Labrador cross puppies on the Dogs Trust website last week. Reserved pretty quick sharpish. It's not just Staffies and Lurchers out there. Looking on there now, they're reserved, but there's also a Spaniel, a couple of German Shepherds and there were some Rottweiler crosses not so long ago.

Look at this Malamute puppy at Many Tears. LOOK AT IT swoon
www.manytearsrescue.org/display_mtar_dog.php?id=20581

If you really want a purebred puppy and nothing else, go find a Kennel Club assured breeder and go on a breeder's waiting list. Or go to a breed rescue via Kennel Club who will know of any unplanned litters or youngsters. The assured breeder scheme isn't without it's flaws, but at least you'll know they're not smuggled or farmed.

Whoops didn't mean to post that twice.

Drives me mad...as does the BYB of kittens for profit.

My niece is a trainee vet nurse, this weekend she is bringing home a French Bulldog puppy for two days. Reason it is in the vets was terrible breathing issues...the owner having bought it from a BYB brought it into the vet with all its problems. A day later she phoned to say she would sign the puppy over to them as she couldn't afford the bills for this puppy. Instead she is "just going to get another one"

Animals are disposable it seems.

There are loads of French Bulldog, English Bulldog and Pug puppies filtering through rescue at the moment. Dogs Trust gets loads (you won't see them on the website, they're reserved too quickly) as they are often seized at the ports from puppy smugglers. Breathing problems are rife.

That's horrible Delores, poor pup :(

Dolores that's unspeakable :(
There's a story in the paper today about someone who brought their dog into the SPCA in Dublin and then asked if they could look around to see if there was a different one they could have

And yes, give it a few weeks and the shelters will be jam packed with young cockers, cockerpoos, westies, frenchies and every other desirable breed that is has either been seized from puppy smugglers or offloaded as excess Christmas stock :(

Lucky pup in the end as the vet has taken him on. My niece has him for the weekend as the vet is away..so niece is baby sitting (puppy sitting).

Think the vet staff were just in shock by the callous attitude of the owner.

I don’t really understand the obsession with puppies, anyway. It’s not like they stay puppies and never grow up.

There were so many beautiful adult dogs languishing in the rescue where I got my girl.