Apparantly, there's a big dog craze in Japan & puppy mills are poping up there.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/business/28dogs.html?_r=1&ref=science&pagewanted=p&oref=slogin

Eva,
I'm not surprised, my ex is the VP for 24 hour fitness in the Asia District (it's called California fitness there), he had told me that on numerous time some health club members from the Hong-Kong gym, had come in with their chihuahua in a little bag and had put them in the lockers of the gym while they worked out.These dogs were sooo tiny he tought they were rats at first.He could not believe they were pets(dogs)
He has seen those little guys running loose in the streets , lost from jumping out of theirowners' bags.Supposebly they care more on what bag they buy then the health of those dogs.He also had a man try to sell him a pup chihuahua for $8,000.00 And a free bag came with it. Sick

Jaw drops open...The level of ignorance is astounding.

Eva, aren't you the one who also posted about the puppy eating a baby's toes? Where do you find all of this stuff?!? Think happy thoughts!

I'm just kidding, I suppose it's good to be educated on all of this stuff, but I'm usually on this board in the morning with my coffee and I'm so depressed when I'm done!! Why can't all people just be good? Sigh.

Scratches head. Umm, I posted it because it's in the news...Also dog related.

Just ignore my news stories until you're ready to read them

P.S. I don't have a TV & rely on the internet for my news.

There is a dog EXPLOSION in Japan right now. It's absurd. Lots of little yappy purse dogs, bred specifically to be... well, cute yappy purse dogs. A lot of toys and designer dogs. It's all about the matching sweaters and chic bags.

In their defense, "good" dog-related things like training centers and agility are also exploding over there as well, so it's not all bad. They even have dog consultation over there; you can call someone and they give you basic training advice (obedience, housebreaking, etc.) and answer your questions. I think that would be smart to have over here, personally!

You know it's no different than here with the bags and little dogs in sweaters, thank Paris Hilton for that one.Now every teenager(girls) want the same thing!
My 4 year old even once said to me that she wanted a teacup Pom with a purse for him to go in it.She's 4! Where does she get that? TV.
The only thing I want in my purse is my phone and wallet, no pooch.
Eva, thanks for opening peoples eyes because educating individuals on the stupidity that goes around world wide is a must! Thanks !!!

 Quote: eva czarnojanczyk

Scratches head. Umm, I posted it because it's in the news...Also dog related.

Just ignore my news stories until you're ready to read them

Sorry, I was joking. I thought that was obvious by the smiley face, and the "I'm just kidding" part but I guess I should have thrown in the LOL for good measure.

LOL!

I don't have TV either, all my news comes from the internet as well which I think is actually much better.

The story's really terrible. The results of the inbreeding are terrible and sad and scary. I hope people over there come to their senses and don't use Frankenstein pets as a fad.

OK,so Japan is catching up to the US in puppymills. They've got a ways to go before they even come close to some of the puppymills in the US for horrid conditions. One part of this news article caught my eye:
>>>Kiyomi Miyauchi was heartbroken to discover this after one of two Boston terriers she bought years ago suddenly collapsed last year into spasms on the living room floor and died. In March, one of its puppies died the same way; another went blind.
(my bolding and underline)
Ms. Miyauchi stumbled across a widespread problem here that is only starting to get attention. Rampant inbreeding has given Japanese dogs some of the highest rates of genetic defects in the world, sometimes four times higher than in the United States and Europe.<<<
Pardon me, but sounds like Ms. Miyauchi is ALSO an irresponsible breeder.
I'd like to know where they get their statistics, and how they know the rate of genetic defects in Japan vs US and Europe. Apparently they are not including the puppymill bred dogs in the US. I can't imagine any worse conditions anywhere. I don't know about Europe.
Pretty sloppy reporting, if you ask me.

 Quote: amber morgan

I was joking. I thought that was obvious by the smiley face, and the "I'm just kidding" part.

No worries, I just wasn't sure whether you were serious or joking. Emoticons help me but not enough And I think I'll also try this one OK enough silliness from me.