Their Adoption program is working with the local shelters - the dogs aren't kept at PetSmart and are only available on certain days of the week when the shelters come out with the dogs trying to get them adopted.

I've only been going to petsmart for 9 or 10 months, and petco for about a year and a half, so maybe 3 years ago someone did sell puppies, but right now they just work with local shelters, at least in Orlando, I can't speak for the rest of the country.

This one mentions how PetCo put sick or dying animals in the FREEZER

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Ryan, so are you saying you wouldn't want to own a dog that has good enough drive to compete in dog sports? I found this post confusing, AL

Well.. maybe Im wrong there. Maybe neither sold kittens and puppies. I cant find anything that says they sell them now, thats for sure.

But Ive seen them in kennels in there..cant imagine what they were doing caged if they werent for sale.......

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Ryan, so are you saying you wouldn't want to own a dog that has good enough drive to compete in dog sports? I found this post confusing, AL

No... let's see if I can make some sense here.

For starters, I'm still a total rookie in the world of working dogs. I've never owned one, and have very limited experience with them (though that's changing slowly but surely). From the research I've done, many working dogs are what most normal pet owners would consider unmanageable. The high drives that they are bred for can lead to more destructive behaviors if they don't have an outlet for their energy and drives to be expended on a regular basis. Also, from my understanding, many are also fairly hard dogs and require a more assertive leader to be kept in line. And finally, many working dogs are not as social as a typical house pet. Obviously, these are all generalizations and there are many exceptions.

Now... many of those characteristics are even more pronounced in pitbulls. Add that to a dog that has a ridiculous amount of muscular power, and you will have your hands full. They can be exceptional pets and working dogs. But the tendency towards extreme drives, extreme hardness, and extremely high energy levels makes them a less than ideal candidate as a "typical house pet" in my opinion.

By the way, I'm the first to admit that I have little experience with working dogs as well as pitbulls so my perceptions may be a little off. These are just my observations and "book knowledge" I've gained in an effort to better understand dog sports. As tempted as I am to go out and buy a working dog, I know that I'm not ready for that yet. I'm learning everything I can, and practicing with the dogs I already have.

Ryan,
Kudos to you then, for doing your homework and having good understanding of your capabilities.

So many people *think* they want a certain kind of dog because of the way it looks or the way it performs, and they have no idea what kind of experience, knowledge, time, dedication and maybe even lifestyle change can be involved with having one.

You deserve a lot of credit for having realistic expectations and taking time to determine if you could live with the responsibility of such a dog.

T

Petco doesn't sell puppies or kittens and they are actually starting a program where even their small animals will be obtained from a small animal rescue and adopted out as opposed to sold. Petsmart keeps cats/kittens in their stores for adoption and hosts visting groups. Petco hosts visiting dog/cat groups and is testing a program to kep cats/kittens there at all times for adoption. Hope this helps!

Ian

p.s. My girlfriend works at Petco. I got this from her. lol

Well that explains it then. Thanks. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

And after the trouble PetCo got into for their poor animal treatment, Im not surprised live animals are started to be adopted from other places, or whatever they are doing. For either shop, I mean..

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**SIGH** My poor, poor beloved former breed <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />. I'm so glad I have grudgingly moved on from them. There unfortunatly are just to few responsible pitbull owners left, the idiots, thugs and punks have completely taken over them IMO to the point of no return. When my now 7yr old pit named Toro passes on he'll be the last. I hate to feel this way, but the irresponsible ownership of these dogs are so great that there is no more hope for them, the days of being able to own one are numbered and the last thing I want to do is be forced by goverment to have to end up giving a young 2 or 3yr old that I may have at the time away or even Euthenize.

Chris,

We only lose when we give up.

It is still possible to save this once beloved breed from ruin and future extinction in this country. The fight is not over, although it is a very difficult road to travel. When we(pit bulldog community) educate each other, we can begin to act responsibly and maybe then we can change the trend of of public opinion. Even if we fail and our dogs disappear, the fight would still have been honorable one, and we'll never forget their worth to us.

Andy.

I think there should be an age limit on owning a Pit at this particular point in time. I also think heavy scrutiny beyond age should be used to own them and breed them. I'd like to see a forcing function where every person wanting to own a Pit automatically signs up for training that dog (and not at Petsmart...please). That being said, recognizing all the characteristics of a Pit is wise before owning one. Breed genocide is problem for every responsible dog owner, you never know when someone will decide your dog is a danger because of the actions of dumb people, then the gov't comes in with their blanket bandaid solution and eliminates an entire breed of dog...this is almost too much to comprehend, we are smart people and this is the best we can think of? Petsmart and Petco IMO should be limited to training dogs to the levels of the expertise of their trainers, and in the proper ratios. You have a driven GSD, Mal or Pit they need to be with the experts not the "fast food" of dog training, save them for the toy poodles and similar breeds.