Whelp, the story goes like this - My parents were visiting a place, a store front that sells dogs from local breeders for about a year. Last Sunday they finally eyed up a mixed (Chorkie) and fell in love with it and brought it home last Wednesday. Even though this puppy was absolutely adorable, had a great personality and getting a puppy was a dream of my mom's, I was hesitant about it and had a gut feeling that this was going to be a disaster. See - I'm an adult living at home and this was a thing my parents wanted to do.

The issue was and what bothered me was we already have a dog - a 6 year old Sato/adopted rescue. When we first got her she was a wreck. She lived on the streets and had puppies of her own during the first 2 years of her life. She has a lot of odd behavioral tendencies and we believe she may have been abused in her past life. She does not take kindly to men who are strangers. She is also obsessed with my mom following her where ever she goes around the house.

So, after a few days of having the puppy our dog was up in the face of the puppy non-stop. Non-stop sniffing turned into non-stop rough play, and then turned into some aggressive behavior where our dog was putting the puppy's head in her mouth and literary going out of her way to bully the puppy. My mom's presence and attention around the puppy was setting our dog off.

After my parents freaking out last night, I thought they were going to wait to see if things got better until Monday but they gave in this morning and we brought the puppy back earlier today. There was a 7 day return policy in order for them to take the dog back and get a % of the money back. My mom, dad, and brother have been in an emotional wreck about it. And me, I've been just stone face, saying to myself "I knew this was a bad idea", glad that the drama will come to an end. :(

If anybody out there decides to adopt a rescue dog REMEMBER - you are not only adopting the dog, you are also adopting their baggage. And you need to respect them and give them extra love, care and patience.

Man, buying a puppy from a pet store was mistake number one. =/ Not even half-assed breeders are going to pass off puppies to a pet store.

I'm glad they at least returned the pup before damage was done.

Uh not true. It really all depends on the pet shops around you. The ones here all either work with shelters or local breeders. Those that bring in puppies too often get red flagged. Once red flagged they can no longer even just leave puppies at the pet shops, and if there's more than one of that shop (like one on each side of town) they tend to call the other and have them set up a file with the red flag already in place. Also a pet shop worth a damn WILL take info from you as the seller and about the pups you bring in before they even write up a bill of sale. Pet shops aren't all as shady as people make them out to be. Are there some out there that work with mills? Yes. does that mean each and every pet shop is going to? No. I used to work at a local one and would often get calls to see if we had x y z breed the other store did across town but in the opposite gender. I'd have to literally take 10 minutes to explain carefully that we didn't buy from mills and so what each of our two shops had was different because of spaces open and the local people bringing in whatever pups to sell. Some got it others didn't. Those that didn't understand I'd just say we worked with the pound on adopting out pets and they'd hang up because "pound pets are so icky". So do the research on each shop you go to before saying buying from a pet shop is always a mistake.

So this sounds very delicate. Like your current dog -might- get along with another but also could be jealous quickly. I'd say try working with someone with a dog to adopt but start with the scent exchanges. Then try a few park dates. Then try a few visits to the house until one day the new dog never leaves. But also if you are sure this dog will never get over being the only one around then maybe an animal that's not a dog would be ok for your family? Some dogs that want to be the only ones can be fine with like a cat or other animals simply because it's NOT another dog wanting attention. Sometimes dogs are the only pet a family can have. I understand it's not your immediate desire to add dogs but maybe advice can help your parents who do. Just remember she's gone how long without other animals around and so sees your family as her long made pack and something new may never sit right with her.

The city I live in doesn't allow the retail sale of dogs, cats or rabbits so we haven't actually had any pets in pretty much any pet stores in the area for the last year or so. Petco's here have sponsorships with local pounds, but don't actually offer any pets for sale, nor do any other places offer them any longer due to local law having rendered them illegal to sell.

The actual law states that dogs, cats, rabbits cannot be sold, in any capacity to retail establishments so the majority of pet stores that were in my area shut down afterwards even if they were getting them from reputable local breeders and yes, some of them did get their pets from breeders.

Anywho, as for the dog, I can understand both sides. They might of simply wanted to add another dog to provide a companion for your current dog, without thinking of the temperament of the dog already in the house or they thought that over time the dog would acclimate itself to have another dog in the house which yes, some dogs can do.

I'm glad dogs and cats are not allowed to sell in shops here. It breaks my heart that it is actually possible in some lands to buy such a loyal and dependent creature in a "shop" or market.

Anyway! I think if you have one dog and plan to get another you sure should try that first (if the other dog actually accepts another one around him, and if it works with both dogs). My dog is nearly 6 years now too. I have him since he was 9 weeks old. But I think he wouldn't be compatible with another dog simply because I think it would break his heart if another dog was around, being petted and loved. And he is my anyway, best friend I could wish for.

Getting a dog is ALWAYS something that has to be thought out very very well.

I'm sorry your puppy situation went down like that. I had a similar thing happen when I rescued my second pitbull. My older dog would get jealous and bully him out of his toys and bones. They got along great but when they would fight like boys do it was a hassle because they were both 80+ lbs it was a lot of work. I got the impression you were not okay with the situation and from the sounds of it your dog is like my boy and may be happier as an only dog but from what I am guessing it sounds like she would definitely benefit from play dates with other dogs. :)

I agree if I were a breeder I would never put my puppies in a shop. I would also never buy a puppy or dog from a store and I don't know any breeders that would do that.

Pet stores that work with rescues and shelters are a different matter. But pet stores that sell breeder pups? Nope, they're always bad. Decent breeders don't sell to pet stores, period.

- The place that we went to, I would not really describe it as a pet store. They only sell puppies, no other animals or even supplies. They describe themselves as a family owned business who pick out puppies from kennels and breeders in the local area and work out a "consignment" kind of deal with them. They do not ship puppies or work with the "puppy mills". There was a bunch of paper work and what not, it wasn't a willy nilly place, and not at all like a big box store nightmare like Petsmart or Petco.

I think that putting puppies or cats or any animal in a cage or tank in a store is some kind of bad trigger. People get all goo goo eyed when they see them and there is the possibility for people to make impulsive purchases. That's what I got out of this experience.

I wouldn't say my folks made an impulsive move, they just didn't know exactly how our dog was going to react. They thought they were going to get a friend for our dog. She is a very mellow and fearful dog and would have never expected her to act aggressive. She has always liked to say hello to other small dogs.

See, here's the thing: no breeder worth their salt would be interested in that kind of deal. Good breeders have waiting lists before the puppies are even born. Good breeders would rather see hell freeze over before handing over a puppy -- who is in a critical stage of development -- over for somebody to peddle. Good breeders want to know exactly what is happening with their puppies and exactly who is interested in taking one home.

Buying from a pet store is a shit deal even for the future puppy's guardians; you don't know jack about where that dog came from. You don't know what the sire and dam are like, temperamentally or behaviorally or physically. You don't know how this pup was raised. You don't know anything about that pup's temperament or personality. And most importantly, the breeders likely don't know anything about genetic health, especially if they're breeding mixed breeds.

It's just as much of a shot in the dark and supporting a shady, pets-are-commodities POV as buying from a pet store that supplies mill puppies.

Hm, whether the puppy was in a store or not, when getting a new dog or cat it's always best to do a trial run first to see if your dog can handle having a new member of the family. Lots of rescue shelters will let you bring your dog or cat in to meet the one you're looking to get, however, the shelter is going to be neutral ground for them, and they may act differently at home if they're territorial at all, which most animals usually are.

I'm sorry to hear things didn't work out with the new puppy for them :c Sometimes animals can't handle sharing their house, their humans, their toys, food, water, etc. with another creature, and doing so would be unfair to both animals. You're absolutely right that adopted animals need extra love, patience and time.