The Final Word On Chatuchak Market?

[BattyBatty]

Hi all

Hopefully I will be buying a dog this weekend at Chatuchak market. I have been many times and had a look around and have seen many breeds at various prices. I have read many negative posts on this forum over the last couple of years warning against buying a dog from the market, with a general opinion that the dogs often come with many health problems.

Before i finaly commit, i wanted to ask you guys for the final word on this subject.... Is the market realy that bad?

I am not sure on breed yet - however i will be sure to buy a dog from what looks like an establshed breeder with is own established unit/shop, one who specialises in just one breed. Would this be a safer bet?

Cheers

[BambinA]

Is the market realy that bad?

emmm...It's not that bad..but it's pretty risk to get an infected pup.

Last week ,My farang client bought a chihuahua from JJ and that pity dog had a sign of viral enteritis..

Buying a pup from JJ is likes you buy a lottery .

Goodluck

[November Rain]

My answer is not just based on Chatuchak but on markets all over Thailand, indeed all over Asia. Please, if you love animals, don't buy them from a market. Buy from a reputable breeder. Go & see the mother & pups together, go see the environment they were born into & brought up in. You may think that guy in the market is a breeder - he only deals with one breed, right? But he probably takes in pups from 20 puppy farms. I'm sure you have puppy farms in your native country? They exist here too. They are here to make money. They don't care about you, they don't care about the pup, its mother, its health, nothing!

Of course, that would not be true for every market trader of dogs, but can you tell who is good & who isn't? Go to a proper breeder, or even better, if you don't care about breed, give a home to a homeless dog from somewhere like Soi Dog Rescue.

As for health, I can't speak for JJ, but BambinA just did. We have a market here that sells dogs & so many are sick it's unbelievable. Parvo is one of the main illnesses they have, but I've seen probable distemper, severe dehydration, malnutrition, pups too young to be away from their mother... Ultimately, this is your choice. Good luck

[BattyBatty]

BambinA - Thanks for the reply both on this thread and also the Central Thailand thread. The 'lottery' anallogy has been my thinking also, but i couldnt get the search feature to work and needed to here why they may be so bad.

November Rain - yep, I am a true dog lover mate, always have been. Any dog, be it soi dog or soppy pedigree poodle, i like. It sounds very much like you know what you are talking about and this clears up the matter for me. To be honest, i did figure that a single dog breeder at JJ market would not farm out bad dogs - that said, your points are noted and i have made my mind up based on your post. I'll go find a local breeder.

Thanks to both of you for the replies.

Cheers

BattyBatty

[turnpike]

Before i finaly commit, i wanted to ask you guys for the final word on this subject.... Is the market realy that bad?

i bought 2 different shitzus about 8 months ago from 2 different sellers. they both appeared to be healthy and robust. we took the train back home, about 11 hours in all, but it was a cool day, the dogs had plenty of food and fresh water and were outside the cages and on our laps more often than not. they both appeared fine when we got home.

2 days later it was obvious they were getting ill, listless, not much of an appetite and very bad diahhrea. off to the vet we go, and left the dogs. one was on i.v., the other one not. i think it was 3 days later they said the female, a beautiful little thing with one blue eye, was ready to go home. she was fine for a couple of days, then it all started again. we woke up one morning and she had deteriorated quite a bit overnight. in hindsight i wish we had taken her back in the day before. she got so bad so fast, i decided to take her in to get put down. the same woman vet who had put down one of my other dogs a few months prior (distemper-was SUPPOSED to have had it's shots) would not put down my pup because she was pregnant and it would be bad luck for her. so we decided to put my pup back on i.v. and hope for the best. no such luck, she died that.

the other pup was in the hospital much longer, but when we got this one back, he was 100% and still doing fine.

i'm sure the long train ride wasn't good for them, but i really don't think they were stressed by that too much, just the change of food, the trip and being sick to begin with just took it's toll.

a suggestion:the last time we were in BKK, we went back to the same market, it may have been either thursday afternoon or early friday. there were already many dogs there, one breeder suggested that was the best time to buy. with so many people handling the dogs all weekend, disease can spread easily and it does stress the pups somewhat. he even didn't want me to handle his jack russell pups for that reason, fair enough i thought.

so if you're going to buy there, buy early.

just my 2 cents worth,

turnpike

[Sheryl]

Whatever opinions/experiences people may have re breers at JJ, I think we can all agree that the conditions animals are kept at in that market are poor and not something we want to support or encourage. Buying from these people encourages it. So for that reason alone, don't puy a pet at JJ.

I think many if not most breeders are a bit suspect with respect to the health of their animals. Bear in mind that pure bred animals are invariably frailer and more susceptible to disease than mixed breads. This plus the crowded conditions at breeders places create a risk.

The best way to get a healthy dog I think is either to 1) get it from the SoiDog rescue people or similar place (there's one in Koh Samui, forget it's name). All of their dogs have been examined by a vet and vaccinated and spayed/neutered OR 2) adopt a stray that looks healthy even tho thin, get a vet to check it out first.

Of course either way won't provide you with pedigree...but you may inmdeed find dogs that LOOK like a pure breed and perhaps even are. If there is a particular type of dog you want and they don't have one, let them know the type and get in touch with you when they do. After all, what's a piece of paper?

With all the strays in Thailand needing homes it seems a shame to buy from a breeder...but that's just my opinion. I also do not find bred animals to have as much vitality and personality as natural mixed breeds...there's no improving on nature!

[November Rain]

Whatever opinions/experiences people may have re breers at JJ, I think we can all agree that the conditions animals are kept at in that market are poor and not something we want to support or encourage. Buying from these people encourages it. So for that reason alone, don't puy a pet at JJ.

I think many if not most breeders are a bit suspect with respect to the health of their animals. Bear in mind that pure bred animals are invariably frailer and more susceptible to disease than mixed breads. This plus the crowded conditions at breeders places create a risk.

The best way to get a healthy dog I think is either to 1) get it from the SoiDog rescue people or similar place (there's one in Koh Samui, forget it's name). All of their dogs have been examined by a vet and vaccinated and spayed/neutered OR 2) adopt a stray that looks healthy even tho thin, get a vet to check it out first.

Of course either way won't provide you with pedigree...but you may inmdeed find dogs that LOOK like a pure breed and perhaps even are. If there is a particular type of dog you want and they don't have one, let them know the type and get in touch with you when they do. After all, what's a piece of paper?

With all the strays in Thailand needing homes it seems a shame to buy from a breeder...but that's just my opinion. I also do not find bred animals to have as much vitality and personality as natural mixed breeds...there's no improving on nature!

My sentiments exactly! But, as I run a dog rescue center in Hua Hin, I realise that a lot of people want pedigrees rather than Thai dogs and have learnt not to push them, as I just get accused of bias!! And, yes, if anyone is interested, we have loads of pups & adults (healthy, neutered, vaccinated) available for adoption, as do Soi Dog Rescue & all of the other rescue agencies.

[Old Man River]

Hi all

Hopefully I will be buying a dog this weekend at Chatuchak market. I have been many times and had a look around and have seen many breeds at various prices. I have read many negative posts on this forum over the last couple of years warning against buying a dog from the market, with a general opinion that the dogs often come with many health problems.

Before i finaly commit, i wanted to ask you guys for the final word on this subject.... Is the market realy that bad?

I am not sure on breed yet - however i will be sure to buy a dog from what looks like an establshed breeder with is own established unit/shop, one who specialises in just one breed. Would this be a safer bet?

Cheers

If at all possible, have a vet accompany you when you buy a dog. If not possible, as soon as you buy the dog, take it immediately to a vet for shots etc.

[MrSnrang]

Avoid buying from the market side. The stores across from it with the food stores sell healthier dogs.

[lookchin]

do you really want a dog? Chicken is cheaper AND tastes better! Why all the fuss about dogs lately? Vietnamese cooks have been doin it for years! spicy legs!

Lookchin

[aaaaaa]

no problems - if you don't like it, you can always dump it somehwere adding to the number of those soi-dogs, in best traditions of typical Thai style.... and then get back to JJ and buy another one

[kurgen]

I went to Theprasit market in Pattaya last week.

There was an English Bull Terroriser puppy for sale, it was frothing at the mouth.The woman trying to sell it kept wiping it's mouth to hide the foam.

When she saw me looking she said it wasn't a problem it was just too hot, it was one of the coldest nights I can remember

This is the same market where a friend of mine bought 2 Golden Retriever pups and a German Shepherd pup, all very healthy on the night but a week later all 3 had to be put to sleep as they were slowly dying of Parvo disease.

These traders don't care about anything apart from money, be very careful.