I work with a man that just got a new 6 week old Schnauzer puppy Saturday, his girlfriend works in a different department here, so I have to put up with the both of them. Well, the puppy is only 6 weeks old, they leave it with no food or water, for 8 hours or more. Nobody goes to check on it during the day. when I told them the pup was to small to be away from its mom, and they needed nutra-cal to keep its blood sugar up, they looked at me like I was from a different planet. They are also spanking the little 6 week old puppy and sticking its nose in the pee and poo. I really don't know how much more of this I can take listening to. ANd to beat it all....its a schnauzer...I mean I wouldnt want it to be any precious pup...but you know how you are with your own breed.
I try to tell them the right things to do, but they look at me like I am a crazy dog lady.

I hear you on the hard to stomach stories...

What I have done in the past, that usually goes over pretty well, is printing out a puppy packet (collect simple information I typically use the internet). I then stuff it in a small basket along with some other goodies (such as the nutra-cal you were talking about) *I highlight or bold the areas I think are important.


I would even bite the bullet and include one of those water tank dog bowls (the kind that are attached to a refillable bottle, they should be somewhat inexpensive for that size of pup) Kind of a welcome to puppy hood basket.

It does come out of my pocket but also allows me to sleep at night. Also it will seem less invasive as it looks like a gift rather than a lecture ;)

Maybe you could casually ask them who they got the puppy from. And then contact the breeder. But it sounds like that would be another hard story to stomach. Because in almost every state in the union, it is illegal to sell, give away or trade a puppy under the age of 8 weeks. Maybe if you find out who the breeder is, it is time to call your state dept of Agriculture for an inspection. If the dog is AKC, maybe they might be interested in doing an inspection as well. There is a breeders code of ethics that the AKC does expect to be followed by AKC breeders.
I have a schnuazer client for grooming. The dog is a pet and I have finally convinced the owner of this and to make an appointment to have him fixed.

Act enthusiastic and tell them to come into terrific pets, well take care of them :)