Shake A Paw — Local services in Green Brook Township

Over the last 7 years my family has purchased 3 dogs from Shake a Paw and adopted one, but after this weeks experience we are done. With the pandemic still going on I can understand that the demand for puppies have gone up. If you haven't shopped for one recently, they are nearly double from what they usually are at this store (and this store isn't cheap to begin with). After the passing of our last dog my we finally figured that if we wanted a dog now we would just have to eat the cost. After going to Shake A Paw Green Brook I saw a lovely Pomeranian that has been in the store for quite some time. At this point he was over 3 months old. For me the dog was a little old to be buying from a pet store because the more time they spend pooping or peeing where they eat the harder it'll be for them to kick that habit. However because of the high prices, high demand, and how difficult it has been to adopt I decided that it would be worth it. All together this 3 month old dog would still have been 5200+. Because the dog was already on the older end and his price was still fairly high, I asked them If they would consider bringing the price down to around 4700ish. The owner declined and said he could not go any lower than 4900. He said it was because the dog already had been neutered and therefore he would be losing money. Eh... Maybe that's true but you can neuter a dog for a lot less, especially a place like Shake A Paw, plus it was a bit of a red flag that the dog, who is not a rescue, was already neutered at around 8 weeks or earlier. Neutering or spaying a dog is beneficial, but I would have liked to wait until the dog weighed a little more first to avoid possible complications with bone growth. Regardless we put the dog on hold to think about it overnight, but in the end we felt they were still asking too much and we decided to not buy the dog since a younger dog wouldn't be THAT much more, he was already neutered at a young age which might have signaled there is some other medical history there, and it also it sounded like the owner was being a tad greedy and trying pull one over us with the neutering excuse. Anyway lo and behold no more than 48 hours later, they decreased the dogs price to exactly what we were asking for on their website. What happened to not being able to go any lower? I guess you guys just didn't want us to...

I visited here last Thursday with my friend. I already have two adorable puppies that I SPOIL rotten. My friend recently lost her childhood dog and was taking her time to look around and send pictures to her family. (In attempts to the idea of warming up to getting another puppy) From the very second we walked in, a sales associate was on us, trying to literally SELL us on every single dog. Which I get, it is a place of business. I let my friend do her thing and digest it all as I looked around for toys for every one of my pets. Being they are so spoiled, they own basically one of everything. I had another associate approach me a second and followed by a THIRD time within being inside of the store for 15 minutes asking me what I needed. I told her twice I was simply looking around. I know it is not a huge chain, so I like to give my business to local and smaller companies, even though I can go down the street to a major chain and spend 25%-30% less on items. It is beyond rude to follow your customers around and make them feel uncomfortable to begin with. Within two minutes of the female associate asking me again if I needed help with anything, she sent the younger guy associate over. Whom then asked "to look through my purse, you know, for security purposes". Surprise, surprise, I gladly did. Which I had NOTHING in my purse from this establishment, so rightfully so, they should feel stupid. It is beyond insulting. A little word of advice, allow your customers to shop, enjoy the dogs, and maybe the business would do a little better. Myself and my friend as well as our family members and close friends will all take our business elsewhere.

Edited: So management comments and reaches out to justify that their employees are on “high” alert due to attempted puppy theft. First of all, I have played with puppies at your establishment and you take the drivers license of the person playing with the dog.. you also put the customer in a numbered room with a door with the dog. Your associates KNOW when a dog is out....

Very friendly staff. Visited multiple times and workers were knowledgeable. So why didn’t I pull the trigger?!? Dogs seem healthy but prices are out of control, partly due I’m sure to increased demand from the pandemic. If you are in the market for a new puppy, just keep in mind that you can get a health tested, breed standard puppy from a breeder for a fraction of the price. I don’t believe Shake A Paw uses “Puppy Mills”, however, they use USDA Commercial breeders. No reputable small breeder would ever sell their dogs to a puppy store. They want to know the home their puppies are going to and want to ensure the breed is to standard. These puppy store commercial breeders breed multiple breeds and puppy litters at any one given time. They do not have the socialization and human interactions from birth like you would get from a breeder. This may affect long term temperament. Yes, you have the convenience of walking into a store, playing with the dog, and picking up the dog the same day. The choice is yours. I paid $2,000 for a full AKC champion bloodline chihuahua with a 2 year health guarantee vs. $4,000+ at Shake a Paw for a commercially bred dog that they probably paid less than $1,000, including vet fees and transportation. From which source you truly getting what you paid for?

In response to Shake a Paw’s management: I already stated in my review that you use USDA breeders. They are in fact commercial breeders. Not the same as a local breeder. I’m not knocking how you source your puppies. Commercial breeders are the only people that would sell to a puppy store. As far as your “prices”, puppy boutique in Whitehouse Station has prices significantly cheaper, under $3000 for most breeds. And yes, they all use the same commercial USDA “breeders” and you all bid a price through a middle man broker. Though recently I do see the same dogs on your website for weeks, so maybe you need to adjust your prices back down below $3,000 to sell some of these poor puppies sitting in...