I am posting this specifically because I do NOT have any puppies here now, and don’t anticipate any for a while. So you know that I’m not singling any real person out. This is because it seems that there’s a lot of confusion about the whole “proper” way to go about things. So, puppy buyers and anyone else thinking about maybe someday approaching a good breeder about a puppy, here you go:
1) STOP LOOKING FOR A PUPPY. The classic mistake puppy buyers make is saying “I need an xx breed puppy at the beginning of the fall” or whatever it may be. So they go out looking for litters due in August.
BAD IDEA.
Puppies are not interchangeable; one is not the same as the others. This is largely because every breeder has their stop-the-presses criteria for breeding or not breeding, and each has preferences for size, personality, working ability, etc. Breeder X’s “perfect puppy” is not the same as Breeder Y’s.
Stop looking for a puppy; look for a BREEDER. Make a personal connection with a breeder you feel shares your top criteria, and then wait for a puppy from them. Maybe they even have a litter on the ground, which is wonderful, but maybe they’re not planning anything for a few months. Or maybe they’re not planning anything for a year; in that case, ask for a referral to another breeder that shares those same priorities and has a similar (or just as good) personality and support ethic. However it works out, screen the breeder first, then ask about a puppy.
1b) EXPECT TO WAIT FOR A PUPPY. It’s VERY rare to wait less than a couple of months; four to six is normal. I’ve waited a year on a couple of occasions; no, even we breeders don’t walk through the field, able to pick puppies like tulips. We ALL have to wait, and we ALL have to get matched up by the puppies’ breeder.
2) INTRODUCE YOURSELF THOROUGHLY. The initial e-mail should be several paragraphs long; block out at least an hour of quiet for the first phone call. When you initiate contact, clearly communicate three things: You are ready for a puppy, you are ready for a puppy of this breed, and you understand what sets this breeder apart from the others and you share that commitment. Specifically describe your plans for this puppy; be truthful. If you are not going to be able to go to four training classes a year, SAY SO. Don’t say “Of course, training is a huge priority around here,” or you’re going to end up with a puppy who’s flushing your toilet sixty times a day because he’s so bored and you’re not challenging him.
The ideal first contact e-mail usually goes something like
“Hi, my name is X and I’m writing to inquire about your dogs. I’ve been doing a lot of research on [breed] and I think they’re the right one for me because of [these four reasons.] I know puppies are a huge commitment, and I am planning to [accommodate that in various ways.] I’m approaching you in particular because of your interest in [whatever,] which is something I feel is very important and plan to encourage in [these three ways.]”
That’s the kind of e-mail that gets a response, and usually pretty quickly. If I get something that says “I hear you have puppies on the way; how much?” it goes in the recyle bin before you can blink.
2a) Bring up price either at the end of the first contact (if it’s been successful and you feel a connection to this person) or in a follow-up contact. It’s nice to say “If you don’t mind me asking, about how much are [breed]s in this area, if there is a typical price? I just want to be prepared.” The breeder will usually give you two pieces of useful information: Her price, and the median prices around you. That way, if you decide to go a different way, you know about what to expect. If the second person you contact names a price that’s double the median, try to discreetly find out why. A very difficult pregnancy, nationally ranked parents, a surgical AI, c-section resulting in very few live puppies, those are some reasons a breeder could be asking more and it’s reasonable. If there’s no real difference from the other breeders except price, think carefully.
3) BE WILLING TO BE TOLD NO. Not every person is the right match for every breed. That’s just fact. There is no way on earth I could make our home appropriate for a Malamute puppy, and I’d have to lie through my teeth to get approved for one. And I have my entire life devoted to keeping dogs happy. I don’t expect you to have anywhere close to the obsession I have, so that means there will be some dogs that are just plain wrong for you. If a breeder says no, ask why. If the answers make sense, don’t keep calling people until you finally get one who will sell you a puppy of that breed. Go back to the drawing board and be very humble and honest with yourself about what kind of dog really would be right for you and your family.
4) PLEASE DO NOT GET ON MORE THAN ONE WAITING LIST unless you are VERY honest about it. This goes back to rule 1. You need to understand that we think our puppy buyers are just as in love with the puppies as we are. We’re posting pictures, writing up instructions, burning CDs, researching everything from pedigrees to nail grinding, all so we can hand off this puppy, this supreme glorious creature of wonderfulness, with the absolute maximum chance that it will lead a fabulous life with you, and we’ve built all kinds of air castles in our heads about how happy this puppy will be, and what it will do in its life with you, and so on. Finding out that you had your name on four lists shows that you don’t realize that puppies are not packages of lunch meat, where getting one from Shaws is basically the same as getting one from Stop and Shop.
Also, as soon as your name is on one of our lists, we’re turning away puppy buyers. If we’ve sent ten people elsewhere because our list is full, and then suddenly you say “Oh, yeah, I got a puppy from someone else,” it really toasts our bread. So just BE HONEST. If someone came to me and said “I’m on a list with So and So, but she’s pretty sure she won’t have a puppy for me, and I’d love to be considered for one of your dogs and I’ll let you know just as soon as I know,” I’m FINE with that. I understand how this goes. It’s not a disaster for me to have a puppy “left over” at eight weeks because you ended up getting that So and So puppy; it’s just frustrating to have the rug yanked out from under me.
5. PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT TO CHOOSE YOUR PUPPY. This one drives puppy buyers CRAZY. I know this, trust me. I have a lot of sympathy because I’ve been there. But the fact is that when you come into my house and look at the eight-week-old puppies and one comes up and tugs on your pant leg and you look at me, enraptured, and say “THIS IS IT! He chose ME,” I’ve been looking at people coming into the house all week, and every single time this same puppy has come up and tugged at them and every single one of them have said to me “THIS IS IT!”
What you are seeing is not reality. You are seeing the most outgoing puppy, or you’ve fallen in love with the one that has the most white, or the one that has a different look from the rest of the litter (when I had one blue girl puppy in a litter of black boys, every human that came in the house wanted her; when I had one black girl puppy in a litter of blue boys everyone kept talking about how much they loved HER), or the one that’s been (accidentally) featured the most in the pictures I’ve posted. Or, sometimes, you have a very good instinctive eye and you’re picking the puppy that’s the best put together of the litter. And that puppy, of course, is mine, and you’re going to have to pry him out of my cold dead hands.
My responsibility is not to make you happy. And that, dear friends, is why I am posting this now, and not when I have a bunch of actual puppy buyers around :D. But it’s the truth. My responsibility is to the BREED first. That’s why my first priority in placing puppies is the show owners, because they are the ones that will (if all goes well) use this dog to keep the breed going. It’s not that I like them better than I like you; it’s that I have to be extremely careful who I place with them so that they can make breeding decisions with the very best genetic material I can hand them. My second responsibility is to the PUPPY. I will place each puppy where I feel that it has the best chance of success and the optimal environment to thrive.
So while I do care, and I will try to take your preferences into account, do not expect to walk into my living room and put your hand in the box and pick whatever puppy you want. And do not expect to be given priority pick because you contacted me first; conversely, do not expect that because you came along late you somehow won’t get a good puppy. Sometimes the person who calls me when the puppies are seven and a half weeks old ends up with what I’d consider the “pick” for various reasons (sometimes because somebody called me up and said they’d gotten a puppy from someone else; see rule 4 above). I am going to try to do my absolute best to match puppies to owners as objectively as I can, not according to who called first.
When I was waiting for Clue, I think I initially called Betty Ann six months before she was born. I waited through two other litters, where Betty Ann thought she might have something for me but then in the end told me no. Then I waited until 8 weeks when she thought this one might really be the one, and then another two weeks until she made her final picks and sent me a puppy. I was about ready to vomit with the tension. I UNDERSTAND. But the rewards of waiting and being matched with the right puppy are greater than any frustration with having to sit with an empty couch for a few more months.
6) ONCE YOU GET YOUR PUPPY, THERE WILL ONLY BE THAT PUPPY IN THE WHOLE WORLD. If you’ve been sitting around with your fingers crossed saying “Please, Molly, please, Molly, I only love Molly,” and I say “I really think Moe is the one for you,” you’re probably going to feel disappointed. But take Moe and go sit on the couch, and put your finger in her mouth, and realize that she has a really cool white toe on one foot but none of the other feet have white toes, and let her try to find a treat in your pocket, and I guarantee you by the time you’re five minutes out of my driveway Moe will be YOUR puppy. And a year later you may remember that you thought Molly was so pretty, but Moe… well, Moe could practically run the Pentagon she’s so smart, and her face turned out MUCH more beautiful than Molly’s did. And so on.
7) PLEASE FINISH THE ENCOUNTER WITH ONE BREEDER BEFORE BEGINNING ONE WITH ANOTHER. If you end a conversation with me saying “Well, this just all sounds wonderful, and I’m going to talk it over with my wife and we’ll call you about getting on your waiting list,” and then you hang up and call the next person on your list, that’s not OK. If you don’t feel like you click with me, or you want to keep your options open, a very easy way to say it is to ask for the names and numbers of other breeders I recommend. That way I know we’re not “going steady,” and I won’t pencil you in on my list. If you are on my waiting list, and you decide that you don’t want to be anymore, call me AS SOON AS YOU KNOW and say “Joanna, I’m so sorry, but our life has gotten a little crazy and I need to be taken off the puppy list.” And I make sympathetic noises and take you off. If, then, you decide you want to get a different puppy, be my guest. Just keep me apprised and let me close off my commitment to you before you open it with another breeder.
…Which brings us to something that is super important and most puppy people don’t realize:
8 ) EVERY BREEDER KNOWS EVERY OTHER BREEDER. Now of course I don’t mean the bad breeders, but the show breeding community is VERY small and VERY close-knit. If you’ve been on my list for three months, I’ve kept in contact with you, I think you’re getting a puppy from me, I’m carefully considering which one to sell you, and finally I match you with a puppy when they’re eight weeks old, and THEN you e-mail me and say “Sorry, I got a puppy from Arizona, bye,” my instant reaction isn’t going to be “Oh noes!” My instant reaction is going to be “From Jill?” I probably e-mail Jill several times a year, if not several times a month, and I’m probably going to pick up the phone in the next sixty seconds and say, “Did you just sell a puppy to Horace Green from Topeka? Did you know that he put himself on my waiting list three months ago and has been saying all along how excited he is?” And two minutes after that she’ll get a call from Anne in Oregon and Anne will say “Did you just sell a puppy to Horace Green from Topeka? He’s been feeding me lines for eight weeks! I had a puppy ready to go to him next week!”
And we will take your name in vain, Horace Green from Topeka, and Jill will feel bad that she sold you a puppy, and oh the bad words we will say. And Horace Green from Topeka will be a topic of conversation at the next Nationals, and t-shirts will be made that say “DON’T BE A HORACE,” and someone will name their puppy Horrible Horace and everyone will get the joke and laugh.
In the end, “Be excellent to each other,” as Bill and Ted so correctly ordered us, is pretty much the paradigm to follow. If you err, err on the side of this being a relationship, not a transaction. Try to act the way you would with a good friend, not with an appliance salesman. And the ending will be as happy for you as it is happy for us.
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Tomorrow is Clue’s CERF exam. I’ve got the conditioners and silicones post half-written. I’ve got some rough sketches for structure illustrations. Kate and I have been talking about some very cool ideas. And, obviously, the above post isn’t the whole story; puppy SELLER ettiquette is next. So expect a lot of blogging from me over the next few days, hopefully useful stuff. See you soon!
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Edited – good Lord, almost three years later: Thank you for the interest in this blog post. I am approving comments as fast as I can, but I have a new litter on the ground and barely have time to brush my teeth right now! The answer to the most common question is YES, you may absolutely cross-post and reprint.
Joanna, thank you so much for this post. I am a few years from buying a puppy, but I start to sweat when thinking about communicating with a breeder, like I’m going to say the wrong thing and then a BIG BLACK LINE CROSSES OUT MY NAME AND I CAN NEVER EVER GET A PUPPY.
Also, is it proper etiquette to tell a breeder what color you’d prefer (all things being equal)? And what about preferring male or female?
Ooooh Erica – there’s an idea (male vs. female) for a post for Joanna (’cause she doesn’t have enough to do, right?).
My question – when you are thinking about adding a second (or third) dog to you home, does gender matter? I’ve been told numerous times that 2 bitches and one dog is the ideal combo – is there any basis to that? I’m starting to look for an Irish Terrier breeder (don’t actually want the pup for another year or so, but I’m starting to look for breeders), and I personally don’t care about gender, but with a male dog (neutered) already in the house, I’m being told I should only accept a female pup (which to me, limits my choices by ~50%!). True or false?
I loved this post. LOVED it. I waited for 8 months for a blue show girl. 8 MONTHS. On ONE waiting list ;) Worth every single second that I spent waiting.
You are my hero. You put into words what I think and (less articulately) spend 2 hours a night chatting to you about.
The ‘every breeder knows every other breeder’ thing is hilariously appropriate. Yesterday, we took our two dogs to a tracking class with our good trainer friend. Another person there breeds dobermans, and we had a nice chat about the breeders of our girl who live in the next province over.
I’ve never had an immediate ‘puppy now!’, but I’ve been lucky enough to get in contact with two breeders shortly after the bitch was bred, which has lessened the waiting time a bit. :)
And, in both cases, got the puppy I wanted originally, not because of magic picking but because they were the right one.
This is a great post.
Loved it, all good to know to store away in my ‘someday’ toolkit…I would love to see this among the Most Important Posts so I can find it again when I need it later. ;)
Also, I’m the weirdo who saw Kate’s puppies yesterday; they are gorgeous and we loved meeting them, and the big dogs are pretty impressive too. I felt honored to meet them all. :D
~Bethany
i love this post -it’s so educational and fair-minded. as a conscientious puppy-buyer (more than once), i’m curious as to how breeders deal with a well-intentioned client who wants to SEE the puppies and meet the sire and dam without making a commitment. I traveled two hours to meet the sire and dam (and breeder!) and was asked to mail her a deposit check before i even got there. She was a nice lady with good dogs, but i wound up with another breeder (also hours away) whose dogs i loved. I gladly forefeited my deposit check because i didn’t want to cause the first breeder any consternation (though i told her when the pups were 6 weeks old that i would not be taking one). I was never disingenuous, but felt i had offended her anyway.
this is a 12-15 year commitment of love and resources for the puppy buyer; we ought to be as responsible in our way as the breeders are. I felt bad about this encounter for months afterward, because the first breeder cashed my deposit check and never bothered to answer my email saying i was going in another direction. Of course all the good breeders know each other (and i know her dogs came from the line i wound up with). But did i do something wrong by WANTING to meet more than one litter and breeder? Would appreciate any comments on this tricky subject.
… Sandra
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Well, that was great fun. I have no intention of buying a puppy any time in the near future but a friend posted this on Facebook. This was a great read and a charming insight into the industry, both of buyers and sellers. Very well written – love the Horace Green part. Am half-tempted to get the T-shirt printed.
I am glad to have found this site! I am researching dogs and need to learn all that I can so that I am a positive pet owner. Thanks to all who share their experience and knowledge!
May I please repost this on my website? I think this is something good for everyone who is looking for a dog to read
Thanks!
Absolutely!
LOVE IT!!
What a wonderfully well thought out and well written article. Is there any circumstance where you would allow it to be used, with proper credit, links, etc.? I am asking for my friend who is a professional dog trainer, a hobby breeder of Rottweilers, and an all breed handler (but she mostly trains and handles what she has bred). I have sent her the link to your article and asked her if she is interested in it for her website. If she is, I’ll get back in touch with you.
Keep up the great work!
Four years on one waiting list. Hoping to get my puppy soon :P
This is wonderfully written, and I’d love to repost it on my blog, if you’d be so kind as to allow it. Your post –> hammer –> nail –> head!
Just wanted to tell you how refreshing it was to read your blog on Puppy Buyer Etiquette. We have been in our breed for 30+ years. I’ve lost count of the emails or calls with a potential buyer telling me WE are the “Only Ones” who think the way we do. People are floored when I tell them I do not allow them to pick their puppy! I’ve been communicating with you for months, and I’m living 24/7 with the pups. Trust me, I know that sweet, retiring puppy that captured your heart is NOT the running buddy that you have been dreaming of. Just as I know the outgoing puppy that was awake when you visited is not the pup that will be happy hanging out at your office with you all day while you work.
One small note that may be worth mentioning, We do not talk about prices until we have an acceptable application on file. With the advent of BYBs and Millers taking to the internet to sell their endless litters of pups, we have found it is not uncommon for them to call around pricing what fees Ethical Breeders can ask. We will , as you mentioned, discuss a Ball Park figure, with an explanation of what the buyer should expect for dogs of this quality from like minded Breeders should run.
In an “I want it , and I want it Now world” the struggle to explain to people contacting you how a real Breeding Program works can be exhausting. Opening your email and finding a post from someone who makes the effort you outlined is wonderful! The email received this morning that read, ” I understand you breed Ridgebacks, what can you tell me ?” left me grining at ALL the things I COULD tell this person!
Thanks again for the morning smile, it’s great to find a Person who “gets it” !
Someone on the whippet sanity list posted this and I really enjoyed this well-written post Johanna! I just went through frustration with a potential puppy buyer myself. I sure wish he had read this!! I THOUGHT he was on my list and not only did he buy from someone else (another breeder I know of course) but did not communicate that he did so and left me thinking he still wanted one of my pups. Grrrrr
This was very well put together and said. Would it be OK for my club to post this to our newsletter?
Great piece!!
There is a significant amount of arrogance of presumptuousness in some of the things you say.
They may be proper for a first time buyer but you overlook the fact that there are non-breeder owners who may have been in the breed far longer than you and know more than you.
Why should it irk you if a buyer is looking at more than one breeder, particularly when several breeders may have very related lines and there is no certainty that one would get a puppy from “you”? Just your ego being clipped a bit? The likelihood of getting pick boy or bitch is always very small when breeders are swapping between themselves to get the very thing you find offensive about non-breeder buyers.
Sure, you are entitled to your opinion; just don’t try to pull it off as “fact” because it flied, in many respects, in the face of reality. I’m not suggesting you should not be very careful in choosing the best buyers for your puppies; just that there is far more to be said in a much less presumptuous way.
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To whom it may concern, cc.Joy or Diane. Speaking of etiquette in search of a dog, whomever placed this on the web regarding our situation, I find it totally unethical of breeders or referall parties, to question my manner of searching for a new pet. Everyone is entitled to ther own opinon as Joanna, but not everyone agrees with her, I certainly do not. Please keep your opinon to yourself, not share them on the internet. If I offended anyone in my search of a new pet, so be it. If question”s regarding prices, and availabilty, make you uncomfortable, then I suggest get out of the business of breeding dogs, you are not above anyone else who does business in any field!
This article was amazing!! Thank you for every piece of it, for those of us looking to purchase puppies all of this information is vitale. There are alot of breed books and how to books but this is one of few articles I have seen on this topic, most cover how to find a good breeder but not buyer etiquitte. I will definitely be visiting this site more often!
This article was amazing!! Thank you for every piece of it, for those of us looking to purchase puppies all of this information is vital. There are a lot of breed books and how to books but this is one of few articles I have seen on this topic, most cover how to find a good breeder but not buyer etiquette. I will definitely be visiting this site more often!
Very well expressed!
What a terrific article! I am so glad that Carrie posted this on Facebook! I am relieved that by some miracle a year ago I followed your guidelines to the tee. You sound like my breeder Chris exactly to whom which I have forged a very close bond with and has become part of my family. I am definitely interested in helping her preserve her exquisite type as she has done for over 40 years! I Adore her care for the dogs and pups alike.
Their personalities are even sweeter than I could possibly describe. Some of which are actually not typical for the breed.
I am SO PLEASED to tell you that we will be bringing home our wonderful new pack member NEXT Saturday! After a little over a year we finally have the perfect match! Thank you for this article as now I know I did it correctly!
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Thanks. We are in the process of buying a puppy from a breeder we have worked with before and are happy with. I still learned some valuable things from you.
Great post, got to it though a friend on Facebook today. No reply necessary.
You are a great writer and the info here is excellent.
Expect more traffic. You have been warned.
As a longtime breeder, I certainly could not help but smile at much of this piece and I’ve enjoyed your articles for years. I might add, though, that given the current anti-breeder sentiment, we must be very careful not to alienate puppy buyers that reach out to us. It is not unusual to hear stories about puppy buyers feeling as though we have an “holier than thou” attitude.This piece began as refreshingly informative, but took a ridiculing tone as it went on that I fear could just leave puppy buyers feeling trepidatious about working with us. If we want to keep potential puppy owners from heading for the internet with their Visa cards then we need to be approachable, flexible, informative and welcoming. In order to prevent puppies from being mass produced we need these caring clients.
A recent Slate article “No Pets for You”, http://www.slate.com/articles/life/heavy_petting/2012/01/animal_rescue_want_to_adopt_a_dog_or_cat_prepare_for_an_inquisition_.single.html
wrote about the treatment by rescue groups that drove the writer finally to “resort” to buying from a breeder (evil as we are). There were over 3200 comments following the article! Apparently many people could relate to feeling alienated during their adoption searches. We must be vigilant that we not engender the same feelings in clients, even though we may mean well. We do not have to compromise our goals nor the care of our animals in order that clients feel valued and respected.
I agree with a great deal of your advice. However, if someone is willing to pay for a puppy or is planning to be ready for one in the coming year. AND is attached to any animals they currently have (they won’t ‘get rid’ of any they bring into their home) then why does anyone think they have the right to judge who is not ‘fit’ to have a dog? I am personally offended by anyone who would deny letting me purchase or have a dog or puppy. I would not go though with getting one if it didn’t fit. Also, the beginnings of a contact with a breeder shouldn’t take so much of the persons time. Until it turns to a more series inquiry. I think you skipped the part where you ‘shop’ for the right breeder. By seeing what kind, if any reply you get from them. When (and if) you are asked for more information about your home and what you are looking for and the breeder isn’t even polite enough to return that email, with a thank you for your interest….seriously?! Not someone you want to deal with. The only way to find that out is to contact many breeders. Also, take into consideration that not everyone who would take excellent care of their pet can afford to pay a high price and the ‘shipping’ cost that may be associated with getting one from a breeder you like. Some people are in more neutral areas that have limited breeders nearby. When you have little to chose from you can sometimes feel hopeless if you’re ‘rejected’ by the ‘one’ local breeder. And should anyone really buy from a breeder that just wants the money and has a ‘puppy mill’? Maybe, you want to help the dogs, but the health might not be ok. Consider the wants needs and feelings of the person you ‘reject’ before you say no. Or refuse to even respond to them. Seriously? Only professional buyers would know anything like your article suggests and you say you trash emails that simply inquire? Bad move. Just my two cents worth.
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This is FANTASTIC!! I saw the link on a friend’s Facebook page, and I plan to send the link on! Thank you for such an honest, well-written, informative piece!
Hi. I enjoyed reading your post. As a result, I would like to ask if you know of a responsible breeder in Georgia? If not, how about in any of the surrounding states? I am not currently in market for a puppy but want to find a breeder for when I am ready. I do not show. My kids are for my & my husbands companionship. We have a male and a female right. My boy is 12 1/2yrs old, my girl is 6 yrs. They are my kids. I work at home and they are inside dogs. We go for walks nightly and play daily. These are my second and third Akitas. My first girl hooked me on Akitas. I have trained my kids on my own. As well as socializing. Anyway, enough about us….back to point…do you know of a Good Akita breeder in Southeast area? Thank you for your time and for your post.
Totally loved this! Spot on. Was wondering if I could use this on my website to educate buyers on the proper way to go about purchasing a pup. Check my site out at http://www.MarshlandGunDogs.com I thank you for being so insightful…
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What a wonderful article. I have bred Keeshonden for over 30 years, showing in Conformation, Obedience, Rally and a bit of Agility. Therefore, I have acquired a lot of Dog People as wonderful friends. I hope you don’t mind that I sent your article off to them.
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I would like to seek permission to be able to print your article in our clubs (Irish Wolfhound) magazine ?
Yes, absolutely. I am sorry that I am so out straight with my current litter that I have not been able to always reply to every comment, but a blanket “yes” to all such requests.
Oh this is great! I would love to plagiarize some of it and adapt it to refer to those looking to adopt rescue dogs. Would that be OK with you? Thanks so much! Sara – South Bay Purebred Rescue in San Jose, CA
Hi, Sara! Sharing the article in its entirety is absolutely fine. Adapting it, sorry, isn’t. It’s just too hard for me to control how the final product comes out and I don’t want anyone to think that I personally advocate (or don’t advocate) for certain aspects of dog care or buying or adopting or whatever. I do have a series on adoption here: http://rufflyspeaking.net/blog/adopting-a-dog-from-a-pound-shelter-or-rescue-roundup-post/
Thank you for this post. Great! I ask the permission to translate it into Finnish. I should send it to the Finnish Irish Wolfhound magazine. We still have so many IW people (also others:)) who don’t understand English.
I’ve never heard of any good breeder asking for a deposit in order to let you on the property. However, some of them will ask you for a deposit at the time that they’re pretty sure they know which puppies are going where, and that may be before you’ve had the chance to get there. Under those conditions, you can either politely refuse to send the check (knowing that she may go down to the next person in line) or say that you’ll bring it with you when you come see the dogs (hopefully within a few days – it isn’t really fair to leave a breeder hanging for weeks).
I would also say that expecting to meet the mom dog, great. I would not expect to meet the dad. In fact, if the breeder is only using her own stud dogs that’s a red flag unless she has six or seven (most or all finished champions or field titled, etc.) dogs to choose from. Most people that are cycling two or three stud dogs among six or seven bitches are looking to make money, not good puppies. Also be aware that many breeders will not let you see the puppies if they know that you’ve been at other breeders’ homes recently; this is for the safety of tiny and vulnerable puppies.
I think it is entirely appropriate to visit more than one breeder. Just be very clear and transparent to every breeder that you are SHOPPING, not BUYING. I’m always happy to have people come meet my dogs. I would ask that you not overlap breeder visits within the same few days, though, and please let me know that you were with another litter recently. Do not wear the same shoes or outerwear, and expect to meet the mom and puppies separately.