Breeder Beware-Red Flags - Page 3

Nia, why yes, I do believe the person is in Alabama........

--- > I,myself, "will not SHIP a dog(pup).

I wouldnt have had Joss or Missie T, if their breeder felt that way :( I am in NY and they came from California.

Marjorie
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"As a potential customer, those kennels have most definietly been marked off of my list!"

So are you saying that if there were two dogs you could buy, and the better dog was from one of these kennels, you would deliberately buy a lesser dog?  Shouldn't the quality of the dog and how it fits into your program outweigh all personal considerations?

Mystere,

Hans-K9 ring a bell. I think he is in Alabama, but I might be in error on his location. There have been others, but he is the most recent.

I say HELL NO to buyers who do NOT want to bring their children to look at the puppies.

by TessJ10....
So are you saying that if there were two dogs you could buy, and the better dog was from one of these kennels, you would deliberately buy a lesser dog?  Shouldn't the quality of the dog and how it fits into your program outweigh all personal considerations?

That is exactly what I am saying:)
I could give a rat's hairy behind if the dog would cook me dinner! Not buying anything from someone with whom I would adamantly disagree on a key issue. Now, knowing for sure who the good guys are is a whole 'nother ballgame.

(sorry for the OT posts.)

--Mary

I am with you, Mary! There are breeders from whom I would not take a dog, even as a gift. I want nothing with their kennel-name on it. Supporting their practices with my money goes against the grain. The stores I don't patronize and manufacturers whose products I won't buy because of their ethics/practices/policies. Why would I deal with a breeder any differently? Given the prices for puppies these days, especially show line puppies, those purchases count as major purchases for most of us.

Interesting topic, indeed.

I'm not a breeder (or should I say not anymore), what GSDs I've owned for the past 18 years were merely companions, all trained in OB, a couple BH or CD/TD titled. So, for the purposes of this discussion I'm a potential buyer and, as such, have a few questions for the breeders here:

- most breeders here seem to have reservations towards buyers requesting puppies of particular color, do you feel just as strongly about people wanting to aquire LC vs. SC? And if not - why?

- what would you deem an acceptable reference? obviously, a membership in a training club would be ideal, but if there's none? friend? relative? vet?

- When selling to a newbie or an inexperienced buyer how deep an understanding of the breed do you require, where do you 'draw the line', and how far are you willing to go in educating your buyers? (This is in reference to what Hodie said about people wanting to do something with the dog but not knwing what's involved).

- that said, would you sell to a first-time owner at all?

- it goes without saying that selling a living, breathing creature is quite different from any other business transaction. Yet, it is a business and as soon as money exchange hands the buyer is a rightful owner (unless you co-own). We all know that some buyers drop out of contact upon getting their pup. Do you feel justified in complaining, warning other breeders off, posting here or taking any other form of action against such owners? If yes, why?

- will you be willing to split the cost of vet bills in case of pups having a proven inherited condition, such as EPI, HD? If yes, would you accept an owner's vet record or would you require the owner to see a vet/clinic of your choice? If you offer to replace a dog, what would you do with a sick one? Rehome for free?

- would you sell a pup to a household where a child wants to do the training?

OK, maybe not all of these are in reference to 'red flags', but it would be interesting to know your opinions on buyer selection.

:)

In response to Trafalgar: I know very few successful breeders who buy their breeding stock as puppies.  If someone is interested in in a puppy with the "sole goal" of  breeding, that would be another red flag...although all my puppies are sold on limited registration. Once they prove it is worthy of full registration via a title and hip clearances....sure, they can breed it. I prefer the goal for aquiring one of my puppies to be a companion and working partner, with goals as a future breeding prospect being further down on the list.

Buying a puppy with the determination that it will be an asset to a breeding program is unrealistic IMO.