Breeder Help

[Island of the apes]

Hi, we are currently getting a puppy (or hoping to) after our last dog passed away 18 months ago and we are developing a couple of concerns about the breeder that I wanted to get a view on if possible.

The puppies are currently 5 weeks old. We first went on the list in early April I think and weren't able to visit initially due to lockdown etc. I should say that this breeder comes highly recommended by another breeder who is a well known authority on the breed but had no availability for puppies.

So we are now trying to arrange a visit for all of us to visit the puppies and meet the parents/breeder etc before we bring puppy home. However, the breeder is being (in our opinion at least) very difficult about when we can visit - weekends are out, we have suggested 4/5 different times in the week that have all been unsuitable. They say that if we can't come to them at the specific times that suit them then perhaps we aren't able to care for a puppy whereas we think that getting all 4 of us (2 children) for a period of 4 hours or so for the round trip is quite different to having people at home to be with the puppy.

But this has also made me worried about what experience these puppies are having if the breeder is out of the house so much of the time (ie pretty much all weekends and all the various times we have tried for in the week). Also, all of the photos we have seen recently are of the puppies in a sort of 'playhouse' for want of a better word, which is a big space filled with sawdust or similar - which is fine if it is just for playtime but I hope they are living in the house.

Are we right to have concerns or are we being oversensitive because of the difficulties we're having arranging a time to visit?

We are absolutely heartbroken that this might not happen now as the breeder is saying we have to convince them we are suitable because of our 'inflexibility' suggesting we aren't a suitable home for a puppy. None of these concerns were raised when we first spoke to them (at some length) back in April. We put a lot of research into which breeder to go with.

Thanks for reading and sorry for the ramble......

 

[JoanneF]

The process of getting a puppy should be very much collaborative between breeder and buyer, so I too would be concerned. Also, your relationship shouldn't end at the sale, good breeders will want to stay in touch and follow the puppies' progress.

I know it is easy to say, but if you are concerned the best thing is to walk away. But I also know how heartbreaking that would be after waiting for so long.

So, if you feel it is only the attitude that is bad, and not the breeding practices, you might want to grit your teeth and push on with the purchase. Have the sire and dam been fully health tested?

If you wanted to say who the breeder is, and what breed the puppy is, I'm sure someone could have a look at the website and give you our views.

 

[JudyN]

If you wanted to say who the breeder is, and what breed the puppy is, I'm sure someone could have a look at the website and give you our views.

If you're wary of doing this, as you risk publicly tarring the name of a breeder who might just be overly conscientious, maybe message @JoanneF privately with their details - she has a wealth of experience and will be able to give a fair and honest appraisal.

 

[Island of the apes]

Thanks - I will message JoanneF as suggested as I don't really want to name publicly.

 

[lurcherman]

The moment you get a worry then for me I’d walk away. But all my dogs have been a rescue or from someone I know well.

 

[Biker John]

I'm the same as Lurcherman, any concern and I would leave them alone. as JoanneF said getting a pup is a long term partnership between you and the breeder.

 

[Buddy1]

It sounds from your post that the breeder isn’t being very accommodating although, if it is a large litter, they may be having to arrange quite a few visits for potential owners. You obviously haven’t got off to a to a good start. Hopefully, this might just be a case of miscommunication. I don’t know if contact has been through emails / texts - I often find it is easy to misinterpret the tone of these. Perhaps the breeder is (wrongly) under the impression you are having second thoughts? I imagine with lockdown and the huge interest in puppies, good breeders need to be even more scrupulous when finding the right homes for a litter. If/when you have a face to face meeting with them, it might be that things are very different.

However, as @JoanneF says, contact with a breeder should really be ongoing throughout your dog’s life. For me, the breeder is your first port of call if you have concerns or need advice, especially in the first few years of your dog’s life. If you don’t feel they would / could provide this or are not happy with the environment in which the puppies have been raised, then you may need to walk away. Although you will have to be stoic, as walking away from a litter of puppies which you and your children have met won’t be easy.

 

[Hemlock]

If it comes to it though it is one helluva good life lesson for the children. It's worth waiting for the right dog.

 

[Island of the apes]

Thanks all, as it turns out the breeder has now made the decision for us and has told us we will not be getting one of the puppies. We are devastated as you can imagine as it was only supposed to be a couple of weeks before they came home and, tbh, looking forward to this has been the only thing that got us through those first incredibly difficult months of lockdown.

So it looks like we will be back to the drawing board looking for another breeder, although with demand having skyrocketed the way it has I'm not sure how easy that will be. Or if this experience will count against us.

 

[JoanneF]

I'm so sorry to hear that, especially as you had clearly put a lot of effort into looking.

If it's any help, I reckon there will be a lot of puppies in rescue soon, impulse buys that people find are too difficult at adolescence and when they go back to work - maybe not quite what you had in mind but it might be worth contacting breed specific rescues?

 

[Buddy1]

Sorry to hear this.
I know some breeders have put planned litters on hold for the moment, so there maybe a long wait for the right puppy. However, I would still contact breeders (through the breed club / kennel club) and put your name on their waiting lists. Try not to be put off by this experience, the right puppy will be worth the wait!

​

 

[Island of the apes]

Thank you. I do follow a lot of the breed rescues on FB so fingers crossed something might come up - but with small children it is hard to find a rescue dog that will fit. All our dogs in the past were rescues and by the time it comes round again the kids will be older and can do again so we were thinking this would be our one and only time of getting a puppy.

 

[Tinytom]

Have you looked on prodogs direct..they often have pure bred pups in looking for homes ...what breed were you wanting

 

[CoCo2014]

TBH now is not a good time to buy a puppy. Unscrupulous breeders are charging silly money( seen BC pups for £4,000 each at 3 days old !!)& conmen(women)getting deposits for non existent puppies.

Covid19 has allowed "breeders" to exhort large sums of money from desparate buyers which totally disgusts me. The more popular the breed the higher the asking price. It allows the"breeder" to refuse visits & access to puppies.

Responsible breeders are by and large not breeding puppies at the moment.

If you still want to look for a puppy, look to the health & temperament of the parents first. Full set of health tests ie hips/elbows scoring, all available DNA & clinical tests done & checkable evidence available. Parents of good character & temperament. Always see the mother with the puppies( most fathers will not be owned by breeder so be cautious if both parents are owned by breeder, (although sometimes this does occur)especially if they are purely pets.

Hope you eventually find your perfect puppy