To think I’ve accidentally brought from someone dodgy??

[sorryimgettingemotional]

I went to view some Pomeranian puppies a few week ago and put a deposit on the one I fell in love with. Everything seemed legit, the guy selling them answered all my questions and was happy to be paid by a bank transfer so nothing rang any bells.

Since then though I have found another ad for a completely different litter of Pomeranian puppjes, I’d found my puppy I wanted by then so usually wouldn’t have looked but something was telling me to open the ad but now I wish I hadn’t as i can’t stop thinking of the worse case scenario.

When I opened the ad the rug stood out me and I couldn’t work out why until I realised it’s the same rugs they had in the house when I viewed my puppies, the more I scrolled through I started to think it’s actually the same place! Then I done a little digging and found out the person who I went to see and the person posting the ad have the same surname! The puppies will also be ready to leave within only a few days if each other.

Now, there is a reason why it may just be a coincidence (??) When I say house, they actually lived in some fancy kind of mobile home in a place where there are hundreds of the same kind of mobile home so it’s entirely possible that the inside would have have the same sort of flooring and kitchen and as they’re related they also had the same rugs and dog bed.

I am just not sure though. Have i been completely oblivious and too trusting and brought from someone dodgy? :( How do I even go about finding out. I pick my pup up on Friday so I just do not know what to do now!!! 😫

Thank you OP for listening to the advice given here. Puppy farming is an evil business and at those prices for puppies it must be incredibly lucrative. Many puppies are brought over illegally from Ireland in dire conditions and then shown to buyers as 'home bred'.

Ouch OP that is a LOT of money.
I know it will be hard to leave the puppy, especially if you think they are not genuine owners, but really if you are prepared to put in that amount of money then you want to be 100% certain you have a fit healthy pup and you are paying good honest breeders.
Otherwise you are risking a lot more money down the drain in future vets bills.

FinnegansWhiskers I’ve just done the same and got a crazy different result.

Luckily the seller was understanding so that’s a relief. He’s sending me over some documents he has and his vets contact details so I can decide what to do and has just asked I get back to him by the weekend with my decision so he can send me back my deposit and find a new owner.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to just accept this isn’t right and move on though. The last thing I want is to be funding something harming animals.

Why are you still even considering it, after everything that's been said here? How utterly bizarre.

ProfessorMoody Because what people say online with only my side being told doesn’t matter if he’s sent legitimate proof that this isn’t a puppy mill situation. As if said though I will most likely choose to walk away.

It would be really helpful if the dog experts could explain exactly where to find a reputable breeder.

Adopt, don’t shop is well and good but I wouldn’t have been eligible to adopt my own dog (or children for that matter!) Plus, many rescues come with issues.

Even if it's not a "puppy mill", they aren't a reputable breeder and that is glaringly obvious from the many, many red flags you have told us about.

Just because people are online doesn't mean they shouldn't be trusted. After all, you're trusting someone who has advertised on the Internet

Continually - to find a reputable breeder, you research, research then research some more.

You contact the breed club and ask for a list of their recommended breeders. You visit dog shows and talk to other people in that breed while looking at the dogs and what "type" you like the look of. You contact breeders and ask many questions while being offered copies of health check certificates and KC Registrations. You look into the bloodlines of the line you are interested in, to check for potential problems. You visit Discover Dogs at Crufts and chat to breed experts. You expect to wait months, or even years for a decent puppy. You join breed forums and talk to other people who have the breed.

Of course, for people who want a puppy NOW, all of this will fall on deaf ears. This is why there are so many dogs in shelters.

But how do you find the breeders?

This is hypothetical but for me, I can completely understand why people go to the Internet. So a step by step ‘how to buy a dog’ would be helpful, I think.

I've already said. You ask the breed club for their list. You visit shows and talk to them. You find them at Discover Dogs. You join a breed forum and ask people.

There are many websites telling you "how to buy a dog". The Kennel Club will also have a guide.

The number one rule is do not buy a puppy that has been advertised.

Decide what breed you want, contact the breed organization, see what kennels they have listed, contact the kennels. That's all it takes. If you see a puppy you fancy online, do that same check to see if the kennel is recognized as a serious one or not.

You can understand why people assume that buying a dog online is OK, though. Admittedly, I did none of the above when I acquired a dog although that was by accident rather than design, so to speak, but honestly, out of the many dog owning people I know (all of them responsible professional people) I know no one who got their dog in the way you describe.

Really? Virtually all of the dog owning people I know have done exactly that.

I honestly don't understand. It's an animal. A living thing. People with a tiny bit of intelligence will research something they're going to buy online, but not a puppy. It really is baffling. Sometimes it seems as though people do more research into purchasing a damn fridge than a dog.

Ah, see, most of the people I know have bought dogs properly, because they care about what they're bringing into their family home. The only people I know who have bought dogs online are people I come across at dog events who have regretted it deeply.

The fact that he’s willing to give you your deposit back says something in his favour - unless it’s a bluff!

ProfessorMoody You are correct which is why I said I will most likely be walking away, I never said just because you’re online I can’t trust you, but your opinion based on what I’ve said isn’t necessarily the truth but if he can send me proof that he is legit (unlikely I know) then that’s the truth and more to be trusted than what people on the internet think.

I don’t think it isn’t that people care. They don’t know. I didn’t know. I’m not stupid, or uncaring. Nor are my friends.

Professor YES!!!!
Anyone who says that they instantly have a pup available or has several breeds. Or advertises online? Run.

Go to the Kennel Club websire and choose the breed you are interested in, then click on registered breeders, litters for sale.

You will probably have to contact a breeder closeish to you and wait for the next litter...;.

That way you avoid puppy farms.

I think there is a huge difference between KC registered breeders, who have year long waiting lists for puppies, and vile puppy farmers. There has to be reputable breeders inbetween these two extremes.
The problem is puppy farmers are so wily that people get taken in by them all too often.

Unfortunately OP the situation you describe, with the puppies being shown inside a mobile home, plus not having had vaccinations is indicative of a puppy farmer. No puppy farmer is going to show their puppies in their usual, cruel, neglectful, dire living conditions. They rent mobile homes, houses etc to make the buyer think this is where the puppies have been born and raised. Also puppies are due their first vacs around 8 weeks old.

You said you have seen the puppies with both parents. That's great! - provided you can be certain the mother really is mother. Puppy farmers place a stooge "mother". Bitches from puppy farms dont, ever, see the light of day and are in no condition to be viewed. The fact that your "breeder" has said he will give you a refund is a good sign. In your position I would retrieve my deposit and run (mainly because the puppy hasn't had his vacs). You also can't be sure that puppy has been microchipped. I can't remember if you said the puppy has health tested papers?

KC reg alone doesn’t mean it’s not a puppy farmer.

I just wanted to say to the OP that if you do go ahead with this purchase please do get pet insurance and read up about the problems poms get and get him get checked.

I have a 12 year old Pom, he was supposedly a KC registered dog. We paid a lot for him and found him of a breeders website. We didn’t have the internet back then but I found him during my lunch break at work.

Turns out he was from a puppy farm. All his paperwork is fake and looking at him now he’s most definitely a cross breed. we had major problems with him within the first few weeks.

Over the 12 years hes had problems with both his back legs, ears, skin complaints and teeth. He’s been coughing badly and after a visit to the vet his tracheal is now starting to collapse and he has a heart murmur. But he’s a happy chap and still very spritely for his age.

If you walk away from this dog, please find a repeatable breeder as these little dogs do have quite common issues.

Oh and make sure you get a good hoover as they malt like crazy.

Adopt, don’t shop!

I am genuinely astonished at the price you were willing to pay for a tiny dog. 2k/3k???

I bought a papered pure bred Spanish colt for £3.2k and then a mare a few years later for £3k (but that was off a friend). Both horses have linage going back to the opening of the studbook & I've got as far as 1924ish.

The price people pay for a dog that only has one kc reg parent or is crossed with something else and given a name really boggles my mind.

Especially when you can go to a charity and pick up a nice mongrel (which is what any cross is even if it's with a poodle!) for a donation.

Nearly all puppies sold this way are from puppy mills. Why do people not research (which you can do online to an extent), contact breeders, go to shows etc? Because we live in a society that demands everything NOW. Fucking crazy.

Not everyone can/wants to adopt though. We have cats and kids and I wanted a certain breed.