Buying a dog

[Chippychop]

I've put a deposit down on a black lab puppy. The owner has just asked me for the full amount today even though I'm not a collecting her until 17 th aug... Is this the norm?

Not normal, no. Deposit to secure the pup, then full amount on collection. That's what we've always done (as buyers, not sellers). I'd be a little suspicious TBH.

No not normal,our breeder ( cocker spaniel) reserved pup for us at birth but didn't take deposit until we saw pup at about 4 weeks , might have been 5 weeks.We collected at 8.5 weeks and she took balance ,pup had already had first set of jabs and insurance for 6 weeks plus microchipped .

No, as others have said, normal to pay non refundable deposit at around 4 wks, then full amount on collection, but some people try it on.
When I was young and stupid and looking for a dog in the small ads I phoned up a breeder and asked to see 3 wk old puppies, she told me I couldn't see them till they were ready to go at 8 wks because of infection risk.
If I wanted one I had to send a cheque for the full amount now. She was amazed when I said it was unreasonable and assured me it was normal practice.

Are the parents hip,elbow and eye checked? This is definately not the norm and would make me concerned that they want your money and you committed before you found something out. I am also aware of other case where people have paid before collection and then more money has been demanded on payment.

The sellers are the niece and sister of a mum/friend at school who is a vet. So I'm fairly confident that the dogs are healthy.

Tbh I think she's asked for the full amount now because she thinks I'm going to back out because I asked to move collection day back 12days. (My DM82 has had a fall and broken her shoulder and I want to go and stay with her before I take the puppy on, she's 200 miles away). The seller initially wouldn't move collection day so I said I'd sadly have to cancel(due to mum) I went back again and explained in a bit more about my mum and she said well as long as that's as the only reason as she wouldn't let the pups go to anyone unless they were committed. I assured her -once more- and she said ok but she wanted full payment today. What should I do.. They don't come with insurance or jabs or anything as they aren't breeders

I am not experienced at all in buying a puppy from a breeder but I really think you should look more carefully into the health of the parents of the puppies. Hip dysplasia seems to be a real problem with labs (more experienced dog owners can tell you more...) so hip scoring, elbow scoring and eye testing seem to be vital - so it's imperative to find out if all health checks have been done. Have a look here for more info.

Also, I would have thought that if they are friends of friends, they would be more prepared to wait for you.

In all honesty, I would cancel the whole thing. You don't know how your mum will be after her fall and she may need a lot more care than you think. At her age, a fall/broken shoulder may take a long time to heal and you don't really know how long you'll be having to travel up to see her. I think that, however much you want your pup, it's going to very hard to juggle both things without you being very stressed.

I am feeling a bit naive about it all now. Are the sellers meant to give me a hip score then?

My ds and Db live near mum so I don't have to be there buy yes it is stressful. As things do it all happened at once the dog, the fall etc

On the face of it this all sounds pretty unsatisfactory however it may be innocent . Could you speak to your friend who is the vet and explain your concerns

Yes sellers of Labradors should give you hip scores for both parents I would be looking for at least less than 10 total score for each parent. Ideally you should elbow scores and eye certificates from the last 12 months.
Your friend who is a vet really should have suggested all of this to you.

I would walk away now.

It is a huge red flag that they are not volunteering info on basic tests that are well known for this breed.

It is also standard for first jabs and initial insurance to be provided. Coupled with the demand for the payment in full, this is not looking good. If you are going to buy a pup, you should read up on the tests/health issues that are relevant for your breed.

Not normal.

Ask to see the hip/eye (elbow too if a very good breeder) scores on paper. If they won't show them to you, walk away.

The more I read the more I think it would be better to walk away. Though I know how hard that would be. I know that breeders have to guard against time wasters but I think this is excessive. It would probably be less stressful all round if you delayed getting a puppy for now.

Not normal. We paid a deposit when we chose our pup at 6 weeks, and paid the balance when we collected him. He was microchipped, had his first vacs and came with 4 weeks insurance, too. We were also shown the relevant health testing certificates for the dam and sire. I'd be wary, especially as I know a woman with an 8 month old working lab that has just had to have both elbows operated on for dysplasia. He already has arthritis in the joints, and if the ops don't work, he may have to be put down. It's heartbreaking :(

Do not buy without seeing for yourself the health certificates of both parents. Just being told them isn't enough.
Don't hand over any more money. What would happen then if on collection day the pup is ill?
They are breeders, they're selling puppies. If you go ahead, I'd ask that the first lot of jabs are done too, so you can get out and about sooner.
Seems like they are panicking about being able to sell all the pups. I'd walk away.

I've got a dog with elbow dysplasia - it's not fun.

He went lame at four months old, had an operation at about six months old which involved keeping him still for 3 weeks afterwards and months of hardly walking him until finally realising that it hasn't worked as well as we hoped, he's still lame and I'm having to think about whether we do a different more invasive operation, have a dog in pain or have a 1 year old puppy put to sleep.

It's really heart wrenching to decide that and to live with a young enthusiastic dog who you have to avoid walking and playing with in case it hurts him.

It's also not cheap, my insurance has paid out about £3000 so far for him. It's also affected his behaviour, all the resting has meant that he missed out on loads of socialisation as well.

With all the health tests done you can still get massively unlucky (which is what happened to me) but you greatly reduce the chances of it happening if they are.