Asking questions

[Brucey49]

We are looking for a dog from a KC Assured breeder. So far the pups have mostly gone before we have managed to visit as the breeders have waiting lists.

My kids have done a lot of research and have drawn up some detailed questions which we gave gone through together and asked each breeder to answer by email - even those whose pups have already been reserved have been happy to respond, asking we send the questions over and giving lots of help and information.

We are away from home presently but a KC advert has just confirmed some pups have become available about an hour and a half away from us.

We made contact and the breeder asked us about ourselves. I have given them information and explained we are away presently but that the kids had questions. They asked to see them. They are very practical questions about the dog's medical history, breeding history, training etc,

The breeder has now said they are an assured breeder and all the questions can be answered at a visit. I have pointed out that we are away and that the dogs are some distance away from our home address in any event so that I was trying to teach the kids to be objective and consider information dispassionately rather than just look at cute puppies.

The breeder has again said we can go through all of this at a visit.

Our approach so far has been to see if the questions are answered satisfactorily to make a decision about whether to visit. So I'm not entirely comfortable with this response. It might just be a personality thing but I can't see why you'd effectively refuse to provide information before a visit.

Any thoughts?

Personally if I was a breeder I would not answer any questions either until they came to my house.

That way I could judge them whilst answering the questions.
Also, the way I would look at it, is if someone was serious and genuinely would do anything for one of my pups they wouldn't mind the drive.

Everyone's different. I don't see an issue with how the breeder is being.

Can I ask what breed they are?

OP I think you are absolutely right to expect the breeder to answer your questions. They should understand your reservation about letting the DC fall for a cute puppy as this removes all objectivity from the process.
Personally this would be a deal breaker for me.

I contacted a number of breeders by phone and I have to say I didn't pursue some where it was hard to get information from them. This might have been a personality issue but I figured that if I wasn't comfortable with them on the phone then I probably would not be comfortable with them in person and being able to assess breeder and puppy was just as essential as them assessing me.

Thanks for this. I can see a breeder might have a different way of looking at the issue but I think it is also very much easier to duck questions face to face so I am alway wary of those who won't provide answers by email when asked - estate agents and the like!

I would have hoped that just because we ask questions rather than rushing down the motorway to see puppies does not make us less serious about buying. Quite the opposite.

There would still be plenty of time to 'check us out' on any subsequent visit.

But refusing to supply basic health and other information until we visit doesn't seem very professional to me.

Different breeders will want to do things in different ways. Some will be happy to chat and go through all the questions on both sides via email, some will want to have phone conversations and some will prefer to do everything face to face. I'd prefer to do as much via email as possible but I wouldn't write off a breeder who ticked all my other boxes just because they preferred to get into the in depth stuff in person. If the litter has already been born they'll be very busy and will also probably be getting lots of emails just like yours, most of which won't amount to anything.

If they're being genuinely cagey though, then that's different. Are they at least providing basic information about the parents and litter? It would also put me off if they're using the fact they're an ABS member to deflect questions. Whilst the concept was good the scheme is very flawed and doesn't guarantee much beyond meeting some fairly basic standards. I'd expect a decent breeder to recognise this and also recognise that their ABS standing alone may well not be enough to reassure prospective puppy owners that they're reputable.

You might have more luck getting in a waiting list for a breeder you get on with and whose dogs you like rather than looking for litters already on the ground.

If you get in touch with the relevant breed club (more popular breeds usually have several regional clubs as well as the national one) they should be able to help put you in touch with breeders who are planning litters.

It's also worth looking on Champdogs at breeders of your chosen breed. Many have websites you can look at, there's often information about previous litters on Champdogs itself and you can also use that information to look up things like health test results and COIs on the KC site.

Once you've got a list of breeders you like the look of you can then contact them and ask if/when they're planning litters. You may end up having to wait for the right litter but it's well worth the wait when you've found a really great breeder who you also get on with.

Thank you so much. We have not had any basic information from the breeder.

The list contained basic questions about the parents and litter but the response was the same - I'm an assured breeder and I can answer all this when we meet. This was the same even after I explained why the list was important to us.

We have found a breeder who has been amazingly helpful but she is not planned any more litters this year. She says we can go on a waiting list.

I just compare the latest response to her attitude.