Paying a deposit on a dog I haven't seen?

[MrsTumbletap]

So there is a puppy on pets4homes that I have fallen in love with I have been searching for months and months for this type. She is 3 weeks old not ready until April, over half of the litter have deposites on them already.

The breeder looks great on the ad, really thorough description, lots of pictures seems to know her stuff.

Spoke on the phone yesterday again seems lovely, knows about the health testing has all been done, will keep in contact every week, owns mum and dad and has photos of them too. Invited to visit puppies at the end of March.

BUT deposit of £300 needed to secure the puppy before the visit.

What do I do? I don't know her, I haven't seen the puppy. But half of the litter already have deposits on them. I feel like I need this puppy and I'm convinced it will go.

What do I do???

I would not pay a deposit on a puppy I haven't seen!!

The dog breeder can't be that good, other she would want to check you out first! Making sure her puppies are going to decent homes?!

Do not pay a deposit before visiting!!

This would be a huge red flag to me, that she doesn't care where the puppies are going to!!

I have had a litter of kittens, and had lots of people interested in them. I asked everybody to come and visit first and told them, I would let them know who would be picked to have the kittens. I said no to lots of people, but I wanted my kittens to go to the best homes possible, which they all did.

Don't do it!!!!!!

Nope.

Nope.

No no no no no.

And what Littlemiss said! This raises huge flags about the breeder as well. No decent breeder would grab deposits to secure dogs without having vetted the owners. It screams of being backyard breeders only in it for the money.
A picture tells you NOTHING about this dog. You wouldn’t consider putting money down on anything else before viewing it, why would common sense not prevail here?

Absolutely not! Out of interest, what’s the breed you’re looking for?

no. How many questions did she ask you?

Also 'owning mum and dad' isn't necessarily a sign of a reliable breeder. A conscientious breeder looks for the healthiest and most suitable male for the bitch, not the nearest one.

This transaction is all about money and nothing to do with the health or welfare of the pup.

Of course half are already 'reserved'- this is one of the tactics puppy farmers use to push the sale. If you don't go ahead they will probably contact you in a few weeks to say one was returned/ not collected/ became available due to family illness.

Do not underestimate how professional these people are in their determination to con you.

NO! Not if you truly care about dogs at all. No ethical breeder would ask for a deposit before meeting you.

And you don't even know for sure that those puppies in the pictures are the actual dogs in question - it's a classic puppy farmer scam to use pics of a lovely healthy litter, and then the one you turn up to collect has been shipped in illegally from some godforsaken shed in Ireland/south Wales/anywhere.

You are all right.

I said this on the phone that I wouldn't feel comfortable, and she said that's fine just be aware that they may go before the viewing date.

She also said if you do it via PayPal, then it's secure, but it specifically says on pets4homes NOT to use PayPal.

No chance. Absolutely no way. We went to see a few families/breeders until we found someone we were happy with and I am so glad we waited. It took about a year. You really cannot know how the puppies are being raised from an advert. The first ones we saw I felt deeply uncomfortable about, and I couldn’t have known that if I didn’t visit.

You really, really need to visit before committing to anything. Reputable breeders would not force you to pay money before visiting. And £300 is a massive deposit!!

There will be other puppies/dogs available from reputable people, and it is worth hanging on.

Is this a "designer-breed" otherwise known as a need for profit mutt? There are no scrupulous breeders of mutts. Please please if you want a dog from a breeder go through a breed club and choose an ethical breeder.

No way. You wouldn't put £300 deposit on anything else you hadn't seen (well, not from this kind of website anyway. Maybe a main retailer!).

Be careful x

What you are about to do is exactly what my X did.

It ended up costing an absolute fortune, lots of hidden extras

Don't do it OP!! Could well be a scam, or a backyard breeder. Scammers are very convincing, it's what they do.

You should meet the pup first, see the home and conditions it has come from, meet it's parents (at least the mum) and see their temperaments, and look at any documentation.

Absolutely NO. You’d be mad. Can you afford to lose £300?

Also, even if you do meet the pup, fall in love, everything looks great. Get a signed receipt!! A copy for you, a copy for them.

Please report this breeder.

You really want to meet the pup and the mum of the pups. Owner really should check you out as well. Not sure what the breed is but a lot of breed clubs have facebook groups where you can get a lot of info.

Here's the Dogs Trust advice in buying a puppy.

In addition to this, if the 'breeder' claims to have health tested dogs then ask her to email you a copy of those health tests but let's be honest you won't get half way through the list of Dogs Trust questions before she hangs up on you

Reverse google the images.
Google the phone number.
Don't be taken in.

You've fallen in love with a photograph??

Give your head a good wobble and go and see some real dogs in real dogs homes and become a responsible dog owner instead of encouraging internet puppy breeding for profit.

Indeed, she seemed so lovely and friendly on the phone, it's so hard to tell.

But I cannot afford to just lose £300, it's not a designer pup, it a pedigree (5th generation) ruby cavalier. I am in the Facebook groups they just don't seem to come up. And if they do they are all in Scotland and Wales, so this one was a bit further South.

Hate the thought of being conned, but hate the thought of losing this puppy that I have waited ages for. But I'm not giving money to someone I don't know.

Is going via the kennel club completely safe?

@MaudeLynne oh go away and stop with this responsible dog owner crap.

Yes I could rescue, yes I have in the past, yes I will again when I'm older, but I have a toddler and most adverts say no children.

So give your head a wobble and stop being so judgemental.

If I am going to love a dog for 10-16 years there is nothing wrong to wanting to raise it from a puppy.

Do you tell pregnant people they need to adopt the unwanted babies in care instead? No of course not, so get a grip.

No, nothing before visiting then £100 is reasonable with balance on collecting. Sounds dodgy to me