Looking at buying a pup which is 3 hours away. I spoke to the breeder and everything is perfect (hip scores etc/family history) and we think we're going to go for her. The ad is on Pets4Homes and obviously the deposit is non refundable. I'm just a little bit concerned about transfering someone money who put an ad up without actually seeing the dog/persons house. Are they any records of people scamming (pretending dogs exists etc) people on Pets4Homes?
Hi @FoxRedLab Anything can be a scam. And some individuals are moral. But it's hard to determine trustworthiness at the outset of any relationship.. What I would be really concerned with is buying a dog I had never seen. I would want to look at the mother and father's temperament. How the puppy has been socialised so far. Check out the puppy herself. I know three hours is time consuming. But 12 hours for two round trips (assuming the puppy is not old enough to bring home on the first visit) is a short period of time compared to the 12 years she will be part of your family.
Pets for homes is notorious for puppy farming. Unless you have visited the mum and pups, don't even think about it
I'm sorry to say that I agree with Edp. I would not look for a puppy on Pets4Homes - full stop. Look at ChampDogs.co.uk instead... And Michael is right, that you need to have at least more interactions than this with a reputable breeder. I'm not sure you actually have to have been there to visit, but the breeder should have a website that enables you to understand more about the kind of breeder they are, the way the pups have been raised, the health tests on the parents (which should be much more than just hip scores), and so on. The breeder should have vetted you really thoroughly and not just immediately agreed to give you a pup. When you purchase a pup, you need to feel like you have a relationship with the breeder - and that that relationship will continue into the future (not in a burdensome way, but in a supportive way). If you don't even trust them enough to pay them a deposit, then that relationship simply isn't there....
I'd competely agree with the comments above. As an occasional breeder, I don't take deposits on pups. If a don't trust a potential puppy owner 100%, then they are not having one of my puppies. I insist that people come and meet the puppies and I can get to know them. I would hate for someone to leave a deposit and then feel obliged to take a pup if their situation changed. Fortunately I am in a lucky position of having enough interest in my pups to be able to pick and choose the best home for my pups.
In the US, it is pretty much the rule that you put a deposit on pups ahead of time, often even before they are born. The earlier the deposit, the higher the pick choice in the litter. We did our research mostly on line, and talking to local breeders. With Tilly we visited the pups and parents when the pups were about two weeks old and paid a deposit, but not on a particular pup. We selected Tilly when they were 7 weeks and the higher choices had been made. With Cooper we paid a deposit when they were about 2 weeks old, but we did not visit the breeder, because they were about 10 hrs away, we just could find the spare time. We actually collected her when the Breeder brought two pups to Portland (They were coming here for a Field Trial) and we got first pick, the other party got second. In both cases we went with the breeder's information about the parents, and were pretty sure we were dealing with reputable breeders. We got very good pups that grew up to be great dogs. Both of them were socialized with people, kids and other dogs at the breeders, but both pups were raised in kennels, not the house before we got them.
I enquired about a puppy on pets4homes when we were looking and as the drive was a few hours away they refused to keep the pup until we got there and wanted money up front and refused to give an address until the money was in their bank I told them to stuff it and walked away. I would never hand any money over until I was happy and seen the pups with the mother.
Don't trust anyone, of they tell you the dogs are in perfect health hup scores ect look for evidence of what they tell you. Look at the pets4homes guidelines they tell you never hand money over without seeing the puppy in a hone environment with the mother and rest of the pups. Alarm bells are ringing go somewhere else don't part with your money until you see the puppy.
I put down a refundable deposit having met the breeder before once the puppy was 5 weeks old. From what I learned now would never advise anyone to buy puppy without having seen at min the bitch and the conditions in which the puppy gets raised. For that the first 8 weeks are simply to important. There are enough great breeders in the UK so wait until you find one that fits. And as said above distance should never be an excuse to get the right dog, as they are with us for a long time.
Our puppy was 3 hours drive away too, we made the drive when he was almost 3 weeks old, as there was only 2 males left at this point, we took the deposit with just in case (although we were already fairly certain). I wouldn't have handed any money over without checking the home & mother with the pups etc. Once there we sat down, had a coffee while they asked us some questions regarding the time we had to spend with the puppy & garden situation & things. During this time we were with the mother & the puppies and had plenty of time to interact with them all. Was well worth the drive & putting my mind at ease before parting with my hard saved cash. We also made a further visit before we went to pick him up. In a perfect world he would have been closer so we could visit more often, but due to any pups close by none of them were from health tested parents & didn't want to take that risk. We also saw proof of tests that first time on sire & dam
Ok, be very careful where you buy your puppy from BUT I found my last pup though pets4homes. It's just a way of advertising a litter, so don't be put off by this method. My first dog I had I went through Kennel club assured breeders.... the first breeder I saw was dreadful, the environment the pups were being brought up in was questionable. However, I would not be paying a deposit before seeing a pup from an unknown breeder.
Our breeder took a deposit as a way of ordering who had first pick of the litter and who definitely wants a puppy. She always said it was refundable but is more of a commitment than just saying we wanted a puppy. Would also agree Champdogs is the best place to look
The great thing about PayPal and e-transfer is that no matter who they are, they can't hide. We did the whole "deposit for holding a pup" but I did it all through e-transfer. If I thought for one second I was being scammed, I'd just call my bank and they'd get my money back AND flag the other person's account. That being said, we had to drive 16 hours to pick her up. Thank god she's a big sleeper. Never complained once so long as we stopped every hour for pee and exercise.
