Thank you. I thought I may have crossed a line or something when I asked for references because she was so upset. When I contact another breeder, there's no harm in asking for references? I don't want to be offending more breeders!
I certainly won't "demand" references, and certainly not without consent. I did ask the breeder to contact them first to see if they would be willing to chat to me. If the breeder started to give me personal information of previous clients without getting consent, that too would have raise alarm bells in that she wasn't respecting their privacy.