Question To Breeders

[ellz]

Treating all enquiries as geniune rather than just deleting the one whose "tone" you didn't like - since when do emails have tone by the way - would go a long way toward helping educate all dog owners.

Because chances are the enquiry you just ignored was from a genuine person who just didn't know the proper etiqutte. That person just became much more likely to buy from a pet store, so if that's was your aim then congrats.

(You = any breeder, not anyone specific in this thread)

I hear you but I don't agree with all that you say.

When you have a "popular" breed or one that has a mixed reputation due to bad publicity or misinformation, you are naturally guarded with your replies and with the email enquiries that you get.

Believe me, when you have received enough emails, it is VERY possible to get the "tone" of an email. And as I said, an email that just says "I want a staffy, how much are they?" (and usually not even with punctuation or decent, legible spelling either) is not necessarily how I would like to start what will most certainly be a lengthy interview/conversation process with somebody to whom I am going to entrust something into which I have poured many hours of my life and a heck of a lot of love.

IF somebody is going to so quickly turn to purchasing from a pet store, simply because they are easily offended, then they probably aren't the kind of person I would be comfortable to deal with anyway and they probably wouldn't get through my own personal "selection criteria".

[shortstep]

I had to laugh about this topic.

The animal rights folks want to make a law that you can not even advertize litter/puppies on line (remember the NSW law that was defeated recently). Now some people are complaining that not all breeders who have a web site have a price listed for any pup they might have available or even pups they might breed in the future. Talk about conflicting public demands and expectations. Yet again breeders can not win for loosing.

I would never put a price on my web site. Nor do I normally resond to introduction emails that ask how much. My choice.

[ravenau1]

Interesting to get some breeders perspectives on this!

After a long break from owning a dog I've been looking to get another one and frankly, I had NO idea how much my chosen breed would cost! Could have been $500 or $5000 for all I knew! By looking around at websites etc that do list prices I've been able to get a 'ballpark' figure. Not that the price would have ultimately been a huge issue, but it definitely impacts the amount of time before we actually get a puppy (ie: saving up etc) and it's been handy to have a bit of a guide.

I would be very embarrassed to go through the selection process of a breeder only to discover at the end that we couldn't afford the pup right then and would have to wait a few more months or whatever. I would feel that I had wasted the breeders time.

[ellz]

Asking the price isn't a bad thing at all. Of COURSE you need to know how much a puppy is going to cost you. The point is that there are ways of doing it which will offend less, just as there are ways of approaching ANYBODY that you don't know if you require a service or goods from them.

I PERSONALLY find it objectionable when people say "how much" with no introduction, no information about themselves or for what purpose they would like one of my puppies or the kind of home that they are offering.

LITERALLY not a day goes by where I don't reply to a request asking "how much" and that is no exaggeration. Every email is given a reply, unless I cannot understand them or unless they tell me that they intend to purchase a dog and/or a bitch and want to breed. Having wasted (yes wasted) so many hours composing nice emails to such people over the years which have turned into nothing more than slanging matches because they will not be told and won't leave me alone when I tell them that no puppy of mine will be sold to somebody whose only interest is breeding from it, I don't even bother any more. I daresay I'm not alone in this.

As said previously in this thread. My preference is replying to the emails who tell me exactly what they want, what they want to know and giving me an opening to be able to compose an educated and informative email in reply.

[ravenau1]

Asking the price isn't a bad thing at all. Of COURSE you need to know how much a puppy is going to cost you. The point is that there are ways of doing it which will offend less, just as there are ways of approaching ANYBODY that you don't know if you require a service or goods from them.

I PERSONALLY find it objectionable when people say "how much" with no introduction, no information about themselves or for what purpose they would like one of my puppies or the kind of home that they are offering.

LITERALLY not a day goes by where I don't reply to a request asking "how much" and that is no exaggeration. Every email is given a reply, unless I cannot understand them or unless they tell me that they intend to purchase a dog and/or a bitch and want to breed. Having wasted (yes wasted) so many hours composing nice emails to such people over the years which have turned into nothing more than slanging matches because they will not be told and won't leave me alone when I tell them that no puppy of mine will be sold to somebody whose only interest is breeding from it, I don't even bother any more. I daresay I'm not alone in this.

As said previously in this thread. My preference is replying to the emails who tell me exactly what they want, what they want to know and giving me an opening to be able to compose an educated and informative email in reply.

Understandably. Just asking the price would be very rude and not a great way to start a relationship (that you would expect to last a long time!) with the breeder. It is something that I would have normally put in my initial email though, along with other questions and information about myself and my situation.

It seems that there's a lot of people who are after dogs for breeding etc, I guess just to pump out some puppies and make some money sad, and I understand why you wouldn't want any of your babies ending up like that.

I understand breeders asking questions, and I don't think I would entirely trust a breeder that didn't want to know anything about me and would just 'hand over' a puppy.

[shortstep]

Hi Ravenau1,

Anyone who writes a polite email to me, who gives some information about themselves and seems to be looking for a best friend, I respond to.

Let me give you an example of a emails I will not respond to.

Emails that would say,

I am looking for a X colour bitch pup or adult to breed to my X coloured male, do you have any and how much, is their discount for no papers?

Or... How much are your female puppies, are there any ready this weekend?

Or...I see you have imported dog, I would like to buy this dog, how much?

Or... The puppy on the Susie Page page, how much is it?

Then I look at my web page counter and I see that this person sending me this email was only on my site less than 1 min, just long enough to find my email address. They did not look at the page on how I place my pups, they did not look at the parents, the health testing, breed information..all they found was my email.

If they had looked around just a little they would have read I place all my pups on desex contract, I do not place pups based on the colour of their coat, that the average waiting time is 1 year, that owners are selected and make a reservation prior to the litter being bred, and so on. And the puppy on the Susie page, is Susie at 2 months old and the pic on the top of the page is also Susie at 10 years old and all the pics on that page are Susie...but that would have taken a moment to read. These folks are in a big hurry to buy a pup today, from anyone who will sell them one, with no conditions and as cheap as possible. I am not going to place a pup with them, nor am I going to waist my time trying to educate them.

If someone spends a little time and sends a nice email, about themselves, their family, what they are looking for, the activities they like to do, then I always respond in kind. If I do not have a suitable pup I will refer them to others who may have and are reputable breeders. If I have one that might be of interest, then I send them a lot of information, including the contract which has the price and all conditions on it, and another 5-6 documents about the pup's family history, health tests and so on along with breed information. This should answer many of the question they might have about my dogs, and if they take the time to read it all they will be well educated on the breed and what to look for in a breeder..in my humble opinion. If they are then interested in the pup, then I have a million more questions I will ask and will also have to verify who they are. My goal is the best forever home for my pup and that means an owner who understands and wants what they are getting and is very happy with their pup, as a breeder it is my job to assure that is the outcome. This takes far more effort on both parties part, then me answering... how much.

Edited May 28, 2010 by shortstep