Bjelkier Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 lol...I really believed that emailing was the preferred method of contact by breeders. I would prefer to talk to people by phone. For some of us (like myself) it is. Check to see what the breeder has stated on the website or contact info about how they would like to be contacted. I hate it when someone leaves me a pissy message on my mobile because I haven't gotten back to them. Not much I can do when I don't get the message in the first place. And I second the heading off to a dog show to meet some breeders. It's a great way to get to know people in the breed and maybe hear about future litters. Also it might be worth joining the state breed club. Another great way to find out about puppies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alibi Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 I wouldnt make the first email too long as i found when i was looking for my pup it was better just to do a shorter introduction of yourself and what home you can provide as well as alittle about what kind of pup you are looking for. I also always ended mine with please feel free to ask me any questions. That always got a good response instead of my intital long winded one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 There is no right or wrong way to approach a breeder, except for the one liners, but I always answered those as well. If you don't get a reply then follow it up in a couple of weeks. Breeders are people too and have work and personal life to attend too. I work night shift, email me in the middle of a stint of nights and yes I'll reply some days later ( if I don't forget! ). Don't ask them to ring you, ask for a time you can ring them. You might only have to pay for a couple of phone calls. A breeder of a popular breed might have a couple, or more, a day. It all adds up, especially if it's a mobile. I must admit the one thing that gets up my nose is being told that you (generic you) are the perfect home. I'll make up my own mind about that thank you very much :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panzer Attack! Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Berners are quite popular so you could potentially have a lot of competition when looking for one. I ended up getting a rescue of a different breed after meeting constant dead ends with the breed I was interested in, so I can understand how you feel :) I work full time, am in my 20s and rent, so I guess that would have put some of the breeders off. I also wanted to meet the breeder's dogs (and the breeder!) before being put on a list and was told no by the one breeder that returned contact! Happily I love the dog I ended up with and will most likely only deal with rescue in the future, or go for breeders that are friends of friends. It can be very difficult to source a pup! Please don't resort to buying another dog from a pet store. Have a chat to other peeps on the forum with giants, it can be really useful to network. They may know of a breeder not registered with DOL or point you in the direction of someone who can help? Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyda62 Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 Thanks to everyone for the replies...Lol...I am feeling a bit of a dummy about now Rebanne...Yup, In my emails I did say I was a perfect home...oops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murve Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 whem my daughter started looking for her new baby, we went to a few shows found a couple of breeders, a couple of breeders brushed her off but we found one breeder who gave my daughter the time of day even with getting her dogs ready for the ring :) ok my daughter was only 12 at the time & I was with her. Our new baby arrived 2 yrs latter from that breeder, since the 1st contact we kept in contact with the said breeder even up to today of our achievements with her, we have even been able to use one of her boys to Sire our litter :D Keep at it & don't give up Spyda62 try every avenue possible, emails, phone calls even to the extent of going to some shows, that helps by hanging a round with your particular breed you want, could also join the club & tag along to their events/outings they may have :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Are you using a Hotmail email with a weird name. We get alot of puppy emails with hotmail or similar that go straight to our "junk" email & to be honest if we don't now who sent it we don't open or check them. To not get one reply i would consider what your are writing is turning people off or sending an alarm bell off. Like Rebanne said the perfect owner emails don't win you brownie points,we have had plenty who thought they where perfect & when they came out for a meet & greet had no hope of getting a pup from us . We prefer phone calls & then ask those people to follow up with email contact with all there details . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Thanks to everyone for the replies...Lol...I am feeling a bit of a dummy about now Rebanne...Yup, In my emails I did say I was a perfect home...oops! :laugh: well you well might be and other breeders might not be bothered by it, just try again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Thanks to everyone for the replies...Lol...I am feeling a bit of a dummy about now Rebanne...Yup, In my emails I did say I was a perfect home...oops! don't feel like a dummy. You can't be expected to know all the various ways all the different breeders like to be approached. whem my daughter started looking for her new baby, we went to a few shows found a couple of breeders, a couple of breeders brushed her off but we found one breeder who gave my daughter the time of day even with getting her dogs ready for the ring :) ok my daughter was only 12 at the time & I was with her. Our new baby arrived 2 yrs latter from that breeder, since the 1st contact we kept in contact with the said breeder even up to today of our achievements with her, we have even been able to use one of her boys to Sire our litter :D Keep at it & don't give up Spyda62 try every avenue possible, emails, phone calls even to the extent of going to some shows, that helps by hanging a round with your particular breed you want, could also join the club & tag along to their events/outings they may have :D lovely helpful post, murve. Going back a couple of years, I saw a Bernese Mtn puppy ..... In the flesh :laugh: OMG what a beautiful beautiful dog. Good luck in finding one, spyda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) Dbl post Edited December 30, 2012 by Simply Grand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Agree with DD, don't feel like a dummy! I would have had no idea what to do when looking for my first purebred if I hadn't already found DOL! I found Riley's (my Shetland Sheepdog, first PB puppy) breeder at a show. I was fortunate that I met them at the first show I went to, which was in a town about 40 mins drive away, but if I hadn't met them and if they weren't planning a litter anytime soon I would have gone to more. I was nervous and found it hard to talk to many of the breeders there, but they were obviously busy. Riley's breeders were sitting eating lunch and chatting when I came past and their dogs broke the ice by standing up in their pen and wagging and smiling at me when I walked past and smiled at them. Once the dogs reacted positively and I saw the owners were relaxing I asked if I could say hello to their dogs, then sort of pushed my way into their conversation by mentioning that I was hoping to get a Sheltie and then asking them about their dogs. Then they were happy to chat :) Their dogs being friendly (Shelties can be stand-offish) and them relaxed and willing to chat was what made me keen on them as I wasn't looking for a show dog so happy amd healthy were only real criteria for the puppy. After fist contact I did ask around and look up the breeders and was happy with what I found, and I emailed back and forth with them a few times asking and answering various questions as the litter hadn't been born yet, then as they grew. I didn't meet the puppy or see the breeders property until i went to pick them up. I was glad I did get to see where the puppies had been raised and how the adult dogs lived and had I not been happy with it I probably would have walked away, but I was confident in the breeder by then based on our communications and their other dogs. Sorry for the long winded response but hopefully it gives you some tips! Oh the thing I meant to say was that the Show Ring thread often has show people discussing upcoming shows and how many of each breed are entered so you could check out whether there are any berners entered in shows near you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julesluvscavs Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) I always think its a good idea to go to shows and get to the know breeders (provided its not when they are in the middle of being busy!) I had rung up some beforehand and organised to meet them at an upcoming show. Its how Joey came into our lives, as he was at that show, and the breeder was taking expressions of interest for him to the right person/people. Its also a good idea to see if your particular breed has a breed club in your state and to join it, as they often have fun days for pet owners. We have for Cavaliers in SA. I dont think you have to join to just go along to the the fun days to watch and meet people/breeders in a more relaxed enviroment :) It is often who you know .. that can make it easier I have personally found. We have just gone through the process of emailing breeders and yeah some of them never have gotten back to us, even when we have done follow up emails yet you see them advertise their litters in the DOL puppy listings not long after Or I have put my heart in writing the perfect email complete with photos of our cavs, and then you just get a very brief and formal reply like they not even that interested (well thats how I have interpreted them) We ended up finding a lovely one though the Cavalier Club anyway whose been really fantastic and friendly with keeping us up to date with everything! Its the type of breeder that is what we have been after anyway!:) I have encountered some breeders that aren't always easy to approach and talk too, but they not all like that I promise! Oh and goodluck with finding your perfect puppy! I think its often in the timing.. the right one will be out there waiting for you when the time is right ! x Edited December 30, 2012 by Jules♥Cavs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Just remembered this thread of mine re lovely experience with a breeder whom I contacted just to ask a question. http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/243838-my-experience-with-a-breeder/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewie_the_Frenchie Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Just a quick response (there are so many helpful and constructive ones already). When I was emailing frenchie breeders (another very popular breed), I laid everything on the line/heart on sleeve with my experience with raising pups/dogs - it was a bit of a sad story in the end, but I was just very honest. The response I got was overwhelming - even though only two breeders had planned litters at the time, I got well over a dozen responses (and very lovely ones). I'm not telling you this to gloat, I know it can be a very difficult process when you have your heart set on a particular breed. My point is, I don't think you can pin down exactly what a breeder is looking for in an inquiry email. Great advice to go to shows and meet breeders I think Don't get dissuaded - it will happen, it may just take some time. Ps. I agree with the email account comment - I used my work email department of education - sounds silly, but I think that may have helped. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsegal98 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Just a quick response (there are so many helpful and constructive ones already). When I was emailing frenchie breeders (another very popular breed), I laid everything on the line/heart on sleeve with my experience with raising pups/dogs - it was a bit of a sad story in the end, but I was just very honest. The response I got was overwhelming - even though only two breeders had planned litters at the time, I got well over a dozen responses (and very lovely ones). I'm not telling you this to gloat, I know it can be a very difficult process when you have your heart set on a particular breed. My point is, I don't think you can pin down exactly what a breeder is looking for in an inquiry email. Great advice to go to shows and meet breeders I think Don't get dissuaded - it will happen, it may just take some time. Ps. I agree with the email account comment - I used my work email department of education - sounds silly, but I think that may have helped. Good luck! Off topic, but yay- another teacher? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lolapalooza* Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I breed berners and there are plenty of breeders around, Im pretty surprised you found a puppy in a pet shop....... Call breeders on dogzonline. thats the best way to do things, its odd you didnt get a single reply...... Good luck with your next puppy, persistent puppy people work well for me so no doubt for other breeders too, keeps you are the front of their minds :D It also makes us pretty confident we will hear from our babies owners in the long run too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyda62 Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 I breed berners and there are plenty of breeders around, Im pretty surprised you found a puppy in a pet shop....... Call breeders on dogzonline. thats the best way to do things, its odd you didnt get a single reply...... Good luck with your next puppy, persistent puppy people work well for me so no doubt for other breeders too, keeps you are the front of their minds :D It also makes us pretty confident we will hear from our babies owners in the long run too. Lola, It wasnt a Bernese pup I came home from the shops with, it was a Shar-pei x. Lol...nothing like what I wanted. I just wanted a pup soooo badly. After reading the replies I have had to this post, I can see why I got no responses, even down to my email address being a hotmail account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I have a hotmail account and never had a problem with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldielover Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 As a breeder of a popular breed (Goldens), i get dozens of emails a week. I try my best to answer them all, but i also work full time and usually am on call 24/7 also. I find that i often write lengthy replies - answer questions, give lots of info, etc., and probably 75% of the time, i don't get a reply at all. I tend to like to speak to people over the phone personally, so i can get a feel for them. I also will not put anybody on my waiting list until i have met them (and whoever lives in their house) and am satisfied that they are a good family for one of my puppies to go home with. I would perhaps email them and ask if you can phone them at an appropriate time to have a chat. Build up a bit of a rapport, and if you feel comfortable with them on the phone, ask if you can visit their dogs, either at a show or at their house/kennels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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