Last month I was contacted by email by someone who wanted to go on my waiting list I wrote her name down but kept it off the list as we had no spoken yet nor had she given me information I asked for. Well yesterday I found out that she had been contacting different sheltie breeders and time wasting.

One breeder had arranged it all and the woman was suppose to turn up, the breeder rang her the woman said she was on her way, never turned up.

She had done ti to 3 breeders and had been asking to go on waiting lists of many others.

Needless to say I have taken her name down and will be keeping a eye out if she trys to contact me again.

Last night I had a phone call from a lovely lady, we had a good chat and she seems very nice. I have took her name for my list but will not be letting any dog go without vetting first.

Anyway,

How can you tell if people are genuine or not?
I am hoping that we only have a small litter (1 or 2) so I can keep them tbh because I dont know who to trust.

How do you guys do it?

Have a puppy questionnaire as your first point of contact. You do not go any further until this questionnaire is answered to your liking. Ask questions about how they plan to keep the dog (crate, loose, outside etc), what they plan to feed, what sort of training/classes they plan to do, get a reference from their current vet for other pets (or the one they plan to use if this is a first pet), ask for colour preferences, ask them what made them look into the breed, what they know about the breed health etc etc ad nauseum. Just in general make sure that they are prepared for the breed, make sure to the best of your ability that you are protecting your puppies by only selling with endorsements and on a full contract written to the best legal standard you can manage.

Meet for the first time away from your home to protect your dogs and any pups. Build a relationship with your prospective puppy buyers and go with your gut instinct. You cannot keep all of the dogs you produce, this is part of being a breeder, maybe look to your mentors and ask what they look for in new owners. Ask them what lead them to let you have a puppy?

Any pups sold will be endorsed I have already got that stated on my website.

The lady I spoke to last night already has 4 shelties so she knows the breed as well as any. She's also been using some of the products I suggested on my website.

I felt a good bond with her...

I just dont know you are suppose to know if they are being true or not.

I do not put people on a list for a puppy until I receive their deposit... I require a $200 deposit to reserve a pup (non-refundable unless there isn't a pup available)... That will eliminate people who ask to be on a list and then decide not to take a pup....

thats it ....................you can't tell if they are genuine or not , as many would be buyers go on several breeders lists .

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love me love the dogs

I would not take a deposit unless the pups were here running round as I cant 100% guarantee anyone that they can have a pup as for all I know Alaska may not take or only have a singleton pup.

[QUOTE=shetlandlover;2204744]

How can you tell if people are genuine or not?

QUOTE]

easy answer, you cant, you could talk to someone for a hour and they could sound like the best people in the world! Who then make you wait 2 hours sitting at home for them to turn up

I go alot on gut feeling now, you just have to do the best you can, ask lots of questions, I tend to email people for a long time before talking on the phone then meeting, some people turn out to be great, some people can slip up on what they said before, like 'I actually work a 12hour shift and no one is at home' where as they said they were working part time

Just gota do the best you can, it is really hard!

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I agree, you can't tell if people are genuine or not.

Its hard to tell from your post - could she just have been so excited about getting a Shetland that she went on the list of several Shetland breeders and just wanted whichever had a pup for her first? Or do you think she was being more devious than that?

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I blog about all things 'doggy'! http://ukdogtrainer.wordpress.com/

You cant possibly know for sure but if you are breeding you have to sell your pups. And why shouldnt someone go on more than one breeder's list. If you want a puppy why tie yourself down to one person that might or might not produce the puppy that you want to buy.

I think this one beats all though - Someone was having one of the pups from the breeder I got Toffee from. They phoned up to say they were just going to get the money out of the bank and were driving the 18 miles to fetch the pup. Then they phoned to say they had changed their minds!

I take deposits before a litter is born, but I do not cash the checks until we have pups and I know what we have. If I don't have a pup for someone who has sent a deposit, I return their check. The key is communication.... I make sure people understand that "Mother Nature" does not always cooperate and that there is a possibility I won't have a pup for them. People understand this. I ask if people want a male or a female, of course, if they have a color preference, etc. If someone specifically states they want a black/white female Springer pup only, they'll get their deposit back if I don't have a black/white female available. If someone reserves a black/white female I'll ask if they would consider a male, a liver/white female, etc. and make a note of what we discussed. I do most of my communication via e-mail these days, so I save every e-mail for reference purposes. Like I said, it's really all about good communications...

My pups are reserved on a "first come, first served" basis.... I go by the postmark on the envelope that the deposit is sent in. I require that the balance due be paid before the pup goes to its new home. I've done it this way for over 20 years and it works very well for me.