We have a litter of 8 beautiful pups and a long waiting list. i dont want to just sell them to whoever is on the list and will ask questions but is there anything that should be at the top of my list to ask... How do you tell someone you dont think they are suitable? gonna feel weird telling someone i dont want them having my pups. I have spoken to a few of the people and they seem very nice on the phone. Happy to chat about family life/work/why a puppy etc... My friend sells on gut feeling and if someone turns up she doesnt like then no pup but this has gone wrong before as she sold a pup to a lady we both met who seemed really lovely and i am sure she is but when it comes to feeding her puppy she is going to kill it. We advised her what to feed pup but she needed a puppy sitter for a few days and said breeder took in pup but was horrified to see this lady feeds it ham,bacon etc. her daughter even said it likes fish and chips. OMG. so worried who is going to have my pup

> i dont want to just sell them to whoever is on the list and will ask questions

Should they even be on your waiting list if you haven't at least approved them?

I'd really annoyed to find I had been patiently waiting for a puppy from a particular breeder only to find they didn't intend to let me have one.  I don't breed and appreciate that this stage must be difficult but I'd have thought by the time I got on a waiting list (rather than just being 'interested') then I would be getting a puppy if there are the right number of sexes, or based on my position in the list etc

There have been some interesting threads on this subject recently - have a quick look around and see what you can find :)  Here's one to get you started

I don't even put people on my list until I'm happy with them.  And I don't agree to them having a puppy until I've met them and spent a few hours with them.  If I'm not happy then I just say "I don't think that one of my puppies is right for you. :)

i have people on my list i have spoken to on the phone and feel happy with our converstaions but also have a few just interested but still looking around incas ethey find one closer to them or earlier than my litter. I never thought of it like that and am very greatfull with your comment on this and will be taking it on board and changing the way i do my list. thanks

There will be others along soon who can tell you about checking out the person using the internet - which can help weed out the dealer and the con artist ......but you may just not like a person which is hard to check beforehand ....so......once you have telephone interviewed and see something in the person you think may make them suitable, invite them along.

Just never say or imply that the person is going to have the puppy.

Invite people to see the pups but not to pick one. Always say you havnt decided yet which pup or pups you are going to keep.

At the initial interview ( face to face) just generally chat and ask questions and let the people handle the pups ( if they are old enough say at 5 weeks)...dont encourage them to fix on one pup, just keep saying " Oh yes that is one Im considering".

Then you can contemplate the suitability of the prospective buyer alone and without the pressure.

A quick email to say " sorry -all the pups now have their homes" will usually suffice.

The people on this forum who have the most trouble with this, in the main, allow people to choose, fix upon, believe that they will be having a specific puppy ...often even taking a deposit ( a huge no-no unless you want trouble down the line). You would then have to break a verbal and finanicial contract with a potentially very stroppy person.

I often think people take deposits, especially in big litters because they worry about selling them all and feel that, in some way it ties people in...but it also ties you in too!

This may help a bit. I wrote it for the BMD magazine but it could equally welp for any breed:-

Hints and Tips for Interviewing New Puppy Buyers

So a new litter is on the way and the potential buyers are lining up. The next step is to meet them all and interrogate them! A daunting task you may think, here are some hints and tips to try to find the bad eggs out from the nice genuine people.

First contact is usually a phone call or e-mail. If by mail then I suggest you ask them to ring for a chat in the first instance. Have a pad and pen to hand and record the answers to your questions. A liar needs a good memory and so do you... Take such details as address and post code, phone number, always ask for a land line, I realise many do not have one nowadays but most will and it is a more solid indication of a permanent address. Sometimes it is possible to google the name and address to see if anything untoward crops up. Lots of unscrupulous breeders use web sites to sell pups and this information may well come up on googling a persons name or address, it may help a little but do not depend on it. Ask about the type of house and land available, much as it would be lovely to sell all our pups to people with lots of space this can work in favour or against the buyer. The right person will make owning a BMD work in the worst environment...the wrong person will never make it work no matter what the land available. Remember that a BMD needs company and socialisation and someone living in a big house with acres of land who never takes the dog out as it has "Plenty of land to run round in". Who opens the door in the morning and expects the dog to entertain itself all day is not doing it any favours at all. However the one who has a handkerchief of a back garden but is committed to plenty of walks and will take the dog everywhere will make the better owner. Don't forget your puppy will need restricted exercise for a year and a huge garden with no supervision will harm your pups bones so ask questions about why they feel the huge garden is needed. Find out if they are willing to fence of a smaller portion for the pup to start with. Try to ascertain if the garden is the pride and joy of the family and if they will be willing to accept that puppies can and often are very destructive to gardens. 
Ask for information about why a BMD is the chosen breed. What do they know of the character of the BMD, what are they looking for with the new pup? A family companion or a house guard.
Make sure you ask about the children in the household, how many? What ages? Any planned for the next 12 months. Deciding if you are happy with them is up to you, some people have children are that are fine and have a natural way with dogs, some are screaming shouting live wires and may not be the best, better then to wait till they are older.  Younger couples seem to think that the decision to start a family and for Mum to give up work is an ideal time to have a puppy, this is often not the case and dealing with a young pup and a new baby is very stressful. If need be reserve judgement on the children till you meet them to make a final decision.
Ask what is known by the purchaser of health tests, have they done some homework, what about the work commitments, who lives in the house, who will take responsibility for the pup. You may by now have some indication of the type of person you are speaking to.  Listen as much as you talk, subtle little hints can be picked up, ie, "Our last dog never got on with Mum very well", a hint that Mum is not such a doggy lover maybe, does Mum live with the family? "We decorated after our last dog died...the cream carpet in the lounge is lovely" Hmmm, so will the puppy be allowed in the lounge with the family? "Will the pup need extra blankets in the winter" Why? Will it be shut outside in a kennel or outhouse?
One last thing to tell them on the phone is that there are no guarantees given that a puppy will be available for them until you have met face to face. The fact that you are inviting them to meet you is to complete the vetting process and not an absolute agreement to let them have one of your precious pups!
By this time you should be able to pick out some people who you would like to know better. Arrange a time for them to call (If possible before the pups are born) and see how willing they are to travel to meet you. It is advisable to ask to meet everyone who will be living in the house or will have a lot of interaction with the new pup. On the appointed day take careful note of how they cope with the first introduction to your adult dogs, and watch your dogs too they can be a great source of information to you if you read the body language right. Do they take to the visitors or are they wary and stand-offish? You know your dogs and should be able to read them well.
Make sure you have your notes from the phone call at hand, and after the initial introductions then settle down for a long chat. Run over your initial questions again taking careful note of whether the answers are the same as during the phone call. Did the family say that someone was at home all day on the phone and then let slip that actually on a Tues, Wed and Friday everyone goes out to work for the day???
Did Mr Bloggs who you spoke to on the phone say his wife loved dogs only for her to admit she had never owned one before? This is why it is important to ask again and again the same things, try to trip them up, the good honest ones will always have the same answers the others may not. It may sound hard to interrogate like this but you owe it to your pups to find out the true picture this way and people can be very devious if they think you will not like the truth.
See how they react if you offer a cup of tea with the odd dog hair in it!! After all we know that this will be the accepted fact of life for the next 8 to 10 years.
Find out how the family feel about puppy training, are they going to go? Ask leading questions about how they will cope with the poo and puddles a baby pup can create! See how they react when you suggest the new pup may eat the wallpaper and the kitchen cupboards...ask for a rundown of an average day in the family, is the family one who have a lot of holidays every year and may tire of kennel costs or heaven forbid feel it OK to leave the dog overnight alone with some food down !!
Try to find out about the financial stability of the family (I know it's being nosy). Vets bills can be horrific and a BMD costs a good bit more to feed than a Jack Russell so you do need to know that the initial purchase price is not the only costs the family have considered. See if they have made some enquiries about insurance. Ask some leading questions about what they expect of the new pet, casually mention breeding and neutering and if they have thought of it, if they say yes then ask them why. It is up to you to interpret the answers but you need the information in order to make a choice.
When the time comes to meet the puppies once again ask for the whole family to attend. Watch the reaction of any children, how the parents supervise them, how the children react to puppy nibbles, see what little Peggy-sue does (Or more to the point what Mummy does) when the puppy licks her biscuit...Look at how the family have dressed...in designer clothes or something more suitable. How they handle the pups etc. If you pick up a less than spotless pup and thrust it into Mums arms does she quickly hand it back or just accept that pups are often grubby. Be very vigilant and once again run over the same sort of questions about home life, are the answers about the same?

Vetting new owners is quite a daunting job but to do your pups justice you must do your part.
Never sell to someone you have not met. ( Unless you are 100% certain that the buyer is genuine. Or that you know of them from your dealings with Bernese)
Never send a pup off to a home without meeting the family first, remember there may be all sorts of reasons given for not being able to meet you but treat them with great caution. Puppy farmers and exporters can and will be very good liars and will sound very plausible.
Never sell a puppy without endorsements on it's KC Registration and make sure you get a signed copy of your contract including an acceptance of the endorsements applied.
If you have the slightest doubt about someone then check, check and check again, if the doubt persists then go with your head and tell them no.

No one gets it right 100% of the time but be being very watchful and by asking the same things over and over it is often possible to wheedle out the ones who are trying to hide something.

I agree that a long waiting list is not a sensible thing to have.

Waiting implies likelyhood.

Likelyhood causes dissapointment.

Very good article Merlot!

Excellent article..many thanks

Something I'm finding helpful at the moment, is to put people's postcodes into Google maps.  You then get an overhead view of their property and garden, plus you can see what the general area is like as well.  (And whether they are telling porkies about it.)

I never ask any questions at all.  I have the prospective owners round for a cuppa and sit silently letting them talk.  It's amazing what you find out if you listen.  I have a list of questions in my head that I want answered but I feel if you ask like a questionaire, the owners could have answers ready, whereas no-one really thinks your asking anything while chatting? lol.  I actually turned someone down lately as when they came to visit, they chatted their way straight through the paper thin story they had tried to sell me.  I don't have any excuses ready, I just say no, you are not suitable.
Also, deposits?  What's that about.  As if you are going to hold someone to taking your puppy if their circumstances change and they don't want it anymore?  I don't get it.  Is £50 or £100 going to make you do something you don't want to do?  Or hand over your precious bundle to someone unsuitable because of a deposit?

As if you are going to hold someone to taking your puppy if their circumstances change and they don't want it anymore?  I don't get it.  Is £50 or £100 going to make you do something you don't want to do?  Or hand over your precious bundle to someone unsuitable because of a deposit?

they wouldnt be unsuitable if youve agreed to let them have a pup!!??
i ask for small deposit if they dont come for pup at date of going then i have to re advertise feed and look after till i can find a new suitable home.
but if their genuin about the reason then im happy to give the money back no problem at all! :)
xxx

they wouldnt be unsuitable if youve agreed to let them have a pup!!??
i ask for small deposit if they dont come for pup at date of going then i have to re advertise feed and look after till i can find a new suitable home.

So you've never had anyone hold back on information? It's not at all uncommon to find something out at the last moment, something which changes your mind about their suitability. I want to then be able to say no, and not be forced to sell because I've accepted a deposit.

ive been lucky then ,i have turned down a couple this time with this litter its my litter and if i dont like them they dont get a pup, never had a problem with doing it this way and this is my last litter as im not breeding anymore so i will still take small depoists and if i find they have lied to me then they get the money back and dont have a pup :) xxx

What if they refuse and say they want the pup? You've entered into a contract with them and they could make you sell. It's not worth the risk.

The the flip side, not being a breeder myself you could possibly feel pressured into having a puppy you're not happy with if you left a deposit. So if you changed your mind, for what ever reason and the breeder wasn't happy and could keep the money, why should the buyer loose out too.

Personally better all round if no money is exchanged prior to the puppy going to its new home..I've not had to leave a deposit and not sure i'd be happy to either.

The the flip side, not being a breeder myself you could possibly feel pressured into having a puppy you're not happy with if you left a deposit. So if you changed your mind, for what ever reason and the breeder wasn't happy and could keep the money, why should the buyer loose out too.

This is what I tell my buyers and yes, it's just as important. I can only ever remember having two that asked to leave a deposit, one of which was for my last litter. My reply was "No thanks, as I don't want you to feel pressurised, you should be able to change your mind if you want to."

I've never been asked for a deposit myself when buying a pup. I wonder if it's a fairly new phenomenon, along the lines of using invented words like "studding" and people feeling they are capable of breeding a litter from their first ever bitch? I.e. I mean the entire attitude to breeding has changed. I have had puppies in the past from breeders that have been breeding for 40, 50 and even 60 years, top breeders known worldwide, and it seemed to me a deposit wasn't anything they'd ever even thought of.

I paid a deposit for my lab when we got him, I think about £50 and had I never bought a dog before I assumed this was normal however I didn't pay a deposit for either of the Mali's.

yes i can see what you mean :) xx

Well, I had someone cancel a pup after we'd agreed they could have one and they picked which one, etc.  They had visited their pup 3 times in all then I got a call to say they couldn't bond with the pup.  They had just lost their old dog and thought enough time had passed but unfortunately it hadn't and they were still grieving quite badly.  We both decided that it wouldn't be fair on the pup so agreed they shouldn';t take her.  This is the type of situs I was meaning.  If I took deposits, should I have made her carry on with her purchase?

Hi cracar no way!! poor family :( ,i understand what you are all saying and things like that money would be given stright back within a shot! xx

> I'd really annoyed to find I had been patiently waiting for a puppy from a particular breeder only to find they didn't intend to let me have one.  I don't breed and appreciate that this stage must be difficult but I'd have thought by the time I got on a waiting list (rather than just being 'interested') then I would be getting a puppy if there are the right number of sexes, or based on my position in the list etc
>
>

I agree, I have two lists enquiries and actual people I am happy to have a puppy, I used to simply delete the people who didn't make the actual waiting list, but don't now as I keep the info for the benefit of other breeders people may end up going to which I can pass on, to give the next breeder more info on potential puppy buyers.

As for telling people no the best way is to point out why the breed or a puppy or any dog will not be suitable for their situation, rather than to say THEY are unsuitable.  This way it saves them going off in a huff and giving the right answers to the next breeder, or worse getting a puppy from someone who only needs to see the money to let them have one.

> I wonder if it's a fairly new phenomenon, along the lines of using invented words like "studding" and people feeling they are capable of breeding a litter from their first ever bitch?

It's not a new thing, it was something that was advised in 'The book of the bitch' which I read cover to cover before my first litter and many times since.

With that first litter in 1995 I only had 3 pups to home and was messed about by time-wasters 4 times having passed up good potential puppy homes thinking puppies booked.  So started taking the deposits from my next litter and it has worked well for me.

I take a small deposit of £50, but I have a numerically small breed so it avoids me disappointing people on the one hand, and then finding I have pups to be homed after all, for which suitable potential owners may take some time to come along.

£50 is less than the average fuel costs to come and visit and pick a puppy up, so not the sort of money that would make people feel pressured into having a puppy they didn't want, but enough to avoid time wasters.

I also love knowing who the pups are going to from the start/early on so I can build the relationship I like to have with potential owners.

It also means that if something goes wrong with the home down the line they are more likely to come back to you for help. 

I have just taken in a four year old former pup as due to change in their working situation he needs a new home.

In our breed, it is not unusual to find prospective owners "hedging their bets" and booking puppies with multiple breeders. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying it happens with every litter but in these modern times, it happens often enough to notice and it appears that the days where potential owners booked a puppy (and all being well) proceeded to own the pup are less common than they were. 

Asking for a deposit is often a way of determining their commitment to you as a breeder and to the puppy they have reserved.  I would hope that by paying a deposit they are less likely to be undecided about where to purchase their new pup. I would never dream of letting a potential buyer down by reserving them a pup then changing my mind willy-nilly or ditching them and selling to another person and I feel that as breeders we should receive the same courtesy.

I never want to feel a buyer HAS to buy a puppy for fear of loosing their deposit.  I would never keep a deposit simply because when the "spare" pup is homed everything works out equal. However I still feel that a deposit is a sign of intent even if on a rare occasion things don't go to plan and the deposit is subsequently refunded.

Like other breeders, I like to establish a relationship with my potential puppy owners long before the puppy would leave my care (often long before they are even conceived!).  This means that I feel most comfortable knowing well in advance where my pups are going and I believe that if potential owners are serious a deposit is not a problem for either party.  So long as both are in agreement regarding the "terms" of the deposit and it is understood that a deposit is an intention to buy/sell provided both parties remain content from the date the deposit is paid until the actual sale and transfer of the pup to his new home.

After reading this I would like to ask a question as  a buyer not breeder. With regard to meeting all who live in the house how would you feel if you were unable to meet adult children as although they love and live with animals and are happy to live with another really arnt involved with caring for Mums dogs except in emergencies.
Ideally Iwould take my children with me to me a breeder but it is quite hard to demand that this should happen particlualry when it invloves going away for a night or two to get to the breeder, costs time girlfriends boyfriends etc

What would people think btw oh is no problem
Also if you are talking to more than one breeder and want something in particular ie bitch or dog and maybe colour dog as prospective show dog or even in my case the time of year is important due to being at home for the first 2 months of havibg the pup how do you avoid hanging breeders on and booking from more than one litter 

£50 is less than the average fuel costs to come and visit and pick a puppy up, so not the sort of money that would make people feel pressured into having a puppy they didn't want, but enough to avoid time wasters.

I don't agree about that -to some people even a fiver seems to matter. If you pick your buyers carefully why would you end up with time wasters? The fact you did with your first litter could simply have been inexperience.

brainless i have 4 lists......yes, maybe, no and time wasters....amazingly the time wasters seem to email or phone every year but  never get off their arses to come and visit me...always too busy.....then when they hear i have a litter they expect to come and visit...needless to say once they get on the TW list they never get onto the YES list LOL

another source I use is a websitecalled tracesmart which gives a huge amount of info and used judiciously can tell me if a place is rented or owned....and who else lives there....oh and this is all done before i speak to people, so i can decide if i even want to speak to them and take their enquiry further! I also facebook their email address as a list of their friends and job description and lifestyle can all be informative, plus googling their email and phone numbers can give you an interesting bit of info....eg one enquirer, when i googled her email address had four litters of other breeds for sale on the internet.....and another one when I FBd her, turned out to be best mate with the woman Id turned down the week before!!! Lots of sneaky stuff you can do before you even have to consider the enquirer .

I would not want to take deposits from owners because I want to be free, as the breeder, to place pups with even better and more suitable homes, should they make enquiries later on.

My priority is to place pups in working homes, with competition homes being the priority, followed by working but not competing, then followed by a 'good' pet home.  If I took deposits from those homes I had on my list, I might have to turn away competition homes later on.  I want to be free to place the pup with the best home which has enquired after it.

I also want to be able to assess the pups in the litter through aptitude tests and temperament tests and through that, to place them in the most suitable home for them.  I wouldn't be able to, at birth, promise that I would have a suitable pup in a litter for someone enquiring.

Excellent Article Merlot !

Thank you.

Whatever works for people, but taking deposits is not a bad/good practise of itself and perfectly acceptable to many respectable/responsible breeders.

> My priority is to place pups in working homes, with competition homes being the priority, followed by working but not competing, then followed by a 'good' pet home.  If I took deposits from those homes I had on my list, I might have to turn away competition homes later on.  I want to be free to place the pup with the best home which has enquired after it.
>
>

This method is a tad unfair to the potential new owner who doesn't know where they stand until the last minute.  Also I would think it encourages buyers to book with several breeders who then find they haven't got homes for their pups, not good for inter breeder relations. 

Fine In a breed where they an simply go elsewhere and get another puppy without difficulty.  In our breed we pass surplus enquiries to others so you need to know when these are actually surplus at the time a person can still get on someone else's list.

Not so when someone has waited perhaps a year or more when there are few pups available (less than 50 bred last year). 

I too like to have the pick of each sex (if good enough) to preferably be shown, and make it clear that is what will happen, and if I haven't such a booking keep the pick pups until last, but in the end I want good homes first of all, and am not in a position to run pups on (primarily emotionally, as I couldn't re-home an older dog).

I don't think I could wait till the very last minute, but I do think I'd want to wait till pups are around 5 wks before I commit to which homes will get which pups... 

I would make sure that new owners know where they stand with me - ie - that those who are strong potential homes, know that I favour them, and those which are offering good pet homes are aware that others might be prioritised.  If that means that they go elsewhere, then so be it.  I guess I'm lucky enough to be in a breed where there are few dogs in the UK, so unlikely to be other litters available at the same time, and there is a high demand for pups.  I would try not to lead people on though, as that's in no one's best interests.