Arghhh now im nervous, after looking for a puppy for some time we are going to see a little boy on Saturday who is pretty much ready to go, so if we like him and the breeder likes us he is ours.

Im nervous about meeting the breeder i guess, i dont know why but what is it that makes them not like you? I'm just paranoid that will we go all the way down to Gloucester, really like the dog and then for some reason the breeder says we aren't suitable!

The pup I have booked has just been born and I have the same worries about meeting the breeder, worrying in case she doesnt like me or thinks me unsuitable.  I have done loads of research on my breed and I know I have the right environment to bring the pup up in therefore really there shouldnt be a problem.  Just act yourself, ask loads of questions and be prepared to be asked loads back, im sure you will be fine.  What breed are you going for ?? :)

Its a little sheltie.......Ive been reading the perfect puppy and ive got the shetland sheepdog owners companion, and my parents and my boyfriends parents have both had shelties in the past so i have a good idea what they are like.

My other stress at the moment is that as i say the puppy is ready to go as it is alreasy 9 weeks old... but we dont have any stuff for it yet, the reason being that the other breeders we contacted arent having puppies until April so we havent had to get the stuff yet, and if we get it now then what if the owner doesnt like us?

We only have a small house and garden which is why we've gone for the small breed, my partner works from home and im at uni although obviously living at home with him, and already im basically finished until september so i am at home loads anway and theres a HUGE park across the road with streams and all sorts that my other dogs used to love so it will get lots of exercise and love of course

Your excitement and dilemas remind me of when we were approached by the breeder of our Rosie. :)
All I can say is that 'honesty' was definately the deciding factor for the breeder letting us have Rosie...I let it slip that myself & hubby couldn't have children during one of our many phone calls. OH wasn't best pleased at me divulging this, not because he saw it as too 'personal', but rather that he thought the breeder may take the view that we were trying to replicate the absence of a child. OMG....now I started to worry!...how stupid was I?...will she really think that?..It turned out that our scenario was more of an 'appeal' factor to the breeder than a concern. :D
So....I'd throw all caution to the wind and go out and get everything you'll need...you'll have no time to do it after the breeder confirms "you'll make fine parents" and hands the pup over to you ! :D   Even if thats not the case this time (which I'm sure it will be) ...you'll need all the essentials at some point anyway....and its so exciting choosing stuff for them. However, our breeder not only gave us enough of her 'familiar' food and supplement tablets for a fortnight, but also gave us her special bed (a massive gorilla :D ), her lead and toys etc.
Anway.....do you need an excuse to do out and spend, spend, spend ;)
Hope it all goes well for you GreatBritGirl
.....next dilema.....names 
Jo
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I never need an excuse to spend lol, time for a trip to Pets At Home me thinks :) we just bought a new car tho lol and the puppy is £475 so where im gonna get the money is the next question lol, its also b/f's birthday on thursday which has cost me a fortune!! Oh well never mind i always have enough money to spend in a petstore hehe, maybe i shouldnt take the b/f tho he might have a heart attack hehe

LOL....OMG everything you've said is a carbon copy of our situation at the time too ! Get that flexible friend out and give it some serious exercise :D
Jo
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Our last trip to Pets at Home ended rather abruptly when Glazby decided to "splash his boots" in there!!  Oops!!!

Good luck with the visit though I'm sure you'll do fine and you'll have to keep us posted with how the little one is coming on!!

Now go and have fun spending some money!!!

O.K. so before i run off to the pet store you guys can help me with my list of things:

Bed/Bedding
Collar / Lead (even if the owner gives us theres you can never have too many !!)
Bowls
Toys
"pen" materials for setting aside a special area for the puppy
StairGate - guess i have 2 get that somwhere else

Is that all for now?

Obviously theres food etc but i cant get that until we get the pup and find out what food its on, same with tag and worming treatments etc.

Oooh....feel like I'm shopping right now! ...trying to think....Ahh, yes...Argos/Index have stairgates (even the special dog ones, but I just use a baby one), we also got the plug socket covers from there too.....That was it...have just remembered....what about a crate/pet carrier for the journey home?....and if there is a journey involved...I took bottled water to pour in a little plastic drinking bowl.
Apart from that...can't think of anything else...I'm getting to feel as excited as you and not thinking straight ! :D

OMG, I'm in exactly the same situation as you, GreatBritGirl! We're off to see a 10 week old Staffordshire Bull Terrier on Saturday, and if everything goes as planned, we'll be coming home with him.

The breeder quizzed us on the phone for an hour, but I'm still completely nervous. After he phoned on Sunday night I actually had trouble sleeping though sheer nervousness and excitement. I feel like a 10 year old kid about to go for an interview with the headmaster. I've actually booked Friday off work to properly puppy-proof the house and garden (we've already done most of it, but I'm paranoid!), and I've booked Monday and Tuesday so I can chill with the little dude. IF we get him!

I'm also freaking out trying to source a puppy play pen/ex-pen somewhere in Dublin...

the breeder hasn't asked us much yet other than "are you planning on going to work and leaving it all day?" to which obviously we replied no, we work from home.... so i guess the quizzing comes on Saturday

What did your breeder ask you for an hour?

AND we also need to spend Friday puppy proofing the house, we actually need a new fence panel in the garden so we will be off to B&Q for some emmergency repairs, we have already had the back fence raised so that the dog couldnt jump out so the garden should be suotable for a small dog

A lot of the time was just general chatter about the breed, but he quizzed us about what we wanted the dog for (pet/showing, etc.), why we liked the breed, if someone was home all day, if we'd previously owned dogs, if we'd previously owned Staffords, if we planned to train, what training we planned to do, if we had a fully-fenced garden, other pets, kids, if we were aware of the control of dogs act here in Ireland, etc. He basically quizzed us about all the care a small puppy needs, and how much research we'd done into the breed (lots!). He was also quite adamant that we enrolled in a puppy class, and started training early.

I have to say, we were *overjoyed* to find someone who was asking all those finicky questions. We've spoken to people who just didn't seem to care where the pup was going to. I'm actually going to take a list of questions to ask the breeder  - just in case I forget anything.

For the car ride, people have recommended that we take: a crate (the breeder said he wouldn't let his puppy go without one), a bottle of water and a bowl, a bath towel, and some paper towels/newspaper - in case the pup gets car sick or has accidents. Oh, and a collar and lead in case you need to make a rest stop, and need something to keep hold of the pup.

I'm excited! I hope it all goes well for you. :)

I would suggest you don't panic too much about getting stuff until you know you are getting the puppy if you don't have the money this week but would have next week.

Naturally I went out the day we visited our puppy (three weeks before collecting her) and spent a fortune in Pets at Home, followed by several more trips shortly after, and purchases on Ebay for the cage etc.  But you will note in the perfect puppy book it says you only need some old folded up blankets for a bed, a big cardboard box will do the job of a cage temporarily, toys can be as simple as a couple of old socks rolled up...although getting used to a collar early is a good idea, it can wait a few days as he/she won't be going out just yet so the lead isn't essential either at this stage, and I'm sure you have some old plastic bowls that will do the job of food/water bowls for a few days.  Hopefully you will get some food to be sent home with...so there's not really anything you desperately need to rush out and buy this week.  If you do get the puppy at the weekend, then you can have a couple of days with old blankets, old socks and old bowls and go out next week and do your shopping.

Its nice to have all new stuff of course, and its not that you can't afford it full stop (otherwise don't get a puppy lol you'll be skint forever!) just that you can't afford it this week as you hadn't planned on getting the puppy so early, so just think about what things you can delay buying for now - spend the money you have this week on getting the fence panel fixed!  Oh and make sure you have kitchen roll and wipes ie Flash wipes would be my advice!

After moaning about money i did go to pets at home, took the b/f and only spent £20 he claims i would have spent hundreds if i was left alone in there.
Just got a small bed, got some cheap blankets the other day for the car but when i opened them they are nice soft blankets ideal for bedding, got a couple of bowls and a collar and lead...ive got lots from my old dogs but they are all huge because ive never had a puppy before.
Also got it a little toy to play with, even if we dont get this puppy we are hoping to get one soon, so it will be put to good use at some point.

Well done you for being so sensible! You've a better willpower threshold than me...and you're right, nothing will go to waste, you'll be new mummies and daddies soon I'm sure :D
Lots of luck
Jo
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how did you only spend £20!!! in the last few weeks i have spent hundreds preparin for the day my little darlin arrives - mind you i went shoppin without the OH.
I am due to collect my baby on friday and i am sooo xcited. i have been in contact with the breeder for weeks and she has always made me feel comfortable. dont be worried about visitin they only want what is best for the dog and you obviously sound like you have prepared - i would recommend that you just go and be yourself.
good luck on saturday but i am sure you will be fine.

I only spent £20 because the OH was with me ;-) AND because we don't know we will definitely get the puppy this weekend it seems silly to spend hundreds, once we know and get the puppy then there will be stair gates, lots more accessories etc to buy but no point in having loads of stuff lying around.............OH will kill me once we get the dog and i go shopping lol

hi
i am sure you will get your pup this week-end.
when you have been shoppin i would tell the OH that they were havin a sale lol - it seems to work with my other half (but maybe thats cos he is daft!)
it is the waitin thats awful - i have been waitin for 4 years to be in a position to have another dog and as the time draws near to get mine it gets worse!!! roll on friday!

all the best for saturday

got my stair gate from argos - they have some good ones and they are quite cheap

also argos have got some cheap picnic blankets (plastic backed) which are ideal for the car

Thanks for the info re the stairgate ive been looking at Argos, they have a nice portable one which im thinking of getting because its easy to move and fold up and if we go round to my parents we can take it there, so should be good.
OH is strange he seems to think we should have a collar and lead that match the dogs coat instead of a nice brightly coloured ones ....wait till the dogs a bit older and he will see what im like in petsathome lol