Do people really buy puppies this way from these places without even getting to see what the individual puppy looks like
Have any of you ever done it ?
I just cannot imagine buying a puppy and having it delivered to my door without seeing if its the right one for us first and without even knowing what it actually looks like health and body wise.

Bev

By giving this link you are encouraging people to look and therefore boosting the "hits" so the website will move further up the search engines.

In the states it is very popular.. i don't see it as much here.. maybe it's the size of the mainland, i suppose. http://www.nextdaypets.com/directory/dogs/sale/ This is one of the more popular ways for a person to purchase a puppy in the states.. (hits do not dictate a site's placement in search engines, metatags do...(trust me.. i know what im talking about.))

Whoops never thought of that, so have removed the link.   They are advertising all over and although not local by any means to me they are appearing in local ad edition papers with big ads week after week right at the beginning.

Bev

In 1992 I drove 16 miles straight (ah to be young and foolish) to purchase an English Bulldog from a preferred breeder.  In retrospect, i could have gotten the same information with a dvd from the breeder and a one way fare would have saved me 32 hours of driving and cost me less... a lot less. 

I'm just saying, that some people do not find it very easy to drive to a remote place in the UK they have never been to.. and shipping could be an option for them.  Heck, i racked up hundreds of miles driving around just to visit breeders before purchasing my puppy, and that was no easy feat.

16 miles is a big deal?

The rule of thumb is: Do not buy if you haven't seen the puppy and its mother in their home. Anyone who'll sell a puppy to a stranger, sight unseen, is to be giver the widest berth possible.

My guess is that Vodaberry meant 16 hours (with 32hours being the round trip!).

When my friend had a litter for sale she insisted all puppy buyers visited her in person and saw the mother of the puppies. One puppy buyer came all the way from Switzerland and before he took his puppy home, she travelled there to completely check out the potential home before the puppy went there. Everyone who bought a puppy from her was visited at their home, and had to go to her. She felt if they couldn't be bothered then they were not likely to bother with the puppy once the novelty had worn off.

I would not sell a puppy to somebody I had not met nor had dealings with. I had an enquiry from the USA this summer, and again the potential owner came to visit here and I have been invited there. To some people a dog is a commodity, a fashion accessory even, they could not give a toss where it ended up, rescue or worse, dying from neglect or cruelty.

Every good dog owner should be trying to steer potential owners of the future towards going to a good breeder and freezing these places out of business. Sadly they seem to be on the increase at the moment. Looking in Adtrader this week I discovered another one has set up near me! We need to look at places like local schools and Brownies/cubs if such things still exist and go along and teach these kids that dogs are not horrible, are not fashion accessories, and should be treated humanely, try to steer them away from these places. We should also be trying to get some tighter regulations for these places, maybe even stop the trade altogether.

Gawd, if folk think its hard to visit and buy the right puppy they should try buying the right horse! I have travelled miles and miles and spent £££££ on visiting, viewing and transporting horses!

If you do not read Our Dogs I suggest you look on line at the news section of their edition covering the Christmas period. They report on a man called Walsh who is awaiting sentencing on 11th January, at Blandford Forum Court for cruelty to animals, and not the first offence either! He has a place such as you describe.

We spent hundreds of ££££'s on one of our boy's. We  travelled to Finland to see him when he was about 12 weeks then again when we picked him up at 10 months. I can't imagine buying a little soul without seeing him/her first but there are people who are not bothered about it's first few weeks of life and enough unscrupulous breeders who know that!!

John Walsh :(

Yes, i meant 32 hours.. sorry (on the return trip i stopped for what i thought would be a 30 minute nap and woke up 4 hours later).

I think what happens, as i try and be fair all around is.. a person travels all that way, does see the mother and is happy with the pup so picks up the pup and returns to their home.  Im not sure the breeder could be in the position to visit the potential homes of all buyers.... in all cases.  My breeder would have to travel 2000 miles round trip (NY to Tennessee), just to check out my home... im not sure if that is feasable or not.  Although i am sure its the right thing to do.

So some people, who do not have the time or resources to travel for almost two days, may have pictures sent to them.. or a dvd, and then pay $250.00 shipping.

Do not buy if you haven't seen the puppy and its mother in their home.

I have seen dozens of what i presume to be responsible breeders advertise "shipping". Is this a big no-no? What about top breeders who ship their offspring all over the world? Surely the buyers can not travel to a different country,or county even just to check out a pup.

I've seen just as many Hailey... and i dont even presume them to be responsible breeders.. they come highly reccomended.  A friend of mine has a Basenji shipped from Africa to Albequrque, New Mexico.  The breeder is reknowned and she waited on the list for a long time.  She corresponded with her breeder for 10 months.  Paid close to $3000.00 for the dog and more to have it shipped to Atlanta, Ga, which she then picked up from the airport.  The Basenji came with a guarnatee that for one year and if it did not pass the initail vet examination at the hospital the breeder offered to have it returned at thier expense.  That was 4 years.  Dog is fine. 

Don't forget that many responsible breeders know others from around the world, and can ask if prospective foreign purchasers are members of their relevant breed clubs - ie they can be vetted by someone the breeder trusts. I myself have vetted homes for other breeders in this country if the distance is too far for the breeder to travel and be home in time to see to the litter ... With my own litters I've had prospective buyers travel 150 - 200 miles to view the puppies - and some were turned down!

Jeangenie, can i ask, what do you look for in a potential buyer, that would cause you to turn them down? I mean, is it something they say that shoots themself in the foot?

Sometimes it's what they say, sometimes it's what they do, sometimes it's just a gut feeling of distrust.