There have been some posts over the last few months,where people have mentioned that they do not feel you should buy or sell puppies via the internet :-)

Just out of curiosity :D

Can anyone, who feels that the internet is not an acceptable means of advertising puppies explain their reasoning?

Is the internet different from any other advertising medium?

Is it not down to the breeders to vet potential homes and for potential *homes* to do their homework on the breeder, before they buy a puppy from any source?

The internet is undoubtably the fastest growing medium for communication. It would be interesting to hear your views on why you are for or against, the use of the net to sell/buy puppies? :-)

When I was looking for a Malamute puppy my first stop was the Internet. Not to buy , but to find out about the breed , check out different lines , find out about different breeders etc etc

My first contact with my breeder was through email ...even though there were no puppies actually advertised online

Melody

When I was looking for a GWP puppy, the first place I looked was the internet. Found a fantastic breeder via the gwp club home page and have been friends ever since!

I did nearly two years worth of homework - mainly on the internet, joining email groups etc. I never once thought to go via the KC route. I knew they would just give me a list of puppies available and I wanted more than that.

Helen

Hi Leigh

When I got my second cocker, I used the internet to search for breeders, I then looked at their respective websites etc. I think you can also get an idea of how people are when you speak with them on the phone. If they are prepared to spend half an hour giving you advice etc, and telling you info about the pups they have & their parents etc, then personally I think that is a good sign.

If I wouldn't have done a search, I wouldn't have found my breeder (who is extremely reputable), only because at the time, I hardly knew anyone within my breed. I am glad I did.

Natasha

I know its not exactly relevant re: puppies but since we went online we have rehoused a few more rescue labs and reached a wider area :)

IMO the internet is no different to any other advertising medium - as you say it is up to breeders to vet homes - and buyers to vet breeders! That may be more difficult with an "international" advertising space - but it is still up to breeders to vet - or to explicitly limit their ad to a particular geographical location if necessary.

But while the internet is great for finding information and making contacts, it is also full of misinformation. This is not a criticism of the net - it is inevitable where publishing is unrestricted and so easy. So potential owners have to sift through the rubbish and find the good stuff - and unfortunately some of the "all breed" information sites do give duff information on breeds (not this one of course ;) )!

All that said I am a big fan of the internet. I know many dogs that have been successfully rehomed, saved from being PTS in shelters, and placed as pups in suitable homes - as well as families that have been saved from the pain of making a mistake in their choice of dog - all through the internet!

its only an advertising tool like any other.you sell someone a pup when you have met them and weighed them up.the net just as the newspaper is just the way they find out about the litter.

When I came back from my first trip to Crufts a year ago in May, I was armed with the programme full of breeders websites. Until then, it hadn't occurred to me to use the internet to look for them. In fact I hardly used it at all until then! I spent hours trawling through all the breeders listed in my preferred breeds. It was extremely useful to be able to see the dogs some of the breeders had,to know if they were "my type" or not, before wasting their time and mine only to find this out after a long journey. It may have resulted in my travelling further afield than I would otherwise for a puppy, but I'm 100% happy with the breeder I found (through Champdogs!), and I've learned so much along the way.
I would highly recommend it as a method of finding a puppy. You don't just tick a box next to the puppy you want and have it delivered (they don't do that anywhere, do they? ). As long as you have to contact the breeder, it is just another means of introduction.
LynnT

Hi Leigh, I went onto the internet I wanted to find a Bouvier breeder
but I would not have purchased straight from the internet wanted to see the set up
and in my case both times the breeders wanted to meet us.so in my view the internet can be very informative but you must never get lazy and deal with a machine rather
then deal with a person .

Pat xx

In some ways the internet is better than adverting in a newspaper - especially if the enquiry comes from your own website.

Looking at the paper someone could see puppies advertised and think - I want one of those - at least if they have looked for your website they are (probably) looking for a specific breed.

Providing both buyer and seller do their homework on each other I can see no reason not to use the internet as an advertising medium - and if everyone said they don't agree with it then sites like Champdogs would just collapse! :).

Christine

I agree Christine. I haven't sold a puppy to an inquirer from the 'net as I haven't had any I put our details on this site (without thinking about it much :-)). But I've a had inquiries, and have been pleasantly surprised by the 'quality' of people that have got in contact. If they live within a reasonable distance I always invite people who e-mail via Champdogs to visit for a chat, and to meet a number of adults in a home setting. I'd have been more than happy with any of those who have come as prospective puppy owners, and have 'passed them on to' other people who do have pups.

Well I have the internet and Champdogs in particular to thank for finding my first Golden. I searched for Lincolnshire breeders of GR and found a name and number for someone who happened to have a pup she'd been holding onto while waiting for the right home. I looked at breed profiles etc on the internet. I then asked the breeder lots of pertinant questions and she did me too :D

It is just another from of advertising and contact through Internet sites is no different to someone responding to a newspaper advert.

The problems arise when there is no policing of the advertising vehicle and puppy farmers are able to advertise. This sickens me when I see it in our local paper or on Internet sites.

A specialised site such as this with a "help" board attached is my prefered to a purely advertising site as hopefully people will look and see the ideal type of home/breeder to purchase from and get an idea of the right types of questions to ask - health checks etc. People are not often intentionally responding to "dodgy" adverts - they do not have the experience to read between the lines. I am now much more knowledgeable than I was and it is thanks to the posters on here ;)

I think if you look at puppy adverts in isolation then the internet is no different, better or worse than newspapers.

However, what the internet does provide is easily accessible information which has to be a bonus. Now you could say that if you really want to know you will work hard to look and the internet makes it to 'easy'. But believe me if you are on the 'outside' of the dog world, looking in can appear quite daunting. I know it's not intentional it's just that it can appear that way:)

On the internet you can get a variety of views on the same breed of dog from a variety of sources, also it has the added bonus of email which means you can contact people and they can answer your questions etc when it is convenient for them, especially if you want to ask lots;) I know people are happy to talk on the phone and you can get a better feel for them, but if you forget to ask something you don't have to worry if it's classed as harrassment;)

I agree with SaraW (actually I agree with everything she has said:) )sites like this are a definate improvement, and without this site I would never have learnt the stuff I have or discovered the breed I now love:) Despite loads of paper research:D And I cetainly wouldn't have plucked up the courage to go for it without the considerable email contact I've had with a certain person on this board;)

It is through the internet and Champdogs and advice from one of the members that I now have Lacey (and avoided a possible disaster), and its through them that I have gained a little insight as to what to look for when looking for a good breeder. It is also through them that I now have a little more knowledge of the breed. In the right hands the internet is a fantastic tool, but it's when it's in the wrong hands there are problems. Same as anything else I suppose.

I think websites by personal owners and advertising through the medium is just another method of getting the information out. I know if I moved to a new area, it would be difficult to find what I was looking for just by going through old newspapers and phone books. I'd lack the contacts and social structure to learn the ropes of the local information net.

I found Stan (although he's not quite mine yet!) through a contact on this site and although the site does not permit puppies for sale type posts, there seem to be people willing to provide contacts for breeders.

I agree with Leigh. I work in advertising and don't think there's anything wrong in putting up ads that say Pups for sale. Just as long as the breeders are reputable, the dogs well-cared for and not over-bred and the prospective owners are vetted by the breeder when following up.

I certainly don't agree with any 'Order a pup delivery in the next 24 hours' type of thing tho!

Julie x

I also think it is fine as long as, as you say

>>

Is it not down to the breeders to vet potential homes and for potential *homes* to do their homework on the breeder, before they buy a puppy from any source? <<

I think we were all up in arms about the puppies on the auction.

Pam

I think the problem with having 'pups for sale' ads is that it is impossible to properly vet all the ads to ensure that these were from reputable breeders. You can argue that it is no different from advertising in the classified columns in a newspaper, but personally I don't think this is an appropriate place to advertise puppies either.

A personal website for a breeder which advertises a litter is something quite different, as it is set in the context of some (we hope) information and background.

The internet is an excellent place for finding information about dogs (and other pets). A good web search will inevitably bring you to a discussion list where you can get some personal insights into the pet that you want, and eventually make contact with a breeder/rescue centre and find the right dog for you. That, to my mind is the right way to do it. Lists of 'puppies for sale' makes it too easy to skip all the research, if you see what I mean. It's quite useful to make it a little bit of a challenge...

Cheers,
Tina

Hi Tina

I take on board what you say , but I still do not see the difference between advertising on the Internet and advertising in general. Neither party can be sure about the other until they have met and talked whether the adverts are in the paper , on a personal site , or in the vets surely?

Breeders who advertise on the web need to be as careful about who they let their puppies go to as Breeders who advertise anywhere I would have thought.

I think a breeder who is worth their salt will *interrogate* any prospective puppy buyer , no matter where their info came from.

:)

Melody

LOL at the mind picture of an involved "interrogation" (black and white film noir)

Little room with hanging electric light swaying.
The prospective owner quietly sitting , hands tied behind back and blindfolded. In complete and utter terror of Helga the horrendous with her whip :D :D :D
"And how vill vee plan do housetrain de poopie????"

Not realistic, but rather humorous in my twisted little brain :D :D :D

<<Little room with hanging electric light, prospective owner blindfolded >>

NO, No, no !!!

You don't shine the light in their eyes and THEN blindfold them -

this defeats the object of the exercise :)

Doh!

Some people have NO idea how to do a good interrogation , do they Christine?

:D :D

Melody

Like most here, I see no harm in making "first contact" through a website, but I'd never buy a puppy unseen, even if the breeder allowed it (in fact, I think that would make me steer clear) - heard the expression "sold a pup" to mean a bad bargain?

I got my BCs from an Orkney dairy farm, the first via a newspaper ad., so I see little difference. However - going to choose Dog 1 - what a grilling! It was, of course, extremely polite and well-veiled, but it was DEFINITELY "Are you the sort of person that's good enough for one of our dogs?" - and that from an "ordinary" Orkney farmer and his family (Four of them, two of us!).

I am happy to say that, having seen Dog 1 on a regular basis since we bought him, they formed the opinion that we were totally mad (true enough :D)*, but that it was obvious that we loved the dog. When we bought Dog 2 from them, a simple phone call was enough. (I should explain: we had seen the second pup when we took Dog 1 back to visit, but had been trying to pretend to each other that we were not getting a second dog!).

So, I don't think the method of "first contact" matters - it's how you go about things after that.

*perhaps the pawprint-signed Christmas cards may have contributed to the farmer thinking we were mad......