I have bought a pup from an internet website which was
fantastically worded, saying all the right things like parents can be viewed
kc reg, insured, wormed etc until I got pup home. Pup has been
sick with diahorria, full of worms, ear infections, and a hernia, and I did'nt get
to veiw mum and dad. I have now been told by the vet it is going to cost
quite a bit to get this poor little mite to full health, he did advise me to
contact the breeder and yes when I tried to ring them it was engaged for
hours, then when I did get through they disconnected when i tried to tell
them the problems. Do you think I have been duped by puppy farmers or
agents? how can we protect ourselves from this terrible situation that goes
on and on, I can't beleive I have been so naive and am angry at myself.

It happens :( Don't beat yourself up over it, so many people get taken in by this sort of *breeder*.

In future, always ask to see the dam and possibly the sire. Ask if the breeder is a member of the breed club.

A good breeder will rarely have puppies available when you ring, normally they will want to meet you and then let you know if they are willing to put you on a waiting list for a puppy

Get to know the breed before buying, go to shows or obedience, talk to owners and breeders so you know what you are looking for and can talk with some confidence.

Make sure your breeder answers any and all questions that you have, including 'do you have your dogs health tested?' 'Do you supply aftercare for the puppies?'

You can always Register with us and then you can post again if you want to :)

I hope you manage to pull your puppy round & at least he/she will be a lucky puppy in finding a good home with you. Sadly the puppy farmers/dealers are very gifted with sales patter & you will not be the first or last person to be deceived

If you at a later date decide to get another pedigree puppy Mel's advice is very sound. I know our first GSD(then called Alsatian)was from a kennels such as the one you got yours from & I learnt my lesson from my Dad's mistake & got my first dog from a very good kennels who grilled me re wanting the puppy etc !

Is it not possible to report this to somewhere like the council? If they get lots of complaints wont the council at least have to go out to the premises and check before they re-issue the license?

Hi Guest am so sorry you have been duped like this .But i so hope your baby will pull through and be OK.Personally if i could not see at least the pups with their mum. I would not touch them with a 10 foot bargepole.Breeders like this and i say breeders in the loosest possible terms should be hung drawn and quartered.They are an absolute disgrace .And personally i think they should be publicly named and shamed

It happens we all need to watch out for these so called breeders it does sound like that you have been taken in by a puppy farmer post the site link and tell everyone how bad they are.

Anyone who is buying a new dog should see the parents of the pup as these pups usually come from Ireland. Don't usually get any papers from the farms tho so it cpolud be just a bad breeder.

naming and shaming is all very well if you have all the facts. this sounds like a real bad breeder but you have to be very careful what you say on a public forum. just recently we were named and shamed by a person and when the truth came out that it was a pack of lies, very few people said sorry. those that did were sad that this was all aired on the forum. s please becareful. I in no way condone the actions of bad breeders. they are a nightmare and yes should be stopped.
Mr Leo I wish you well with your pup and I hope he stays with you as his forever home. We took in 3 rescue sibes last year from one breeder, 2 had to be put to sleep because they were in so much pain and the 3rd is on meds for the rest of his life.
Cheers
Terry

Going back to the title of the post, "How can we protect ourselves when buying"

It is not always the best litter of puppies that have both parents, more cases than not a good breeder will have used another stud. So generally it is only the mother you will see.  If they have both ask why the father was used?

FIRST RULE is don't let you heart rule your head they are with you a long time so a little wait is worth it for the right puppy.

Always see the mother. If they say NO or have an excuse then walk away. There is very few reason on earth not to see the mother

Don't just select from Internet sites, check with the breed club that the breeder is a club member and that they would recommend the breeder as being above board, with the breed at heart.

Ask why they have bred the litter? How many litters they have bred? How many litter has the bitch had etc etc

Talk to the breeder for a reasonable length of time till you are satisfied with them as a person. If they are not reputable generally some cracks will appear on questioning. Good breeders will chat and chat about their breed quite happily.

Lastly always get a sign receipt ( puppy contract)  as the puppy is covered under the Sale of Goods Act.

Good luck hopefully you can sort the little thing out.

Was it insured by any chance??

Pam

Totally agree if you're not allowed to see the mother or the rest of the litter I'd be very wary.  Some of these kind of people are very good at the chatter and can easily fool people.

I will have the father of my next litter as I imported him in partnership with his breeder so some good breeders :d do have both parents but more often than  not I would say that this is rare especially for the more common breeds.

Well that puts a lot of good breeders out as not everybody belongs or indeed trusts their breed club to be honest. Some breed clubs only tell you about the litters that their friends have. We have been in our breed over 10 years now and have produced some top winning dogs. When people get in touch with me regarding pups I always have to defend myself for not being a club member.
Still we don't breed often enough to be a threat to their list
When we do have a litter we encourage people to visit as often as possible and to meet all of our dogs. This way a bond is developed between us and the new family. We always that we don't sell you a pup we adopt you as a member of our family
Sorry rant over

Sibernut, :-))

"Well that puts a lot of good breeders out as not everybody belongs or indeed trusts their breed club to be honest"

If you are a successful breeder with winning dogs, then you are in a different catogory but remember we are trying to guide the untrained person here and it is the only tool we really have.  You reputation alone would support you.  There will always be exception to the rules but the breed club for most breeds is the best recommendation they can get.

Even for a reference only.

One thing the breed club generally doesn't support is the backyard breeder so as long as they don't then as far as I am concerned it is the best guidelines you can give someone.

References from any successful breeder counts just the same.

If the poster had contacted the breed club I can bet my next salary they would not be in the situation they are in now :-))

Sorry your club isnt the best and if they keep buyers to themselves that is wrong but not for me to comment on.. 

My comments and concerns is the buyer getting a good puppy :-))

PS forgot to add that I 100% agree you should meet people a few times if you can. The few puppies I have sold the people still keep in touch. Not daily or weekly but enough for me to be happy.

It isnt easy for buyers these days so any help is a little help

Pam

Hi - Can I ask what breed of dog u bought?? I am looking to buy a staff bull terrier pup and after reading all the comments from folk on here it all seems a bit scary.  :-(( I do hope your pup is well and on the mend now.