Selling pups

[jd1994]

I'm just wondering if when selling puppies it is normal to get more people asking for a free dog than genuine buyers? I have put my adverts on lots of different online sites as well as in the local paper but it seems the adverts are only getting looked at by people who want a sympathy puppy. I have spoken to another breeder and he has said he hasn't had anything like this before , is it a full moon or something?!

[GhiaX]

I'm a bit anti-breeding for profit so I might be a tad biased with my reply.

As far as I see it, if the people do not have the money to pay for a puppy then I fail to see how they will have the funds to feed it correctly and make sure it gets the correct veterinary care when required. So in theory only those people who are willing to pay a sizable sum for an animal would give it a decent home. Key words there being in theory, practice can sometimes be different.

There are plenty of animals also in Rescue centres that need good homes.

As I said, I'm a tad biased...

[jd1994]

That's exactly what I was trying to get at, having a dog is a luxury and not a nessesity . It's pretty strange that people think after all the time and money I have spent (food , inoculations, pedigrees, microchippiing etc etc) that I am a bad person who is only concerned about money and doesn't care about my animals welfare because I will not give them away for free so that some kid can have a free birthday present

[Mubby]

Possibly similar for all animals, I can only go on my baby rats last year that was not planned and the result of an escape! I advertised them for a fee similar to pet shops as I did not want people taking them for reptile food or just because they were a freebie.

However, I had one person ask for one for free, then ask if I had a free cage with it,being the nice person I am I said I may have an old one she could have, then she asked If I could supply litter and food until she had chance to get some, then did I have any spare bowl and bottles!! Bloody cheek, at the point I politely pointed out that she would not be getting my rat as If she couldn't afford/be bothered to get food for it I worried for its welfare! oh and she wanted me to deliver it all to her free too because she didn't drive!!! lol

Edited by Mubby on Tuesday 28th February 18:48

[bexVN]

You'll be surprised at how many people will spend several hundred pounds on a puppy then moan about the cost of vaccinating or worming.

Unfortunately the amount owners spend on a pup does not always mean a well cared for pup, which I can never understand.

Neither do I agree with free to a good home though.

[Who me ?]

GhiaX said:

I'm a bit anti-breeding for profit so I might be a tad biased with my reply.


There are plenty of animals also in Rescue centres that need good homes.

As I said, I'm a tad biased...

Moi aussi. My last three dogs (including present one) have all been Rescue dogs . Current one's donation to rescue society was a lot less than a pup,and he's my preferred breed( although he was eight year old) . He needed a home and I wanted a Cairn . We're both happy.
Possibly I've been lucky. I've taken in thre dogs in distress, two who had been badly treated, one that just wanted out of kennels .We gave them love/attention and all the things a dog needs.

[jd1994]

The comment about the rats is exactly what I was trying to get at. I can appreciate that they are expensive dogs , of course I can but I don't understand the reluctance to do what I (and many others do) and save the money for a few weeks/month. If the buyers haven't got the commitment to wait a few weeks to get the money together then how the hell they think they will have the commitment to training and exercising a stubborn breed such as mine

[Karyn]

jd1994 said:

a stubborn breed such as mine

I read this and thought, "I wonder what breed it is... I bet it's a bull terrier breed of some sort..."


Then I remembered your post in photos of dogs thread... EBTs, right?!





We saved for ages for ours, and then were thoroughly vetted by the breeders! Stick to your guns... at least if they've crossed your palm with the silver, coupled with a thorough "Owner Interview", the pups stand a slightly better chance of a good life...

(Ignoring all those people with wads of cash and no animal sense, of course... )

[Jasandjules]

Never heard of that. We have several people on the waiting list who haven't even asked the price, but they have all agreed to abide by my contract.

[jd1994]

Yeah they are EBTs , stubborn was the giveaway aha. People on the waiting list for me too but there were only 4 of the 6 provisionally sold so I advertised the other 2 . maybe people think swearing at me down the phone is the definition of running a hard bargaining pitch or something :/

[Jasandjules]

I would stick to enquiries from Champdogs or your breedclub TBH and remove it from any papers (though I will say I've known pedigree pups to go to good homes after being advertised on Gumtree, which was rather a surprise to me!).

[jd1994]

I think you might be right tbh , I had heard good things about gumtree but it doesn't seem to be doing me any favours. Thanks for the advice everyone .

[balders118]

My OH and I have been wanting a dog for a while now, and then the OH's mum's friend's daughter's dog (lulz) got pregnant accidently as a new dog the took as a rescue (that she literally rescued herself, but thats another story) got her other dog up the duff pretty quick. She offered one to us for free, but we feel obliged to give something to at least cover the costs of bringing our pup up until she's 8 weeks old. I can't believe people would ask for a free dog when it is advertised for £xxx! You wouldn't do that for anything else.

[JohnnyJones]

How have you worded your advert?

I've sold 2 litters of terrier pups in 3 years and never had anyone asking for one free.

I've been lucky enough to have enough interest to turn unsuitable people away.

[jd1994]

I'm pretty sure that a lot of the people are just dreamers tbh , the price is at the bottom of the advert so there cannot really be any doubt about if they are free or not . I can understand what you are saying though . It just seems to be that some of the people have a sense of self entitlement , actually got asked if I could do a better price because the buyer was a single mother and unemployed :/

[Jasandjules]

jd1994 said:

actually got asked if I could do a better price because the buyer was a single mother and unemployed :/

My response would be that I am afraid you are not going to get one of my dogs at even the full price as you don't appear able to afford to properly look after it.

[JohnnyJones]

Mine too. Too many people want 'a puppy' for all the wrong selfish reasons. Selling puppies is a huge responsibility.

[jd1994]

Tell me about it , had 40 messages and offers and sold 1. I don't think I can be too critical of the buyers though , it certainly is a big responsibility. It's just that I would go spare if I sold a pup and then found out the owners couldn't afford to look after it or had done something stupid with it .