How disgusting! Let down by breeder. General Chat

Wanting a red and white border collie my wife, myself and my two children had booked a pup almost 12 months ago with <snip> in Dudley in the west midlands. My wife was constantly sending emails to the breeder. Eventually after waiting all this time she informed us puppies had arrived. We asked if we could visit in 3 or 4 weeks time and had a good 3 hour drive ftom East Yorks. We saw the pups, mam n dad and all of us especially the kids were excited.
my wife got an email off Jenny 19:30 on the 6th March. We arranged our work etc to go down and collect our Alice (pup). And sent the breeder an email this morning stating we could come down next week. Only to get an email back stating the pup had gone.

apart from the fact we'd waited so long, we are all devastated. What is ut with some breeders? No integrity whatsoever. I know its done for the money but we are 100% disgusted. She never asked for any deposit but would have given one of course if requested. So be warned. I'd hate it if anyone else had to go through this disapointment.
don't have a clue how to explain that go my kids.

Not all breeders "do it for the money". Please do not assume that.

As to how you explain to your children? That is something you have to decide and depends on the age of your children. Not something a member of Breedia can tell you what to say.

I am sorry that you did not get the pup you wanted, but it is up to the breeder what he or she does with her puppies, and without a deposit and a definite booking, "your" puppy was not really yours, was she.

I can't imagine how disappointed you must be, especially after such a long wait. It's very puzzling, and I can't think why the breeder would do such a thing. If she thought you weren't suitable for some reason, surely she would have told you before now.

I hope your next search is more successful.

Thanks for the replies guys. Its difficult to summarize in a couple of short paragraphs.

I don't agree its not for the money and until I see a breeder only covering their expenses I doubt I'd ever change my thoughts on that. Mind you saying that. I'm all for it as it weeds out some of the unsavoury types not suited to having pets.

all the communication was instigated by us and as for suitability hmmm tricky one as that's personal choice. However after we visited to see the pups she had every opportunity to tell us then or via email, phone call or text so I dont think suitability is the reason. If it was money, she never even suggested a deposit or other. And someone stated until that point or actual purchase, the puppy isn't ours. 100% agree but honesty, integrity and doing the decent thing should prevail.

Thanks for your responses, I appreciate them.

And in tjose immortal words at the end of the apprentice

The search continues!

Colin, decent breeders do not breed for the money and most rarely cover the costs of rearing a litter. I know that I never did.

However, back-yard-breeders and puppy farms, who churn out litter after litter do "do it" for the money.

The puppy belongs to the breeder until you hand over the money and the breeder gives you the puppy. And if it is a registered breed and both sire and dam are registered with the Kennel Club, the puppy should have been registered and the breeder should have given you the appropriate paper transferring ownership to you.

I used to breed Griffons [way back in the UK] and I probably lost far more money than I ever made from selling any of them. Frequently people who had been in telephone contact [this was years before the internet] and I considered were ideal, would turn up and leave empty-handed because when I actually saw them I did not want them to have one of my puppies.

I also gave away a show quality puppy to someone who had just lost her own Griffon and only came to see my puppies, with me well knowing that she just wanted to see them and could not afford to buy one. Actually I took £10 from her just to give her - I do not know what - maybe that she had actually bought the pup?

And I never ever covered my expenses when breeding. But I bred for health, not for showing, not for money - but to make sure that my puppies were the best possible examples of their breed.

I would put it to you that you are in fact a rare breed doing that Malka. It is however good to here in these days of 'looking after number one' that there is still some honest decency around

You'd think a BYB would have insisted on a deposit...like you said all they see are £££ signs so this breeder doesnt seem to fall into that category.

Why not give the breeder a ring and tell her you are puzzled and upset about her selling the puppy to someone else and you would appreciate an honest explanation...say it might help prevent the same thing happening again.

Good luck in your future search, Border Collies are beautiful

Thanks for your words everyone. I have attempted to ring the breeder on several occaisions. To no avail.
in some strange way by what has been said on here I feel it is possibly a good thing as not all are good breeders regardless of how they polush themselves and shtug off valid questions.
I'm not a breeder but have had border collues around me most of my life and I'm 49 so not exactly wet behind the ears and have done all the research I could have done. But you can't research peoples personalities or motives.

That sounds brill.
my wife has already contacted a breeder who may have a pup available but wss on her way to crufts but is ringing tonight. Fingrrs crossed
Funny we'd planned srveral weekends in the lakes and holudays with our new arrival. Truly a part of anyones family and I'd already accepted moving down to bottom of the pecking order behing my wife, kids, cats and tropical fish lol. Guys, you know what I'm saying ;-)

Sorry you did not get the puppy you were after,and can understand your frustration and anger at the breeder (to a point) but calling them a bad breeder and only in it for the money, I cant see were that adds up.

As its already been pointed out to you, the dog belongs to the breeder till you pay over your money, and given that its why a lot of breeders do NOT take deposits, for the simple reason they may change their mind at the last minute who gets their pups.

There could be a hundred reasons why they changed their mind, you may have ticked all the the boxers on paper and given a good first impression, but sometimes in conversation the breeder may not like something you say (not saying this is the case) and although it would be best to tell you there and then, some people just don't like confrontation and maybe that's why the breeder did it this way.....

I can tell you a story of a friend of mine who had good prospective homes for their pups, all seemed fine till one owner turned up to pick his pup up, (he had travelled 4hrs) on that last visit , he said something that pricked my friends ears.... she told him there and then he was not getting the pup, you can imagine he was not happy, another friend turned a buyer away because they turned up 2 hrs late with no explanation and was sent home.

I don't know what happened with your breeder, something you said, a bad vibe, maybe she decided the pup you had booked was the best in the litter and she wanted to keep it herself, maybe she thought another home was a better prospective to yours............ unless you can get her/him to explain why, its all speculation.

But I cant possibly see how they can be classed as "in it for the money", because if they did not sell it to you and sold it to someone else, they would only be getting the same money.

Also why are you buying from a breeder when you clearly feel they are all in it for the money ??

Surely if you feel so strongly , then you would be going to rescue instead of lining a breeders pocket.

I think you need to chalk that one up to experience and not meant to be, and hopefully you will have your pup soon.

I agree with the above, and it can also be said from the breeders point of view.

You have to remember a breeder can only go on what a buyer tells them, some can talk the talk and on paper look to be the best home possible, its been know for people to research what a good breeder will ask and have all the right answers when questioned.

I am not saying this is you , but trying to show you how difficult it is for a breeder to find the right homes for their pups.

This breeder may or may not be a good one, but I know plenty of breeders who have done similar to yours... this did/does not make them bad breeders....

Have you contacted Border Collie rescue homes, as they have awful lot of bc puppies in roughly from 4 months (16 weeks old) sometimes they have litters born in the rescue home too, they will match you & your family up with the right bc for you.

Excellent suggestion...lots of BCs in rescue because some people do not research the breed properly and end up with a dog too clever for them!

You all make good strong valid points. Some I agree with some I do not. I know the breed jnside out had one for years and grew up with them.
I have no doubt they probably had a better offer or similar. But as someone stated in an earlier post, 'maybe it's for the best'.
Having done an enormous amount of research it's amazing what you can still find out, even when you think you can learn no more.
I picked up on something else just today that confirmed it was a good idea not to get a pup from that breeder.

Thanks Jackie, your posts make good reading.
The evidence I have found today would probably describe the breeder I am referring to as a bad breeder although it wouldn't ge right go state name or anything that would identify them.

Did you find a pup to join your family?