So you want to buy a puppy, you’ve chosen the breed and you’re looking ….
Here are a few sensible rules to bear in mind:
Firstly, consider carefully Do you have the time, the space, the common sense or experience- and the cash for a dog? For around 12 years, give or take?
Puppies are a lot of work in the beginning- but you get back a thousand or more times what you put in.
What about collecting too many deposits?
In theory it is possible to collect too many deposits. This would be a situation where people are waiting multiple years to get a dog. If you’re in a situation where your dogs are very sought after and you are starting to have more people on your waitlist and a year or two’s worth of puppies, you might consider holding off or decreasing your marketing. For me, when I’m pretty full on deposits, I stop posting on Instagram anything from my ranch, this seems to slow it down.
At the very least, I recommend that you be very upfront with your buyers about WHEN they can expect to get a puppy. They will probably ask, but you should definitely have an answer. Walk through your females, their cycles, and their average litter size to get a rough estimate. This will help you maintain yourself as an honest breeder, because it feels really dishonest to collect deposits and the buyers don’t know it’ll be over 6 months, or even a year, before they can expect to take a puppy home.
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This one is a little tricky. The whole point of a deposit is to lock your buyers in on your program, so making refunds super easy, is not going to work toward that goal. However, there is a little bit of legality to it, for example if you take deposits with a credit card (which is super easy with something like stripe or square), then by law, if they back out, and therefore they paid $200 for a product they didn’t receive, then they can report you to their credit card company and get that money back.
I actually had this happen once, they pulled the money right out of my bank account without notice, when I didn’t get a deposit back to him in time, you know me and mailing things…ugh, thankfully there is Venmo and Zelle now.
To protect yourself from this, you can write it so that the deposit pays for their place in line, although it will be a little sticky in court. My solution to this is to tell them a certain portion of the deposit is refundable, so for a $300 deposit, I would say that $150 is refundable. This way people will think more before placing a deposit, so the people who do place a deposit will be more likely to follow through with getting a puppy and generally prevents them from making more trouble for you down the road by asking back out when a litter is almost ready to go. Most people don’t feel like you are taking advantage of them if you allow for a portion of the deposit to be refunded, they’ll be satisfied getting some of it back and it will leave your reputation as an honest dog breeder intact, which is important.
It is also nice because you do get to keep that money, and consider it payment for managing them on the waitlist, the time spent working with them, and potentially the difficulty in placing a puppy later in his life because they backed out.
There are exceptions to keeping part or all of the deposit. For example, if you have only a litter a year and the person wants a female and you have 5 males born and no females, well, if she wanted her deposit back, I would give it. Generally, if the reason they want the deposit back is your fault, as in you missed a heat cycle for your bitch or a puppy died from an injury, as well as Acts of God, like not enough pups were born, then I will do a full refund.
If they are asking a refund because they got another puppy somewhere else, or decided not to get a puppy after all, well then, I don’t refund more than half. Remember, people will give you lots of sob stories when they want their money back, it goes back to money being so personal, you just have to play it by ear and do the best you can. I had a puppy that was born in the color this woman wanted, she was stuck on a color—if you want to learn more about accommodating color with your buyer requests, be sure to check out Episode #7. Well, she wanted a female solid puppy and one was born, however, the puppy had a cleft pallet and it was struggling. I ended up losing the puppy to aspirating milk after tube feeding for 3 days, I told the buyer and after telling her, I told her the potential for when I would have another puppy of that color, in this case it would set things back 8 weeks. She was fine, told me to bump her to the next litter, and then the very next day goes on about being absolutely devastated about losing this puppy—mind you she only saw a single picture of the puppy—and follows up with wanting her deposit back. It just didn’t fit, didn’t make sense, which usually means that they are wanting to go elsewhere. If you think the relationship with that buyer is busted and the trust is gone, by all means refund, you don’t want to work under that difficult of a relationship for the entire life of a dog, but if you can get them what they need, especially if it’s relatively soon, then remind them of your policy on refunds and let them pick. I told her I could refund her half. After a few minutes she messaged me back that she wanted to wait until the next litter.
Be careful in these situations to keep your cool, sometimes you’ll want to call buyers out on their dramatic comments, but it doesn’t go anywhere, it just creates tension, so keep it cool, set your ego aside, and stick to your policies. This way it is fair for everyone, and maintains the relationship with your buyers as best as possible.
A simple trick to make this easier, cover the information before it’s a problem, and make sure that you don’t forget to explain it, is to put these stipulations in your contract, but to not accept a deposit until they sign the contract. This simple step makes it a whole lot easier to set those boundaries.
If things get tense or you feel things will escalate, erring on the side of refunding a deposit, is usually your least difficult route. Play it by ear, but believe me, fighting over a deposit is NOT worth the pain in the butt, seriously.
Visiting the pup
Take a camera. As there may be paperwork (if you need them) don’t forget your reading glasses.
* It will be exciting to see the puppy, bring a friend along with you if you think you could get carried away. A cool head is needed to assess the breeder and good breeder will tell you a lot of important information that you will need to remember.
* Ask to see at least one of the puppy’s parents (the mum should be with the pups, but the father could have been a stud dog, so may not be there).
* Ask to see where the puppies and dams (mums) are kept. Look for cleanliness and safety (for example, how often is the pen cleaned and are they checking the masking tape over any electrical wires regularly?)
* If you feel sorry for the pup, don’t buy them, and
* Don’t be afraid to report any misgivings or suspicions of abuse. Remember until you have paid a deposit, you are under no obligation.
* A deposit is the usual way to secure a pup. Expect a receipt.
* If you can/ want to pick the Kennel Club name for your pup, tell your breeder in plenty of time so that the paperwork can be ready. It takes a surprisingly long time to come through.
* Not many breeders will let you visit your pup before you take them home, but it is always worth asking. Possibly bring a present for you pup, if you want- a soft toy that smells of you is a good idea, but be aware it may be wrecked in exciting litter- wide tugs of war (such fun).
* Check any paperwork thoroughly, ask to see pedigrees of parents, if appropriate.
Buying a puppy? What you need to know before placing a deposit on a pup.
by EKvonEarnhardt on 11 April 2007 – 22:04OK I have a client that has told me stories about breeders/kennels he has delt with in the past. He paid a deposit on a litter for a puppy. HE was 7th on the list for a ScHH puppy and asked to be put on the next list (rolled over). When put on the next list he still was at the bottom so asked to be put on the next litter. Well, since then the breeder has not wrote or called or returned any of his calls. No puppy no refund no nothing. The next time he paid a deposit (different breeder/kennel) he talked to a breeder and they talked about a puppy but after sending the deposit the breeder pushed another puppy/ litter on him and he did not want that. He told her just to send the deposit back (she had not even recieved it yet) but she cashed it and now no calls no emails or anything. So how common is it for breeders to keep the deposit? and give nothing back in return? Should he of signed something? I know how I am but it scares me to think others “Can” be that way? What advise would you give to someone before they sent a deposit. EK
by animules on 11 April 2007 – 22:04Ive only seen deposits linked to contracts. I wouldnt send a deposit without a contract specifying if it was refundable, or would count toward the next litter. I would also want the breeder to include the option of a refund if things really happened as things can. I would understand a non-refundable, or partial refund.
by 4pack on 11 April 2007 – 23:04I say get an agreement on paper. Black and white always makes it clearer for a 3rd party to figure out. You may send a deposit thinking you are getting first pick but actually that breeder sends the right puppy to the right home before placement rights are given. A pet home who has waited 3 years is not going to get a super prospect just because of time waiting. Allot of breeders give first picks to better qualified homes and what qualifies good to them, may be different from the guy down the road. Make sure your wires arent crossed before you send that deposit. Once I didnt do this and I decided to pull out rather than get a pup I did not want, so I said keep the deposit for your troubles. I learned my lesson, had all the issues tweaked right. The next time, puppy didnt workout but the breeder was nice enough to refund the deposit without me having to ask. Usually its looked upon as ok if they keep the deposit if you back out or fail on your end. If they fail on their end to produce a pup for you, they should in good faith send the money back or if arrangements were made for the next litter, held.
by altostland on 11 April 2007 – 23:04My general policy is as follows: Buyers are not concrete in any particular position until their deposit is actually in my hand. Due to the fact that I take credit cards by paypal, that can be instantaneous. Deposits can also be overnighted, and I will ony hold a position on the promise of a deposit for 2 days. After that, the position is subject to change. If your friend reserves a very specific puppy (say a bicolor male) and I dont have any in the litter and am therefore unable to fulfill my end of the deal, I generally offer the following options: 1) refund your deposit (when the litter is sold) 2) transfer your deposit to another litter. I personally select particular breedings because of the way they will fit into my specific breeding plans, and a pup from another litter may not suiot my needs or serve my purpose. Now, if I have two litters advertised and have say 5 deposits on the 2nd litter, then your friend would be indeed 6th on the list for the second litter. However, I will give the next available slot on the 2nd litter. On the other hand, if I have held this bicolor male puppy for your friend and turned away other buyers, then your friend changes his/her mind about the puppy, the litter, or the cost, its usually too bad. Only under extraordinary circumstances do I feel obligated to refund a deposit – medical emergencies, catastrophes and the like. I have found with most breeders, deposits are non-refundable, and Im told my policy is more than fair.
by AKVeronica60 on 11 April 2007 – 23:04I have been told that the policy stated on a kennels webpage constitutes a “contract” on the deposit and purchase of a puppy. Which is applicable to other issues, such as HD, genetic defects, etc. If they have the website available, they could make sure they print out or download the guidelines on the deposit, which would serve as a contract.
by Ninja181 on 11 April 2007 – 23:04I paid a lot for a 2 year old fully trained GSD that was shipped from Germany. I made sure I had pictures of the dog etc. and had established a chain of back and forth emails with in depth questions and answers about the dogs training and temperment. Everything worked out fine and the dog even exceded my expectations. But I always had the emails to fall back on. I didnt know about this site when I was looking. But it certainly appears that by asking others about a particular breeder here, it usually draws quite a few responses. In the future I would start here. Bottom line, seek advice and establish a paper trail!
by maligator on 12 April 2007 – 00:04I dont breed but when we have rescue puppies here, I dont do holds without a small deposit, and I send them a contract via email to print out and complete if theyre mailing it in. Or give it to them in person when they visit. I put everything in black and white so that everyone is clear on when a deposit is refundable and when it is not. Theres always the person who will read it, sign it, change their mind about the pup (in which case, deposit is not refundable) and then gripe about the refund of their deposit. Im more than happy to send it back if theres a medical problem with the pup or a temperment issue previously unforeseen which would make the pup/adopter combo a really bad one, but I just exercise common courtesy in those cases. Not the same situation as your friend though, but for future reference – Id get something in writing on the deposit or any other time money is exchanged in any way regarding a dog deal. Unfortunate that your friend may have lost that money though. Hopefully theres a good reason the breeder hasnt kept in good contact 🙁
by Vom Brunhaus on 12 April 2007 – 11:04I dont send deposits at all dont feel its a necessary practice.
by Sue-Ann on 12 April 2007 – 12:04A deposit is nonrefundable in the eyes of the law. Why else make a deposit? It locks people in to the contract, buyer agrees to buy, seller agrees to sell…you know the lingo. Should the seller not fulfill an obligation, absolutely the deposit should be refunded.
by p59teitel on 12 April 2007 – 12:04″I have been told that the policy stated on a kennels webpage constitutes a “contract” on the deposit and purchase of a puppy.” The kennel could try to use a web deposit policy as evidence that, for example, the buyer knew a deposit was non-refundable, but it wont stand on its own as a contract. Contracts are exchanges of promises between parties, and you need more than a policy published on a webpage by one side to determine what the terms of the agreement were. As for EkvonEarnhardts friend, Id have to know a lot more before even thinking about commenting on the rights and responsibilities of the parties.