So it got me thinking about the whole deposit thing. I've only once put a deposit on a dog and that was a along time ago. When we added Jessie to our family we went to look at Jack Russell puppies; we had not seen her before that day. We'd thought about a Jack Russell for sometime but the day we went and looked was sort of a "let's go see," sort of thing. We went; we saw, we brought home.
And Luke; that is quite the story but I never put a deposit on him either. For him; I went, I saw, I fell madly in love and pined for several weeks before taking the plunge. There was never a deposit left; I hadn't been looking for a puppy so I was darned lucky when he was still there.
Deposits are a good thing; it let's a breeder know that you are for real. And it makes the puppy purchaser think twice. Most people who give a deposit have thought long and hard before handing over deposit money. With Tilley there was a deposit and I had pick of litter. I also had pick of litter with my now gone brown boy Clyde. There was no deposit on Clyde; just a verbal agreement that did not hold up when the time came.
I had first seen Clyde when he was 5 weeks old. At the time I asked about putting a deposit on a puppy, I wanted first pick. That was back when you got to see all the puppies and pick what one you wanted. I had a great relationship with the breeder (or so I thought) and it never crossed my mind about "what if?" On the day I was to pick out my puppy I called to confirm my visit time and the breeder told me that there had been a family there in the morning and that they had chosen the biggest boy. I was shocked and pissed off to say the least. When I asked about it they felt bad but said "they drove all the way from Montreal to see the pups." I didn't care; I had been told that I had first choice. Of course I may have chosen Clyde anyway but it was suppose to be my decision. Lesson learned.
There are still breeders who let you choose completely on your own and some let you pick so young that you really cannot know what you are picking. The way it should be done is; you put a deposit on "a puppy" from a particular litter. At that point you have been guaranteed "a puppy." Most reputible breeders do temperament testing and have a really sound knowledge of which puppy should go to which type of home. This is typically done at 7 weeks of age. This gives the breeder the most amount of time to really get to know the puppies. It is shocking to see how different puppies from a litter can be. There may be a couple to choose from but the breeder usually helps in the decision. Afterall they know best about the personality of each puppy; making the best possible match.
So what if you put a deposit on a puppy and then change your mind? This is where I do not like alot of the deposit contracts. I don't think people should give up their hard earned money if for some reason they change their mind. There are a million reasons why someone might change their mind but whatever the reason I don't think a breeder should keep the deposits. I just don't.
This is just MY OPINION so I don't want all you breeders who are reading this to attack me, k? If I was a breeder.................yes I would take deposits but if someone changed their mind I could not justify keeping their money. The breeder still has the puppy and the opportunity to sell that puppy. After all when you decide to breed this is something you risk; loss of money. And would you really want someone to take the puppy just because they risk losing some money? It could happen and then they may just turn around and sell the dog. Not good.
My deposit contract would state that if you decide not to purchase a puppy that your money will be returned to you in 60 days from the time I was contacted about the change of heart. This alone would make people think twice about having their money tied up so to speak. But I could not in good conscience keep someone's money when they get nothing in return.
I actually stumbled onto a site where the breeder wanedt half the cost of the puppy as a deposit. These dogs were over 3,000.00 so that meant that you had to fork out at least 1,500.00. And a deposit would NOT be returned. I was shocked; shook my head for a bit, thought about it and clicked away from the site.
Just something else to ponder if you plan on going to a breeder that is.
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