I don’t know that a breeder having a waitlist is necessarily a red flag. A waitlist could actually be a sign that a breeder doesn’t overbreed his/her dogs and only breeds at decent intervals (rather than breeding as often as possible to meet demand). That said, being asked to pay to be put on a waitlist could be a red flag, unless you’re talking about a waitlist for the offspring of two grand champion dogs.
One issue many potential buyers are seeing during the pandemic is that demand is so high they can’t find a breeder with a litter of puppies for sale. Most breeders (even lesser quality back yard breeders) can get away with asking for deposits on newborn (or even unborn) puppies, and desperate buyers are paying those deposits. By the the time the pups are ready for new homes, they’re already spoken for. |