Pet Peeve - Phone Inquiries

[Rachael1983]

I actually offered up information on my own. I reached out initially over email to the breeder I got Emma from. When I started hunting for Troy though I made several calls but never got much response not because of a bad breeder probably for reasons mentioned above or they were just busy.

But after Troy's passing and my want for another, I ended up emailing giving details of me, my family, our home life and pet history and how I identified that breeder as a someone I thought would be a good option to get a puppy from given I was looking for someone who stressed quality health in there lines.

[gemy]

I think for me, and something readers here might consider, just because you do a Google search, does not mean the information is correct. I for one, have no website - breeding or otherwise for Yorkies, No puppies for sale anywhere on the Net, for any breed of dog, nor have I ever had that.


I have no obligation professional or otherwise to call back a random person when I am not a breeder of Yorkies. Of the 4 phone calls, I was only moved to call back one person, because she had called me twice. I then spent about 30 minutes of my time pro bono, talking to her about Yorkies, and giving her referrals to local breeders.


For the breed that I do breed, at this point as I have no website, mostly folks that are interested have already met me at shows, or at training. And we usually do email contact.
Or they are referred to me from another breeder.....

[magicgenie]

I do have a web site and I'm pretty sure most people calling me for a puppy have been on it. I state very plainly on there that I am selective about where my puppies go and I ask them to provide some information about themselves when they inquire. I do prefer email communication, but I do take phone calls. Phone messages that have no more content than "how much are the puppies?" are ignored. The same applies to text messages. I have an email today saying "I'm interested in seeing your puppies. Where do you live?" Sometimes people who irritated me on their initial approach turned out to be very good pet owners, so I try not to be too dismissive, but some days it's hard. We must gently turn them around, back up, start over and coax the information we need out of them before letting them into our homes and near our dogs.

[Verbena]

I liked to email better then calling. . It was easier to write a little more. I called a few and just left a message with my name, number and that I was interested in a pup. I spent a lot of time before finding out about the reputable breeder. I am also interviewing the breeder. Finding if she is the right breeder for me. . You buy the breeder. . .

Galen's breeder is in touch all the time. He has a facebook page so she sees what is going on with him. I also chat with her. She just loves it.

[smelcerk]

What an interesting thread. So many different scenarios to consider. First of all I completely understand where Gemy is coming from in that she does not breed yorkies or have any for sale so it can be very irritating to have to field these constant phone calls. And it was very kind of you to give 30 minutes of your time pro bono to help that yorkie lover. I myself was in search of a yorkie puppy in September following the death of my beloved Zoey. It was very emotional and I think I bawled every time I got a person on the phone. I definitely did not want to go into my story if the person did not even have any puppies available. I consider the first phone call to be a screening phone call. If there is a possibility of a puppy, we can go to phase 2. I would never purchase a puppy without huge amounts of research and back and forth phone calls which then lead to a face to face visit, etc. I expect the breeder to be vetting me in the same way I am vetting them and I welcome a lifelong relationship. I consider the dog to be "ours". Having said all that, my first call is hi, my name is kim and I am wondering if you have any puppies available? Here is my number or email. If not, lets not waste each others time.

[gemy]

Kim I too find this very intersting all the different viewpoints. And I am pretty certain, that when I get a website it will be even more interesting

I am probably old fashioned (after all I am old and like that a caller goes somewhat beyond name phone number and have you any puppies. What if I were a breeder that bred two different breeds of dogs? What breed are you interested in?

There is a somewhat pattern to the calls as well.

[Corfield]

I am far more willing to entertain initial sms/texts these days than I used to be even a year or so ago.

Ultimately, you are not going to sell to anyone until you have met/spoken to them and taken everything into account.

It helps to have another person to give their perspective on potential owners too.