Don't be too quick to judge a breeder
 

I know that there are a lot of you out there that don't want to purchase a pup with out being able to go to the breeders and see the mom and dad and how the pup is raised. And that there are those of you out there that think that think a breeder isn't reputiable if they don't want you to come to their place; however, I beg of you not to be too quick to judge those breeders that don't want to tell you where they live. I'm sure that all of you have seen the video of the Yorkies getting stolen, and it is becoming more and more common. I know as a breeder that if I have a litter of pups in my home I hate to even run to the store and leave them at home alone for fear that someone could break in and take them.

I think it is going to be more and more common that breeders are going to arrange a pick up spot and deliver pups in order to protect the dogs and themselves.

Also this is a good reason that when you do buy a Yorkie that it does have papers even if you only want it for a pet. Yes papers can be faked and not all dogs with out papers are stolen. But the chances of getting sold a stolen pup (or a pup out of parents that were stolen dogs) are less likely if that dog has papers.

A local breeder had that happen a couple years ago...while she went out she had her litter stolen!! Obviously it was someone who had inquired about her yorkie babies...and now she takes everyones drivers licence number when they come to look at her puppies...sad but it has to be done. I hear what your saying even though I STILL want to see both parents when I get a puppy.

Dawn

I am so glad you posted on this subject because I have been thinking the same way, but wasn't quite sure how to broach the subject. We just had our 1st litter & we live way out in the country. I have worried that when the pups are ready for new homes that I'm not sure I'm comfortable with people coming to my house. Not only would I worry about the pups being stolen but also everything else we own. I had already discussed it with my husband & told him I thought I should pick a place to meet potential buyers. A few years ago I bred Hymalayans. Some one came & bought one of our kittens & went on & on about how beautiful my daddy cat was. She even called later to talk about him more. Well not too long after, he diappeared has not been seen since. I'm almost sure she took him, because when he was outside he never left the porch. He was like a dog, he would only leave the porch to follow me around. I worry that some may think I have something to hide as a breeder but better safe than sorry & I hope when they see the pups they'll feel they are loved & cared for.

I'll bring the parents with me if I need too. They love to ride. In fact we have to watch that word around our house. R I D E :D :D :D

:thumbup: Good post!

Unfortunately those thieves came with guns, so your friends system would not have worked in that case. Maybe one needs to get a DL# in advance, and personal references.

It's just a scarey thing now days.

I've ordered mine over the internet and have purchased them sight unseen. I was sent pictures of the parents and puppies. The breeder came well reccommended.

If your breeder is not reputable they can show yfou any dog and say it is the parent, so seeing is not always going to be reliable either.

Breeders need to be able to protect themselves. I believe that I would want to meet inside a pet store, and I would take the parents along. That way there are other people there, and you will get to see the parents.

I'm interested in hearing other thought on this matter.

Thank you annaschaben, for starting this thread. perhaps you could do a poll on the subject.

Great thread. I really do believe it's dangerous letting strangers come into your home these days w/o knowing them at all.

It's sad that that's the world we live in, but we all need to protect ourselves and our families, so I'd totally understand meeting someone outside of their home.

I also would not mind whatsoever giving personal/vet references before I went to someone's home to make them feel more comfortable. :)

I think if I were you I would do the same thing...its really a scary world we live in anymore isnt it?? Remember the good ol' days when we didnt have to even lock our doors??

Dawn

I hear what your saying...but Im lost...what guns?? lol

Dawn

this is exactly what I wrote somewhere yesterday. People on here are too easy to bad mouth a breeder that doesn't want strangers in their home.

The men who stole those puppies in CA were armed, so I don't think asking them for a DL would have done much good, they most likely would not have cooperated.

I am just in shock over this story and i am terrified to leave my babies alone. This has gotten out of control at christmas here in Utah we had people breaking into the pet stores and stealing the yorkies also i've heard stories about people stealing show yorkies out of their own vans:eek: With the popularity and cost of these dogs now you can bet you will here a lot more stories like this. My heart just aches for this family. how can you really protect yourself ya know because yes you could get a drivers licence or meet else where but they could robb you anywhere you meet. This is a sad world we are living in now days.

This is true, they could rob you anywhere, but if you went to a public place, such as Petco or Petsmart, or in the Police Department parking lot, chances are they wouldn't pull a gun and take them from you.

Do it in broad daylight in a very public place.

Also if you are in a public with only the pup and its parents, and you got robbed you are just out 1 pup and 2 parent dogs (with I know is a lot), but at least your other pups are safe, other parent dogs, your family pets and most important your family.

This is sure looking like it will be more and more a problem -- letting strangers know there are Yorkie puppies in the house. I don't know the answer. I am glad that I got to see where my last two Yorkies were bred and raised. It made me feel good to see that they came from such a clean and loving environment. But I understand when breeders decide on a policy of a public meeting instead of at their home. I think any future purchases I make will be to breeders that I know enough about through word of mouth referrals that meeting at a different place will not bother me. But it has made me wonder what I would do if I do breed some time in the future. One more drawback to consider.

BTW -- remember to use only cell phone numbers in any advertising. Home numbers are so easy to cross-reference and get an address. The whitepages online has an option to enter the phone number and it will give the name and address for that number. I actually used that for some invitations I sent recently. Just plugged in their home phone numbers from my cell directory and instantly had their address. Quick and easy. Nice for a convenience but scary how easy it would be for a crook! I tried my cell number there and it just came up saying it was a cell and gave the city where I bought it. But I think you can pay for a service that actually gets names and addresses for the cell numbers too. No secrets anymore.

I saw the video on the news on the dogs being stolen and I was shocked!! What has this world come to??
This is a very interesting topic. I plan to breed yorkies and this brings up an interesting point. While I want everyone to see where the pups are raised I also don't want put the pups as risk either. I thought if I had two guard dogs that maybe they would be safe but you just never know anymore.

So I was thinking of meeting at a public place where I would have the puppies with me. I am not sure if I would want to chance bringing the adult dogs with me or not. And I would have my video camera with me with a short video of where my dogs and pups are raised inside the house and their living conditions and environment without actually showing the outside of the house or an address. This way they get to see the environment the dogs and puppies are raised without a posing a risk to the puppies or dogs being stolen.

Thanks for the tip on using your cell phone number!! I would have used my home phone but like you said it is real easy to look up the address with a home number. I will make sure I keep that in mind!!

Yes, this is such a sad situation. I am glad the dogs were returned...with the exception of one of the pups. I hope they find the other one as well. It is just so sad. This happened a couple of years ago...do you remember...the lady that had puppies listed for sale, she was pregnant, someone came to see a pup and ended up killing her and cutting the baby from her belly and trying to pass it off as her own. remember this? it was so insane. It is just not a safe world out there. As sad as it makes me to know this has happened to someone, I am thankful that it is opening eyes for people. As someone who is looking to breed one day (not maggie but some time in the future), I am learning more and more every day and this just adds to the list of things I am learning. I honestly don't know that I would have thought about this risk up front if it hadn't happened. I am glad no one was hurt. and I am glad that it seems the dogs are ok. It is so incredibly sad that this has had to happen. poor babies. But yes, we do need to start being more understanding. If the breeder is reputable, they will most likely be willing to bring the parents with them to meet you in a public place. I am sure there is a safer way to go about letting people come and see your litters. I know that when I was looking for a pup, I wanted to see all the pups in the litter. So I could see if I bonded with any of them and take a pick that way. When I got to the home of the breeder I ended up getting maggie from, she only brought the females out. the other pups stayed in her bedroom. I questioned this at first. I wanted to see all of the pups, even though I knew I wanted a female. but I wanted to make sure I didn't see anything weird. So she brought one at a time out. She brought the parents out one at a time. yes, If I had a gun, that would not have done any good, I could have demanded her to bring them all out. But she also could have gone to the bedroom and got a gun or called the cops. I don't know...I am sure that there is no fail-proof way to do this..but it certainly opens our eyes. Unfortunately, this happened, but if people across the country, even across the world, learn from these peoples mis-fortune, than it was not in vain. I try to learn from other people's mistakes as well as my own (not saying these people made a mistake, just making a point :) ) And if I make a sacrifice, if there is a lesson to be learned from it, then it is a sacrifice that is not in vain.

does that make sense?

good post. I am so glad you brought this up because I am hoping and praying people everywhere learn from this and take extra steps to protect themselves, their family, and their furbabies.

I'm glad to see this post. After hearing about this I've been doing some serious thinking myself. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I don't feel 100% safe having people come to my home now!

Its too bad that society has come to this.

I have alot of thinking to do because now I don't want strangers in my home! My husband said he could always hide with a gun, in case there was trouble :rolleyes: Ha ha....But I'm definatley not going to live like that!!!

I'm beginning to think that too, that people are to quick to jump on breeders that don't allow people to their home. We always think the negative first, but they actually could just be protecting them selfs and there babies!

I'm almost thinking I feel better selling out of state and shipping them!

I don't know.....Its just scary out there anymore.

If a breeder plans to meet a potential buyer at a public place, why not chose a police station parking lot?
And while people might like to see the environment the pups were in, tough. This day and time you just can't have strangers coming in your home, it is too dangerous. It seems to me anyone who watches the news could understand that.

I can only say even if you make arrangements to meet someone, take someone and something with you for your own protection too and meet at some place that has lots of people close by. The world is full of creeps today.
does anyone remember the girl that had the dog for sale and she was pregnant and a lady came posed to see the dog and cut her baby out of her stomach. this happened not too long back too. So please be cautious.

That's a great idea! After that video of the stolen Yorkies - I would be afraid of letting anyone in my house.

I am thinking that it is this way with just about any business. If a person owns a store, they take a risk with being robbed every day. They have to guard against shop lifting and thieves after the money till. Maybe in the past home-based businesses enjoyed a feeling of safety -- but it is just becoming more and more obvious they are taking the same risks a store owner does. Any time you deal with the public the danger is there.

I like the idea of the video recorders -- without that recording, the robbery would never have gotten so much "press" and the one thief would not have been scared enough to turn himself in.

May I add my two cents to this as it is a very valid thread in these times.
As you all may or may not know I am a small ( well sorta small ) time, old in age and number of years breeding Yorkies .
Now I too have the problem of letting people I don't know come to my house if they live within driving distance to see the puppies and the parents -I as a customer want to see what I am getting and I respect others right to do the same so they need to come or else we will have to do all our business over the internet- how sad that these times force this on us- I prefer the old fashioned way to meet new parents of my little darlings.
Well this is how I do- and those that have been here or have called me and of course those that email-please don't be offended by what I am about to say . I have a security system in place that photographs all vehicles that enter my driveway as well as gets the view of and records the license plate and the people as well. It then tracks all their movements about my home and doggy areas. All telephone calls are recorded and emails are saved. I have a direct call button to a security officer which is available 24/7 that is within 1/4 mile of my home. Yes I also have a backup person on the premises that is not seen until I am sure of the intent of the visitors and then and only then is the security device ( better known as a gun - yah yah don't start on me about guns haha just kidding but being safe ) put away and the prospective customers are given a tour and let see the adults and babies and then invited to sit and have coffee or what ever while I fill out lengthy paperwork and get details of idenity.
I know this seems complicated since I live in a rural area and a distance from a large city but if the Sheriffs wife can be gunned down as she was a few weeks ago just 20 miles from here, can I be to dilligent in protecting my babies ?
I do meet people away from here to deliver babies but only if they are some one I have been working with since the babies were very tiny and have actually gotten to know and then I still take someone with me to make the delivery. I then make them describe their vehicle and I alert the local police that I as a woman will be meeting some one at a location at a set time and will they be nearby if I need them- you would be surprised how often that the police in Tallahassee , Jacksonville , Tampa, Gainesville and many other cities in my state have actuall been sitting somewhere in the same parking lot- that gives me a lot of peace of mind - try it- most will respond with a officer nearby at appointed time. And don't go anywhere without a cell phone that has gps tracking ability so someone can find you.

In the meantime I hope everyone is cautious with out being paranoid and I pray we all will be safe and everyone can continue doing business in this crazy world we live in today. Don't judge those that don't have the security systems in place that I have and are reluctant to let you into their homes- put yourself in their place and try to do your homework and if you think the person isn't being honest with you then run-don't walk away from them and find a breeder your heart and gut tells you is OK.
Thanks all- this is just my 2 cents worth as I sometimes get a bad feeling and don't even give directions to my home and I never post that on my website.

I never heard that story...is it posted here somewhere?

Dawn

I'm not sure if it is posted on here. Wasn't it a couple of years ago in Missouri?

i really think now everyone is going to change the way they do business. it's one thing to steal a yorkie from a yard (which is horrible) but to come into your home w guns....well if the buyers don't u/s, they will have to go elsewhere. my husband i have already discussed the new way of dealing w the selling of the puppies. i am keeping a copy of the video and emailing to all of my potential new furmoms and dads.

i am very glad you started this post

yes, this is exactly what i was referring to in my earlier post. very scary.

You might find the story about the pregnant lady in the news section with a search.

There is a lot of good advice here. I think I will ask for DL# and car license plate. I wonder if it is legal to do a thumb print.

If you meet in a public place, bring pictures of the parents. If you're emailing with a buyer send them pictures or a video.

And use common sense. If it seems to good to be true, it is.