I'm starting another thread here - brought up this topic on another thread and it seemed to raise some contentions so rather than hi-jack the other thread, I thought I'd raise it here.

We've always asked people who have come to see any puppies that we have raised (and I'm talking about 6 or 7 over a long period of time) NOT to view any other puppies on the same day.   This has been done for safety/health reasons - as it is, we ask anyone coming into the house  to "paddle" on a doormat which is soaked in parvovuricide when we have puppies, just to avoid any germs being brought into the house on shoes.

All litters are different, they will all build up different immunity from their mothers (and other dogs in the household).   Just as healthy children pick up all sorts of colds/sore throats etc as they start school, so can puppies pick up infections from other dogs/litters.

So, whether I would be the first or second home to be visited, I would always say "please don't visit my litter on the same day as you are visiting another".   At lot of time, trouble, effort and love has gone into every litter that we've raised, and it seems foolish to take any unnecessary risks.

Some people have been offended by this - "but we want to see lots of puppies this weekend" - and my answer to this has always been - "well you won't be looking at mine"!

Its taken a

I'm with you.  It's up to you as the breeder to set whatever rules you are comfortable with and whether anyone else agrees or not is irrelevant.  Your pups: your rules

It's also a good way to weed out puppy shoppers.  Going puppy shopping is an odd concept anyway.  We chose our breeder long before puppies were on the ground so we wouldn't have been looking to shop around and choose a puppy by visiting litters.  It's not as if the casual viewer is going to see much difference between pups anyway and it is certainly no way to first meet the mother.

When we went to view our litter of pups we removed shoes and/or paddled in parvovirucide and washed hands carefully.  We could only handle the pups whilst sitting down and only one at a time.  The children (then 11 and 12) were carefully supervised and had a pup on the knee whilst sitting flat on the floor.  They completely understood that touching puppies was a privilege based on their gentle handling and not a 'right'.  We were meeting and looking at the pups not playing with them.  All safety precautions were taken and it was another of the things that reassured me we'd found the right breeder.  Mind you we might have jumped through any hoop she asked, we were so keen!!

I didn't see the other thread so I'm surprised this is contentious - I look forward to reading

> It's also a good way to weed out puppy shoppers.  Going puppy shopping is an odd concept anyway.

What do you mean by puppy shoppers?  I can completely sympathise with the idea of not going to see more than one litter the same day for practical health reasons, but, I don't see why people should not view several litters before they make a decision.  There are many things that a new owner needs to be satisfied with (that cannot be answered over the phone).

The idea of families "window shopping" for litters of puppies fills me with dread to be honest. I for one would not expect anyone coming to see a litter of mine to have been to another breeders that day or to be going elsewhere immediately after viewing mine. In my experience, people coming to see a litter of mine actually want one of my puppies and will not be interested in looking elsewhere. I like to have built up a rapport and a certain level of commitment with potential owners before they visit - not really possible I don't think with the sort of people who like to spend their day viewing countless litters.

There are many things that a new owner needs to be satisfied with (that cannot be answered over the phone).

Absolutely.  But much of what you need to know can still be found out over the phone, a serious person would still be able to prioritise litters.  I would never dream of visiting a litter if I wasn't serious about that breeder.

Oh, I agree, but even then seeing the dam and puppies is still important.  I'm afraid I have walked away from a litter that ticked all the boxes because they weren't quite what I was looking for.  Perhaps that makes me irresponsible to a breeder, but if I'm going to spend the next 12/15 years with a dog, I will not be rushed into it.

> I don't see why people should not view several litters before they make a decision

We visited breeders first to meet them and their dogs, we met the potential dam and sire.  We went onto a waiting list which was originally going to be 14 months so sure was I that I had found the right breeder.  We also attended several shows when I knew they'd be there to see them again.

Ours is a rare breed so the chances of having more than 2 possible litters on the ground at the same time is quite remote but even then I would have waited for a subsequent litter if there was not a puppy for us.

I chose the breeder NOT a puppy and I was involved and informed at every stage; from mating, to pregnancy pics and a copy of the scan.  I was buying into an ethos and an extended family.  Other puppy owners from this litter and others from the breeder are now friends and we keep in touch very regularly.

Perhaps we are different sort of buyers or maybe it's just different breeds.  I can completety understand shopping around for a commodity but our puppy was always going to be more than that and we now have a relationship with his breeder too.  She's been fantastic and I've never regretted choosing her first

On the occasion that I had this response, the people had filled my my puppy questionnaire, and on paper, "ticked all the boxes".    So they were invited to come and see the puppies.   I hadn't realised that they had also "ticked all the boxes" on another couple of breeders' lists too ...........

I don't think that those people got a puppy from any breeder that I knew!

Just as a prospective owner can realise that one litter doesn't have what they are looking for, so a breeder can realise that they might not be the owner that the breeder is looking for.  To steal a motto from Fords - it may be your puppy dog, but its my baby!

> Just as a prospective owner can realise that one litter doesn't have what they are looking for, so a breeder can realise that they might not be the owner that the breeder is looking for.

Absolutely - it works both ways and so it should.  But in many cases, while the breeder may have a waiting list, people pull out, they may be the wrong sex etc... there are genuine reasons why breeders may still have puppies from a litter that haven't got homes by the time they are ready to go.  I entirely take your point that you shouldn't visit more than one litter in a day, but my point it that it alarms me how many people go to see the puppies, can't walk away and end up buying from the first litter they view.  A buyer has to have as much conviction and confidence that the puppy is the right one for them as the breeder has that the puppy buyer is the right home for their pup.

It may be upsetting for a breeder that someone has turned their puppy down, but it's nothing personal and it happens.  Surely the best, and only outcome should be where breeder is happy with new owner and new owner is happy with puppy/breeder.

> I chose the breeder NOT a puppy

I suppose it depends on what you are looking for.  I know some fantastic breeders that tick all the boxes, but do not produce the kind of dog I'm looking for.  Even within lines, dogs do vary considerably and perhaps because I'm looking at it from a working perspective, not simply a conformation one, there is no substitute for seeing the parents and (IMO) the puppies too (even if they are at that stage just a promise of what they will turn out to be - there are still things to pick up on).

I certainly wouldn't feel unhappy if a prospective owner turned down a puppy that I had:  for me, the most important thing has always been that the right puppy goes to the right FOREVER home!

I would never let anyone see puppies of mine if they had been to someone else's litter on the same day. Not because I think they should have to have one of mine, but as others have written on cross contamination reasons. They could have been to another breeder, whose puppies have Campylobacter from poor hygiene, as a puppy that come to our pet training club had when it was picked up at 5 weeks !

I've actually never sold a puppy via an advert & the prospective owners come via word of mouth & recommendation.

I have no problem with people viewing more than one litter if they are looking for a certain type/temperament etc, but they should, no must, be up front with all the breeders they go to visit about this. Sadly from my friends experiences this is rarely the case, I've have friends who had prospective owners who have been to see the puppies regularly & booked a puppy, only to ring up the day they are supposed to pick the puppy up to say they've got one from elsewhere or changed their minds-fine it's their right, but not to tell the breeder until the day they are to collect is a big no no for me.

The last Border Collie I bought was selected by me at a day old from a photo & I never changed my mind over the next 6 weeks, I did visit him several times before picking him up & as I chipped & pinned the litter as well it was almost 1 a week from when their eyes opened.

Roodee(Cavalier)was a litter of two & we never met him or his breeder & dogs until the day we picked him up, but we had been in regular contact from before he was born & he is everything we hoped he would be. His breeder & I do have a friend in common, which was how I found out about him.

> I don't see why people should not view several litters before they make a decision.  There are many things that a new owner needs to be satisfied with (that cannot be answered over the phone).

Apart from the odd puppy most breeders would expect people that are coming to see pups have already booked with you.

The choosing of the breeder by and large will have been done before the litter are born or shortly after, so that there are no distracting puppies there to cloud the issues of what the new owner and breeder are looking for in each other.

After all it is the mother and possibly father and other relatives that are most indicative of what the pups will grow up into, not a litter of puppies.  The buyer should already be more than satisfied with the breeder dogs and rearing abilities/facilities.

In the case of meeting people for the first time when pups are already arrived, then I would not be letting them see pups until I was happy to let them have one and they were happy with me and my adult dogs.

not really relevant to me as theres rarely more than one litterof my breed at a time in the UK!

As most of my owners have to travel at around 5 hours each way there isn't really any way that they could visit anyone else in the same day.  I always ask them to arrive about 11ish anyway and they have a meal etc (provided by my wonderful mum) whilst they are viewing the pups.

One thing seems to be overlooked on here, as people who know what breeder or lines we want we know where we are going to go and it doesn't occur to us to go puppy shopping as many would of been waiting for a certain litter for a while.

When you think of your general pet owners who know very little about breeders or lines they may not do their research like many of us on here would do.
I know of colleagues and friends who decide right we need a dog and we want one now or at least very soon. So they tend to raid the internet and friday ad's, yes that is what some have done to my horror and yes they have visited a couple of litters in a day as they look to stay as local as possible.
But to those who are BYB'S or at least less thoughtful breeders won't even think of what this topic is all about, wouldn't even cross their minds(assumption here), they want good homes to their pups or just want to make money.. And as we know there is a market for it out there.

Maybe some of us should get together and think about doing a TV programme showing what a 'good breeder' is and how you go about finding one etc etc..

Its very true that the GP often don't know how to find a responsible breeder,they are taken in by adverts saying things like "we own both parents who are family pets".One customer last week said she looked especially for a breeder with both parents as she said "thats better isn't it?".
Also those "puppies vet checked" adverts have the GP completely conned don't they as one of my customers found out when she bought a Cavalier who now has severe SM.When,as I suggested,she contacted the breeder to let them know the reply she got was "the puppy was checked by a vet and was healthy when he left us".

I personally have always made up my mind about the breeder I want to buy my puppy from.  I'd have already looked at the prospective parents.

I wouldn't be happy either if people were visiting another litter before viewing mine.  Thankfully my breed is a rare breed and all the breeders are scattered around the country.  We have some pretty awful breeders getting into the breed now and I wouldn't let anybody anywhere near a litter of mine if they'd visited them in the previous 3 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I'll be having my first litter (hopefully!) later this year and already I have quite a full waiting list.  I've already had to refuse quite a few people because I didn't think they were suitable so I'm praying that I won't have that problem when my precious bundles arrive!!

Kingdom