Hi, Phyllis,
Great post and I agree with the majority of what you have said. While
I do answer those questionaires, I often wonder myself what the "right"
answer is to the buyer? A really good point made here.
If a buyer doesn't understand MVD but knows the term, it would be great
for them to start with "what is MVD"? I get a lot of confusing
questions that clearly indicate that the person asking doesn't know what
would be a good answer as you say!
The only thing I do differently than do you is to prefer to start with
email. I like to keep a record (file folder) for inquirers (though it
is not a waiting list) so that I can remember details of our
interchanges. Some weeks I get so many calls that it is hard to keep
clear who has the elder GSD and wants a pup and who has two children. I
hate to confuse them. <G> So, I am one breeder who will ask callers to
please email me if they do have access to the internet.
Additionally, it is hard to spend hours on the phone; much easier to
take the time initially to answer all questions online and talk later
with serious buyers. I have lots of time late at night.......<G> to
answer questions.
Before a pup will go home from my house, not only do I interview but I
check references. Although nothing is fool-proof, I find it comforting
to talk to a vet office, neighbor or friend and clear up any lingering
questions. I also find that I can ask questions that might sound a tad
insulting such as "does the child in this family have enough focus and
maturity to make sure that the dog isn't let out into the street by
accident"?
Thanks for a great post on this.
Suze
Phyllis Lasser wrote:
>
> In a message dated 6/1/02 11:46:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>
> > Edward, along with most of us, I receive those e-mails as well......"do you
> > have a Cavalier and how much?" type of inquiry. I give them the same amount
> > of time, but I do attach a document that provides questions to ask breeders
> > which include questions on health-testing, etc. On the one hand, I don't
> > want to spend too much time as they are probably, as you say, just canned
> > questions sent out to as many breeders/brokers.......whomever they can find
> > associated with Cavaliers........as they can find. But, I do feel some
> > responsibility to educate everyone......just in case....just in case they
> > are
> > genuine and want a Cavalier and just don't know how to approach a breeder.
> > And, if that is so, then at the least they will have something to go by.
> > n
>
> My response to an email is always the same...short and polite with a request
> that they call me on the phone. I tell them I will be happy to speak with
> them and to answer any questions that they might have as well as possessing a
> great deal of information that they will find helpful in their search. I do
> not answer any of their questions in the hopes that they will call. About
> 70% of them do. But I never answer the accompanying questionnaire. I ignore
> it.
> I personally find the "canned"questions quite annoying and have stopped a few
> who sound like they are reading from someone else's questionnaire and asked
> them to throw that piece of paper in the trash and ask me questions they want
> answer to....but first I would like to know a bit about them and their
> families. A few times I have asked them to read me the questions they were
> sent by other breeders and then asked them which answers they are looking
> for? What would be the right answer? Not one person has ever said that they
> know which is the "right" answer. They don't know.
> For instance.....How long have you been breeding? Well, is it better to be
> on your first or second litter or someone who has bred 30 litters a year?
> They don't know. Am I more ethical or more likely to provide you with a
> better pet if I breed 1 litter a year or if I breed 6? They don't know which
> is the "right" answer.
> I read a questionnaire today that was brought to my house by a prospective
> buyer stating that if the breeder does not require the purchaser to spay and
> neuter they are probably not an ethical breeder.
> I want someone who can think for themselves and come to my house and meet me
> and my dogs. Then I will be the one doing the sizing up. I am the one who
> will tell them what my f requirements are for those who are fortunate enough
> to acquire a puppy from me. Those things include following my advice about
> what this puppy will eat and most importantly they have to promise to follow
> my vaccination protocol. Then they can decide if I am the kind of person
> they want a life-long relationship with.
> Every single person who has ever called my home or sent me an email has been
> invited to come and visit and see my dogs and even if I have nothing
> available I suggest that they see what a good Cavalier should be like. By
> that statement I am not talking show v. pet quality. I mean temperament and
> overall good health. I want them to see my dogs as they relate to one
> another and how friendly and loving they are to total strangers.
> One evening last week I had 2 consecutive calls from puppy buyers and both
> told me that I was the first breeder who was kind enough to talk to them.
> One woman told me she had found a breeder in the Midwest who would have sold
> her a puppy but she changed her mind when the breeder would not send her the
> pedigrees and health documents first. Upon further conversation I learned
> who this breeder was...one of the top winning breeders in the CKCSC who does
> also show in the AKC and has mainly won with dogs she has bred herself. I
> explained that if they had gotten to the point of choosing a puppy I was sure
> she would have gotten her information. As we spoke I asked her how she had
> approached all these breeders and most of them came from calling from the
> internet and tracing websites. As she questioned me from her list I told her
> that the reason she had such trouble with good breeders was that her
> questions were quite insulting and that she probably turned off every good
> breeder she contacted. I explained that she would have gotten her papers
> with her puppy and that if someone wanted to see my dogs pedigrees and my
> health certificates they were welcome to come to my house and I had no
> intention of sending them to a total stranger. The other woman told me she
> was flying to see a puppy and told me the name. I inquired on the list about
> this woman and received a few private posts that were quite negative. When
> I wrote to give her this information she called me and told me she was going
> anyway. She said she had spoken to so many people who were not helpful and
> this lady in Florida told her that she had health certificates on her puppies
> "from her breeders." I asked if that were not a "clue" that she was not the
> breeder but bought from others....making her a broker/puppy mill. She said
> that this was one of the few people who would answer her questionnaire.
> There was another man who had emailed me and I had written and told him I did
> not have a puppy for him but suggested he call and I would help him find a
> breeder. I wrote him back a week later to ask if he had found a puppy yet
> (had not heard from him) and he told me he had found a breeder and gave me
> the state. I asked who it was and when he told me I knew I had heard of this
> woman.... confirmed by Cavalier rescue that she should be avoided. He wrote
> back and told me that she was one of the few people who would correspond with
> him by email. Here is what he said..."> Thanks again for your candor and
> > advice. I sincerely appreciate both. We have found it difficult to acquire
> > information from most potential breeders via e-mail, and I am very
> > skeptical of people who will only talk on the telephone (similar to meeting
> > someone in a parking lot to transfer a puppy)."
>
> This is a very nice man, I am sure, who is trying his best to find a puppy.
> Where he got the idea that someone who will only talk on the phone is like
> transferring a puppy in parking lot is beyond my comprehesion. But this is
> also a man who was told to email breeders and send them a list of questions
> for them to answer. On the contrary, I tell people to call breeders and be
> nice and just talk about their family and ask if there are any other
> questions the breeder wants to know. I explain, that although they may find
> this hard to believe.....they are the ones being interviewed to see if they
> are good enough for our precious dogs. Certainly I educate them on the
> health concerns and tell them that they must see the health certificates from
> certified specialists, etc. But I suggest this comes up in the course of
> conversation. Many of my well-meaning fellow breeders, in their desire to be
> helpful and keep these buyers away from the puppy mills and importers are
> accomplishing just the opposite by giving these buyers the impression they
> are being irresponsible if they don't interrogate all the breeders they talk
> to. That definitely won't endear them to me.
> My inclination is to resent their attitude that they are passing judgment on
> me. Personally, I have come to enjoy telling them to throw that
> questionnaire in the trash and will then go on to have a pleasant and
> productive conversation. Unfortunately, it seems many others will just brush
> them off. On the other hand, the anxious puppy millers and importers don't
> seem to have a problem answering all of these questions even though most of
> their answers are lies. (My family breeds these dogs in Ireland......Oh, we
> don't need to test our dogs since it is just the ones in the US that have
> MVD, etc.)
> Thanks for letting me vent....I needed that.
> Phyllis
>
> Phyllis Lasser
> Welmforth Cavaliers
> Wyckoff, New Jersey
>
> =========================================================
> "Magic Commands":
> to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email:
> mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL
> to start it up gain click here:
> mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL
>
> E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance.
> Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html
>
> All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
--
Suze at Llawen Cavaliers
"...I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man
to depend simply upon himself." -Isna Ia-wica
"Thought comes before speech" Luther Standing Bear
=========================================================
"Magic Commands":
to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL
to start it up gain click here:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL
E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance.
Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html
All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
