Phyllis Lasser said: <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.>
Phyllis's post was interesting to me. I would like to know how most of you like to be approached and when you feel it's okay for the questions to be asked. I recently had someone contact me who was interested in a Cavalier or Japanese Chin. I have both, and she had never seen either, but read about them both and thought they might be right for her situation. She had called my Madeleine's breeder, having found her number on a website but thinking she was closer. Hilarie (who was very nice to her) told her that she should call me since I had both breeds. I invited her over to meet us and found her to be a very nice person, who would be interested in learning about the breeds and make a good pet owner. She was searching the internet and sending emails to breeders. She had gotten a response from someone who had puppies at the time and was planning on visiting them. I tried to find info on the breeder for her and found her not to be reputable. She had written to several other breeders with no response. I gave her a list of breeders that I felt were reputable, told her where they lived with phone #'s. I told her she needed to email them and ask when would be a convenient time to call them to discuss Cavaliers and then call them. I am not sure how many of those she called, as she would have needed to fly to pick up the dog from many of them. I *tried* to tell her to wait until *way* into the conversation to ask her health questions and the price. She was so focused on health (probably due to info I gave her) that I'm not sure she did that. I have a feeling she turned some of the breeders off, although she actually would have made a great home for a Cavalier. I told her what the answers to the health questions needed to be, but I wondered if she was so intent on getting those answers that she asked them in a way that offended the breeders. I actually don't know who or how many people she tried to contact, and I know that the few that she did talk with were extremely nice and helpful to her. She thought she was doing the right thing by searching the internet, and did not know what to ask about health at first and then perhaps went overboard. I do know that she was intent on a certain color and sex, as well as wanting an older dog. It was difficult to convince her to be more lax on the color and sex. In the end, she ended up with a rescue Japanese Chin, who is *very* spoiled and the light of her life. I know that as breeders, you get *so* many inquiries by email that it's hard to sort through and know which ones need a response. For buyers who are not members of lists like this, it's difficult for them to know the correct protocol to use when contacting breeders. For buyers who are used to feeding grocery store food, or those who think they are doing the right thing by feeding foods such as Science Diet, it's difficult to convince them to change. I did convince this person to switch from Pedigree to Innova, and she has also switched to my vet. I think lists like this really do give people excellent information. Many potential buyers are educable. I would guess that it's just hard to know, when you have *so* many inquiries, how to decide. I like the idea of replying to each inquiry and asking them to call you, rather than just dismissing them. For those buyers who have always just looked in the paper and bought locally, it's hard for them to understand that they will need to make long distance calls and travel to find a puppy. I know it's hard for breeders to realize, when they have been doing this for so long, that some well meaning puppy buyers are new to this! Carol Richards [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.geocities.com/carolscavaliers/ "My little dog, a heartbeat at my feet." Edith Wharton ========================================================= "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.
