[PencilCrayons]

Hey peeps, :wavey: heard about this forum from a friend a while ago and just joined today. Have to say that am I glad that she told me about this site - love the information and the friendly attitude here.

I'm looking for a puppy at the moment and I have found a few reputable breeders around my area and sent them emails. However of the 5 or so emails I sent out, only 2 replied before they stopped replying as well. I've been waiting for about a month now for replies but none came. In my emails I told them who I was and asked them when they expect the next litter to be and if I could fill out a puppy application sheet. I don't find that offensive at all but I'm no breeder. So did I say anything that might offense the breeders or should I email again/call them?

 

[Zazoo]

It doesn't seem that you said anything wrong.. Do they have their phone # on their sites?.. If they are within driving distance go meet them in person and talk to them face to face.. Ask a bunch of questions about their dogs and when will be their next expected litter.. I believe that talking face to face, people get a better sense of who you are and what you are looking for in a puppy.. They to will probably like to ask you a few questions as well..

 

[Buddy's mom forever]

I just want to welcome you to the forum, fellow Canadian.

 

[Shalva]

I would email them back and just say that you hadn't heard back from them so you wanted to touch base again. I would also nicely suggest that if they are not having a litter if they know of anyone who is that you might contact.

I would love to see the actual wording of your email... sometimes things can turn off breeders that don't even seem like a big deal to you.... or it could honestly be that your email didnt get to them or that something has come up and they just forgot... breeders are people too...

if it were me I would just send a nice email stating that you hadn't heard back and you hope that everything was ok and there ya go...

just my two cents

 

[BajaOklahoma]

One of the best things I did was to go to the local GR Club meetings - even without a Golden. People got to know me as more than just a name. They knew I was interested in a puppy and I had several members contact me when they were expecting a litter.
And the secret advantage to doing it this way - I got to know the local breeders. At the local shows, I got to see their Goldens and what they were like. So I had an idea of which breeders I was interested in.

Remember this is a very busy time of year. Breeders do have lives, so don't be upset if they don't reply right away. Personally, when I first contacted breeders (before joining the club), I expected the breeders to be busy with their current litters and in contact with that litter's future owners. I knew I would come second, but would be a priority when we were dealing with our litter. And that's how I wanted it.

 

[Shalva]

One of the best things I did was to go to the local GR Club meetings - even without a Golden. People got to know me as more than just a name. They knew I was interested in a puppy and I had several members contact me when they were expecting a litter.
And the secret advantage to doing it this way - I got to know the local breeders. At the local shows, I got to see their Goldens and what they were like. So I had an idea of which breeders I was interested in.

Remember this is a very busy time of year. Breeders do have lives, so don't be upset if they don't reply right away. Personally, when I first contacted breeders (before joining the club), I expected the breeders to be busy with their current litters and in contact with that litter's future owners. I knew I would come second, but would be a priority when we were dealing with our litter. And that's how I wanted it.

this is such good advice....

 

[Osogold]

If you emailed me...I have been having email issues with the email address linked to my website....I just found out tonight that I have only been receiving a few emails the others have been going who knows were.

 

[golden_eclipse]

Personally I never "stop replying" when I know a person isn't someone I will likely sell a puppy to. But I do give them an honest reason why...I never just leave things open ended, because then no one will ever learn. Every first reply I make to anyone, I always link the GRCA website, and hopefully they will read and educate themselves. But I do think as a separate thing one of the things that bothers me most is when I get one sentence emails asking how much our puppies are (which isn't what you did).......my head explodes. But as people have said before, it is very hard to keep up with all the emails, especially if you have a full time job (as almost all hobby breeders do) and of course taking care of their goldens the best they can, training, grooming, shows, hunt trials, everything it is incredibly time consuming. Hopefully a beautiful golden puppy will come your way soon!

 

[PencilCrayons]

Thanks everybody for the awesome replies! I think I will wait until after Christmas when things have calmed down a bit before calling them and asking to set up an interview/visit. I'm also looking into up-coming shows and club meetings around where I currently live (which, unfortuantely, is not B.C. though it is where my hometown is). I won't give up until I find the right puppy for me. Thanks again and wish me luck

 

[cubbysan]

I had the same issue when I was looking, but my letter also had a lot of questions. The breeder that we got Brady from, did reply with a one sentence e-mail saying "Call me - not enough time to answer e-mail." I called her, and we talked for quite a while.


About two years later, I was at a dog show as a spectator with Brady, and a breeder comes up to me and starts asking me about Brady. I find out that she is one of the breeders I originally tried to contact. I mentioned she did not answer my e-mail, and she said that when she has no puppies available, and none planned, she normally doesn't reply because she gets so many.

Don't give up, and try calling if there is a phone number.

 

[Ryley's Dad]

Have you gone to the Golden Retriever Club of BC website?

Take a look here...
PUPPY/JUVENILE LIST

Here's another resource at the GRCBC...
http://www.grcbc.org/grcbc_breederslist.html

And here's a list of Alberta breeders...
http://www.grcab.com/Breeder_Directory.html

 

[PencilCrayons]

Yup! I've looked at them, thanks I've found a few breeders, but I have one in particular that I'm really interested in since I've heard some pretty nice things about her and I really love her dogs, so she'll be first on my hit list.