# Would you pay to reserve a puppy before seeing it?



## flowers (Mar 14, 2013)

Please can I get some advice re deposits????? the puppy we are interested in we have not yet met, only seen pics, we can't get to visit until next week, the owners are fine for us to visit next week but say that in order to reserve her we should pay a£250 non refundable deposit. Is this normal?

Whilst I don't want to lose the puppy to someone else I am not too happy about paying out a non refundable deposit that I won't get back when we haven't seen her yet. This is a hobby breeder not a kennels.

I know that some breeders say a deposit is required to secure a puppy and some say that you can go on a waiting list then when the puppies are around 5 weeks old visit and reserve a pup and pay a deposit and then there are those who say pay on collection of your puppy.

What is the usual way of doing these things? Should I pay the deposit to secure the pup?

Thank you


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

I would never put a non refundable deposit on a puppy I haven't seen. Especially not of £250. I think that is unreasonable. Would be happy to do a refundable deposit. After all, you don't know if your puppy will be the right temperament for you. You may not be happy with the breeder. Your pup may develop an illness before you get too meet. I feel a fairer way would be for you to get first refusal and for her to run a secondary list of interested potential owners. A deposit that's non refundable once you have seen the puppy is fine. I would suggest this to your breeder. If she is not happy,walk away. . Hope this helps.


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

I did pay a deposit for mine but cant remember if it was non refundable. i think I would be put off by a non refundable deposit, so much can change once you meet and that's a lot of money to lose. I guess its to put off time wasters?


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## dmgalley (Aug 19, 2012)

That is how it works in the states with 90% of breeders. They will let you change to a different litter but the deposit is non refundable. I look at it this way if you have done your research and know your breeder, then you know you want a puppy from this breeder so it doesn't really matter. 

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## arlo (Mar 11, 2013)

£250 is the highest deposit I have heard, I paid a £100 non refundable deposit for both Arlo and Savannah, Savannah was to far away to visit beforehand, but I had long phone calls and plenty of photos from the breeder. If you are worried perhaps leave it chance and see if the puppy is still available when you can visit?


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

I would say like Donna, you really are reserving the breeder, and not the puppy. as long as it is transferable to future litters.


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## Hfd (Aug 19, 2011)

We are getting poo 2 in a couple of weeks, we paid £150 deposit once the litter was born to reserve a boy or girl. Choosing is at 6 weeks. 
I wouldn't part with £250 non refundable without visiting the breeder first.


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## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

That's how my breeder was. We paid I think a $250 deposit non-refundable. But I was able to visit her house and meet her dogs. She did have in her contract, that if she couldn't produce us with a pup for us with in a year, that she would refund our money.

I did not come across any breeder that did not have a non-refundable deposit. Now if they are asking for the whole amount up front then to me that would be red flags. I had this with one breeder, she said it was because I didn't want the dogs tail cropped and that needed to be done with in a few days for birth. Needless to say I did not go with that breeder.


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## dsnth (Jan 21, 2014)

We paid a £150 deposit but it was refundable if when we met the litter we didn't want one.


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## emjon123 (Apr 9, 2013)

We paid a £150 deposit for Bailey which was refundable if we didn't like the set up or the pup. 

We stay in Scotland, pup was from Anzil in Liverpool, so it was not easy to drop in. When we went to pick her up we could have walked away with our deposit if we didn't like what we saw. Thankfully we loved the set up and the pup.

I personally would never part with any money unless I was sure of what I was getting, or a guarantee of my money back.


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## Yogi bear (Feb 25, 2013)

If £250 is non refundable then I think it's a bit unreasonable for them to ask you to pay that without even meeting the pup. I would want to see what conditions it's kept in, meet mum and assess the puppy's temperament. If the breeder is good they would understand your concerns. If they are pushy then I'd wonder why and have second thoughts.x

https://www.facebook.com/SeymourTheRedCockapoo


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

I got my two far away so paid for them and they flew to me based solely on pictures. The ones local here either were too expensive, coming at the wrong time, or ugly. For me, I wanted two so couldn't break the budget right off, wanted as much time that I could be home with them before I was back full-time at school, and needed them to be the most adorable things because I knew I needed something to offset the difficulties of housebreaking and chewing stuff. Everyone can share their experience but it really needs to be based on your financial situation and your risk tolerance that you may not get the puppy you imagined or that you may have to wait even that you lose money because you wanted to walk away. Sounds as if you are already uncomfortable with the breeder and what she is requesting. I think you need to ask yourself if you will always have the thought that the breeder was being unfair and may cloud how much you can enjoy your new pup. 




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## Lindor (Feb 3, 2014)

Maggie was on "hold" until 6 weeks old then we went to visit her and put our deposit down.


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## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

We put a deposit on Molly and only saw a picture of her. Luckily everything turned out ok.....thinking back it was kind of naive I guess but I wanted her so bad! The breeder did email us etc...though so we had contact. Our deposit was $100 Canadian money not sure what this is in your currency?


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

The fact is that cockapoos are a popular breed and because there are people queuing up for them breeders are able to do this. In defense of good breeders, they are lavishing mum and pups with care and it is hard work to do this right. They want their pups to go to the very best home - and while having available money is not a guarentee, it is one indicator that the people who take home a pup will be able to provide it with what it needs in the future.
That said I do not think a nonrefundable deposit is reasonable. But that is just me. In the past I think pups were not advertised until they were ready to be visited and you then paid a deposit to reserve your pup and paid the balance when you collected the puppy.


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## flowers (Mar 14, 2013)

Hi Thank you all so much
This breeder is a hobby breeder and it their first ever litter. I feel a pressure to make the decision because I had an email yesterday from them saying they had another family interested and could I let them know today.
I need a bit more time to decide it is such a big decision but most importantly we need to see the puppy which we can't do till the weekend. I also feel £250 is unreasonable especially as it is non refundable.


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## Hfd (Aug 19, 2011)

I think you already know that you are not happy to proceed and be rushed into making a decision. 
I would offer to visit and the weekend and then pay a deposit, 

If it was me....I wouldn't be getting a puppy from this breeder on this basis.


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

flowers said:


> Hi Thank you all so much
> This breeder is a hobby breeder and it their first ever litter. I feel a pressure to make the decision because I had an email yesterday from them saying they had another family interested and could I let them know today.
> I need a bit more time to decide it is such a big decision but most importantly we need to see the puppy which we can't do till the weekend. I also feel £250 is unreasonable especially as it is non refundable.


You have been waiting to visit this pup for weeks now, to apply pressure at this stage is very wrong of the breeder. Tell her you will visit the pup next week, and make your decision then, you will also bring a cash deposit with you. Or say you are putting a cheque in the post and forget to sign it or something. Then be very apologetic on the day. Let's face it with the bank holiday and a second class stamp it's unlikely to get there before Friday anyway! Be a bit cute. Re the other family, they can wait on the reserve list. That's their problem, not yours.


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

flowers said:


> Hi Thank you all so much
> This breeder is a hobby breeder and it their first ever litter. I feel a pressure to make the decision because I had an email yesterday from them saying they had another family interested and could I let them know today.
> I need a bit more time to decide it is such a big decision but most importantly we need to see the puppy which we can't do till the weekend. I also feel £250 is unreasonable especially as it is non refundable.



Perhaps based on your reaction it seems it would be better to find a more experienced breeder who better meets what you need from a breeder (a bit more flexibility). I can't but think you need to rely on this person to care for your future puppy still and that relationship is better served with mutual trust. 

I'm curious why this hasn't made you walk away already. 



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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Yes i'm another who would not be happy with this, Dudley was from Anzil too and I paid the deposit to reserve him when he was about a week old, but I could have had it returned after the 6 week visit if I had not been happy, a good breeder should be pretty confident that you would be, I think if a breeder said £150 or £250 deposit with maybe £50 being non-refundable that maybe acceptable to put off timewasters. Anyway good luck with whatever you choose to do.


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## Caira (May 27, 2013)

I can only tell you our experience, we had paid our £250 deposit the day after puppies arrived  without personally meeting the breeder or seeing the puppies (but we could have visited,she's lovely and very welcoming) for us it wasn't anything to worry about, we have been in contact with our breeder for many months prior to the puppies being born, have exchanged lots and lots of emails and photograps, we have spoken to few owners from the previous litter, we knew that any puppy from this litter would be fantastic and that our breeder was a very caring home breeder, so paying deposit without seeing the puppy wasn't problem at all. 
I would not do this just with anyone, it's all about the relationship you have with your breeder. We knew we trusted her, we wanted a girl and after seeing first couple of pictures we knew we wanted the one with a turqoise collar, so we asked our breeder if we could reserve her, we paid deposit straight away and that was it  I would not change her for anything, she is honestly the best dog I could have ever wished for


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## Fiver (Nov 26, 2011)

I paid a £100 refundable deposit for Milo without meeting him or his breeder. I chose him from a photograph, his breeder didn't allow visits to see pups. But to be fair to her I could have visited her to talk but not to see the breeding area of her kennels or any pups. I felt comfortable to trust her mainly because she used to be a member on this forum. Would I pay out a non refundable deposit of £250 without meeting the pup....no I wouldn't. 

Val


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

So Flowers, what did you decide to do?


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## MHDDOG2016 (Jan 2, 2016)

I realize this is an old post, but figured I would comment since we are working with a breeder now. I am in the States and our breeder asks for a $300 deposit to go on a waiting list for an upcoming litter. Once the litter is 5 weeks old, you are given an appointment to come in and select a puppy. You then go back when they are 8 weeks old to bring your puppy home. I am allowed to roll the deposit into the next litter if I decide that there isn't a puppy I want in the current litter. She says I can do this until I find the perfect puppy for me, as she never wants a family to feel like they have settled for a puppy.


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## Kirsty p (Dec 4, 2015)

We paid a £100 deposit to go on on the list. People were then called in on order of the list to pick there pup. We were list on the list and if we hadn't of liked the pup we could have transferred the deposit to another litter.


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