I just saw an ad online for PuppySpot.com. It says it is a service “dedicated to helping responsible breeders place their puppies.”
Does this look like a legit business to you? Or … ?
The ones I know have waiting lists for their litters
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Ditto. And considering that the first puppy I clicked on was an “Aussiedoodle” my face went all eye-rolly already, and they have a category for “designer breeds”.
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There is nothing wrong with advertising a litter. Especially when breeding competition dogs. Many breeders have inquiries but would prefer to place the dog in a serious competition home, so a wait list might not be enough. Or, in the case of my younger dog’s litter…the breeder was definitely not expecting to place 13 puppies! His waiting list wasnt that long.
That said, I cant imagine any of the breeders I know advertising a field or show litter on a website called puppyspot. Lol.
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Absolute and utter B.S. I want to scream every time I hear the ad. I almost cancelled my Sirius subscription over the ad. NO reputable breeder places their puppies that way. Every singe, responsible breeder I know is drowning in inquiries. I have easily 5 good homes for every available puppy
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Don’t use PuppySpot. they’re just a marketing middle man. We just had this discussion on my dog forum and the good
breeders had nothing good to say about them.
I responded once to a puppy they advertised and the little bit of info you could get on the puppy, the parents, the breeder
and health tests, etc. was a joke. They are as bad as an on line pet store.
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That is in line with what I thought. I saw it as the modern, online version of the puppy-mill pet stores that used to proliferate at malls. But since I know practically nothing about dog breeding, I wanted to ask here where I know people are knowledgeable about proper breeding and breeders.
Thanks, everyone.
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Ok just clicked the link…definitely not a site a reputable breeder would use. First clue is that the puppies are photographed individually and have names. I didn’t see any information about the parents which is the #1 thing reputable breeders use to advertise the litter.
No breeder i know would advertise a litter that way. Looks like an online puppy mill.
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Right. Las Rocosa Aussies when Elaine Hartnagle was alive and when Pat Klausman had Pekay Goldens had waiting lists year after year.
and to go back many decades when Betty McIver Davis had her cocker spaniel kennel and magazine Cockers Calling there was always a waiting list.
of course all of the above showed bench and field so they were nationally known for their dogs
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Meh, it’s somewhat of a poorly done website.
The breeder I am buying from already has a pretty full waitlist for a litter that has not even been conceived yet (dog is being bred this week). He has a good reputation and has a Facebook page but also an advertisement on edogs.de
On edogs you can also select by breed, age, shelter dog, etc. But it is a well done website and follows the format of ehorses. I think it is a good place for breeders to advertise as it gives the person looking to buy or adopt a central location to search for many dogs/breeders. People also advertise on a local classified site (kind of like Craigslist in North America), but there are typically more hobby dog breeders there, but still decent pets can be found nonetheless.
I don’t know that I’d use such a website as puppyspot, but I have met some good people whether dog or horse related through some crappy websites. They were very good a what they did, but just were completely clueless about marketing or advertising so they’d have someone (not so knowledgeable) do it for them, or fall into some trap via Google. Most breeders do have a good word of mouth network, but I do feel like a good online presence is necessary these days.
I guess this all comes down to the definition of “responsible breeder” and we don’t have to rehash that again.
So then it gets down to what kind of advertising are they doing? Just in general, to sell puppies? Or to sell them to competition homes and/or breed enthusiasts, rather than the general public.
Most of the breeders I know that advertise do it on Facebook. They typically have their kennel pages already on Facebook and link them, but many breeds (like mine) have other groups for breeders and breeding, and it’s easy and fast to spread the news about litters. I know of at least 4-6 breeders on the East Coast that have top quality litters right now and who has puppies available. It wouldn’t take me long to get that same kind of info for the Central and West Coasts if I was looking for a competition puppy.
Those type of breeders sell puppies as pets but don’t tend to advertise litters for the purpose of selling pets. Finding a pet home isn’t that difficult, and most people sell those puppies through word of mouth. A few advertise on the AKC Marketplace. I don’t think any of them would advertise on a website like these.
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S1969, I’d agree with you. The last two litters I have any personal knowledge of, the first of which was the littler my younger BT came from. Mom had 13 :eek: I know the breeder had a waiting list but I know she also needed/wanted to match the right puppy with the right home. Event with 13, the waiting list covered them all. Most, I believe, when to conformation homes. Mine was ultimately a pet/performance home and that’s where he is 
Second litter was Cairns. Most were spoken for before being born. A few boys she was looking for homes but I can’t believe she’d look at a site like being described here
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Eeeekkk - that website is awful. No information on the parents and their health tests, temperament tests, working or show results. Just a pic of a SUPER expensive puppy. Of course the ‘puppy health guarantee’ is designed to mislead buyers in the pet market as it’s pretty meaningless, particularly for my breed (Rottweiler) where the PARENTS need multiple genetic & other tests.
I breed & train Rottweiler assistance( service) dogs. All bitches have to be qualified as assistance dogs and worked by us so we know the best sire to use to produce the temperament we wantv(we cross working/IPO and show lines) We do extensive health tests and again for our breeding dogs we Look back multiple generations for health tests. We also expect our bitches to have some basic show titles - a few BoB at good standard of shows (one homered bitch won her class at Crufts This year). We use outside sires from the EU and USA who have to be outstanding in temperament, show and sometimes working trials.
Our waiting list is about 2 years but we do still advertise as we want the puppies to go to the most appropriate homes - particularly the show quality ones and assistance dog candidates. Also the pets as some may have quite a lot of drive and could also be used for working & dog sport. My current bitch is an excellent assistance dog but would also excel at IPO - she would not be a good pet or for an inexperienced handler!
Our puppies are less than half the price of some truly HORRENDOUS puppies on that site. You could buy from us a show quality or assistance dog candidate puppy, import it and have change! The site is a con
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Not all breeds or breeders may have wait lists for their litters (or at least not always enough people on their wait list to place all puppies off it it). It depends on the breed and demand and location and such. Doesn’t mean they aren’t good breeders. A breeder that I know recently had a waitlist with more people wanting males than females. She had a litter of ALL GIRLS. They may advertise, but it’s usually advertising themselves or working with people/breeders they know to put the word out that they have available puppies (and then they screen the person themselves).
They don’t use a third party site to place puppies.
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The latest big money scam is selling puppies that don’t exist, and scamming buyers. There’s always a new scam out there. The article has a few tips to keep from getting scammed. Here is an article from MSN/CBS News about online scams for puppy sales:
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Reported as spam.
ooh, good catch on the spam.
On topic, I’m not surprised that “responsible breeder” has been adopted by people who might be sketchballs. As for advertising my breeder (Portuguese Water Dog) doesn’t advertise at all and has a waiting list. I was extremely lucky to get my pup - right place, right time, and breeder a former horse person - HA! I only found her by word of mouth from other breeders and a judge. For those who do advertise, the breed club has a website with a referral list. The AKC does too. No guarantees, but obviously a starting place other than that site.
Boy, it was a lot easier when we just went to the shelter and picked up a lab mutt… 
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