[QUOTE=PlanB;8037405]
For those who are referring to refundable deposits, under what circumstances are they refundable?
I’ve never purchased a dog from a breeder but usually deposits to hold horses are not refundable (unless it’s a deposit contingent on a vet check)?[/QUOTE]
Our breeder had more people on the wait list than there would be puppies in the litter, and I know other people had discussed specifics that they wanted with her. Two particular types of markings are popular in Ibizans and there’s no way to know if you’ll get them in your litter or not. A couple people on the waitlist were specifically holding out for a puppy with the gender/marking combo they were interested in, and it had to have the attitude/personality that the breeder felt would fit with their situations also. These people had put deposits down that allowed them first chance at a puppy with their specifics, and the breeder just let them permanently stay on the waitlist until that type of puppy came up. No one else had to put deposits down.
The breeder was lovely about sending out bi-weekly pictures and videos of the puppies to everyone, along with sharing stories and events so we really felt like we were included in the young puppy stages. Her home is over 12 hours away from us, so visiting while the puppies were small was not feasible for us. Once the puppies were 6 weeks old, the breeder contacted everyone individually to let them know if she had a suitable puppy, who she thought would be a good match for you, and let you have 3 days to get back to her and confirm. Once you confirmed, you sent a check for 1/2 the price of the puppy.
This deposit was refundable if the puppy became ill or injured before going home with you (and you didn’t want to wait for it to get healthy again), if it failed the final vet check before you picked it up, or if it failed the vet check with your vet once you got the puppy home. If you flaked out and disappeared, the deposit would not be refunded. If the breeder suddenly found out you’d lied on your application and would not be a good home for the puppy, you would not get a puppy or your deposit. If you had an unexpected life event come up, she’d work with you and either change the pick up date to help you, or refund you the deposit.
[QUOTE=saultgirl;8036745]Understood. I’d be willing to wait for a litter planned for sometime in 2015, but if that’s not going to happen, I’ll be exploring other options.
The puppies from the smaller breeders need good homes, too… and I think they are probably at much greater risk of ending up in a bad situation.[/QUOTE]
Ours wasn’t so much that we wanted to wait 2 years for a puppy, just that our breed isn’t popular and so there are always more homes than there are puppies. Forming a relationship with a breeder we liked took time, and once we had that we had to wait our turn. I would rather wait and have the perfect puppy for us, rather than just be in a hurry to get any puppy. I am awful at waiting for things though, so that wait was torture! 
Not sure what you mean by smaller? I don’t know any large volume breeders in our particular breed, and the breeder we went with is very small. One litter a year if she breeds, and she’ll frequently skip years, so that’s 4-8 puppies in a 1 1/2+ year timeframe. I’m quite confident that none of her dogs (or dogs from the other breeders we’ve talked with) are at a higher risk of ending up in a bad situation.
I’m not sure how popular Newfies are as a breed, but I imagine with a more popular breed you’d probably be able to get a puppy faster than a less popular breed.
Guess I’m saying don’t be discouraged if you can’t get a puppy as quickly as you’d like, because that may be difficult to get one this year if you’re just now starting to talk to breeders. 
Definitely fingers crossed though that you’re able to get a healthy puppy without too much headache! So exciting to be puppy searching.
