Part of the learning curve of being a breeder is not to take things personally.
To stay in for the long hall, you've got to get thick skinned, realise nothing's written in stone, and that buyers whim change like MD weather, amongst other things.
Recently I was informed I had "Stolen" a puppybuyer. .
The buyer had talked to someone else about buying a puppy from a proposed (on paper) litter, an inquiry I had no clue of until I was accused of stealing the puppy buyer last month and this is something that happened back in September..
I never thought to ask the buyer if she was looking at another litter. In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? A good puppy buyer will talk to numerous people before choosing a puppy. You should never buy the first puppy or from the first litter you fell in love with, I always tell people to look at a lot of puppies or litters before making a decision.
What I was concerned with is that her references turned out(and boy did they), that she treated her dogs well(boy does she), and that my puppy would be in a good home(Boy is she :)), not that the buyer had talked to someone else a few weeks prior about a planned litter.
The buyer's first comments in an email to me were along the lines "I love this bitch, i've been wanting a chinchilla with Silkenswift lines, she's just what I want". .it was out of the blue, from left field, I'd never heard of this lady before and had no clue who else in the breed she had talked to other than the two breeders of her boys. Our conversations revolved around her experience in the breed, her other dogs, my dogs, and my puppy, nothing else. . .
Puppy buyers are allowed to talk to other breeders and allowed to choose to buy from another breeder and as you grow as a breeder, you learn this, or you burn out with anger, frustration and the toxicness of letting everything bother you.
The PITA buyer last fall was not a PITA because she bought from someone else, that was her decision, she was a PITA because she wasted so much of my time before TELLING me she was looking at the other litter, so many months dicking me around until she finally told me she was seriously leaning towards that other litter. She was not upfront and honest with me and that's what angered me. I wasn't upset with the breeder, it's not their fault, but I was upset with the buyer for jerking me around. . .I'm not sure if the breeder said anything or even knew, it's the buyer that was wrong for not being truthful, for not being up front, she wasn't wrong for buying a dog elsewhere, that was her decision. Hopefully she's happy with her choice, I'm much happier with the home Ava eventually went to. Less maintenance :)
You just can't take it personally if someone chooses a dog from a different breeder. . it just happens.
OTOH, maybe it is a question to ask prospective buyers, so one can talk to the other breeders and find out if a red flag had gone up that caused them not to sell a puppy, as well as to make sure that you're not selling your puppy to end up in situation like the West Virginia Rescues of years before: http://www.nbrf.info/index.php?p=gallery&id=140
Two different breeders sold dogs to this home, each sold a male and a female, not knowing the other breeder had already sold them a dog. Granted, at least one of those breeders is not responsible, but asking around may help stop situations like this from happening.
I just never thought of it until this silly accusation was thrown at me, but now I wonder if I should be asking. . .13 yrs of doing this, and I'm still given things that make me think.
There's only one breeder i don't mind 'stealing' puppy buyers from, but any responsible Borzoi breeder is glad to take a buyer away from this breeder. . .she's a blight on the rear end of humanity. Her dogs are livestock, sold to anyone with a check that clears, and so many of them end up in rescue. If she doesn't have buyers, she'd stop breeding, but otherwise, I don't think about it.
It happens. . .unless you've got a check and contract in hand(and even then they may have legal rights to change their mind) a puppy buyer can change their mind. This is ESPECIALLY true when the litter is just planned, nothing is concrete such that there actually are puppies in utero, let alone that they are whelped, healthy, and ready to go. I can understand looking for other pups along the same line as you want if the litter hasn't even been conceived, as so much can go wrong: doesn't conceive, aborts the litter, emergency c-section resulting in loss of pups or worse loss of mom, not enough pups to go around, etc, etc.
I've got people interested in my next litter, will they be there and actually wanting one when the time comes? Who knows, i don't care, what happens, happens. . .and eventually all the pups will find their forever homes. It just may take a year or two LOL Aurora is still here, case in point :)
It's why you've got to have a thick skin and not take things seriously.
I explained to my accusor that I had had no clue and hopefully cleared things up. . but it's given me something to think about, and I'll have to ask my breeder friends their opinions on this. She's apologized, but it does make me think. .
Thoughts are appreciated
