3dayz wrote:
UnRuli wrote:
I suspect part of it might have been the way the questions were directed to them. Having a list like that can appear as if you're giving the third degree. There are ways of asking these sorts of questions in a conversational tone in a letter. It may make the letter just a bit longer but it won't appear quite so brash.

The fact that you have asked questions that have already been answered on their site can also appear as if you're sending a form letter and have not taken the time to actually look at what they offer. This can sometimes make a breeder less interested in taking the time to answer your questions. They figure if you don't want to take the time to read the information on their site then they're probably not going to want to take time out of their day when it's probably unlikely you'll purchase from them anyway. Though this isn't always the case, my past experiences have shown me that the ones that are most demanding of your time are usually the least prepared to actually purchase a puppy. I always answered the questions, but I found it amusing that I was right 90% of the time with that theory.

Then of course there is the possibility that you are not at all a potential puppy buyer but instead someone who is interested in causing trouble. Long lists of questions like this are sometimes sent out by anti-breeding types to use as fodder for their arguments. I've recently received a few of these myself and I haven't bred a litter in almost 6 years! That does tend to make breeders a bit gun shy.

Of course they could just be crappy breeders. Oops litters are not necessarily an indication of this however. Oops litters do sometimes happen and methods of aborting unwanted pups from a bitch you plan to use for the breeding in the future can compromise future breeding potential. I admit I had one oops litter and boy was I embarrassed about it, but I was honest about the mistake......many other breeders are not and just list it as a planned breeding and tell no one about the mistake.
I do have a list of questions that I look to have answered by breeders, and if I find the information on the website I take it off my list. Since I couldn't figure out their web navigation (the main links weren't connected), I wasn't able to find a lot of the information I wanted, so hence the list of questions was very long. However, now that I have figured out their website, I still cannot find the answers to "most" of my questions. On his "My dogs" page, it says "OFA" but doesn't say what was area/structure was tested.

Anyways. He's obviously not the right breeder for me, and I agree, the one he recommended seems much more my style. I was just surprised since I have sent similar emails (all the questions minus the answers I could find on their website) to other breeders and received much more positive responses in the past.

Should I tell the first breeder that his website links are not working??

Wording the OFA question in the manner of:  "I noticed that you list OFA certification on your site but there is no indication what the OFA certification is for, could you clarify?"  This would make it clear that you were looking on the website for the information but that it didn't appear to be available.

I think since you were unable to get the links to work you might have sent an email with basic information about yourself and then in the email stated that you have some questions that you like to ask potential breeders but that many times those answers can be found on their websites. You could have then said that in your attempt to check their website you were unable to navigate it because of non-working links.  They may have sent back an email to you with other links to the information on their site or may have just told you that you can go ahead and send them a list of questions.  That way it looks like you're interested in researching but ran in to difficulties.

Many times the lazy types that don't take the the time to actually read the information on the site are just tire kickers so sometimes if you give that appearance a breeder won't even bother taking the time.


Beandog wrote:
If you spend your time trying to please everyone and ensure no waves are created you are going to end up with egg on your face, half naked in the middle of the street surrounded by Norwegian dwarves singing Kumbayah off key with a WTF expression on your face. 

JohnnyToaster wrote:

Actually, Warmbloods start out their lives as something that resembles a cross between a deer and a rhinoceros. After 6 months of this larval stage they will spin a cocoon, made of a coarse silk, and pupate for about a year. They then emerge as fully mature Grand Prix dressage horses or jumpers depending on their breeding.