Bulldog Buyers Beware: Avoiding Puppy Scams to Securing Your Perfect Pup - Ep14

This episode is packed with essential advice on safeguarding your finances and ensuring a promising future for you and your canine companion.

• Spotting Red Flags🚩 : Learn how to identify the warning signs of puppy scams, including too-good-to-be-true deals and untraceable payment methods.
• Secure Transactions: Understand the importance of building a long-term relationship with a breeder and ensuring all paperwork and credentials match up.
• Breeder Verification: Discover how to verify a breeder's reputation through health credentials, show records, and personal observations.
  Stay tuned to become a savvy and informed buyer, equipped to confidently navigate the world of puppy purchasing.

With this episode's knowledge, you can avoid scams and make secure transactions when purchasing your new canine companion. Remember, a little patience and thorough vetting can go a long way in ensuring you find a reputable breeder and a healthy, happy puppy.

📝 Click to read Show Notes

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IG: @thebulldogbroadcast

Transcript

[00:00:00] Have you ever wondered if that too good to be true puppy ad is actually a scam? By the end of this episode, you'll be armed with invaluable insights on identifying fake sales and financial traps, executing secure transactions, and fostering reliable breeder relationships. This knowledge will safeguard your finances and ensure a promising future for you and your canine companion. Welcome to the Bulldog Broadcast, the Pure Talk Pedigree podcast. Join me Sara Lamont as we delve beyond the pedigree, propaganda and misinformation surrounding the beloved Bulldog breed. Together, we uncover the real life realities of Bulldogs, sharing insights with admirers, owners and breeders worldwide. In this episode, we're looking at how not to get scammed when buying a puppy. So I think this applies to anyone looking for a puppy. There's been a lot of scams. It's quite hard if you're not in that circle of people or you don't have that existing network, it's quite hard to know where to start. I only know this because when I was looking for a Labrador, I felt it harder and I knew what I wanted to be fair, and I still didn't really know where to start looking, that I knew that was a credible source. So let's look at scam scam artists. And I believe nowadays that financial scams is one of the biggest crimes that there are. And they could be really elaborate and at all different angles. Basically, on the radio that I listen to about people trying to get money back, no fee, no win or whatever it's called, where they think they've invested in a company and they're buying shares, and it's doing so well that they buy more shares.

[00:01:49] And then when they actually come to sell the shares, they don't get their money back because it never really existed anyway, at that high level, all the way down to I had a friend, if you're a friend, messaged her and said, oh, I'm in a bit of a sticky situation, can I borrow £300 off of you just till the end of the month? So she's like, well, yeah, of course you're a mate, why wouldn't I? So they're like, oh, here's my bank details. Thanks. You're amazing. And then so she sent them money and then they said, oh, actually, I forgot to tell you I need to buy this, this and this. So could you send me another £300 or could you send me £400? And she thought this is a bit off. So she phoned, phoned up her friend. She's like, I haven't asked you for no money. And basically her account had been hacked and they'd obviously just messaging all her friends through Facebook asking for money. And obviously because you're friends with them, you're like, oh, okay, they're in a situation. I help them out. And obviously the bank account isn't her bank account. They've done away with the money. It literally can come in all shapes and forms. And the problem when it comes to dog buying is that if you get scammed, ultimately it could be that you just lose your money, it could be that you have a negative experience, or it could be that you end up with a really poor quality dog.

[00:03:01] So you still might get a dog, but it's not what you thought you were buying. So what are the some of the red flags when it comes to finding a puppy? And nowadays I think it's pretty widely accepted there are selling platforms. So where breeders list their litters and and potential owners are looking at those litters and they come in all shapes and forms. You can't sell on Facebook. But you know, there are people that go, oh, look at my lovely litter that are ready for new homes soon. Like that, they're selling them without selling them. But I think what you need to remember is, is the deal too good to be true? If it's massively cheaper than, like, the market rate, then why? Because how are they as scammers? How are they going to lure people in unless there's some stand out point of view to get you through the door? So if it's too good to be true, it probably is. Also, when it comes to payment methods, you want to avoid sellers who only accept non-traceable payment methods. So this could be where they go. Oh, can you pay by Bacs to this bank account? And it's probably a bank account that's not even in their name.

[00:04:13] Or it's you're paying before you get the product. So I mean the the godsend of online banking nowadays is that you can pay pretty much instantly. Unless you're HSBC. Then it takes two hours. Now, I don't know if that's still the case, but with Barclays anyway, you you transfer it and the money's there. You could still get scammed this way because then I go, oh yeah, the papers will send them in the post to you and all this kind of stuff and you never get them. So ultimately you've ended up with not the quality of dog that you thought you were buying. So if you're paying that way, then make sure you have everything you possibly think you should have. Some people would deem PayPal as a safe way to pay, but it isn't because buyers can recall their payments and leave the person that received the money in a negative amount. I wouldn't say PayPal is a safe way for a breeder to sell, possibly safer for a buyer, but I just wouldn't rate the platform anyway. Cash is fine, but only a bit like Bacs that you have everything that you need. You have to take it as if I never see these people again. Have I got everything I need that's justifiable for what I'm paying for this dog? And for these reasons. That's why I think when you find a breeder, it should be a slow, long relationship. Most scammers, their main pain point of is that they will pressure you into buying.

[00:05:36] So they want a quick sale because they know they're going to be in and out and done. Where if someone's genuine, it doesn't matter if you've known them for six months before you actually buy, that's that's not a problem where a scammer. You're going to know for what, six days before they expect you to buy the product and off they go. If you're feeling pressurised, if they're given some time restrictions, for whatever weird reason, you should be discouraged from buying that dog. And likewise, it'll say a lot about seeing the puppy in person and seeing the mum in person. But I'm like pups and litters could be moved around. Dogs can be moved around. Obviously this was opened up a bit more with the pandemic, when you could only do like video calls to view a puppy and people were delivering pups to people's doors, which is fine if a breed has taken a puppy to an owner, but if it's buying from someone you've never met, and then they're going to just drop the dog off at your door, that they're not a takeaway. They're not Chinese takeaway. It shouldn't be that simple. So yeah, it's one of those. But you need to trust your bioinform. And for instance, the story I was going to say was during the lockdown, I had a litter and had to be the video calls. But lucky enough, I had a breeder, had an ongoing conversation.

[00:06:52] They knew the breeding was happening and that kind of stuff. Anyway, so when it comes to selling the pups, I actually dropped and they were local, so I well, I'd say they were local. They were London way, which isn't too far for me. I thought, right, that's fine. I dropped the puppy off, got to the house, had the conversation, saw the pup. Obviously we already knew each other anyway, so it was all good. And then he said he'd left a deposit. He said, that's fine, I'll transfer the money. And then that's how I know various reasons why HSBC takes two hours. So is that I've done the transfer and I said, oh, it's not showing. It's not showing. They said, oh, I said, who do you bank with HSBC? So I was like, oh, well there you go then. So anyway he phoned them through. Obviously it takes as long as it takes. I was like, do you know what? I'm just going to go. I said, unless this is really elaborate scam and you've Airbnb this house, I'm going to go because I know the money's going to clear. We've had an ongoing relationship. That's fine. I need to say it was all fine. It just goes to show someone could literally Airbnb a house, whack a litter in there, and some pups, you go up, you buy it, and then and then they're gone. So then you go back for any problems and you know those people don't exist.

[00:08:00] That's how easy it is. It's super easy to set up a scan and I'd be scammed. So how do you prevent these kind of situations really? You want to verify the reputation of the person that you're buying from. And so this is why I bang on about show breeders so much, because they are people that are putting their reputation out there. They're putting a kennel name to their reputation. They should be acting in their best interest for their dogs and ultimately for the people that want one of their dogs. So that's why I'm so keen and positive towards people that ultimately put their money where their mouth is, saying, actually, because I breed under this kennel name that I'm breeding to this standard and it will all come out in the wash quite quickly if I don't adhere to that. Now you can do some rooting around. You can look at somebody's website, you can look at their socials, but, you know, it takes seconds to set up an Instagram page. It takes seconds to load some pictures in and look quite authentic. It's not that difficult to set up a website nowadays. Don't be fooled by that. This is all parts of a puzzle really, and you want to have all the elements build up to feel like this is the right purchase for you to be making, you need to check credentials. So say they did have a website or you see an advert somewhere.

[00:09:20] People nick photos of other breeders, puppies and text all the time. Just because what's there looks realistic doesn't mean it's the realistic that you're expecting. So nowadays you've got a really good function, like if you're at a PC, if you right click an image, select Google Search, it will tell you whether that image exists elsewhere on the internet. And likewise, if there's an advert, you could copy and paste that text into Google and see whether it finds that advert anywhere else and if it's the same person or not. So I mean, that's a real basic checks that you could do quite quickly. You've also got my Casey, which is the Kennel Club's portal for breeders dog owners to interact with their database, so to speak. Any Kennel Club dog is searchable on my Casey. So if the advert has their details or you speak to the breeder and you ask for their Kennel Club registered details, you can then go and search them on my Casey and find out what they're saying is true. Like if they literally say mum's never had a litter before, you can go on there and see. And if she's already had two other litters, well, why are they lying to you? That's a weird thing to do. Doesn't tell you everything, but you can find out health results and tests on there as well for a dog. So it's definitely a good place just to have a little nose around and just literally see if what I'm being told matches up with what's on the Kennel Club database.

[00:10:46] Coming on to breeder types. I'll probably do a whole separate episode on this, but there are different types of breeders, and I think it's worth you trying to work out what type of breeder you're buying from, so you understand their motivation to breed and not well. I am saying some are better than others, which I'll go on to another day, but especially if you're parting with some hard earned cash, you know there are different breeder types. There's more than what I'm about to mention. You could be buying a puppy from a council licensed breeder. So that's basically somebody that said, I do breed dogs for profit, and I breed them to the requirements of what the local council, which ultimately has been interpreted by Defra. Yeah, that they're breeding for profit. And that's fine because they will have certain points that they have to adhere to. But then if you were looking, for instance, if you were looking for a puppy to show would be buying from a licensed breeder be enough? Probably not. You probably want that licensed breeder to also be a show breeder, or they might not be a licensed breeder because they don't breed enough and they don't breed for profit, but they are a show breeder because they might have one two litters or one litter a year, or one litter every two years. So they're breeding specific...

[00:12:08] Oh....

[00:12:08] I was like, what's that noise? I forgot there's a puppy in the room with me. So if you're buying from a show breeder, they're breeding to the breed standard they're going to have they're not breeding for a profit. That's not their initial motivation. Their initial motivation is to breed, to breed standards so they can compete with that dog and hopefully win with that dog. And then you've also got breeders like the Kennel Club assured breeders, which is kind of like the mish mash of the two. It's a bit like we do some. We're aware of good breeding practices from the from the council point of view, but then we're also show focussed as well. So sort of as a blend in the middle. However, some of these people, because the benchmark to join this scheme is quite low, some people will join it just because that just looks good. It's a good way of then selling their puppies. And they may have never have shown a dog. Yeah, you need to. That's what I'm saying. You need to understand what the breeders motivation is. And if they can't articulate that to you, then you probably shouldn't be buying a dog from them. So to me, when someone says, oh, I just thought my dog should have a litter, that's not good enough motivation if you haven't done your research. Health tested that bitch, found a health tested male, have reared the puppies with knowledge and experience.

[00:13:27] And I mean, that doesn't mean just I've kept them alive to sell them. That means I've proactively provided a good environment for this puppy to start off on its best feet for when they leave to go to their new owners. So you really need to be able to get them to articulate why they're breeding that puppy, and it matches up with the motivation as to why you're buying it. And also, what you need to remember is that with many long standing breeders, you're actually buying heritage. You are buying the puppy that's in front of you, but you're actually buying a piece of all the generations before that. So if they're five, six, eight, at 12 generations in which is phenomenal, then they kind of know their shit. If you're buying from somebody, it's their first generation. And like, I get it, everybody has to start somewhere. But you cannot compare those two types of breeders. They are worlds apart. If you're paying the same money for their puppies, they're more for you. That's all I'm going to say. But I get it's all down to personal preference. So we've covered breeder types now you should visit them in person. But I, I see the flip side of this is actually from a breeders point of view. Do you want a load of randoms coming round your house? Well, when you have puppies, yes, you you kind of expect it. But what's the vetting that happens before that? If the shoe's on the other foot, you enquire about a litter and the breeder has certain expectations for you to be able to see that litter, you shouldn't have a problem with that.

[00:14:56] For instance, some breeders might not give their address out until the day full of dress out until the day of the viewing. Or they might ask for you to bring some form of identification so they know you are who you say you are. To me. That's fair enough. Otherwise, what you should do is meet in a neutral place, which I've said before, which is why I think dog shows are so good, because you can go there. And actually, from a buyer's point of view, you get exposed to loads of different people at the same time. And from a breeders point of view, they've got security of they haven't just got some randoms they don't know around their house you should visit in person, but at the appropriate time. Meeting before pups is born is equally good. I'm fine for all. Just have a telephone conversation to work out and gauge their understanding and knowledge of the breed and of the breeding of the pairing that they've made and what that might achieve. I'm all for meeting in person at a show or having a good detailed phone call, but qualified by some vetting of some sort. Now the benefits of if you go to theirs, you get to see all their dogs.

[00:16:06] Obviously if they're showing, you only see the ones that they're showing, but if you go to theirs, you'll get to see all their dogs. I think more buyers should be aware of the parents that they're buying from, or however the dogs are kept if they're kennel dogs or house dogs, because that is a different type of dog behaviour wise. A kennel dog is just living in a different environment, so their manner, general manners might be different. They might have slightly different triggers. They toileting might be a bit harder training because kennel dogs are just, you know, they can come and go. They haven't got to tell anybody that they need to go away. They can go through their little flap thing and that they go toilet and back in again. And equally, if they do it wrong, no one's there to tell them off or correct them in the right way. To me, that should be something you should be paying attention to. As to whether the dogs are kennel dogs or house dogs for the breed, I think that's less of an issue than some other breeds, but I think it is something you should pay attention to and maybe even ask the breeder. How does that impact the type of puppy that I'm getting? The fact that your dogs are kennel dogs and just see what they come up with because there might.

[00:17:13] That my adults are kennel dogs. All my puppies are reared in a house until they're four months old, so that literally makes no difference, blah blah blah. I don't know, they might have a really good. So I think it's worth asking and highlighting those differences. Also, it's an opportunity for you to look at the living conditions. Like I said, pups are easy to move and to an Airbnb house or whatever you can. Yeah, you can just see the environment before and after where they might rear their pups. Yeah. The environment, the puppy's going to be in for the first eight weeks because that's going to have a huge impact on the characteristics you then experience when the puppies in their new home. How pen set ups are very different. Some some breeders are all for would just chuck in some... That have a toilet area or like they know to go on the puppy pads. Others will be like no, they're no to go outside unless it's evening. Then we put a puppy pad down. Others be like we don't actually toilet train them, we just chuck a load of shredded teabag. Berlin and they just toilet in the area that they play in and sleep in and eating. So that's going to have a difference to the puppy that you get. Just telling you they're just giving you a heads up. What would be the ideal process. So if I was to buy a dog, what would I expect to happen? Well, I think you should have a relationship with the breeder in advance of you getting a puppy, and that could be anything from six months a year.

[00:18:34] The problem nowadays is people have this impatient mindset and they get the idea, and then they want the dog and it's done. And realistically, you're not going to find the best. The chances of you finding the best possible puppy that way is very remote, and you might be super lucky and well done. You you might land on your feet, but the majority of people. Hence what this whole episode is about is about not getting scammed. The majority of people aren't going to have that positive experience and it could end up in tears. So let's avoid that. So to me, have a long term relationship with your breeder. You have to have patience. The breeders dealing with biology. So they might do a breeding as you might not conceive, and then you might have to wait six months again. Now you either decide you go elsewhere. Are you going to get a dog of equal merit and quality? Or should you have some patience and wait because that's what you have signed up for? I think it works both ways, but as breeders, we try our hardest, but it doesn't always work. We are dealing with biology. I'm all for leaving a deposit to show a commitment.

[00:19:37] Some breeders don't want that. But then equally in my head as a buyer, I'd be like, well, how am I? How do I know I'm definitely getting what I'm getting? If deposits are left, I think there should be a document of receipt to confirm that of what those conditions are, because is it if I don't get a puppy in the next 12 months and I get a full refund, or is it I just have to wait until a puppy becomes available? Or what happens if I was waiting for a female and all boys had been born and that kind of thing. So I think you should have receipts to say you've given them some deposit, but there should be some conditions on there of what the reasons are for that money to be held and for how long for. I think also when it comes to the parents, you want to know their health credentials. So have they been BOAS tested? Even if the parent hasn't, then I would expect the grandparents should have been. I don't think there's any excuse not to do it anyway, but there might be reasons or whatever, and that's fine. So, for instance, I'm all for boas testing. Boas testing is brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, so it's how well they breathe. You're graded and the grade can be impacted. Like if a dog's overweight it's going to increase your score. If the dog was tested in the summer rather than the winter, it may possibly increase the score.

[00:20:57] If a dog is highly anxious, they might end up having a higher score. Not all dogs are suitable for boas testing. If one of the parents hasn't been tested, then I expect both of that dog's parents or the grandparents have been tested. Otherwise, you really are taking a risk. I just think you need some basic health credentials. So Boas testing. We do have the Bulldog Breed Council health testing scheme and I'll probably cover that another day. But where dogs are graded from bronze to gold with stars, there's no excuse really why any Bulldog being bred isn't bronze health tested. And also we have DNA tests available at the moment. HUU which is urate stones which is the main one. It's not a huge problem in the breed, to be honest, but it does exist. But for the sake of £50, why wouldn't you check your dog? I am a person. I am not obsessed with all clear lines. As long as the puppies are not going to be affected, that's what's important. So there might be carriers. They're never going to show any symptoms. That is 100% fine. If they're clear again, that's super fine. Yeah. Just don't get obsessed with oh my God, the puppy's going to be a carrier. That's nothing wrong with that puppy. What you should be caring about is that my puppy will not be affected by these conditions.

[00:22:13] Because that's the important thing. I've got other ways of checking the quality of the parents. So confirmation credentials, have they been to shows? Have they won? How have they done that kind of thing? And then obviously you've got the personal observation. So if you're going there yourself you can see how well that dog moves or not, what his tails like, what his temperaments like. Does it have really heavy tear stains? Why might that be? Is it breathing all? Okay, so you've got eyes in your sockets. And if you're seeing the dogs in person, then take all of that in. Just don't go. Oh, she's really cute. And I like her coat colour. Actually. Look at the type. And again, if you're at theirs you can look up all the one dog, can't you? Because if she's had a litter before, you can say, did you keep any pups in the litter before? What do they look like? Have you got uncle, Cousin Nan, all the rest of it? So that will help you build up a picture of the type of puppy that you're getting and also the credibility of that breeder. And so finally, when it comes to paperwork, so how not to get scammed on the paperwork. You need to make sure that all the numbers match up. So the microchip number should be consistent through all of this paperwork, as well as the Kennel Club registration number and the Kennel Club name, it should all tie in as well as like the date of birth.

[00:23:26] There should be no mad anomalies when you buy a puppy. In my opinion, you should be getting a sales contract and in my opinion that should be sent in advance. So really, when you leave the deposit, I would be asking for a copy or before leaving the deposit, I'll be asking a copy of the sales contract so you know you're signing up for. That's the practice that I have. I actually send up all paperwork in advance and then should it get to deposit stage, then I personalise it and resend it and likewise with the sales contract. But there shouldn't be anything to hide. I would be asking for that in advance. They can send you a blank one. That's not a problem. That sales contract should state the conditions of return and a time frame. I vet check all my parts, but I also recommend the new owners vet check the dog effectively. The puppies had two vet check and that they're happy with it for any reason. Within the first seven days they're not happy. Then they bring that puppy back for a full refund. Like no quibbles, no no questions asked because I'd rather they just bring puppy back straight away. Then I get grief down the road or the puppy gets passed on and I don't know about it, so I just think, no, just give me the dog back if you're not happy.

[00:24:33] And well, that early into the relationship is is not worth the drama. If there are any contracts or conditions like that in your sales contract, you need to find out what they are. I find generally breeders tend to do shorter than seven days. They might only give you 3 or 5 days. So if you need to get vet check in, you need to arrange that in advance. Obviously, of collecting the puppy you should have Kennel Club documents. So these are the ownership documents that have state on there who the parents are, what their registration numbers are, what your dog is when they were born, what colour they are, what their registration is, and it might include the microchip number or have a microchip sticker on it that is your ownership document. Even though the Kennel Club say that's not proof of ownership, because really your sales contract is that document is the official birth certificate of your dog. And so you should be setting up a MyKC account and transferring that dog into your name, though most people don't. The sake of £20, I would, but I wouldn't order anything else on the little tick list that the Kennel Club get tried to upsell you on, because it's not worth it. You should be given a five generation pedigree. It may be a kennel club generated one. It may be one that the breeder years ago they used to handwrite them out.

[00:25:43] Nowadays obviously we've all got majority of us have got PC's so we can generate one and print one out for you to take, and that should show you the heritage of the dogs. I mean, you could even ask for that in advance. You could have a little Google and see what the dogs look like. It's a legal requirement for all breeders to sell puppies microchipped, so that's the only requirement that is essential basically. So the puppy should be microchipped. You should know where that chip number is, and you should know how to transfer the dog into your name. Your legal requirement is that the dog is in your name. You shouldn't be buying any dogs that aren't microchipped. Worming is also a key one. The breeder should be giving you some kind of care sheet plan saying this is what the food they're on their mind should be giving you food as to take with you. But this is the food they're on. This is how many meals a day they're having, you know, and some other instructions. This is the time that we feed them and and on that sheet it should be. This is when they were last wormed. And this is what they were wormed with. And this is when we think they should be wormed. If in doubt, obviously have a conversation when you take the pup for the vet check, but that should all be documented for you to see.

[00:26:48] I mean, they should be giving you future advice when the puppy gets to this age. This might happen when the puppy gets to this age, this might happen. Or you need to change the food at this age, or the breed is likely to experience this, this and this like they should be giving you breed specific information to give you a heads up of avoiding any potential problems. I don't sell my puppies vaccinated, but if a breeder. Does sell them vaccinated, then you should have your vaccination card if their vet checked. If they're saying their vet checked, you should either have a certificate to say the dog's been vet checked, or have the details of the vet that checked the dog so you can transfer any records or have a conversation with them. So that should be provided. I don't sell my puppies vaccinated because I don't believe in over vaccinating puppies and they have mothers maternal immunity up until at least 12 weeks old. I actually believe it's 13.5 weeks, but at least 12 weeks old. There is no rush from my perspective in regards to vaccinations. If you're going to take your pup for a vet check anyway, then you might as well take it and have vaccinations done then. However, to me that's still too early. But I have a whole conversation and that's probably for another day.

[00:27:59] Yeah, you should have some evidence. If the dog has been vet checked, who with so you can transfer those records. Now some vets will offer free insurance. The Kennel Club also offer free puppy insurance. That's not essential. Well, it's not imperative. It's not. It doesn't have to. It's just a nice. Have. I've mentioned in other episodes about my feelings of puppy insurance. And actually you should ensure your puppy at six weeks of age. So when you collect them at eight weeks, they're already covered for their two week waiting period. If you're going to insure I would set that up sooner rather than later anyway, because whatever reason, you have a cooling off period. So if it didn't work out, then you can just cancel and get your money back anyway so no one loses out. That's my highlighted ways of how you could spot a scammer, how not to get scammed, and what the ideal process is. Because I think once you know what the ideal process is, then you'll know whether you're veering off of that quite significantly and that maybe you should halt the whole situation and readdress what you want to do and how to move the whole situation forward. So that's it. I'm signing off for another week. I hope you have a good one and I'll speak to you soon. Before you leave, make sure to visit BulldogBroadcast.com for immediate access to the show notes, community forum recommendations and episode extras.