Same for me with Poppy. I first saw her at 12 days old, and I'd have paid full price there and then.

this is a valid enough point

we had to put our names down for our kitten when he was born. The neutering campaign re cats had paid off for the early part of spring, so from his first week he was booked

when we went to collect him at 8 weeks the lady told us that the reason she had so many kittens wa tbe fact that people like us had put their names down for a kitten, when the time came to collect them, there was no contact so the rescue had contacted them. Time after time they were met with - "oh we have already got a kitten" in other words they wete not prepared to wait

as it turned out we ourselves at this stage could have got a kitten much nearer to home, as it was we had a 2 1/2 hour journey to go & collect him & yes although not asked for we gave a good donarion - rescues especially privately owned ones, dont run on thin air

this little boy came fully house trained never once making an error, healthy, clean, well adjusted & you could tell had been raised (he was born at the rescue) with love. Before he left he had a photo taken with the lady & a cuddle

"if" those who had prebooked kittens had had to pay a monetary fee first, would they have been so keen to get a kitten elsewhere? Its bad enough a breeder being let down but in my mind much worse for a rescue being let down with so many babies left & whats to hurt lifting a phone ro say they'd already got a kitten elsewhere.

So yes i think it can be understood breeders who take a deposit, perhaps they have been let down by time wasters in the past as the above poster says

i didnt pay a deposit for daphni, but i did for asbo, even though theyre from the same breeder. i didnt have to pay a deposit but i had the money and knew if i didnt take it id spend it on something else

i wouldnt be offended if i was asked for a deposit. it shows that you arent messing about when you pay a deposit and you are serious in having a puppy. if the breeder isnt happy with the potential owner then they shouldnt ask for a deposit from them and tell them why they arent happy with them having a puppy.

as a breeder i will ask for deposits. and make them non-refundable. like i said it shows that people are serious about having one. id vet anyone seriously before i thought they could have a puppy anyway, deposit or not.

For me a breeder either takes a deposit or they dont, they cant pick and choose what pup has a deposit put down on, or new owners will give one and which wont!
we have, and never will take a deposit, people being checked out and placed on our waiting list is enough for us. This shows us they are perpared to wait for a pup. I would rather a breeder had a long list of homes waiting before a mating, than take deposits once pups are here. I would not be offended if I was asked for a one either, but I wouldnt take one, as its getting your self into a verbal agreement - If a breeder takes a deposit, and then changes their mind about the pup with a deposit placed on it, say they want to keep it they may not have a leg to stand on in a court of law if the owners where not happy with that. Remember puppies when being sold are classed the same as itens for sale in argos...and you wouldnt put a deposit on a telly, then be told you cant have it and not have your money back.

I also dont get this whole keep the deposit if either breeder or owner pulls out..whats that all about, getting a quick bit of money? I would be more than willing to give one back, peoples circumstances can change in a short amount of time, and if this means they can longer take my pup..I would be greatful for the honesty and refund them the money..

Deposits are more trouble than there worth.. I dont see the biggy about them.. There are other ways for buyers to show they a committed!

In most cases decent breeders will have a list already done for potentail owners..and will have spoken to/met up with them before pups are born..so it wouldnt be a case of just turning up and placing a deposit to then return weeks later to collect said pup.

From what I have seen people on lists dont drop out at last second - they are on the list, and then informed when a mating has taken place, of course things in their lives can change but mostly people that have waited long enough on a list will be very intrested, and that to me means more than handing over X amount of cash..Anyone that pulls out for a vaild reason at the last second after being on the list, would get a deposit back from me (If I took one, which I never would)!! and I would be thankful they were being sensible/responsible in deciding that the time was not right for what ever changes had occured to their home lives - instead of taking pup and dumping it else where when things got to much!

Its quite sad that breeders let new owners in to view pups at such young ages, and even take full payment I guess they werent keeping one to show, work or the like? Because they surely would take first pick and wouldnt be doing so at 12days old - so they wouldnt know what was left for buyers...

I particularly wanted a black GSP and found one at a breeder who does the necessary health tests. I travelled 200 miles and looked at Ollie when he was 3 weeks old. I photographed him and paid a £150 deposit. As it turned out I was glad I did because the breeder had second thoughts about letting him go and tried to palm a solid liver pup off on me. It's only because I had photographed him and got a receipt for my deposit stating "black male GSP" that I had a leg to stand on.

Im glad you got what you selected..But if I were ever to breed I would not want to have to have that worry, If I decided I wanted to keep two to run on I would, If I had to let someone off my list down, then I would because I would have bred for myself not to supply the demand. So I can see where your coming from, but I also would feel for any breeder that changed their mind as like you said, the breeder of your dog hadnt a leg to stand on..and thats got to be hard when you have bred for yourself and seen potential in one that has already had a deposit placed on!

for the non-refunadble desposit obviosly if it was for a good enough reason like a family break up, no house, loss of job etc then fair enough id give it them back, but not for a simple oh i didnt want it any more, or i found one cheaper, or ones ready quicker....

The alternative is to not let potential purchasers see the pups until the breeder has decided which ones they want to keep, which is fine. The risk is you may be left with more pups than you planned. It doesn't matter whether you have paid a deposit or not, a verbal contract to sell you a particular pup would stand up in court. Provided of course you can prove which pup you agreed to buy. In my case I photgraphed him.