Is this a scam?

[Minnie&Nana]

Please know, that a reputable breeder would absolutely never advertise puppies for sale or send them to a pet shop. If we buy from these so-called breeders we are supporting puppymills - and I am sure any dog lover would not want to do that.

Pet stores and so-called breeders will try to assure you the puppies are not from a puppymill, but it is not true. A person who loves a certain breed and wants the best representation of that breed would only have puppies available for a home who found them through a breed club or personal referral.

I have volunteered with puppymill rescue for a number of years and have a little 5 lb survivor right next to me. She was bred more times than imaginable for 13 yrs and had a life so horrific no one would want to imagine that.

Please be extremely careful when buying a puppy.

p.s. As a child we had a Chow - she was the most wonderful family member, but strangers were not welcome. She would not attack or bite anyone, but her protective bark was warning enough. There truly is no such thing as a bad breed - only bad breeders and those who call themselves "owners". Off my soapbox for today!

Another ps - several of the breeds on the list above are some of the sweetest to be found. i.e.Great Danes are wonderful.

 

[Mom21]

I am sure your dogs are fine but the issue is that insurance companies can't discriminate-meaning they can't say one German Shepard is ok while another isn't so they have to eliminate all German Shepards. Just like an insurance company can't raise your rates randomly, they have to raise them by class (most use zip code) so if your zip code had a lot of hail damage, for example, you will get a raise in rates even if you didn't have a claim. That is federal law.

Actually mine did. I had a German Shepherd. They asked if she had been trained as an attack dog or police dog. She hadn't so they insured. If she had they wouldn't.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

I was looking for a Chow puppy in my state. I found a puppy and replied to the add (it was a reputable breeder by the add). The breeder then sent me an email asking questions. Fine. Answered them all. They sent me an email back saying they were in TX, not the state they proclaimed to be in and wanted to know all my info, like full name, address, email, phone, cell.

I'm probably just paranoid but thought I would ask here if this could be a scam, thanks.

Go to the AKC site (www.akc.org), look up chows, then click on the link for the National breed club. Then look for your regional director.

Give them a call to verify any reputable breeders. 99.999999% of reputable breeders will always be members of their breed club.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

It is not stereotyping, it is based on research, completely different. Actuaries spend a lot of time researching this information.

Actually, it is not. It is exactly stereotyping of the breed.

As for GSDs, as a breed and properly bred, they are wonderful dogs. That is why they have been used as seeing eye dogs for so long.

It is when they became popular and backyard breeders/puppy mills started mass producing with no regards to the proper GSD temperament, that 'some' bites occured.

Due to this, a whole breed was stereotyped and was put on the insurance lists.

Many breeds have had this happen.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Go to the AKC site (www.akc.org), look up chows, then click on the link for the National breed club. Then look for your regional director.

Give them a call to verify any reputable breeders. 99.999999% of reputable breeders will always be members of their breed club.

Excellent advice, but do not be misled to believe a breeder who offers akc papers is it a reputable - go through a Breed Club to find a breeder.

 

[golfgal]

My opinion, from my experiences, stereotyping. Actuality, research, you are right.

And, from my experiences, I have seen much worse behavior from smaller dogs. Again, that is my experience, from many years of working around dogs. Fortunately for small dogs, the damage from an attack is usually less than a larger breed. Not dissing anyone's small breed of dog, I them all!!!

I totally agree, but you are right, they don't do as much damage, thus they are not on the dangerous dog list. It all comes down to numbers-statistical--for insurance companies.

THese are the breeds our insurance company has a problem with. It is also the breeds that several of the campgrounds we camp at will not allow unless you can show you have speicific insurance for them. Other than one list on line, I've not seen goldens on any insurance list, just this law firm: edgarsnyder.

Pit Bull
Wolf-dog,
Rottweiler,
Chow Chow,
German Shepherd,
Doberman,
Husky,
Saint Bernard,
Malamute,
Great Dane

That is pretty typical. I have never seen a golden retriever on an insurance company list either.

Actually, it is not. It is exactly stereotyping of the breed.

As for GSDs, as a breed and properly bred, they are wonderful dogs. That is why they have been used as seeing eye dogs for so long.

It is when they became popular and backyard breeders/puppy mills started mass producing with no regards to the proper GSD temperament, that 'some' bites occured.

Due to this, a whole breed was stereotyped and was put on the insurance lists.

Many breeds have had this happen.

I am sorry but you ARE wrong. It is all about statistics and damages done. Yes, there are plenty of GSD's that are just fine but there are plenty that are not and they must make up a significant portion of dog injury claims that they are put on the list. Insurance companies have to submit all of their rates to the state and they have to have PROOF WHY they charge what they do and why they exclude what they do. They can't just say "well, we think GSD's are dangerous so we won't insure them". They have to back them up with statistics.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

Excellent advice, but do not be misled to believe a breeder who offers akc papers is it a reputable - go through a Breed Club to find a breeder.

That is why I recommended calling the breed club to verify any breeders before purchasing.

Better yet, call the breed club first and get a list of recommended breeders to start your search. If a recommended breeder does not have any puppies, they usually can point you in the right direction to another reputable breeder that does have puppies.

 

[robinb]

Go to the AKC site (www.akc.org), look up chows, then click on the link for the National breed club. Then look for your regional director.

Give them a call to verify any reputable breeders. 99.999999% of reputable breeders will always be members of their breed club.

I was going to suggest something similar, except to contact the OP's state breed club. My standard poodle was purchased from a breeder who was a member of the Greater Milwaukee Poodle Club. I contracted the president of the club and she knew which members that had puppies already on the ground and which ones that were expecting puppies in the near future.

 

[ilovepcot]

Hey OP! Did the email say anything about the people with the puppy being "missionaries" and not being able to keep the pup for that reason?

I nearly got tangled up in a scam and posted about it here on the Dis a few months back. The owner of the pup was going to give me the puppy totally FREE if I'd send them the airline fee for having it flown to my closest airport.
Up front they had asked me all kinds of info but *I NEVER responded* with any info at all.

If you look on Kijiji, you'll see this scam going round and round and round all over the country with different breeds of dogs.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

I am sorry but you ARE wrong. It is all about statistics and damages done. Yes, there are plenty of GSD's that are just fine but there are plenty that are not and they must make up a significant portion of dog injury claims that they are put on the list. Insurance companies have to submit all of their rates to the state and they have to have PROOF WHY they charge what they do and why they exclude what they do. They can't just say "well, we think GSD's are dangerous so we won't insure them". They have to back them up with statistics.

You and I (and a good portion of the reputable breeders) in this country will have to agree to disagree

On the flip side of the actuaries, the dog world has worked hard and submitted proof of their own data to the insurance companies to stop the stereotyping of "bad" breeds. That it would be more prudent to judge each dog on its own merit rather than stereotyping breeds. Does the dog have proper obedience training? Does it have its CGC certification? Are the dogs properly contained?

Every breed has a number of dogs that are bad. Lately, I have seen more and more bad temperaments in the considered perfect family dogs, labs and goldens. This is due to their popularity and over breeding by puppy mills. It won't be long before they are stereotyped and put "on the list.'

 

[golfgal]

You and I (and a good portion of the reputable breeders) in this country will have to agree to disagree

On the flip side of the actuaries, the dog world has worked hard and submitted proof of their own data to the insurance companies to stop the stereotyping of "bad" breeds. That it would be more prudent to judge each dog on its own merit rather than stereotyping breeds. Does the dog have proper obedience training? Does it have its CGC certification? Are the dogs properly contained?

Every breed has a number of dogs that are bad. Lately, I have seen more and more bad temperaments in the considered perfect family dogs, labs and goldens. This is due to their popularity and over breeding by puppy mills. It won't be long before they are stereotyped and put "on the list.'

You can submit all the data you want on how good a breed you think your dog is, the proof comes with the companies history of claims involving that breed, period. Yes, every breed has dogs that are bad. The issue isn't in individual dogs, it is in HOW MUCH it costs when these dogs bite. If you need a couple stitches when you get bit by a poodle, that $600 isn't a major issue for an insurance company but when you need millions to reconstruct your face after a pit bull bites you, that is a major issue. Again, it comes down to STATISTICS.

Many insurance companies won't insure bullet bikes either. Does that mean all motorcycle riders are bad riders, no, it means that their claim history has been negative and they are not willing to take on the risk. Same thing with certain breeds of dog.