RetrieverTraining.Net - the RTF banner

share some of the funniest reasons people have given for not buying your dog

11K views 37 replies 25 participants last post by  Keith Stroyan 
#1 ·
today i sold a fantastic 26 month old hunting/hunt test dog. he is nafc x 17 aa point, without a win bitch. many people have called to inquire about him. i thought i would share a few of the "reasons" the tire kickers gave for not buying this fine animal, followed by my responses. btw congrats to the very lucky new owners!

1. after 28 text messages and setting an appointment to meet and evaluate, a guy from louisiana who was looking for a hunting dog says, "my six year old daughter wants a chocolate dog so we are not coming today."
to which i reply, "fantastic!"
he asks, "why do you feel us not coming is fantastic?"
immediately i say, "because i don't want my dog going to a home where six year olds make such decisions and a home that would rather have a chocolate dog!":p

2. after several texts, calls and discussions with another the next question is, "is he white or just yellow?"
my response was, "no. thank you!"
he inquires, "no thank you?"
i say, "NO, he is not white. THANK YOU for your inquiry, good bye.";-)

3. a good hunt test pro calls and says, "my client really wants him, do you still have him?"
i say yes, but he is with a guide friend picking up duck for his hunts. he asks that i go two hours away to get him so i can bring him to atlanta tomorrow to meet. i agree.
the next morning, a text, "my client loves the pedigree, needs a dog that can run master in the spring and handle now it's working out great. can you send some pics?"
i send the pics and head towards atlanta.
a call comes in, "john, i know this is stupid but my client's wife said your dog's nose is too long. they don't want him."
my reply was, "well tell your client my dog said his wife's butt was too wide and he wasn't coming to live with her anyway!":)
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I think your responses are funnier than their reasons. ;)
 
#4 ·
Not necessarily funny, but whenever a guy tells me he will check with the wife and "let me know" I delete the e mail or erase the phone number.
just last week, had a real nice 2 year old sold at a bargain $ to a fellow who wanted a Master ready dog that this one was. Sent pedigree, you tube training videos, hip x rays etc. Had it set up for him to come pick up the dog on a Thursday which meant would miss a whole week of duck hunting on my place in illinois. Get a text Wed. night 11 PM after we all went to bed that things changed at work and he was not coming. Bad luck for him. good and bad for me. Missed the hunting but sold him to a better home the next day.
I have some pups coming in january so I'll have some more by then I am sure.
MP
 
#5 ·
None of its fun or funny. Generally dealing with the public sucks. Most want something for nothing. Have no idea what they want and don't know it when they see it. When they see it, it's not the same as Ol' Rex. When it's the same as Ol' Rex they never paid that much for Ol' Rex. When they pay that much should he still beat his tail on the coffee table so much, he peed on the Grand Father clock, my wife says he does not listen to her (which makes EVERYONE in that house - vile acting children) blah blah blah

An some people wonder why Joe did not return their call and boy Jim was not very pleasant at the hunt test and why I'm NOT sending 27 you tube videos of Boomer to someone across the country, when they ask how much shipping costs .......DING DING DING buy a local dog you can go see.
 
#6 ·
This is kinda off topic, but it follows the theme of dealing with the public. The following however was between myself and a Co- worker.

His sons dog dies. He is visibly upset about the long story situation. He approaches me to build him an Urn to give to his son as a gift. He asks me how long it will take me to make him one.
I told him I was a bit busy , but would work him in.

that weekend, the temp never got out of single digits . I worked in the unheated shop till Urn was done, and presented it to him Monday morning.

He took it, thanked me, i only charged him for material.

five days later he comes to work with the Urn. He says he was surprised that the creamstory supplied him with a very pretty balsa wood urn, that be thought looked nicer than Goosers, and asked for his money back, saying , the box from the crematory was free.

I was proud of myself, I took out my wallet and gave him his money. I didnt say a word,,, but boy I wanted to.

some people just suck!

Gooser
 
#21 ·
I have one of those urns from the crematorium. Gavel came back to me in some kind of wood stained in cherry. And I can safely say that it is not as nice as one of yours. Most of mine have come back in a tin with a lid on it.
 
#7 ·
None of this stuff surprises me anymore. People are what they are. I had a guy fly cross country to look at a dog I had for sale, ran the dog in a training group, wrote me a check for the dog and the next morning when I picked him up, at the motel I paid for, to take him back to the airport, with the dog in tow, he told me his wife was concerned that the dog might get the new carpets in the house dirty and he didn't have a kennel run, really.
 
#8 ·
Having just been one of the "buyers" (more of a researcher for my husbands new dog) I truly appreciated the breeders taking the time to answer all my questions via email and phone calls. I do ask some "odd" questions but there are usually good reasons for them. I have chosen to not be a breeder for some of the very reasons given here. I would fret over where the pups were going and what sort of person was going to be taking care of them. My hat is off those of you that do the breeding because I really don't know if I could deal with some of the buyers.
 
#9 ·
this is a different dog but true and funny none the less. last fall a doctor fom nashville agreed to buy a sure nuff derby/qual prospect from me.(the dog did get derby jams and a qual win and 2nd last spring) the buyer was a client of a nearby field trial pro. the pro demo'ed the dog and collected the check for me and was to keep the dog in training. i drove by the pro's place on friday night and picked up the check. on our way out my wife says, "the mega millions lottery is $614 million. since we are close to georgia lets go buy a couple of tickets!" we don't have lottery in alabama. reluctantly i said, "sure honey."

saturday morning before the drive through window at the local fnb opened, i get a call from the pro. he says, "the doctor called and said when he got home last night his wife had been drinking ALOT. she demanded a divorce. he said she didn't know about the dog purchase and he didn't want her attorney to know what he paid for a dog if things got to that point in their settlement! he is asking that you return the check." i said i would bring the check and pick up the dog.

when i get to the pro's a saturday client training day is in process. everyone was saying how they regretted this happened and laughing about the situation. i told them, "you guys just don't know how devastating the last 24 hours have been for me financially. i went to bed last night confident that i was $614 million, eight thousand dollars richer than i am right now!";-)
 
#10 · (Edited)
Thats exactly true, most want something for nothing. I love it when people call and come across as critiquing your work. Thats a red flag to me, I don't want to have to deal with those that think they know everything about retriever training and think telling me they know a few "big wigs" in the game is going to get me excited. I just tell them they probably need to just buy a puppy and train their own dog.
 
#13 ·
My sister was devistated when someone who had pick female from her litter called to say that another woman had told him our litter was not good enough for him. He wanted a hunting dog and was to have it pro trained.He ended up paying twice as much for a pup and due to his ham handedness as a trainer it won't work for him. The pup he turned down went to a terrific home and was hunting before it was a year old with no pro training. The fellow that got her still sends pictures, particularly the one with the sun shining out her backside. He thinks there is no greater dog on four legs.His friends in the trialing game really wanted him to get some pro help and run her in FT. Guess we caught a lucky break for our not good enough.
 
#14 ·
McCallie:
You and I have trained together a few times and I have always enjoyed it. Reading your replies makes me think that together we could really piss a few people off.

My wife had to help a friend understand two things today.
1. Their Silver Labs really are not labs.
2. If you think two 7 month weimaraniers are going to be calm without exercize you are an idiot.
Still laughing!
 
#15 ·
For the most part, I've had pretty good luck with started dogs (although I do get a lot of calls about trained dogs and the people having sticker shock...."but I can buy a puppy for a lot less than that and have it longer than a three year old!" Um, yeah....but how much will it cost you to have that puppy trained to JH/SH/MH level?).

However, one story still really burns me. Guy calls on a very nice, trained dog. Sounds very nice, sends money, picks dog up and immediately heads off on a big two week hunting trip out west. Three weeks after selling him the dog, the guy is back and wanting to return the dog for a seriously bogus reason. I took the dog back (best for the dog), and then did a little research. Turns out the guy does this every fall when he wants to take a hunting trip....buys a nice, well trained dog, takes it on his hunting trip, then makes up some ridiculous reason to return it. That way, he doesn't have to own or maintain a dog...he just feeds one for a couple of weeks every fall and then returns it. Hard to believe the absolute gall of some folks. I now keep a "blacklist" and his name is right at the very top.
 
#20 ·
Sharon, that is about the scummiest thing I have heard. People are the weak link in this dog world.
 
#22 ·
What you needed to be selling was a white or chocolate dog with a much shorter snout. Then you would've had no difficulties.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Roseberry I got a good laugh out of your responses and applaud you for them! I mostly sell puppies, not trained dogs but am happy to encourage buyers go elsewhere if they start hemming and hawing with a bunch of petty excuses. And Gooser--shame on that co-worker for commissioning your hard work on short notice and then asking for his money back. I don't think I could've been that nice; tact isn't my strong suit.

The worst I got was a very persistant caller wanting a puppy from a litter of four I had in 2004. I was very proud of the litter and the sire, who was an FC/AFC, became a dual champion shortly after the litter was whelped, so I wanted them to go to working homes. The persistant buyer was a very meek, timid woman and she finally had her blow hard of a husband call. He insisted on coming to see the pups, though I told him they were all spoken for, because this was a "designer pet" type home--gated subdivision near DC, etc. They came out and I invited them in to see the pups, so didn't see what he drove, but he manages to work into the first sentence about how he drives a Hummer and is willing to pay more than my asking price along with bragging about his kids' private schools and how rich they are.

The wife acted like she was afraid of him and with good reason. The kids were monsters, not interested in the puppies (what kid can resist baby 4 week old pups?) but very interested in going through my cabinets and drawers.Finally the blow hard husband cuffed the older kid, a boy and sent him out to go sit in the back seat of the Hummer. I continued to say I'd let him know if I had a cancellation, etc. as I'm trying to usher them out the door and out of my house/away from my dogs. They were also looking at a litter of Labradoodles and it's probably the only time I ever sang the praises of them. As I looked out the window I caught a glimpse of the boy, who wasn't in the Hummer but out in the paddock throwing rocks at my horses! I made sure to share his name with everyone I knew that had CBR puppies.
 
#32 ·
Several years ago, I had a gal who worked at the same company as me tell me her husband was looking for a good hunting dog. I had an older pup that I had already completed obedience work with so he was fairly well mannered. He had lots of retrieving desire and was a happy dog.

One night after they had had the dog for several months, the husband calls. Says the dog "crapped in obedience class" and he had never been so embarrassed. He had to clean it up and it smelled TERRIBLE. Somehow that was my fault? I told him I would take the dog back because it was obvious something else was going on. He wouldn't even bring the dog back to my house…he insisted on delivering the dog to my parking lot at work.

Found out a couple of weeks later from a friend who lived down the street from him that the dog stayed in his run 6 days a week, without any exercise or even cleaning of the run. When they let him out on the weekend to shovel out his run, the dog would run laps of joy. When he didn't come when called, the husband would finally catch him and beat him.

A couple of days after I got him back, friend tells me he comes home with two yellow pups from a "famous" breeding. The pups don't walk normally--get weaker and weaker. Both have to be euthanized because of severe CNM.

My dog recovered nicely with affection, food, a CLEAN environment and lots of exercise. He went home with his new family a few weeks later. Got reports on his wonderful life for many years.

Meredith
 
#34 ·
makes you you wonder why he really wanted a dog to begin with...... Thanks for doing the right thing and taking the pup back..... and getting him a great home.
 
#33 ·
unbelievable-truly unbelievable. I've never had a litter, but we have done a lot of rescue. We always say there is someone ahead of the caller who is interested in the dog, in case we don't like them. My husband can spot a bad adopter a mile away and has no problem telling people they aren't appropriate for the dog no matte how far they've travelled to see the dog. We've had a ton of super nice, committed people and made some really good matches-which makes it all worth it.
 
#36 ·
You develop radar and can quickly weed out the suspicious ones. I would rather turn away a few potential buyers than make a bad placement. Only takes a couple of bad experiences to heighten your awareness. Just always sad for the dogs when things go wrong. I will take a puppy call, and when the call is over, my husband will ask, "What was wrong with THAT one?" But now he can tell too in a fairly short conversation.

Meredith
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top