# Are Breeders Moving Away From Waitlists?



## Fluffy Poodle 4 (Nov 29, 2020)

I am looking at getting a puppy once I graduate college in 2023 or the year after depending on my housing and financial situations. So, I reached out to my top 3 breeders to get on a waitlist, since I had heard it can be a 2 year difference between the time a person gets on the waitlist until they actually get a puppy. The 3 breeders I talked to, though, don't keep any lists until a litter is confirmed. I was just curious if this seems to be a trend that breeders (at least the younger ones) are going toward. Or did I just happen to pick 3 breeders who have the same policy when it comes to when they take names of potential puppy buyers?


----------



## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I’ve not heard of a trend away from waitlists, but I think 2023 or 2024 is pretty far out. The breeders you spoke with might prefer to wait until you are clearer on your timeline to put you on any sort of formal list. 

I’m not sure how they could wait for a confirmed breeding before even _starting_ to take names.


----------



## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Which size are you looking for? My impression is that the crazy wait periods triggered by the quarantine puppy phenomenon are easing up for spoo puppies. Assuming we don't have another plague, asteroid strike, etc. then it's probably more reasonable to expect a waiting period of a few months. I contacted Ritter's breeder right around the time the breeding occurred and got on the waiting list with no trouble. 

Prior to my experience with Ritter's breeder I had said no to a couple of other waiting lists. The breeders demanded non-refundable deposits which would be transferred to the next litter if something went wrong. That's a firm nope from me. If I'm putting down a deposit for a puppy from a dam I like, I want a puppy out of that dam or else a refund.


----------



## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

It may be related to how they define wait list. I pick up a lot of my info by just looking thru websites, some mentioned by members and others that I run into via tangents. I can't say that I've noted any new trends but having that info on a website is pretty hit and miss, as is finding contracts. 

You've likely seen this post from me before so I'll try just for the highlights.

_There seem to be two main ways that breeders handle wait lists and deposits.

To some breeders the two are essentially the same. The new family and the breeder have had back and forth communications, vetted each other (an application also may or may not be required), and there is agreement between all parties. The good faith deposit is placed to hold a suitable puppy but there may not yet be puppies on the ground.

The other way is to follow the same procedures listed above but the waitlist and deposit are treated separately. The waitlist is the breeders way of keeping track of who wants what in a puppy, who's ready for a puppy, but the deposit is not required until puppies are on the ground.

There is a third way that can happen and that's serendipity. Possibly the new family and breeder have already gone thru this process with a prior dog and both feel comfortable with each other. Possibly the new family and breeder are introduced by someone known to each other so they feel comfortable. Waitlists and deposits may not figure in at all, puppies may be on the ground or planned, but the vetting either has been done before or is being vouched for.

Pros and cons to each way but that is between the breeder and the new family. 

Example from a breeder on their wait list process

The "waiting list" is a document filled with dozens of potential families for our future puppies. They range in colour preferences, family dynamics, time frames for bringing home a puppy, etc. When we are planning a litter, I will go through the waiting list and contact one family at a time until I find a few homes that are prepared for a new puppy. This is not necessarily a "first come, first serve" basis, but suitable families who have been waiting for 1 year will take priority over suitable families who have been waiting for 3 weeks. The order in which potential owners are contacted entirely depends on what we are expecting in the litter.

Features in common:

There is a planned litter. Each parent has been health tested and then matched to each other for (hopefully) specific results in the litter such as temperament and drive.

The deposit is a good faith guarantee on both sides. The first states that the deposit will be refunded if there is no pregnancy and therefore no puppies. It would not be refunded because the buyer simply changed their mind.

The second breeder requires the non refundable deposit but not til after the puppies are on the ground._

The breeders you've spoken with so far sound a lot like the example. They gather info, presumably you've discussed what you're looking for and they feel that they breed what you're looking for but there are no formal commitments just yet.


----------



## scooterscout99 (Dec 3, 2015)

Just my recent experience. I just brought home a puppy from a breeder who was top of my list 6 years ago, never dreaming of getting one of her dogs. She told me that she's stopped maintaining a general wait list, and opens up the application process at the time of litter (can't remember at what point). She had developed a wait list of 500 people(!). Among other challenges, when she started contacting people about interest in puppies on the ground, she discovered that they already had a dog and were no longer interested. That could be a time-consuming process with 500 names.

Having said that, I reached out to 2 other breeders about a year ago, inquiring about a puppy 1 or 2 years out, thinking that I needed to get on a list. Both of those breeders followed up with me sooner, the first with a 6 month old that she'd held back and was looking for a co-own (I declined), the second because she needed another performance home on her litter list in case there was a suitable puppy (there wasn't).

It's hard to understand the challenges that breeders face in this regard unless you're friends with one or (like I was with my first poodle) a co-owner who is privy to inside information during trips to conformation shows (lots of time on the sidelines waiting, that lends itself to education). Then you can learn about the people on wait lists who drop off at the last minute, or those who return puppies for illogical reasons (too much energy -- really? It's a puppy!)

I still believe that there are many small, 'unknown' and responsible poodle breeders out there, those who don't advertise through centralized websites or facebook. It shouldn't take years wait, unless there is a particular breeder that you are set on. My new pup is a gorgeous, sweet, and rock solid girl who was waiting for a performance home; I'm grateful that the breeder waited to place her. The breeder had another 'extra' pup because it was a large litter. Uncover all the rocks to find responsible breeders. Asking others' experience on the PF site can help weed out the irresponsible and obtain assistance interpreting breeders' credentials (through puppy pedigrees, parent health testing, and how puppies are raised and adult dogs kept).


----------



## Fluffy Poodle 4 (Nov 29, 2020)

@cowpony Yes, I am looking at standard poodle breeders. Specifically, I contacted Alue (PF member), Cosmic Caliber, and Crystal Creek. 



scooterscout99 said:


> Just my recent experience. I just brought home a puppy from a breeder who was top of my list 6 years ago, never dreaming of getting one of her dogs. She told me that she's stopped maintaining a general wait list, and opens up the application process at the time of litter (can't remember at what point). She had developed a wait list of 500 people(!). Among other challenges, when she started contacting people about interest in puppies on the ground, she discovered that they already had a dog and were no longer interested. That could be a time-consuming process with 500 names.


I'm thinking this is one of the main reasons the breeders I contacted don't keep formal waitlists until they have a litter planned or the breeding has taken place. One also mentioned not breeding often and not wanting people to feel locked into a puppy from her when it might be a year until she has another litter.
It also seems the general consensus in this thread is that the potential 2 year wait has ended, so there is no need to be contacting breeders this far in advance. 
For now, I'm just drooling over their gorgeous dogs until I am closer to being ready for a puppy of my own. I am also * _trying_ * to focus on my courses and enjoying the antics of Stella (older brother's dog) and Lily (younger brother's/family dog).


----------

