Our Goldendoodle Guides are Sourced from Over a Decade of Raising and Breeding Goldendoodles.
Safe Pet Ownership
Of all the things to get scammed for — and to what unthinkable lengths some crooks will go! While some
people are just looking for a sweet and furry new family member, a few bad apples are out there trying to
make a quick buck. And there's nothing too low and despicable for these people — least of all not pet
adoption scams.
Every year, would-be pet owners are conned out of millions of dollars that would be otherwise spent on
supporting legitimate shelters and puppy breeders whose love of animals serves both local and non-local
communities. Instead, that money goes straight into the pockets of petty crooks who take advantage of
people's love for animals to con them out of their money. So what can you do to avoid falling victim to a
cybercrime and pet adoption con artists when all you want to do is adopt a Goldendoodle puppy?
How Do I Know Where to Buy a Goldendoodle?
This guide is designed to educate you about how puppy
adoption scams work and how you can identify and avoid them. By doing so, you can narrow the list down
to quality, family-raised Goldendoodle breeders. This way, you'll know exactly where to buy a
Goldendoodle — and where not to! By taking a few simple precautions before buying a puppy, you can have
that little fluff ball running around your house and everyone happy before you know it.
How Does a Puppy Adoption Scam Work?
Like so many scams, puppy breeder scams rely on a
simple-yet-effective method to part you with your money — up-front payments.
Scammers take advantage of something that is normally
required by legitimate puppy breeders to secure orders from real customers and run a legitimate
business. Just like you, real puppy breeders need to know they're dealing with real people who are
serious about buying a puppy and not just wasting their time. To do this, they often require a deposit
so they can schedule and account for the number of puppies still for sale and create a business
correspondence with their customers that keeps everyone happy and everything running smoothly.
Well, there's the rub. If you're not careful, you could be
making a "deposit" to someone that has about as many puppies for sale as the neighborhood fish store.
Unfortunately, puppy adoption scams are becoming more elaborate than ever with the internet serving as a
digital black market for cybercrime opportunities. Many puppy adoption scammers post ads on websites
such as Craigslist and Facebook, while others go as far as to set up entire websites for the purpose of
collecting your "deposit" and riding off into the sunset.
And it may not even stop there. A "deposit" can just be the
first of many payments you'll be asked to make by a scammer busy working on excuses that require more of
your money. After your "deposit", you may be asked to make payments for animal insurance, vaccinations
and delivery. The scammer will probably stall for time at every corner, and somehow, somewhere, you'll
need to make another payment to get a little closer to your new puppy.
Unfortunately, these bad actors are always coming up with
excuses on why everything needs to be done from a distance. Because of regulations in social distancing
designed to keep us all safe, pet adoption scammers are making even more money on people just looking
for a sweet pet to help them get through these tough times. We can't express enough about how these
people make us feel as dedicated puppy breeders, and how much we can't wait for the law to catch up to
them. In the meantime, here are some great tips on avoiding puppy scams and pet adoption scams in
general!
Learn Where to Buy a Goldendoodle by Avoiding Puppy
Scams
Don't let the idea of pet adoption scams keep you from
adopting a sweet Goldendoodle puppy from a genuine puppy breeder! Yes, puppy scammers can be sneaky, but
there is plenty you can do to sniff them out and bust them before they get a dime. Due diligence is
always a valuable investment of your time when you're planning to make a business transaction with a
company or person that you're unsure about. Oftentimes, a simple background check can do wonders in
revealing information that would otherwise stay hidden and would be to your detriment were you to
proceed without it.
Remember, puppy scammers thrive on gullibility. The less time
you're willing to take to investigate them, the higher the chances they will succeed. Here are some
smart things to do before buying a puppy online.
Learn Where to Buy a Goldendoodle by Following Up on
the
Seller's Location and Contact Information
Any legitimate family-raised puppy breeder will have a
specific location and contact information where they can be reached and found. If you are near their
location, ask if you can pay them a visit to confirm that their home exists. While there is a pandemic
and social distancing is strongly advised, eager pet owners and genuine puppy breeders should still be
able to arrange a socially-distanced meeting that gives them all the proof they need. This can involve
something as easy as staying in your car and getting a view of the puppy parents or the puppies
themselves, or simply just confirming that the people you're talking to can actually be found at their
home.
If you are willing to travel to their home but the seller
would rather "meet you halfway" or at a public location — it's a huge red flag. Any legitimate puppy
breeder is not only happy to provide you their address but even give you a tour of the family-raised
puppy environment and show you what a caring home they live in. Genuine puppy breeders should be the
opposite of shy when it comes to showing you how and where the puppies are raised. Provided that they're
responsible breeders, allowing you to see the puppy home will only reinforce your confidence in deciding
where to buy a Goldendoodle.
If you're nowhere near their location or a meeting is
otherwise unsuitable, don't worry, there are still plenty of things you can do to make sure they're
legit. And even if you do meet with them and see the puppies or puppy parents, don't stop there, and
follow up with these tips below.
Learn Where to Buy a Goldendoodle by Getting in
Touch
With
Their Veterinary Contacts
ALL puppies and puppy parents need to have veterinary visits,
and any legitimate puppy breeder should be able to provide veterinary certifications on both the puppies
and the puppy parents. One of the first things you should ask for when doing a background check on a
puppy breeder is which veterinarian they work with. Obviously, the veterinary clinic will need to be
near the breeder's location and should be an established business with contact information and an
address.
If the breeder is elusive and unwilling to provide a
veterinary background check on the puppies they're selling, hang up the phone. They might also say they
have an in-house veterinarian that looks after their pups. That's NOT how it works. Veterinarians are
required by law to have a practicing license. And in order to provide services, they must have an
establishment — otherwise they can't provide the legal certifications for the puppies and the puppy
parents. Whether this is the case or not with the breeder in question, one who is unwilling or unable to
connect you with their veterinary provider should be avoided when deciding where to buy a Goldendoodle.
Once you reach the puppy breeder's veterinary contact, run a
background check on the breeder and on the types of puppies they are putting up for sale. A call with
the veterinarian should be able to confirm the puppies' and puppy parents' breeds, ages, how often the
breeders visit and how long they've been working together. The more good things the veterinarian has to
say about the puppy breeders, the more confidence you'll have that they're a legitimate business just
looking for loving homes for their pups.
Learn Where to Buy a Goldendoodle by Following Up on
Customer References
If the person you're talking to is a responsible puppy
breeder, they should be able to offer plenty of references to satisfied customers. These will be
families with growing or fully grown dogs that they purchased from the breeder and are now enjoying life
with a loving pet at their side.
Responsible puppy breeders care for their pups so much that
they often stay in contact with their customers long after puppy adoption. And satisfied customers are
often equally willing to stay in touch — and happily share updates and stories about their puppies and
their adventures together! Because the customers are so happy with their dogs, they might even be
willing to receive a call, show you pictures of their dogs or otherwise provide information that will
reassure you that you're dealing with a real and responsible puppy breeder.
More Tips on Avoiding Puppy Scams
With every precaution taken before buying a puppy, you're one
step closer to bringing that sweet and lovable fluff into your home. As we've discussed, pet adoption
scams are a common tactic employed by con artists out to make a quick buck at your expense. As long as
you follow the tips mentioned in this guide, you should have enough background information to make an
informed decision — or raise enough red flags to wisely back out of the deal.
Learn Where to Buy a Goldendoodle by Asking for
Pictures
and Videos
Assuming the puppy breeder actually has puppies or parent
dogs, they shouldn't have any trouble doing a video call on request. This will not only show you that
they're comfortable with what they're doing, but it will also give you the chance to take a video tour
of the puppy breeder's home and see the parent dogs or puppies in their natural environment.
If for any reason a video call is not possible (if the seller declines, ask them why), you can also ask
to see pictures of the dogs next to specific items on request. Ask to see pictures of the dog with a
specific but random item next to them, such as a common household item or a unique phrase or words
written on a piece of paper. This way you'll know that the puppies or parent dogs are actually real and
you can move on to the next step in your background check and decide where to buy a Goldendoodle.
However, a video call should be an important step in your background check. If the puppy breeder can't
do a video call at the moment, ask them when it's a good time and if you can reschedule. If there's
never a good time to do a video call, it's probably for all the wrong reasons — and you should just move
on.
Learn Where to Buy a Goldendoodle by Reading Reviews
About
The Puppy Breeder's Business and Website
One of the quickest and most insightful checks you can run on
any business is reading reviews on sites such as Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, BBB (Better
Business Bureau), Yellow Pages and Manta. If the puppy breeder is an established business like they
claim, then you should be able to find reviews about their services and website on at least some of the
sites listed above.
If you can't find any reviews on the breeder, it's probably a red flag. Considering that they are trying
to do business with you online, they should have reviews of their services online. It's not very
reassuring when the same medium you're using to communicate and do business (online) is coming up
empty-handed about the business itself. Which leads us to…
Learn Where to Buy a Goldendoodle by Running a
Background Check on the Website
A responsible Goldendoodle Breeder will have a website, so
make sure to run a background check on the site to see if it's an established platform with a good
history. You can find out exactly when a website went live by visiting ICANN Lookup at
https://lookup.icann.org/, which provides domain registration data such as when the website was
established and if it has any complaints made against it.
Do Some Research on Puppy Pricing
This step comes naturally to those looking for the best deal
on a puppy with research on competitive local and non-local pricing. Generally, puppy breeders create a
price that matches their investment of time and resources into breeding and caring for healthy and happy
puppies. Among the majority of any specific puppy breed, you should be able to recognize a fair price
that may vary slightly in either direction but not be too high or too low in comparison to other
breeders. Watch out for breeders whose pricing is much lower than other breeders — if not too good to be
true. Highly discounted puppy prices are a red flag that may signify what's called a Puppy Mill, or a
dog-breeding operation that produces high volumes of puppies in awful conditions. And that's only if
it's not a scam altogether.
Remember, Responsible Puppy Breeders Want to Know
Who You Are!
When choosing where to buy a Goldendoodle, take notice of the
puppy breeder's interest in who you are — it's probably the most obvious giveaway! Any responsible puppy
breeder cares about their pups and has excellent standards when it comes to choosing their customers.
If the puppy breeder in question isn't very interested to
know who you are and where their puppy is going, it's not a good sign. In fact, a responsible puppy
breeder will actually do a background check ON YOU — and will want to learn what type of environment the
puppy will live in, if you've had pets before or if you have other pets now, and will ask you to sign a
contract that may require you to spay or neuter the puppy.
Responsible puppy breeders care for their pups so much that
they often stay in contact with their customers long after puppy adoption. And satisfied customers are
often equally willing to stay in touch — and happily share updates and stories about their puppies and
their adventures together! Because the customers are so happy with their dogs, they might even be
willing to receive a call, show you pictures of their dogs or otherwise provide information that will
reassure you that you're dealing with a real and responsible puppy breeder.
Never Pay Cash When Making a Puppy Deposit
Puppy breeders that only take cash should be avoided
altogether. There's no reason they should require cash only unless they're trying to keep the
transaction off-record and under the table. As a legitimate business, responsible puppy breeders should
be more than happy to accept a Credit Card or Digital Payment System such as PayPal.
Digital transactions and credit cards offer buyer protection
in the case of fraud, which is an absolute necessity when making a deposit. If the breeder insists on
receiving cash, a money order or wired money through Western Union or some other cash transfer system,
just say no thanks.
Never Buy a Puppy Through Facebook or Craigslist
A general rule of thumb is you should never try to buy a
puppy online through social media sites such as Facebook or classifieds sites such as Craigslist unless
you know the seller personally or they are highly recommended to you by a close friend or family member.
Responsible breed owners typically have a waiting list for
puppies and actually have more people asking to buy puppies than they have puppies for sale. You should
never try to buy a puppy from a total stranger particularly through social media or classifieds, which
are practically hunting grounds for cybercrime — with puppy scams at an all-time high.
We hope this guide has been helpful in explaining how puppy
scams work and all the precautions you can take to avoid them, so you can decide where to buy a
Goldendoodle — and be all ready for your loving dog. Please feel free to Get In Touch with us to get all
of these reassurances and more and learn what makes ABCs Puppy Zs such a great choice for Goldendoodle
puppy adoption!
Puppy Scam Red Flags:
Puppy seller wants you to send money to a location other than where they are — or even to another
country (yes, it happens!)
They are not even located in the United States (a big DON'T)
Seller wants money for pet insurance before shipping the puppy (that's NOT how it works)
They want you to wire money or pay cash only
They want you to pay for vet visits before you even own the dog
Seller is pushy and trying to rush the sale (and has plenty of excuses why it can't wait)
They won't talk on the phone
They won't do a video call
Seller won't tell you where they live
Has very bad grammar and writes in poor English when communicating through text or email (this may
signify an international scammer, of which there are TONS)
Gives you surprise expenses after you've made the deposit (any travel fees for delivery should be
transparent and provided in detail before any payments are made along with the requirements for
puppy transfer, i.e., pickup, flying, etc.)
You are not allowed to pick up the puppy yourself
The person wants to give away the puppy, but you have to pay for shipping (if the person is offering
a puppy for adoption, they should be more than willing to pay for shipping and be reimbursed when
you have received the puppy. If they are unwilling to trust you, then how can they expect you to
trust them?)
The puppy is priced extremely low compared to a number of other breeders
