There is no lack of scammer websites offering puppies for sale and many unsuspecting people end up without the promised puppy and with no recourse to recover the lost money they invested thinking a puppy was forth coming. As a breeder it is easy for me to spot a scammer website – especially when they have copied content from my website, bold enough to use my personal name as well!

So, how can you identify a scammer?

A scammer website typically has a “Puppies For Sale” page with adorable photos of puppies, listing the puppies by name, including gender, age, and price. Quite often a link will be provided for a hopeful buyer to “buy now”.

A scammer typically doesn’t have an application process. For that matter, they really don’t have any process other than send us your money!

A scammer website’s only method of contact is via e-mail. Rarely does a scammer website have a phone number included. The buyers only method of contact is through e-mail. If a phone number is included no-one answers. The calls go to voicemail.

A scammer’s website indicates that the only method of puppy delivery is by airline. They provide a flight #, arrival time, and a reference # that identifies your puppy. They make all the “arrangements” tell you that all you need to do is show up at the airport to receive the puppy. A scammer justifies this method of delivery saying it is the “fastest and safest” way to transport their puppies from their place to yours.

Scammers only accept payment on-line and through payment apps like PayPal and Venmo, insisting that a buyer makes the payment a personal payment. They provide a variety of excuses why making a payment for goods isn’t an acceptable option. Once a payment has been made, aa scammer will often reach out to say there was a problem with the payment and request you resubmit payment or they will refuse to ship the puppy.

Scammers don’t have AKC registration papers available and my convince you that the papers are forth coming. And another indicator of a scammer is the low price of their “pure breed” puppies.

By contrast, a reputable breeder will have a listing of planned breedings, with detailed information about each sire and dam, including full disclosure of health clearances, expected ‘due date’ of the litter, and estimated pick-up date. And that is a minimum of information that should be included.

A reputable breeder will have a process by which a buyer gains information, makes initial contact, and then applies for a puppy. They will not accept a deposit until you have applied and been approved as a buyer.

A reputable breeder will have contact by e-mail available on their website, but they will also have a phone number available for receiving phone calls. You may reach voicemail, but you will get a call back from a real human being.

A reputable breeder will prefer a buyer pick up their puppy in person. There are some reputable breeders that will still ship via airlines or a ground delivery service, but we no longer ship puppies by any method. A reputable breeder may offer to deliver a puppy by airline if you are willing to pay for their flight and time so the puppy is flown in cabin and not in the storage hold of the plane.

A reputable breeder may offer you a variety of payment options, but Venmo and PayPal policies clearly state that payments for live animals isn’t acceptable. We accept personal checks for the initial deposit, once a buyer has been approved, and for final payment we accept cash, money order, or certified check.

A reputable breeder will have AKC papers available the day you take your puppy home. No ifs, ands, or buts. And you can expect to pay a fair price for a well-bred pure breed puppy. If the price is too good to be true you should be very suspicious. For a well-bred Labrador, if you are finding puppies for less than $1800 – $2000 take heed.

A reputable breeder should be available to address your questions and concerns, they should welcome your questions, they should be willing to provide references, (and they should be asking you for references too). Their website should be very transparent and leave no question in your mind if they are reputable.

Do your homework. Determine a breed that you consider a good fit for your home, family, and lifestyle. Research the breed. Understand the genetic testing a breeder should perform on their breeding stock. Look for a professional dog trainer or other canine professional that might be able to steer you in the right direction.

If a ‘breeder’ won’t speak to you by phone, wants personal payment through Venmo, PayPal, or the likes, insists that delivery your puppy via airlines is the ONLY delivery method, won’t answer your questions or gets defensive when you ask detailed questions, don’t just walk away. Run!

Puppy buyers of all breeds need to be aware of the fact that there are unscrupulous scammers taking advantage of the increase in demand for puppies.

We were alerted to the fact that a scammer copied testimonials from our website, including a testimonial using my full name, to create a fake website for Rottweiler puppies. A woman that was scammed was kind enough to contact me, informing me of the copied content and my name used on the website.

Since that time, we’ve found 16 scammer sites, in a variety of breeds, from Rottweilers to Dachshunds, to German Shepherds, to Great Danes, to Teacup Yorkies.

To date, one scammer site has been shut down, and three appear to have, at least, been temporarily suspended. Twelve pages remain ‘live’ and the work it takes to find their website host, and then file a complaint to get the website shut down is time consuming. It is infuriating that the burden of proof falls on Red Barn Ranch and Labradors, LLC, to prove that the content is stolen and that my name should not be associated with the fake websites.

The following is a list of the sixteen sites I have found:

1. gorgeousrottweilerpups.com – shut down

2. cutegermanshepherdpuppies.com – still up and using my name and testimonials

3. gorgeouspugpuppies.com – still up and using my name and testimonials

4. bravedobermanhome.com – “Sorry, we’re doing some work on the site.”

5. lovelyenglishbulldpgpups.com – still up and using my name and testimonials

6. russelldobermanhome.com – “Sorry, we’re doing some work on the site.”

7. bullys4home.net – still up and using my name and testimonials.

8. charlesamericanpitbulls.com – “Sorry, we’re doing some work on the site.”

9. myoutstandingfrenchies.com – still up and using my name and testimonials

10. gorgeouschihuahuapups.com – still up and using my name and testimonials

11. williampugshome.com – still up and using my name and testimonials

12. tammyteacupyorkies.com – still up and using my name and testimonials

13. williamgreatdanehome.com – still up and using my name and testimonials

14. outstandingsamoyedpups.com – still up and using my name and testimonials

15. williamdachshundhome.com – still up and using my name and testimonials

16. beagleshome.net – still up and using my name and testimonials

From the looks of the websites, most are ‘cookie cutter’ and are probably run by the same person or group of people, hell bent on scamming unsuspecting people.

I’ll share another post in regards to how to spot a scammer and what to look for in a reputable breeder.

Feel free to share this information.

Over the past several months the interest in our Labrador Retriever puppies has grown significantly. The wait for a puppy from RBRandL has generally been 6 – 12 months. With the increase in demand, the wait for one of our puppies now ranges from 12 – 18 months. Due to the increased demand, we have implemented a new deposit agreement.

Our puppy deposits are non-refundable unless we cannot provide a suitable puppy. If we do not have a puppy that suits a buyer’s desired temperament, gender, or color, or if we do not offer a buyer a puppy within 24 months of signing our deposit agreement, we will happily offer a full refund of the puppy deposit.

If during the period of the deposit agreement, we offer a buyer a puppy and the buyer declines the puppy, they may remain on our waiting list for a future puppy, but the buyer is no longer eligible to request a deposit refund.

We are looking forward to our planned breeding between HRCH UH Windmere’s Rumor of a Scandal MH QAA x RBRandL It Ain’t My Fault CGC. We expect Fitz and Ozzie to produce lovely puppies with sound temperaments. This breeding will produce black and chocolate puppies.

We are also looking forward to a repeat breeding between Cresthill’s Snips and Snails MH x RBRandL Sweet Annie of Cresthill BN CGC JH. The puppies J.B. and Annie produce are exceptional!

In October 2021 we will finalize health clearances for RBRandL Carolina In My Mind, call name “Dixie”, and we look forward to the puppies she will produce. But, first – Sandy will enjoy continued training and competing with Dixie in AKC hunt test events.

Everyone here at Red Barn Ranch and Labradors, LLC, wishes each of you a very Merry Christmas and bountiful blessings in the New Year. As 2020 comes to a close, we give thanks for all of our clients, both training and puppy clients. We appreciate your support and trust in us to provide the best in training and the best in a temperamentally sound & healthy puppy.

If you are ready to take your breeding program to the next level you need to seriously consider investing in an Avidog Membership. Until you have experienced Avidog, you can’t begin to appreciate what a membership will mean to you, your breeding program, your breeding stock, and the puppies you produce.

I’d been breeding Labradors for 16 years when I made the decision to attend an Avidog seminar. I’ll be honest, I’d been looking at Avidog for sometime and was hesitant to make the investment in a course. When a seminar came fairly close to home, the proximity and the affordable price, made it a no-brainer to attend. I was BLOWN away by that seminar.

Even so – I was hesitant to make a financial investment in ”Your Litter A to Z”, thinking that my years as a breeder certainly gave me an ‘edge’. So, at that workshop I purchased the APET (Avidog Puppy Evaluation Test)  course, Introduction to Transformational Dog Breeding, and the puppy rearing course.

Once home I poured myself into each course and quickly realized that A2Z was going to be a MUST. So, with a bitch in heat, I purchased A2Z, and did my best to keep up with each week’s lesson, while dealing with runs to the vet for progesterone tests, visits to the stud, etc. Oh how I wished that I had made the investment well in advance of the heat cycle and puppies arriving. Trust me – you want to study A2Z in advance and be well-prepared going into a heat cycle and breeding.

I have increased litter size, reduce instances of mastitis, produced puppies with sound temperaments, enhanced my reputation as a breeder with my buyers and with veterinarians, and – one of the most unexpected benefits I have experienced is developing incredible friendships and bonds with fellow breeders.

The level of support one receives through a membership in Avidog is truly priceless. A yearly membership is about 1/4th the price of a puppy. Doesn’t your breeding program deserve investment of finances and time? Think about it – if you increase litter size, save the lives of puppies, etc., your financial investment pays off and you recoup your investment sizably.

If you are just getting started – you owe it to yourself and the program you hope to build to get started right. If you’ve been breeding for years and think you know it all, guess again. Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Gayle Watkins, Marcy Burke, and Lise Pratt, my undying gratitude. You are generous to a fault and I love you!

So, what are you waiting for? JUST DO IT! 

if you wonder if this is real and honest – send me a PM. I will give you my phone number and you can call me!

We are delighted to announce the arrival of our newest litter of puppies. Annie delivered a lovely litter of eight puppies on Friday, 17 May 2019.

We have five yellow pups, three females, two males, and three black pups, one female, two males. Annie and the pups are doing well.

This litter is Sold Out. We have plans to repeat the breeding in November 2019.