Whether you choose to purchase your next Boxer puppy from us or from someone else, PLEASE be careful and do your homework! There are a LOT of scams out there lately, some we’ve seen that have even stolen our content and pretend to be us or pass themselves off as being legitimate, trusted breeders, when in fact they are scammers.
Here are some general rules to follow to make sure you’re dealing with a reputable breeder –
- Ask for references and actually contact them.
- Watch the tone and flavor of the communications you have with them, many of these scams are from overseas and use broken English, improper grammar, etc. in their communications. Carry on a conversation, ask questions that they have to answer, thus the more you get them to respond the easier it becomes to spot their scam! Scammers are in it for a quick and easy buck, they won’t take the time to answer questions or provide you the details you seek, at least not for long.
- Ask to come see the facilities where the dogs/puppies are kept…most legitimate breeders will allow onsite visits. Some may have legitimate reasons for not allowing onsite visits, as there are some risks to legitimate breeders in doing so, but most will find a way to accommodate in-person visits to establish legitimacy if nothing else. Even if you’re across the country from their location and have no intention or ability to actually visit the facilities, ask to come see the facilities. If you have any doubts at all, move on.
- If they’re advertising specific puppies for sale, ask to come see the puppies being advertised BEFORE you send them money for the puppy. Any legitimate breeder would understand and allow this to occur…if not, it’s likely a scam.
- Look for signs of copycat wording or phrases, search the Internet for various portions of their content, wording, etc. to see if it comes up elsewhere…if it’s stolen content, your Internet search will likely lead you to discover it not only appears in several websites, as scammers often have more than one website with the same or very similar content, but it should also lead you to the legitimate site from where it was stolen…we’ve had our content stolen and appear in other websites that were scams and I’m sure we’re not the only ones!
- Ask if they are registered with the state they say they live in as well as any professional organizations like the AKC. If not, that’s likely a red flag that they are scammers! Legitimate breeders have a paper trail of licenses and affiliations such as business registration licenses & certificates, AKC or other professional affiliations, corporate filings, tax records, etc.
- Trust your instincts! As much as you want a puppy, if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
