Talking with Breeders

[Ivy]

I'm doing some heavy duty research on the CASD. I asked a breeder if I can ask questions and give as much info about myself and my future goals to see if the breed would be a match.

I finished writing the e-mail but haven't sent it yet. It's really long.

What would be an accepted length of an e-mail to a breeder? I don't want them to be annoyed.

[milos_mommy]

If it's the first email, I would keep it brief. If you have questions about health testing or titling or work the dogs do, include those. Maybe a very brief description of your lifestyle/family/experience with dogs and if they would have any concerns about a CASD in your home. Possibly if they know of any events where you could meet other owners or people involved in the breed.

[Fran101]

I've sent essay long first emails before lol oh well. IMO I don't WANT to go to a breeder that doesn't like my essay emails, haha they might as well get used to it, I'm not going to change.
Either appreciate my enthusiasm and the time I took to write this email or I'll find another breeder. Wham bam thank you mam.

I WOULD use typical polite email formatting (to make it easier to read).. I like to put questions on their own line, group my person info together, highlight important bits (when I want a puppy, what I'm looking for etc..) and please and thank yous

[Toller_08]

To be honest I don't think about length at all when I e-mail a breeder. Most of my initial e-mails to breeders have been fairly long and it's yet to have worked against me. I just write to them what I feel is important and if it turns out long, oh well! If I were a breeder I'd like a lengthy well thought out e-mail... I don't think that's something a breeder should or would get annoyed at.

[Kilter]

I would streamline it and go for a few key points that you want to get across. Something like what you are like as a dog owner in three lines or so, then a few questions about the breed, and ask them to tell you more about their breeding plans and what they do.

You can get into more details later and they might have more info that will cover and answer questions too.

There is no standard acceptable length, it totally depends on the breeder. Personally, I'd much rather someone send me an "essay" than the typical e-mail I'm sure most breeders get, at least from time to time, like this (actual e-mail I received): "hello I saw your dogs and I was really impressed really have litters at the moment?" Those are the ones I don't even bother responding to.

ETA: Just checked our e-mail and had these. This is a prime example of how to drive a breeder nuts.

7:43PM
Hey my name is xxxx and I love the apbt bred and your pup is a great example of what the bred that I love suppose to look like im definitely interested and Will like more info my number is xxxxxxxxxx
10:03PM
Hey it's xxxx again I kn I just sent the email lol but im really anxious to hear back from you thanks

[Flyinsbt]

Speaking as a breeder, if only very occasionally, I would way rather have the essay than something really short. Politely formatted, as suggested, with the important points in paragraphs of their own. I'd put the most important stuff in the first few paragraphs, and then all the other detail you want to include, questions you want to ask, etc.

This will give the breeder a better "feel" for you, and if you are someone they are interested in selling a puppy to. Others may feel differently, but I think if someone was a breeder I wanted to buy from, they'd be interested in knowing as much about the buyers as possible, and a long winded email in the buyer's own words will tell them much more than answering questions will.

ie; if I ask someone "did you have any interest in competing in sports with your puppy, or is this intended as just a pet?", they might answer that they are interested in competing in agility, because asking the question led them to think I expected it. This could lead to them having the wrong puppy if they weren't really that interested in agility. Whereas if someone writes me a rambling email about their experiences with dogs, and their hopes for their new puppy, and brings up their interest in competing in dog sports, it's a pretty safe bet that they do intend to give that a try. And of course, the parts about their previous experiences will give me some idea of what they are used to from a dog, and what they are likely to be able to handle.

[Oko]

When I emailed breeders, I sent a very long 'this is me, this is what I want in a dog, this is my lifestyle and this is my living situation, here's what I'd do with a dog, and this is how I found you', and do you have any litters planned for summer or fall 2013. It ended up pretty long, really. Then I asked if I sounded like a good match for one of their dogs.

Then after they responded positively, I asked them a bazillion questions about their dogs and them.

[spiffy]

KISS Keep it short and sweet! But the questions you need to ask must be clearly stated.

[BlackPuppy]

My first emails are always long essays about me and what I am looking for, with links to (private) photos of my home and backyard, and where the dogs sleep. These were always to people in Europe, so I would send it in English and a foreign language attempt at translation.

The one time I didn't write a long essay, I was asked for more information about myself in the reply.