I haven't actually read all the responses yet because I'm at work and have other things to do and customers to help, but figured I should respond while I have a moment!
Since there seems to be some confusion as to why I backed out: It wasn't
just because of what people said and how they said it. That was just the icing on the cake. Part of it was that there are things that this breeder does that I don't agree with, and never will, but I can say the same for every Koolie breeder. Not one of them is perfect, although there certainly are some that do things slightly better than others. That's nothing against the breed nor the breeders, IMO. Things are just done differently in that breed at the moment, because it's basically still a working breed and people are not breeding for show/sport/pet dogs. They don't generally seem to sell to that market. They just don't think certain things are necessary that most people think are very important if they're involved in other breeds. I chose the breeder I did because as a person, I like him a lot. Super nice guy, adores his dogs, easy to get along with. His dogs also are to me what a Koolie should be. I can't say a bad thing about them, and I talked to more of his owners than just Sara and Linds so I could get a better idea of things. Among many things his dogs ooze drive, enthusiasm, confidence, are very long lived, are not prone to being shy or unfriendly, and I also think he breeds some of the nicer looking dogs out there as well (but that's just me and is nothing against other dogs). I didn't choose him on his breeding practices, and there were always things that bothered me slightly, but he is not the only one who does these things in the breed. So I tried just to let those things slide, but in the end couldn't, especially when everyone was piling up reasons upon reasons upon reasons of things I already had reservations about. I was 100% sure about my puppy and like 90% sure of breeder choice - in this case, breed and puppy I tried to let outweigh breeder practices. But basically, if you want a Koolie, there are things one needs to be ok with. And I thought I was. I was more than prepared for a puppy, super excited, and I truly do adore the breed and this breeder's dogs after everything I've learned about them. Turns out, in the end, things bothered me more than I realized they would and then to have people rudely point out every little thing just topped it all off. So it was a combination of things. Not just because of the rudeness of some people, although honestly that was a big turn off to the breed entirely at the moment. But that's just me and a difference between personalities of different people.
I believe I said in my original post that I can't blame the people. It was a terrible thing to go through, but I can only blame how I let those people make me feel. It's not their fault they piled on more guilt - I could have just said "whatever, thanks for your opinion (however it was said), but I've made my decision. Goodbye." and not let it bother me.
And believe me, I can see why those people felt the way they did. But honestly I didn't see their breeder as doing things better in many ways. I'd bet most of chaz would not ever get a Koolie just because of breeding ethics and their own values.
And maybe that would have been the right answer for some people - to just ignore and get the dog anyway. But I've always been someone who takes a little too much to heart a lot of times. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's a bad thing. In this case I think, for me, it ended up being a good thing. I initially was sad that I declined the puppy, but not quite as upset as I thought I would be, which verifies to me that I made the right decision for me, whether others think I should have stuck it out or not.
Surprisingly, through this all, the last person to approach me via PM was another breeder, and she was the only one who seemed genuinely concerned about my breeder choice without being rude about it. I didn't mind her opinion so much because things were put in a polite way, and you could tell it was only out of concern. So if she happens to find this thread, which I feel like she might because she certainly knows about chaz, none of this has anything to do with her at all.
Besides different reservations breeder wise, ultimately in the end I decided that not only do I not want to just give in to those people and get a dog from where they thought I should just because they said so, or deal with what they probably would have said either to me or about me if I had gotten the puppy I was planning, but I also don't want to deal with a crowd prone to such animosity. You see it a lot in the online world of this breed. This time it just happened to be directed right at me. And there are also things apparently that I do value
a lot more in a breeder than I thought I did. A lot of that is based on experiences with past dogs.
So I chose to not ignore my morals and values, and backed out of a dog from a breeder that I didn't totally agree with the practices of, as well as remove myself from such a crowd. And not all Koolie people are terrible - many of them are very friendly. But there is a good bunch that is not, and they act all happy and nice in the beginning and turn out not to be later on.
Hopefully that clears things up a little bit. I don't expect that other people would have made my same choice had they been in my position. This just happened to be the right choice for me, and it wasn't something I took lightly.
As opposed to what, letting her end up with a dog that she wouldn't like/had health problems/was the result of unethical breeding/ect? Give me a break!
I for one welcomed recommendations with open arms both for and against the breeders I had in question.
I like recommendations for and against as well. But there is a way to say things politely. And without being totally biased toward one or two breeders who they think are the be all and end all and everyone else is crap. And unsolicited mean advice isn't a good way to go about things ever (whether it's about dogs or something else in life), especially when they'd never said anything beforehand and only afterward.
And also, regardless of the things I disagreed with about this breeder's breeding practices, there is no doubt in my mind that I would have loved my dog. Like I said, I've heard nothing but great things from his puppy owners. Health wise, temperament wise... everything wise, really.
Now, off to try and read the rest of the thread before I get interrupted again.
