[Miss Daphne]

Hello everyone! As I was looking for a poodIe within 500 miles of me, I was offered the opportunity to adopt a 1 1/2 year old Standard Poodle from a Craigslist listing nearby.
I have scheduled for a play date first, and the owner who might be giving/selling me the dog will be visiting my home for inspection to see if it's a fit property for the dog. She has stated that the dog is AKC, and unneutered, so I would like to know what kind of questions should I be asking her/check out before deciding if this is the right dog for me?

I have listed some photos below of the dog, and would like to know if these dogs look healthy from glance (in the first photo it looks like the dog's nipples are slightly hanging, maybe from breeding but I'm not certain about it.)?

 

[Phaz23]

Why are they rehoming her? Are they rehoming the puppy in the picture too?

I think would be my first question then:

Who is her breeder? Why won’t the breeder take her? Is there a contract with the breeder? May I see it?

How is she at grooming? It looks like she’s kept very short, does she misbehave?

is she reactive in walks? How is she on and off leash?

what is she afraid of?

what commands does she know? what formal training has she had?

is she microchipped?

is she registered? Full or limited,may I have her papers?

what clinic did she go to, may I have her vet records?

 

[Miss Daphne]

Why are they rehoming her? Are they rehoming the puppy in the picture too?

I think would be my first question then:

Who is her breeder? Why won’t the breeder take her? Is their a contract with the breeder? May I see it?

How is she at grooming? It looks like she’s kept very short, does she misbehave?

is she reactive in walks? How is she on and if leash?

what is she afraid of?

what commands does she know? what formal training has she had?

is she microchipped?

is she registered? Full or limited,may I have her papers?

what clinic did she go to, may I have her vet records!

She has decided to rehome because she's moving out of country, and no the puppy is not being rehomed with it.
Thank you for these wonderful and helpful questions, I have written them all down and will study them front to back.

 

[Rose n Poos]

Adding

What's her general temperament?

Were her parents health tested? If so, where can I see the results?

Was she bred? If so, was she health tested before breeding and where can I see the results?
(This will help you determine if getting pet insurance makes sense, or is even possible due to pre-existing condition.)

This isn't likely to be an issue or even need to be asked, but if she is 18m old now and had puppies, say, 2 mo ago, was pregnant for the usual 63 days before that, she was awfully young to have been bred. Was that an accident? More something to just keep in mind.

This doesn't answer your question exactly, but she doesn't look unhealthy. Her teats and belly look like my boys mother did when we met them a bit over 8w after their birth.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Welcome to Poodle Forum! Glad you found us. You are right to proceed with caution. Rehoming scams are rampant on Craigslist right now. My friend recently fell for one.

I second all the questions you received above. I am also interested in the “adoption” price tag. Is this a sale disguised as a rehome? Or is she really a loving owner who’s found herself in an unfortunate situation? If I had to find a new home for Peggy, I wouldn’t be using Craigslist. I would be tapping into my network of friends, family, and acquaintances.

 

[Rose n Poos]

I cast a very wide net and found the ad. I have very little CL experience to gauge it. Which of the two sisters is she offering you?

 

[daabor]

Proceed with much caution. Most likely, all the questions previous posters asked would not be answered ( honestly ) by anyone that rehomes their pet on craigslist.

 

[Miss Daphne]

I cast a very wide net and found the ad. I have very little CL experience to gauge it. Which of the two sisters is she offering you?

To be honest I'm not sure which dog she will be giving me, she says she is offering two, and I am only interested in owning one currently. I was trying to distinguish the faces in the dogs to tell them apart, I am guessing the shaved face dog is one, and puppy cut dog is another.

 

[Miss Daphne]

Proceed with much caution. Most likely, all the questions previous posters asked would not be answered ( honestly ) by anyone that rehomes their pet on craigslist.

It's something to make note of for sure. Thank you.

 

[Miss Daphne]

Welcome to Poodle Forum! Glad you found us. You are right to proceed with caution. Rehoming scams are rampant on Craigslist right now. My friend recently fell for one.

I second all the questions you received above. I am also interested in the “adoption” price tag. Is this a sale disguised as a rehome? Or is she really a loving owner who’s found herself in an unfortunate situation? If I had to find a new home for Peggy, I wouldn’t be using Craigslist. I would be tapping into my network of friends, family, and acquaintances.

Thank you for the kind welcome,
I am a bit leery trusting sites like CL but I am meeting face to face with this woman, and I really fell in love with the poodle's face in the advertisement, so I want to see if there's a catch, may it be an uninformed owner with no documents, or maybe an exorbitant price tag to go with this dog she is putting up for adoption. And I agree with Phaz, if this was an AKC bred puppy, why wouldn't returning the dog to the breeder be the first step when finding her very young poodle a rehome? I am anticipating to hear what she will say.

 

[Rose n Poos]

It's kind of funny because I felt like I was looking at different dogs in the photos. Now I might know why . Except for the photo outside the local store and the one in the car, the rest are consistent in the environment and there is what appears to be a third dog, a smaller white probably poodle also and at least that one puppy.

I'm leaning to byb (which doesn't mean they can't be lovely dogs).

Speculating on all these things with as little information as there is, is to be expected and is good to help you remain cautious. Either might be a lovely dog, too.

Be sure and have someone with you when you visit and also when she comes to your home, if you proceed to that point.

If she got the dogs from a quality breeder, which I'm sort of doubting right now (still doesn't mean that can't be lovely poodles), then she'd likely have signed a contract to return the dogs to the breeder or at least notify them to potentially help with rehoming.

If she simply has a few dogs, possibly breeding at least one, and truly has to rehome for the reason she gave, the most I'd pay is in the $500 range. If she truly loves them, her priority will be a good home. The price of $500 suggests that she values the dog and is enough to show that the buyer isn't likely to turn around and resell.

If she has AKC papers on them, politely require the registry number before you commit. You can look the dog up on the AKC site which might verify some part of this.

If she loves these dogs, she should appreciate the trouble you're taking to confirm their true history.

 

[Miss Daphne]

Welcome to Poodle Forum! Glad you found us. You are right to proceed with caution. Rehoming scams are rampant on Craigslist right now. My friend recently fell for one.

I second all the questions you received above. I am also interested in the “adoption” price tag. Is this a sale disguised as a rehome? Or is she really a loving owner who’s found herself in an unfortunate situation? If I had to find a new home for Peggy, I wouldn’t be using Craigslist. I would be tapping into my network of friends, family, and acquaintances.

It's kind of funny because I felt like I was looking at different dogs in the photos. Now I might know why . Except for the photo outside the local store and the one in the car, the rest are consistent in the environment and there is what appears to be a third dog, a smaller white probably poodle also and at least that one puppy.

I'm leaning to byb (which doesn't mean they can't be lovely dogs).

Speculating on all these things with as little information is expected and is good to help you remain cautious, but there is a possibility that either would be a lovely dog, too.

Be sure and have someone with you when you visit and also when she comes to your home, if you proceed to that point.

If she got the dogs from a quality breeder, which I'm sort of doubting right now (still doesn't mean that can't be lovely poodles), then she'd likely have signed a contract to return the dogs to the breeder or at least notify them to potentially help with rehoming.

If she simply has a few dogs, possibly breeding at least one, and truly has to rehome for the reason she gave the most I'd pay is in the $500 range. If she truly loves them, her priority will be a good home. The price of $500 suggests that she values the dog and that the buyer isn't likely to turn around and resell.

If she has AKC papers on them, politely require the registry number before you commit. You can look the dog up on the AKC site which might verify some part of this.

If she loves these dogs, she should appreciate the trouble you're taking to confirm their true history.

Yes you are right on all counts Rose! I am hoping this is not a byb; but if so, she is still a beautiful dog, it will just take a lot more training and frequent vet visits.
I read somewhere on here I think saying that the highest pet fee you can charge for adoption is $500, I am just curious. If she provides me with all of the paper, and gives a good registry number, and then says "It's going to be $1,000-$1,200", is that a reasonable price range for rehoming?

 

[Rose n Poos]

Which face did you fall for?

The poodle in the car and outside the store are definitely the same poodle. The other 5 photos in the home seem to be all of the same differently trimmed poodle who may have whelped recently. In the same kitchen (?) photo with the food down and the white/light poodle there is also a smidge of what might be the back end of the car poodle.

The tails look the same, undocked, which is slowly becoming accepted by the public, if not the AKC for the show ring.

 

[Miss Daphne]

Which face did you fall for?

The poodle in the car and outside the store are definitely the same poodle. The other 5 photos in the home seem to be all of the same differently trimmed poodle who may have whelped recently. In the same kitchen (?) photo with the food down and the white/light poodle there is also a smidge of what might be the back end of the car poodle.

The tails look the same, undocked, which is slowly becoming accepted by the public, if not the AKC for the show ring.

I loved the slender faced poodle in the car. She is so pretty! But am curious to see the puppy cut dog with a shaved face.
I am excited to see them in person, and see if this is real.

 

[Rose n Poos]

Good for you for not judging too quickly.
Both photos are of my boy, before and after.

I don't think it's just the face tho. They seem to be built differently. Could just be pregnancy, if she was.
My boys are different from each other, noticeably.

 

[Dianaleez]

Please think twice about letting a stranger from CL enter and check out your house. There's a reason that most meetings with internet acquired 'friends' are in public places.

 

[Rose n Poos]

Something that has nibbled at me has finally landed.
If those photos are all truly of her poodles, and if the one sister is the clean face poodle in the photos taken out of the house is actually of one sister, why?
I mean, if there are two, if they're both hers, both living with her, why wouldn't she take all the photos at the same time and in the same place and post those?

Caution caution caution is in order.

If this is legit, I'm very sad for those sisters and whoever the other smaller white/light poodle(?) is. They've been together all their lives and now will be separated.
Not suggesting you take both or even the smaller one but what are her plans for all her dogs, not just the standards?
I tend to zero in on things that don't add up, and there's more it seems as I think on this with the info available.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

She’s looking for homes for multiple poodles? My spidey sense is tingling.

And no, I would not pay $1,000+ for a Craiglist rehome. If she purchased these dogs from a good breeder, that breeder would likely be involved in the rehoming process. If she didn’t purchase them from a good breeder, why would she be asking for so much unless she’s trying to make money off the transaction?

 

[Piper 2020]

I won't touch CL but I've met many people that got wonderful dogs from a CL ad. Regardless of how much research and testing you do, there are no sure bets. All dogs have issues. A highly health tested dog can have a health changing accident/incident that may not become evident or an issue until later in its life. That's the nature of the beast.

Just my 2 cents: I would not let a stranger in my house. Period. However, if this is legit, the dogs need a home. It's like adopting a rescue. You won't really know the dog's history but that has never stopped me from taking a rescue. I've had several. They make great companions. You need to decide what is most important to you. What you really want. If AKC registration is important, I'd pass. Many reputable breeders have older pups they are looking to sell. If your looking for a happy companion dog and one of these pass muster, I'd take it. As for cost, if the dogs have been fully vaccinated, I pay a reasonable price given its age and what the seller has put into the dog. Costs you would have incurred if you got the dog as a pup. You need to find a dog you love. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

I regularly use Craigslist. But selling a dog on Craiglist vs. rehoming a dog on Craigslist = two very different things.

“Rehoming” is a word that many scammers hide behind. It tugs on heartstrings. It disarms the buyer by making them feel like they’re “adopting” rather than engaging in a financial transaction.

I’d be less concerned with getting AKC paperwork than with ensuring I’m not inadvertently supporting a puppy mill situation, or someone who is indiscriminately breeding dogs for a buck and lying about it.

Note: I fell for an “oops we thought she was spayed” ad in my 20s, not because I didn’t know better but because I wanted to believe it was legit.....because the puppies were so dang cute. And they were ready to go! No waitlist. No more searching.

The life of that puppy I got was hard and expensive. He suffered from multiple genetic conditions.

“Well at least you saved him!”

No. I financed their next litter.