Puppy Staying on An Extra Month

[rottcrazed]

Hi everyone!

We were blessed on April 2 with our first litter of 10 healthy puppies. Now that I have had a little sleep, I am starting to get all of my things in order in regards to registration, chipping, etc....

I have also contacted all of the people on my waitlist to let them know their puppies have arrived and pick up dates, etc....

One of my puppy people has told me that she will not be able to pick up her puppy until the beginning of July - the puppies will be 8 weeks old on May28th. Now, I am not opposed to this, I had been toying with the idea of keeping them here until they are 10 weeks old anyway. What I am wondering about is if any of you have dealt with this situation? Did you add any stipulations in regards to asking for the purchaser to pay for the feeding of the puppy for the time after 10 weeks of age that the puppy remains in my home?

I am planning to ask this couple to send me a kennel for the puppy as well as I do not have any extra kennels here and I really don't want to have to buy one for a puppy for one month.

Also, within that extra month that the puppy is here with us, the puppies will be needing their second set of shots, should I be asking that she pays for this too? I don't want this to seem really petty, but I also don't want to be having to spend extra cash where I don't have to.

Just looking for some input!

Kristi

[Patty1231]

If I had made this request of a breeder I would certainly expect to pay additional fees. I see nothing wrong with your being reimbursed for these expenses.

[rottcrazed]

That is what I am thinking, but I don't want to seem petty. I guess if I put myself in her shoes, I would expect to pay too!

Kristi

[Miabella]

Well, coming at this from the perspective of a puppy buyer, I would definitely expect to pay. I would also get my breeder a really nice thank you gift, because you are basically getting a free month's worth of boarding AND training AND socialization from an expert.

[rottcrazed]

That was another thing I was thinking about. I start my puppies in training right away as I am active in obedience and tracking. I would need to think about getting that little one out there all the time without letting the two littermates bond to eachother.

More to think on ....

Kristi

[Judi W]

Has the puppy been paid in full? I think that if you nickle and dime the person however, you will certainly set the tone for the future relationship. What is the reason they will have to delay picking up the puppy? The puppy's release date has not been seceret has it? Or, has it? if you were considering keeping them for several more weeks...........

Are you giving the shots yourself from a batch buy or taking the pups to your vet?

[hcelsa]

I've read this thread with interest...and here's my 2 cents for what they're worth.

I've only raised two litters of puppies in 9 years, but in both cases I've held onto two puppies until their perfect match came along (in both cases I had homes waiting...they just weren't quite right for the puppies I had available). I can't imagine telling their potential owners (I think the longest one stayed until 13 weeks) that I was going to charge them for food, board, training, health care for that extra time they lived with us. For that matter at any point in the lives of my puppies I'll board and/or train them for free.

Yep, it definitely makes more work for the breeder to have extra pups around, but I guess to me that's the commitment I make when I decide to breed a litter. To keep, and care for each pup until his/her perfect match is available is entirely my responsibility (I kept two puppies from my first litter MUCH against my plans because I just didn't have anyone on my list that would be an appropriate home for Roca...explaining that to someone who really wants a puppy was incredibly hard). That includes all the basic necessities, plus making sure each puppy is getting appropriate socialization activities alone (again...lots of extra work, but the only way to be fair to the puppy and his/her future family). As far as vaccines go they usually come in fairly large quantities and I've always had extra's left over, so I can't imagine charging anything extra for those.

If this person is the perfect match for this puppy keeping the puppy until the best possible time for puppy and owner to get to know each other is the most important thing. Why have a purchase price for the puppy if not to help pay some of the costs of breeding and raising a litter anyway.

I'm also with Jud on the relationship with your puppy home subject...asking them to pay for the "extras" isn't necessarily the best way to start of a hopefully 12+ year relationship on a good foot! Additionally...the people that my puppies live with are my friends, and I wouldn't ask a friend to pay for the little things :-)

[rottcrazed]

This is a person who was recommended to inquire about my litter just last week. So, I have not done all of my reference checking on her and her fa,ily yet. But, the puppies were not born when I talked to her at first, we did know they would be ready to go beginning of June at the latest.

I do believe, from what she and I have talked about thus far, that she is going to make a lovely home for this little girl. She has a neutered male already and is active in obedience. The reasoning for her not being able to get her until July has something to do with work, but she does work out of her home, so these are still things we need to talk about.

As far as not having time for this litter, I have no plans until it is gone, so I have nothing but time. My plans were to hang onto puppies until they have the right home, not an issue with me. This seems right now like a good home, and that is why I am wondering. I would think the money involved in feeding the puppy could simply be incorporated into my own dogs' monthly food bill, but things like kennels and shots are another thing.

I am doing shots through my vet, I am not doing my own shots as of yet, so this is not going to be a $5 thing and I have no extra anything.

This is why I am asking, because I haven't been in this situation before.

Thanks for the food for thought!

Kristi

[rottielover2004]

Personally, I would be completely grateful to my breeder if she were to do that for me if I was in that scenerio. I would offer to pay for what was needed for an unexpected little one staying...Vaccines....food...kennel. You think of a cost of what a dog sitter costs, that would be nothing. And the puppy has extra socialization time, exellent...... I know what it means to have a breeder do this favor. Mine was willing to hold on to him until I was able to pick him up. She was even the one who told me not to be crazy and drive in a snow storm to pick him up 7 hours away.....HE HE HE I did anyways

[Judi W]

Absorb the costs. You would be doing so if you didn't have a home waiting.

[Diva'sOwner]

Maybe absorb the costs but have the family pay in full or at least half of the purchase price. That way you can get a read on how serious they are.

[fbkeays]

I think it is fine to ask for an extra crate. The puppy will be used to his/her own crate which will be a plus when the puppy does get to his/her new home. But to ask for money to cover food and shots is petty IMO. If I was that puppy buyer, I would be seriously thinking second thoughts about having a relationship with you as the breeder.
Consider it the cost of doing business.

[rottcrazed]

Again, I do get the part of absorbing the costs of food, I don't have a problem with it now that I have actually thought about it. I had no intention of charging boarding or training as that is just a part of my day around here, so to add another puppy to the mix of my training sessions isn't any big deal. The shots are the other question though. And after talking to my own breeder (of the bitch that had the litter), they have had to do this before on a few occasions. What they have done is request a kennel or money for one from the future owner (as they would do if the puppy was to be shipped), have them pay for the puppy in full like everyone else, at 8 weeks or thereabout, so the paperwork can commence, and absorb the food costs. They do their own shots, so either way for them it wouldn't matter. I will just have to talk to my vet to see exactly what the shots are going to be for these guys and go from there.

The point here is not to P anyone off, especially someone who is going to give my pup a good home. Look, I know a breeder who would be charging a boarding fee for this pup if it was one of her own, and I have it in my contract, that if my puppy people need someone to look after their puppies at any point in their lives in an emergency or something that is prearranged like a vacation, I will look after the pup in my home for nothing. I want to see these puppies as they grow and throughout their lives. I am not in this for the money, but a kennel and shots (apart from the first ones and for those who may not have homes by three months, which at this point, looks like there won't be any here by then) should be taken care of by the people who own them IMO.

Kristi

[Judi W]

Well, then perhaps you should sell this pup to one of the many people you have waiting and who will be able to take it at the same time as the others.

[StephanieandToby]

Here's my two cents....Be prepared to absorb the costs. If the new owner had a mother who raised them properly, they will offer to pay something towards upkeep of the pup...Just don't expect it.