Puppy contracts

[gustav3]

What kinds of things should a buyer be looking for in a puppy contract?

Also, what type of health guarantees can a buyer reasonably expect in a "show quality" puppy contract. If a disqualifying fault or HD develops what is fair compensation for the buyer? I've seen a wide range of things in contracts: some offer money back, some offer a new pup, some only offer a new pup at a reduced price. What would you guys consider to be fair?

Thanks for your responses.

[Judi W]

I believe the most fair is to refund down to what the pet price was for pups in the same litter. That presupposes that you are not going to shuffle the pup off if it doesn't turn out. Personally, I would not want to place a pup where it would be be in a forever home.

If however, you would not be keeping the pup, then replacement is common. Anything that makes the dog not a candidate to be competitive in the ring, or any health criteria that would make the dog unbreedable per codes or ethical decisions should be considered.

[Sharon Marples]

Our "show potential" contract has the following wording:

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In the event that any of the following faults:

**Monorchidism, Cryptorchidism, Wry mouth, undershot or overshot bite, Long coat, Entropion, Ectropion, Two or more missing teeth, Yellow eyes, Unstable temperament, Absence of all markings or SAS (verified by cardiologist)**

become present in the dog up to the age of 15 months, or the dog’s hips do not pass OFA (excellent, good or fair), the Seller agrees to either:

1) Refund to Buyer 50% of purchase price after Seller is supplied with a veterinarian’s signed letter stating the above dog (kept by the Buyer) has been rendered incapable of reproduction or,

2) Replace the puppy with a second show potential puppy from the next available litter for 50% of the purchase price of this puppy after Seller is supplied with a veterinarian’s signed letter stating the above dog (kept by the Buyer) has been rendered incapable of reproduction.

Buyer must notify Seller of which decision they choose on the puppy guarantee within three months of the appearance of any fault on the puppy. This offer will be void after that time. Guarantee is valid for one replacement puppy only, there is no guarantee as to when the next litter will be bred.
"This Guarantee Applies Only To The Original Buyer"
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To date, we have had no problems with this contract. We have, on two occasions, refunded the price 100% when the owners did not want to keep the puppy. We then spayed/neutered and placed the puppy as a pet. On another occasion, the buyers placed the pet on their own and we then sent them a replacement puppy.

In most circumstances, we have found that our buyers love the dog and do not want to give them up. We work with our clients in whichever way they choose to do so. If they tell us they do not want to keep a puppy, I RUN to get that puppy. I never want one of my pups in a home that DOES NOT want it!

There are many ways to work things out and you must be able to trust the person you are purchasing from in order to be able to work out an alternative solution if the situation arises.

Sharon Marples

[n2rotts]

Have any of you breeders had the circumstance where a show puppy prospect just "did not turn out"? A puppy that simply cannot finish even with professional handling? What would you do in this instance even tho no DQ or obvious faults were present?

Just curious?

[Sharon Marples]

If we sold a show potential puppy and it was not "finishable" then we would go with the terms of our original contract. We would refund the purchase price down to a pet price and/or replace the puppy with another one, depending on what we worked out with the buyer.

If a puppy is not finishable, even with a professional handler, then in my mind, it is NOT show quality. And, as much as we would like to think we know about dogs, structure, etc., there are many times when you just cannot tell for sure at 7-8 weeks of age that the puppy will DEFINITELY turn out to be top show quality.

If the buyer was trying to handle it themselves and if they were not good handlers (and if we saw the pup and still thought it was finishable), we would tell them that they need to hire a professional for a minimum of 5 shows to give the dog (and handler) a chance to see what they could do together. If there is no success with a pro on the dog, then at that point, we would reduce this puppy down from a show potential to a pet quality and apply the differences of the contract, etc.

Of course, it goes unsaid that if we viewed the dog ourselves and could easily see that it did not turn out to be a show quality animal, we would then not require that they try a professional handler. We would revert back to a pet contract on the dog.

Sharon Marples