Co- Owning a bitch

[TracyS]

To start off this I did a search on co-owning and came up with 3 older posts and only one was regarding this subject......(seem's as if alot are against co-owning??)
However, It did not answer my questions. My questions are ...

One, could some one give me some stipulations on co-owning a bitch. (a typical example of what could be stated in the contract...i.e would I have to pay a fee and what could it be and what would be some rules/regulations ect.)
Two, what are the pro's and con's? Three, When co-owning how much say does the breeder have and who has more say?

The reason I ask is because I am looking at a puppy but the owner does not want to part with it because she wants to breed her, (IF all turns out ok) but does not have the time to spend with her so she wants to co-own. I never co-owned b4 and was asking her what that would involve, she said she would want me to do OB and some protection work with her (Threw her trainer). I asked what she would do about the breeding part and she stated.....That she would supply the male and then either she or "I" could whelp the litter depending on what I wanted. YIKES! (I would want her to!) Then she went on to say that she would take 1/2 the litter and I would have half the litter....."What's up with that??" I thought that was kind of odd. But then again I am new at this co-owning stuff. Can some one help?

Sorry for being so long!

[Goniella]

There are different ways a co-own on a bitch can go, I do not co-own my bitch tho I co-own my male. On him I have the most say so about his everyday life, his breeder only has say so on the breeding aspect of his life. That was to protect her bloodlines. I can have him neutered tommorrow if I chose to. If I found a really nice female I wanted to breed him to all I would have to do is take the information to his co-owner and let her look it over, if she felt the breeding was a good one, I would be allowed to do that as well. The co-ownership was put in place because I was a first time non rescued rottie owner and inexperienced with showing and breeding, she wanted to prevent him from being bred to just any female. Altho Kizmet has never been bred and she now trusts me to make the right decisions and has offered to sign off on the co-ownership I have asked her to remain a co-owner because I trust her.



It sounds like the co-ownership that is being proposed to you, would require you to work the dog in obedience and schutzund with the trainer of her choice. However it doesn't say who pays the bills, since it is required of you to train with her trainer and no other does she pay the cost of that training? And who pays the entry fees for the competition? Get everything in writing. I pay all the bills for Kizmet however his breeder has paid for every show he has been in even tho according to the contract it is my responsibility. Also when she is ready to breed this female does she assume ALL costs of the breeding? Stud fee? Tail docking? Vet visits?Shot? etc. As far as her getting half the litter and you getting half this is done all the time. It means that if the dog were to have 8 puppies the breeder would choose 4 puppies and you would choose 4, of the 4 puppies that are yours you could choose to keep anyone them or sell any of them and you would get the money for those 4 puppies, and she would get to keep any of her 4 or sell her 4 and keep the money from those 4 puppies etc.


In my co-own situation I have more control over my dog and his life, but that is because I have a breeder/co-owner who feels that the dog is 100% mine, she is just a co-owner on paper and considers herself nothing more. There are breeders who co-own who try to control the situation. ALtho I have had an awesome experience with co-owning, I would have to advise against it unless you absolutely positively knew this person to be trustworthy........ and EVERYTHING was in writing.

[Sharon Marples]

As Goniella stated, the most important item in this "possible" arrangement is for you to know and trust the other party totally.

We have done many co-ownerships on bitches we have sold and to date, have never had a problem. One reason being that we put EVERYTHING in writing! You need to spell out who is responsible for what costs associated with anything that is required for the dog (training, show expenses, travel expenses, vet bills, feed, etc.).

Most of the co-ownerships on bitches that I am familiar with allow you to take the puppy (either at no charge or at a reduced charge). If the owner wants you to do obedience and/or protection work with the dog you have to decide if YOU want to do it. You don't want to be pushed into having to spend hours and hours training, etc. if you are not really "into" doing that sort of thing.

In regards to the litter, you need to decide on what health certifications and/or titles would be required for both the bitch and the stud prior to breeding and then stick by those agreed upon. Also decide who pays for any bills resulting from the breeding (emergency C section, progesterone testing, brucellosis testing, vaginal culture, tail and dewclaw removal, puppy vaccinations, puppy food, etc.). If you are to split the litter, who gets 1st pick? What happens if there is an odd number of puppies? Who gets the "extra" puppy?

There are lots of things to take into consideration and therefore, the necessity to trust and be able to go into a co-ownership with no questions. Get it all in writing or else go elsewhere for a puppy that you can own outright on your own. This post just addresses a few of the items that you would need to discuss with the breeder before entering into this agreement. Make sure that YOU WANT to do this first and foremost!

Sharon Marples

[TracyS]

to both of you for responding....
both replys were some very good info. I will now think about it and keep you updated.
Thanks again!!:D