Breeder contract vs ethics? - Page 2

Dennis, calm down. Just kidding, you probably voice what a lot of breeders feel.

scubalook, I tried posting earlier but I see it did not go through, I'll try again. Likely you will get a lot of perspectives on this... which is actually a good thing, broad spectrum gives a much wider view, and overall that can lead to a much more clear picture. My thinking was this earlier... That you and this breeder possibly did not take the time to truly convey to each other... 1. what you expected/needed/desired from a pup. 2. the breeder did not clearly see/hear what you wanted/expected/needed/desired in a pup. I see this as a two way street, it is up to you to learn how to convey and strongly communicate exactly what you want. and it's up to the breeder to "hear" what those wants are from you. Sometimes it's hard, I know I spend many sessions with my potential buyers, on the phone, visits to my home and with my dogs, and let them see what I evaluate as a high drive and medium drive and a low drive. This gives the buyer a much clearer picture of what they are getting into. Also as far as contracts go well, Our contract says if you have to give up your dog for any reason, the dog MUST come back to us, You are not allowed to give away, place, resell, or dispose of our dog without notice to us, unless it's an emergency euthanasia deemed emergency by the vet. However not all breeders take this stance and I don't think all of them should, I'm not saying any breeder is better or worse for the contracts given. It's up to you to decide are you entering into a lifetime of support and friendship with a breeder, or are you a buyer who buys and is never heard from again, If you were the latter and had come to me, I simply would not have sold you a dog. But if you are one who wishes to have a lasting communication with your breeder then you would be someone I would spend alot of time with. (as we do with all of our buyers) Anyway, I think maybe the errors went both ways in this transaction, the ? that looms is what will become of this baby ?? were will this pup go ? end up ? and how can we help you or can we help you ? Please if there is anything we can do to help you find the right home for this pup and help you find the "right" dog for your home, At this time that is the more important issue to be resolved for your specific scenerio. You may email me privately if you like echomeadowsheps@aol.com The above response to this post is not intended to hurt anyones feelings or present anyone in a poor light so if this context offends anyone, I appologize now for it, as that was not the intent of the post.

Echomeadows, Excellent post! No need to apologize about your intentions either. In the dog world, you can't state any opinion without someone somewhere taking offense. Ah, human nature. :)

The bad thing about this is a breeder can say anything to you, but if you do not have it written somewhere, it is no good. And I am not saying you are like this, but many people think they know what they are looking for and they see the pups, and choose the biggest fattest pup just because they think it will be the biggest in the litter. What they do not understand most of the time is that the pup became that size because it was the dominate one, pushed through, stole all the food. Then they realize this pup cares nothing about anything except food, and it is not what they wanted. The best thing people can do is go to the breeder and see the pups multiple times, and get the breeders input on each pup, cause lets be honest, a buyer who sees the pups 3-4 times does not know much about each ones character. And also give your pup sometime to settle into your home. Hope it turns out for the best.

Scub.... Unfortunately, due to this type of contract, you might not have a leg to stand on. However, if the breeder wrote something to you in an email about giving a refund, that might be a different story. But now we kinda get into what I was posting in another thread..about customer satisfaction. The way I've done my contract is simple....there are no cash refunds what-so-ever. If it's a genetic problem, it's a replacement pup from a different breeding. If buyer return the pup, FOR WHATEVER reason, I attempt to resell it, and that money goes right back the buyer, minus any vet cost. Example...if a buyer purchases a puppy for $650, brings it back, and I resell it for $400, but have $100 in vet cost, buyer gets back $300!!! (please understand I am not posting my entire contract, there is alot more to it) :-) My reasoning....Customer Satisfaction!!! After all the research/time/enegy that I put into even doing a breeding...second formost thought for me is placing a pup in the RIGHT home!!! Which is why I also have a 3 page puppy questionnaire that EVERY prospective buyer must fill out! So yes, there was obviously some lack of communication between you and the breeder. IMO, I would not have even returned the pup without breeder having money in hand...IF that was the agreement.