Breeder's Contracts

[Sarsanet]

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I've been reading with interest the topic of overbreeding & have noticed several references to putting puppy buyers under contact but how, on earth, do you enforce it?

You breed a litter & place some (hopefully not all) on the Limited Register & sell them as pets to people who appear totally suitable telling the new owners that these puppies may not be bred from & should be neutered. Maybe you also make them sign a contact saying the same and also promising to return the dog to you should they be unable to keep the dog in the future.

Say, they then go off, breed one, or more, unregistered litters & then move interstate placing the dog in the pound or with someone else not vetted by you. Sooner, or later, you find out about it. Then what do you do? Sue them even supposing you can find them? Who has the money for that? And if you did take them to court & win what would you expect to get?

Surely these contacts aren't worth the paper they're written on.

Has anyone sued & won? I'm really interested to know because after 50 years of conditioning dogs & horses for show & the racetrack (22 of them in whippets) I'm about to breed my very first litter this year now I'm retired. When I have a dog to re-home I take enormous care over chosing a home, always visiting the site & inspecting the people, house & garden etc. I also neuter the dog before it leaves here so I don't have to worry about back yard breeding but I wouldn't do that to an 8+ week old puppy. I understand there are breeders who do although I don't know of any whippet breeders who do it. Do you?

Your thoughts & comments on this & how you go about enforcing your contracts would be greatly appreciated.

Gail Knightbridge.

 

[kris]

sorry i cant help as english law and australian law wont be exactly the same.i myself have often wondered about this too as i dont know anyone who has sued but i would imagine it would come under 'torts' or a breach of contract heading.'torts' are 'civil law' and cover such things as defamation slander etc whereby a petitioner can summon a defendant to court with a view to claiming compensation for a perceived wrong

 

[wild whippies]

The reason I suggested issueing KC registrations with the clause not to be bred from is because the offspring would be unable to be registered and would thus put a void between reputable KC breeders and unreputable profiteers who sell KC registered puppies purely for financial gain.

You won't stop unregistered puppies being bred but by tightening the ropes on those that are registered and can produce registerable offspring your closing off 'puppy farmers' that are using KC registration as some endorsement of quality to unwitting pet owners.

The problem in the UK is that KC registration is seen to be some kind of guarantee of quality but with anyone being able to register such offspring it enables those in it for financial gain to breed indiscriminately. Reputable show breeders wish not to be associated with these individuals and to me the only way you can stop this is by enforcing clauses on your offsprings registration papers and being very selective about the use of your stud dogs.

It would take a while but such stringency to me is the only action breeders can take when the Kennel Club has no interest in the matter.

Whether someone would feel strongly enough to sue is up to them and I wouldn't go around suggesting every puppy in the UK is neutered - I feel this is an individuals choice but by being restrictive about your paperwork your making it more valuable. If that makes sense?

 

[Seraphina]

No there is no way to enforce such a contract. You can ask the well know legal person/whippet breeder why he never does anything (as far as i know) about people who break his contracts, which every dog sold from these well known kennels come with.

But as most councils nowadays insist on pet pups being desexed before they are registered, people have it done before they get any notions that maybe litter would be fun.

 

[native]

I've been reading with interest the topic of overbreeding & have noticed several references to putting puppy buyers under contact but how, on earth, do you enforce it?You breed a litter & place some (hopefully not all) on the Limited Register & sell them as pets to people who appear totally suitable telling the new owners that these puppies may not be bred from & should be neutered. Maybe you also make them sign a contact saying the same and also promising to return the dog to you should they be unable to keep the dog in the future.

Say, they then go off, breed one, or more, unregistered litters & then move interstate placing the dog in the pound or with someone else not vetted by you. Sooner, or later, you find out about it. Then what do you do? Sue them even supposing you can find them? Who has the money for that? And if you did take them to court & win what would you expect to get?

Surely these contacts aren't worth the paper they're written on.

Has anyone sued & won? I'm really interested to know because after 50 years of conditioning dogs & horses for show & the racetrack (22 of them in whippets) I'm about to breed my very first litter this year now I'm retired. When I have a dog to re-home I take enormous care over chosing a home, always visiting the site & inspecting the people, house & garden etc. I also neuter the dog before it leaves here so I don't have to worry about back yard breeding but I wouldn't do that to an 8+ week old puppy. I understand there are breeders who do although I don't know of any whippet breeders who do it. Do you?

Your thoughts & comments on this & how you go about enforcing your contracts would be greatly appreciated.

Gail Knightbridge.

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) Hi Gail,

I know of several breeders (poodles and cat breeders) who desex puppies/kittens at 10 -12 weeks before they leave the property, it is more comon now, with the modern desexing techniques not such a major operation as it used to be. I also neuter all older dogs before they are rehomed as once they have left you really have no control to enforce this.

With all these designer breeds and backyard breeders, i think it really worth looking into desexing all pet puppies, the breeders (one of the cat breeders is a vet nurse) that I know personally have had no trouble with early desexing.

We travel to a very good vet which is important.

Has anyone heard of any problems with desexing young puppies?

Anne

Birrarun Kennels.

 

[Seraphina]

I do have a problem with early desexing of pups, and while I do not think it is healthy for cats either , I can see the argument for sterilizing kittens at early age, due to their high fecundity.

EARLY SPAY/CASTRATION

 

[native]

I do have a problem with early desexing of pups, and while I do not think it is healthy for cats either , I can see the argument for sterilizing kittens at early age, due to their high fecundity.

EARLY SPAY/CASTRATION

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As it appears obvious that we breeders don't have any legal control over contracts, I guess it's a case of weighing up the pros & cons of all issues, health/cost to breeder & how serious we are about protecting our breed & our personal combination of lines. The backyard whippets which are being bred came from someones kennel originally, even offering a cash back on desexing at 6mths is not fool proof.

Anne

 

[aslan]

I know of several breeders (poodles and cat breeders) who desex puppies/kittens at 10 -12 weeks before they leave the property, it is more comon now, with the modern desexing techniques not such a major operation as it used to be. Anne

Birrarun Kennels.

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Anne, do you know what is the price (roughly?) those breeders are paying for puppy and kitten desexing?

 

[Nicola]

I'm a bit shocked by this de-sexing of puppies discussion. It really doesn't show breeders in a good light. I'm sure a lot of breeders in the UK wouldn't dream of pursuing this tactic.

 

[joe90]

I'm a bit shocked by this de-sexing of puppies discussion. It really doesn't show breeders in a good light. I'm sure a lot of breeders in the UK wouldn't dream of pursuing this tactic.

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i wouldnt dream of doing it i dont even agree with spaying/neutering as an adult what other people do is up to them but would never in a million yrs do it to one of my own, a dog and a bitch pup i bred have beed spayed and neutered i was absolutely gutted i just couldnt believe it if you dont want all the hassell of seasons, pyo etc then buy a f*cking rabbit

 

[Sarsanet]

I'm a bit shocked by this de-sexing of puppies discussion. It really doesn't show breeders in a good light. I'm sure a lot of breeders in the UK wouldn't dream of pursuing this tactic.

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i wouldnt dream of doing it i dont even agree with spaying/neutering as an adult what other people do is up to them but would never in a million yrs do it to one of my own, a dog and a bitch pup i bred have beed spayed and neutered i was absolutely gutted i just couldnt believe it if you dont want all the hassell of seasons, pyo etc then buy a f*cking rabbit

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Here in Victoria, Australia it is already law that all puppies (& I think kittens too) must be microchipped before they go to their new homes unless purchased from a pet shop. Did you get that? Unless purchased from a pet shop. They must then be registered by the local council at 3 months of age. The pet shop purchases too. At which time the councils prefer them to be de-sexed but they can't enforce it yet. The cost to register an entire dog, even at 3 months of age, is huge (hundreds of dollars each) unless it is registered with the canine controlling body as a show/obedience/agility etc. dog. Very soon it will be LAW to have all pet animals desexed before 3 months of age. I think that's what the government is going for. I'm sure someone will put me right if it isn't.

If you didn't want to bother with breeding, why would you buy a rabbit? Most owners desex them too. And if you had a f*cking rabbit you'd be knee deep in baby rabbits, wouldn't you? The idea here is to prevent over breeding.

Most of the people producing too many litters are "reputable show/breeders". Until recently all you had to do to become a breeder was pay your money for an affix & Hey Presto you are an accredited breeder with the canine controlling body. Even now, the test you have to pass to get an affix is ludicrous. There are many people who show & breed who don't even own a copy of the Standard. (Yes, I have asked them) Their attitude is "If you breed enough of them you're sure to crack a good one eventually, right?" I can think of several showies who have many breeding bitches & they churn out the litters one after the other. I can think of one who has an incredible web site claiming all sorts of rubbish which looks wonderful to unsuspecting puppy buyers. This person also sells unregistered pups through the Trading Post because it's not certain who the sire is - sometimes it's not even a whippet but one of the other breeds also owned.

All these people turn up at shows in their best bib & tucker, do their share of winning & appear the very essence of respectability. Complain to the canine controlling body & expect them to do something about it? You must be joking - it needs the registration money!

When I lived in the UK during the mid 1990s I went to a fairly well know breeder's house only to find the spare room stacked on all 4 sides, floor to ceiling with crates full of whippets. God knows what was outside in the shed. They advertised in the last Biennial so I guess their whippets still live like that. You'd never know it when you meet them at a show. They are the very people I'm trying to protect my puppies from but, as yet, none of you who force your puppy buyers to sign contracts have told me how you enforce them. Therefore, they aren't worth the paper they are written on so, my original question, why bother with them? Maybe they put the frighteners on a few people & anything is better than nothing.

 

[Seraphina]

I choose my puppy buyers carefully and after 40 years and 14 litters bred under my prefix (another 3 under friend's prefix in co-ownership) I had never had anybody to breed from their pet bitch. On the contrary, 2 bitches I gave to pet home under the understanding I will be able to have a litter from them, both broke the contract. One moved to Perth (3500 km from where I lived), which made it too difficult and i told then to spay her if they want. And the other never let me know when she was in season and then spayed her.

And yes if I find that one of my pups was used to produce unregistered litter I would be absolutely furious, but I rather take that risk than to have vital glands removed at such a young age. Most people want to desex and I recommend that they wait till at least 9 months (if they do not want to cope with 1st season) or 4 months after first season, and boys after 18 months.

If people are buying bitch I discuss the possibility of them wanting litter, most are absolutely adamant they do not want pups and want to spay before first season. Anybody who sounds like they may in the future possibly think about it gets a lecture about the costs etc, and anybody who would say i definitely want a litter is just off my list.

People getting male are also told about not letting anybody to use their dogs for producing unregistered litters.

However, the facts are as follows; the number of dogs dumped in pounds are rising while registration of purebred dogs is steadily declining. Considering that most of dogs in suburbs are desexed, there are very few accidental matings. So where is the overbreeding happening? My guess is it is the large commercial puppy farms producing pups for petshops. I thought that all breeders, especially the commercial ones must microchip their pups. Does anybody know for sure? I have been microchipping all my pups for years so i did not pay much attention at the time I heard there is such a legislation coming out.

If I did not consider desexing at early age detrimental to the animal's health i would gladly do it.

 

[Seraphina]

If you didn't want to bother with breeding, why would you buy a  rabbit? Most owners desex them too. And if you had a f*cking rabbit you'd be knee deep in baby rabbits, wouldn't you?

:wacko: Well, not if you have one rabbit, Gail. You do need 2 rabbits of the opposite sex and in the same cage to get some babies. :lol:

 

[Seraphina]

Most of the people producing too many litters are "reputable show/breeders".

How exactly do you define what is "too many"?

Until recently all you had to do to become a breeder was pay your money for an affix & Hey Presto you are an accredited breeder with the canine controlling body.

Yes, the test is pathetic, but everybody has to start somewhere. What bothers me is that people who pass the exam and get their prefix, advertise on their websites that they are registered breeders. Maybe there should be something like L and P plates for breeders before they could call themselves "registered breeder"?

The thing is breeding is about practical experience, it is not possible to learn from a book. As is knowledge of breed. It is certainly good idea to have and read the standard but everybody will interpret it in different way. That is why different dogs win under different judges.

 

[joe90]

I'm a bit shocked by this de-sexing of puppies discussion. It really doesn't show breeders in a good light. I'm sure a lot of breeders in the UK wouldn't dream of pursuing this tactic.

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i wouldnt dream of doing it i dont even agree with spaying/neutering as an adult what other people do is up to them but would never in a million yrs do it to one of my own, a dog and a bitch pup i bred have beed spayed and neutered i was absolutely gutted i just couldnt believe it if you dont want all the hassell of seasons, pyo etc then buy a f*cking rabbit

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Here in Victoria, Australia it is already law that all puppies (& I think kittens too) must be microchipped before they go to their new homes unless purchased from a pet shop. Did you get that? Unless purchased from a pet shop. They must then be registered by the local council at 3 months of age. The pet shop purchases too. At which time the councils prefer them to be de-sexed but they can't enforce it yet. The cost to register an entire dog, even at 3 months of age, is huge (hundreds of dollars each) unless it is registered with the canine controlling body as a show/obedience/agility etc. dog. Very soon it will be LAW to have all pet animals desexed before 3 months of age. I think that's what the government is going for. I'm sure someone will put me right if it isn't.

If you didn't want to bother with breeding, why would you buy a rabbit? Most owners desex them too. And if you had a f*cking rabbit you'd be knee deep in baby rabbits, wouldn't you? The idea here is to prevent over breeding.

Most of the people producing too many litters are "reputable show/breeders". Until recently all you had to do to become a breeder was pay your money for an affix & Hey Presto you are an accredited breeder with the canine controlling body. Even now, the test you have to pass to get an affix is ludicrous. There are many people who show & breed who don't even own a copy of the Standard. (Yes, I have asked them) Their attitude is "If you breed enough of them you're sure to crack a good one eventually, right?" I can think of several showies who have many breeding bitches & they churn out the litters one after the other. I can think of one who has an incredible web site claiming all sorts of rubbish which looks wonderful to unsuspecting puppy buyers. This person also sells unregistered pups through the Trading Post because it's not certain who the sire is - sometimes it's not even a whippet but one of the other breeds also owned.

All these people turn up at shows in their best bib & tucker, do their share of winning & appear the very essence of respectability. Complain to the canine controlling body & expect them to do something about it? You must be joking - it needs the registration money!

When I lived in the UK during the mid 1990s I went to a fairly well know breeder's house only to find the spare room stacked on all 4 sides, floor to ceiling with crates full of whippets. God knows what was outside in the shed. They advertised in the last Biennial so I guess their whippets still live like that. You'd never know it when you meet them at a show. They are the very people I'm trying to protect my puppies from but, as yet, none of you who force your puppy buyers to sign contracts have told me how you enforce them. Therefore, they aren't worth the paper they are written on so, my original question, why bother with them? Maybe they put the frighteners on a few people & anything is better than nothing.

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how would you be knee deep in baby rabbits if you only kept one sex or kept both sexes apart, how would you like it if your parent had said to you i dont want you to have children so ive booked you in for a hysterectomy?

 

[Tesa]

Until recently all you had to do to become a breeder was pay your money for an affix & Hey Presto you are an accredited breeder with the canine controlling body. Even now, the test you have to pass to get an  affix is ludicrous. There are many people who show & breed who don't even own a  copy of the Standard. (Yes, I have asked them) Their attitude is "If you breed enough of them you're sure to crack a good one eventually, right?" I can think of several showies who have many breeding bitches & they churn out the litters one after the other. I can think of one who has an incredible web site claiming all sorts of rubbish which looks wonderful to unsuspecting puppy buyers. This person also sells unregistered pups through the Trading Post because it's not certain who the sire is - sometimes it's not even a whippet but one of the other breeds also owned.All these people turn up at shows in their best bib & tucker, do their share of winning & appear the very essence of respectability.

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Yes, the test is pathetic, but everybody has to start somewhere.  What bothers me is that people who pass the exam and get their prefix,  advertise on their websites that they are registered breeders.  Maybe there should be something like L and P plates for breeders before they could call themselves "registered breeder"? The thing is breeding is about practical experience, it is not possible to learn from a book.  As is knowledge of breed.  It is certainly good idea to have and read the standard but everybody will interpret it in different way.  That is why different dogs win under different judges.

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Being a newly registered prefix, with plans to breed my foundation litter later this year, I have been following this topic with great interest. As my plans proceed I am already considering my best options for protecting the future wellbeing of these puppies as I send them off to their new homes.

I do not post much these day’s. My time is spent, reading, researching, learning and listening. Anyway, I am one of those who has recently passed this so called ludicrous and pathetic test. As Wild Whippies said in post no 3, the ropes need to be tightened.

Although the test was not difficult, I did think that without a good basic knowledge of what would be required, and then this test contained enough to put the backyarder off. That, and the fee that went with the test (w00t) The test was 93 questions covering 7 subjects. Most of them were straight forward (to me anyway). I did struggle a little with the Basic Genetics and Hereditary Disease section :wacko: , but I still managed to get 18 out of 20. I am sure that as the years go on genetic will always make my eyes spin, but it won’t be such a struggle. I am not sure that I agree with your L & P plate idea Lida, but perhaps it would be a good idea to have breed endorsements on kennel prefixes. Just the same as you are licensed to drive a motorcycle, car or truck; you would have to pass a test on your particular breed’s standard.

You are quite right Lida, we all had to start somewhere. I most certainly do not profess to being an expect, but I am serving my apprenticeship. At least by establishing these breeder’s exams across the various bodies (in various states) in Australia, they are endeavoring to do something to protect the buying public and address the growing problems created by backyard breeders and puppy farmers. Who protected your first puppy buyers when your bred your first couple of litters 40 years ago?

Now if you go to my website you will find that I have been quite candid about my background and future plans. Nobody is being deceived; everything is up front before they even choose to contact me. I have taken a stand to promote issues (and values) that I believe are important, such as: responsible pet ownership, rescues and puppy farmers. My pedigrees are there for the entire world to see. Do I want to put a “CH” on a pup out of my first litter, dam straight I do, and the one after that as well. Will that happen???

The subject of websites was been raised earlier in this topic (and before on other topics). Gail has referred to “an incredible web site claiming all sorts of rubbish which looks wonderful to unsuspecting puppy buyers”. To the poor unsuspecting puppy buyer, (and lets face it, the internet is the place to most of Joe Public to go to these days), the internet is an absolute minefield. I get very frustrated when I hear people lament about how deceiving websites are (and let’s face it, the Aussies know exactly who’s website you refer to Gail). Why is it that so many people are reluctant to beat them at their own game. So many breeders need to bring their own websites up to scratch. Use it as a tool to educate Joe Blow. Even if Joe doesn’t come to you for a pup, you can still implant the idea in his head that he needs to proceed with caution when choosing a breeder.

I know of the most dreadful breeder who regularly sells pups through my local paper. This person refers to himself as **** ****** Whippet Stud. He is an elderly gentleman who has been breeding for decades. He has left the VCA and assorted clubs after various disagreements. I often run into people with his dogs. There is a common public assumption that because he uses his name to promote his Whippet Stud, then he is a breeder of some reputation. The story is always the same, once they got up there they bought the puppy because they felt so sorry for it. Years of poor breeding practices have also left him with serous problems such as blindness, deafness and heart complaints. And yes I am able to prove these claims, so this is fact not slander. Because of my website, I am able to field local callers looking for pups. This gives me an opportunity to warn and protect them from the dangers of buying from this breeder.

So please don’t knock the test, we are part of the solution, and not the problem.

Now that was my little vent for the day, so hopefully we will see this topic get back onto Gail’s original question of putting puppy buyers under contact and how to enforce it?

 

[Tesa]

Being a newly registered prefix, with plans to breed my foundation litter later this year, I have been following this topic with great interest.
 

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Forgot to add, I NEVER refer to myself as a breeder, I am always a newly registered prefix/kennel. I would be far to embarrassed to call myself a breeder when I haven't had any puppies :b

 

[Seraphina]

Being a newly registered prefix, with plans to breed my foundation litter later this year, I have been following this topic with great interest.
 

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Forgot to add, I NEVER refer to myself as a breeder, I am always a newly registered prefix/kennel. I would be far to embarrassed to call myself a breeder when I haven't had any puppies :b

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Karen, why do you think I was referring to you? As you say you do not call yourself breeder. And as i said everybody has to start somewhere and the test is the step in right direction to make sure that people bother to get some knowledge, which was not that case in the past. Actually, the way you describe the test it sounds lot more comprehensive than the last time I heard about it. Some years ago the questions were like: what is a gestation period of a dog? And you had 3 choices: 9day, 9weeks and 9months (w00t) :lol:

But the most important knowledge comes through practical experience and that is something that people get by breeding and learning from their mistakes. I am still learning, and will do so for the rest of my life.

Good luck with your litter

 

[seaspot_run]

I do require that all buyers who do not already have a longterm relationship with me (and a few who do, if the agreement is for a co-ownership with some co-breedings) sign a contract. I also sign the contract and we each get a copy.

I don't know about the laws in other countries. Here in the US, it would be a matter for small claims court. I know that if you can prove damages, then you can collect damages. But more than that, you can cause that person who breached the contract to have to appear in court, get a lawyer, etc...I would definitely do that if one part of my contract was breached.

I tell each buyer that the main purpose of the contract is to show that at the time that the puppy was delivered to them and their payment was delivered to me, that we both agreed on our mutual obligations to each other. I have obligations to them as the breeder. They have obligations to me as the buyer. The contract disallows the possibility of false memory due to passage of time. It is a permanent record of our mutual commitment and that alone makes it worthwhile. In the case of a show or breeding prospect buyer, it is something that can be used against them (or me) to damage reputation if the contract is not honored.

But it seems this thread is more about the pet buyer commitment and here is my contract that goes with my pet sales--pay particular attention to Item 5. I have not had to enforce that, but I have told my pet people that I would not hesitate to take them court if I found out they were fronting for a puppy mill or for-profit breeder:

1. This whippet is sold as pet quality. Pet quality puppies are those who possess either a disqualification or who are unlikely to develop into an adult capable of obtaining a conformation championship. Pet quality puppies must be spayed or neutered by 12 months of age and are not approved for breeding. Pet quality puppies who lack any other breed disqualification except cryptorchidism are approved for lure coursing and racing. Pet quality puppies in any event are approved for obedience and agility training and competition. Pet quality puppies may not be exhibited in any conformation classes without the consent and knowledge of the Breeder. Pet quality puppies are fully guaranteed for temperament and health, and the Breeder will issue a 80%refund of purchase price if at any time the Buyer is unable or unwilling to keep this whippet, however, transportation of the whippet back to the Breeder shall be the responsibility of the Buyer. The Buyer shall receive the refund immediately upon the Breeder’s receiving the whippet in good condition, and free of contagious disease as certified by the Buyer’s Veterinarian, with registration papers signed back over to the buyer. To receive the refund, the Whippet must be registered and registration papers returned with proper signatures at time of return.

 

2. The Breeder will include with the whippet a record of inoculations and other medical treatment of the whippet that were routinely provided up to the time of sale. The Buyer will continue to provide the care necessary to preserve this whippet’s health as determined by a Veterinarian, including but not limited to proper diet, routine inoculations and yearly physical, exercise as recommended by the Breeder, and heartworm preventative if recommended for the Buyer’s state of residence.

 

3. The health of this whippet is guaranteed for three (3) working days through examination by a veterinarian at the option and expense of the Buyer. If the whippet is found to be in unsatisfactory health and written documentation provided by the Veterinarian is presented, the Buyer may elect to return the whippet for a full refund of purchase price, or to submit the bill for any necessary treatment to the Breeder, to be paid by the Breeder. For full refund, the whippet and its registration papers must be returned within 48 hours of the Veterinarian’s examination.

 

4. This whippet’s litter has been registered by AKC. Registration application shall be provided within one month after payment has been made in full to the Breeder. It is expected that the buyer will complete the process of registration. Payment in full includes any transportation costs, which are the responsibility of the Buyer. This may include air shipping fees, health certificate, and purchase of a new airline kennel for shipping if one was not provided to the Breeder from the Buyer. Payment in full is expected prior to transfer of the whippet to the Buyer. If, for any reason, payment in full cannot be rendered prior to transfer of the whippet, a separate agreement shall be drawn up with a payment schedule to be signed by both Breeder and Buyer. Failure on the part of the Buyer to meet the agreed-upon payment schedule shall result in the withholding of the AKC registration papers, and forfeiture of all refund guarantees under Item 1.

 

5. The Buyer will not sell or otherwise transfer any property rights in this whippet or any puppies it should produce to a pet shop, wholesale outlet, or to any breeder who breeds solely to produce pet puppies for sale at profit. The Buyer accepts that any such transfer of an animal bearing the kennel name of the Breeder would cause irreparable damage to the reputation and standing of the Breeder, and that the Buyer could be held liable for such damage in a court of law.

 

6. In the event that the Buyer wishes to transfer ownership of this whippet, the Buyer must notify the Breeder of that intent and grants the Breeder the right of first refusal before offering the whippet to another potential owner.

 

7. The Buyer will provide adequate housing according to the laws of the state in which the Buyer resides, confine the whippet in a fenced yard or kennel run, and/or walk on a leash, but will not restrain on a rope or chain.

 

8. In consideration of the sum of ______________________ and for any optional conditions attached, Karen Bowers Lee, Breeder, sells this whippet to _____________________________________

 

[Seraphina]

I don't know about the laws in other countries. Here in the US, it would be a matter for small claims court. I know that if you can prove damages, then you can collect damages. But more than that, you can cause that person who breached the contract to have to appear in court, get a lawyer, etc...I would definitely do that if one part of my contract was breached.

Here, I believe you would have to prove financial loss.

Gail, one way to make sure that you would find out if one of your pups ends up in pound is to microchip them before you sell them making sure your vet has one of the Breeder's Registration Forms. That registers the pups in your name, which will stay on the microchip record at the Central Animal Records, even when the new owner registers the dog in their name. You suppose to be notified if an animal you bred is in pound anywhere in OZ.

Although this breeders registration has been introduced few years ago, some vets do not know about it. My vet was away when i was doing my last litter, so i had to go to somebody else and had to have a huge fight with them because they did not know what i was talking about. In the end had to force them to call the CAR and they faxed them the correct form.

Of-course, no system is ever going to be foolproof, but at least I feel I have a chance to find out if any of my pups need help and i would be able to bail them out and find new home for him/her.