Pick Of The Litter

[derbygirl]

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Hello, I am new to k9 and wonder whether you can clarify something for me. Does 'pick of the litter' mean that the stud dog owner can have their choice of any pup in the litter even if the bitches owner wants the same one? or is this out dated? Also, is it normal practice for the stud dog owner to have a puppy in lieu of the stud fee? Is this so when the value of the pup is higher than the stud fee, as in most cases in whippets. Could you let me know of any other kinds of arrangements that are accepted practice-indeed is there really accepted practice on this topic? (w00t) thanks nikki

 

[PINKY P]

don't know but welcome to k9

 

[kris]

pick of the litter means just that.the stud dog owner has first choice of all the pups.i had a woman who used my stud dog and when i went to get my pick of litter pup the one i picked she said i couldnt have as it was sold and going to spain to be shown. :angry: now if i wanted to be awkward i could have insisted but being a fairly resonable person i let them take it.but the pup i would have kept and shown i sold instead as i didnt want to show a pup this person had bred and give her the glory after how she had treated me.so she lost out in the end as if the pup had done well and i think it would have then she would have been able to take bookings for a repeat mating.as it was i told her in no uncertain terms she would never use my stud dog again. :- " its fairly normal for the stud owner to take a pup for various reasons.ie they like the bitch and her lines,they want to show a pup off their stud in order to promote him, sometimes even to help out the owner of the bitch who for various reasons might not be able to afford the stud fee at the time the bitch has come into heat. etc etc.sometimes if the owners want to keep the pick of litter pup for showing the stud owner will take 2nd choice of litter.theres lot of variations on all of these arrangements and its just down to the individual.sometimes its hard to get a large stud fee together so it seems easier to say ill give a pup instead especially if its the bitches first litter and you think well what if she misses,ill have paid out all that money and have nothing to show for it.but,i would always say pay the fee if you can cos if you want pick of litter and so does the stud dog owner you can have problems.but i would say get everything in writing then everyone knows where they stand and then if there are any disagreements the contract will stand up in a court of law.i had a court case once with a guy whose dog i used at stud the very first time i ever mated a bitch.we had a written contract but he disputed it and so we went to court.i won my case however and it was proved that he lied in court which didnt go down well with the judge! :- "

 

[June Jonigk]

I have bred 3 litters in the last 18 years, and no way would I have ever have let anyone have a choice of pup before I'd picked mine.

I took it for granted that I'd done all the work, so why should I not have the pup I wanted. In actual fact the stud dog owner only wanted a pup on two of these occasions, and as they wanted a dog pup, and I wanted to keep a bitch, there was no problem.

I'm hoping that my dog will be used at stud, but I would never expect to pick a pup before the breeder picked theirs. I thought "pick of the litter" was just an expression used by the stud dog owner - I never expected it really happened.

 

[boothros]

This can usually be rectified by some simple discussion before the birth, the buyer should have the pick of any available litter & the breeder should make it immediately apparant what pups are not available. In the case of dealing with the stud dog owner, sort things out at an early stage, if you are paying a fee, pay the fee, if you are paying the fee via a pup, expect to lose the pup that you may well have wanted yourself. Always get things in writing if you are unsure, remember, if you have a good eye for a dog, the 'pick of the litter' will probably be everybodys first choice.

 

[Seraphina]

I think it is lot easier to pay the stud fee. If the dog's owner wants a pup later they can buy one (for the sum of the fee paid). I had a bad experience once; i used a dog own by somebody i considered a friend and he wanted a pup, so i agreed. I ended up running on 4 pups for him until they were almost 5 months old because he could not make up his mind (w00t) . Everytime I threatened to start selling them he promissed to come next weekend and then cancelled in the last moment. People, who had pups booked from me got sick of waiting and bought pups from somebody else, i fed these pups and paid for 3 vaccinations and worming for them. Not to mention coping with the whole litter living in the house was pretty hectic

As Kris said, put everything on paper, discus every detail, just to make sure that you both understand each others expectations.

 

[lurcherman]

ahhhh nice the 2nd one from the left looks the one id have..all the best

 

[Karen]

Firstly, I know this wasnt your exact question but, I always pay the stud fee, if you cant pay the stud fee how can you afford a ceasarian should the bitch need one? So using a dog when you have no money is usually a bad idea.

Pick of litter just means the best in any litter, anyone who has first choice gets the pick.

Try not to let stud dog owners bully you, if they say thay will have a puppy in leiu of a fee say no, you would rather keep things straight and pay as you go. *Unless of course you really trust this person and feel thier reasons are honorable.* If the stud owner has a puppy it is ALWAYS going to be worth more than the stud fee in Whippets and all they have to do is take it home, sell it on and make a tidy profit for no work. Tell them they are very welcome to buy one if and when the pups come along and you will make sure they get a chance to have 2nd or 3rd pick. Remember they are your puppies from you bitch.

Lastly if you go to use a dog and you dont really like the way the dogs are kept never let them have one, you will worry about the little mite for ever.

 

[derbygirl]

Thanks all for your responses. In many ways it answers my question about the stud dog, it appears that there is no real common practice. Perhaps just one thing though - If the stud dog owner takes payment of say £200.00 for a stud fee, then would like a pup, do they return the £200.00 and get the pup, therefore paying nothing (in lieu), or do they pay the full price say £400.00, therefore having received £200.00 effectively getting the pup for £200.00.??? Are we saying that providing the genetic goodies and paying £200.00 for a pup is fair exchange if the breeder then has possibly 6 pups to get payment for. I know that the bitch owner takes risks (vets bills etc) has the work etc, I'd just like to know if this is thought of a fair deal for all concerned. If so, Im not arguing I just want the feel of what is fair and reasonable for all concerned. Nikki

 

[Karen]

If you have paid the money for the stud there is no more obligation on your part, however if it seems like a good home just knock a bit off the price.

Also make sure you get the litter registration form signed when the mating takes place.

 

[oakmoorehill]

When Bandit was used by some one as a stud last year they asked if we were interested in pick of the litter .I liked the breeding of the bitch and she was a lovely thing so I said I would like to see the pups when they were born. At first we didn't like them but they improved as they got older .We had at the time of mating the bitch agreed that if I liked a pup I could have it and return the stud fee. My OH was quite taken by a fawn boy and so we had him.Unfortunately as he got older and started to mature his sire got very nasty with him so we ended up having to rehome the pup. He was maybe not the pick of the litter but he was the one that caught our eye.

 

[kris]

Thanks all for your responses.  In many ways it answers my question about the stud dog, it appears that there is no real common practice.  Perhaps just one thing though - If the stud dog owner takes payment of say £200.00 for a stud fee, then would like a pup, do they return the £200.00 and get the pup, therefore paying nothing (in lieu), or do they pay the full price say £400.00, therefore having received £200.00 effectively getting the pup for £200.00.???  Are we saying that providing the genetic goodies and paying £200.00 for a pup is fair exchange if the breeder then has possibly 6 pups to get payment for.  I know that the bitch owner takes risks (vets bills etc) has the work etc, I'd just like to know if this is thought of a fair deal for all concerned. If so, Im not arguing I just want the feel of what is fair and reasonable for all concerned.  Nikki

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this is similar to what happened to me.i paid the stud fee up front then the stud dog owner realised he would get far more for a pup than for the stud fee so he tried to say that i had agreed to this (w00t) obviously he lost his case but at the time i thought everything was straightforward cos id paid.but i didnt have it in writing that he was taking the stud fee and not a pup.i just had the receipt for the stud fee.it got complicated and i knew that if it went to court hed lose so i told him to sue me.which he did and he lost.luckily we had a judge who knew a bit about dogs and matings etc so he was pretty well genned up.this is why i say get it in writing.ive been a professional witness in a number of court cases and they could all have been avoided if the people involved had done this at the beginning then there could be no mistakes about who was getting what :thumbsup: