Dealing with a Breeder

[paulag1955]

I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

Last fall, we made a deposit on the K litter from a breeder who shall remain nameless. The litter was to be bred last Nov/Dec, depending on when the bitch went into heat, and was, in fact, bred in early December.

We've now learned that the bitch experienced a false pregnancy. The breeder is sort of pressuring us to take a puppy from another litter, the H litter, that will be born just slightly later than the K litter would have been.

One of the reasons we chose the K litter was because it was expected to be a full litter of coated sables. The H litter will be mixed black and red and sables, as well as mixed stock coats and long coats. I'm sure the H litter will be a litter full of wonderful puppies, but, honestly, I'm just not interested in a stock coat I don't want to take the chance that I would be "stuck" with a puppy that I wasn't 100% thrilled with.

The other reason we chose the K litter was because the timing was just exactly right for us. The breeder is going to repeat this pairing, depending on when the bitch goes into heat, but the puppies would likely not be ready to go home until fall. Unless you've lived in Western Washington, you can't imagine the absolute dread I have of taking delivery of a tiny puppy, who will need to be escorted outside many, many times a day, just as the rain and mud season is getting underway. So I need a spring puppy.

So here's my question, and I hope some of you breeders will chine in on this, would it be wrong of me to expect the breeder to refund our deposit?

[PatternDayTrader]

Im not a breeder - I am a business man. It is not wrong for you to expect your deposit back, and I expect they will return it without any drama, unless they just plain dont have it, in which case they are liars and cannot be trusted at all. If thats the case, I would just walk away and bad mouth them forever.

[Clyde]

I assume you knew ahead of time that the deposit was non-refundable? Most breeders are very upfront about this. What was the deposit agreement you had with this particular breeder?

[paulag1955]

Yes, it was non-refundable, and I would never expect it back if we just changed our minds about wanting a puppy.

[KZoppa]

From agreements i've read from other breeders, if the deposit you placed for a certain litter didnt result in a litter, a lot of breeders would either allow the deposit for another breeding or refund if your original deposit was placed and a false pregnancy resulted from the breeding and you're not interested in a different litter. I guess it really depends on the breeder. I think i would ask for my deposit back given the circumstances, especially if i wasnt interested in any of the other litters. It doesnt hurt to at least ask given the breeding didnt produce and the next breeding may or may not take and the time you would get the puppy doesnt work well with your schedule.

[middleofnowhere]

I'm rather blown away that you are selecting for coat type & color and that that is a deal breaker. Nonetheless, read your contract carefully. It sound like if you were very specific on which breeding you wanted for whatever reasons and that is reflected in the contract, you should get your money back.

[LukasGSD]

In a perfect world, I believe you should get your deposit back. You didn't back out, it's not your fault that the bitch had a false pregnancy. You wanted a puppy from that particular litter, I believe it should be your choice if you wanted to roll to another litter or get your deposit back. That's just my opinion...

[x0emiroxy0x]

(I am not a breeder but here is my opinion)

Would the breeder be a bad person to uphold their contract? No

You can call the breeder and try to show them your side of the story, but if they say no, this doesn't make them mean. They have to make some money to pay for all the dog food, C-section emergencies, etc. If they make an exception for you, its kinda hard to deny other people's exceptions, isn't it?

If you don't end up getting the money back, either get the H litter pup or wait until the spring. If the breeder decides to uphold the contract, yell and scream or vent to your hubby or family, but don't be mean to the breeder. You are stuck with them You will want all the advice you can get from them once you get the puppy

I am sorry you are in this predicament. Unfortunately, this happens with dogs. I would be upset if I were in your position too. However, it is better to get a dog with a different color than you wanted instead of a dog from a backyard breeder that is aggressive. That is one positive side!

Once you sign a contract, no matter what excuse you have, you are kind of stuck unless the person upholding it gives you a break.

[Emoore]

Had a similar experience with a breeder here in Texas. Deposit on litter A; litter A was a false pregnancy. Deposit moved to litter B, breeding did not take. Deposit moved to litter C, no pregnancy. Deposit moved to litter D, no males were born. I asked for my deposit back since litter E was not even conceived yet. Breeder informed me deposits are non-refundable. I got into an argument with breeder and received only $250 of my $500 deposit back. I ended up getting Kopper from another breeder. Live and learn.

[x0emiroxy0x]

Idea!!

Next time (if you get a different breeder, or another puppy in the future), if you only want a specific litter, see if the breeder will put that in the contract. (Ex: If this litter does not take and there is not another preapproved backup litter by the buyer, buyer gets a refund)

I don't know ifa breeder would actually do that though, unless you were looking for a specific dog to do shtz. or police work