Years ago I was offended that breeders felt the need to interview me for a puppy via an application and home visit and references. The idea that I could be turned down was somewhat outrageous to me. It is one thing to not have a puppy available but another to be turned down. If a breeder was willing to talk to me there were hoops to jump thru, questions to answer, possibly a co-ownership and oh the horror, strings attached! This was a strange concept to me and it took me quite some time to really grasp it and "buy in" to this concept. Well I have been on the approval process band wagon for some time now and I do "get it". There are many facets of this topic that I could write about and even as I am very focused on the contract part right now my mind is swirling with the different avenues to discuss, explore and dissect.
A contract should be about the puppy or dog, not the new owner/guardian and not the breeder, nor future breeding rights. A breeding rights contract should be a separate contract. Everything in the puppy purchase contract should relate to the health and welfare of the puppy from the beginning to the eventual end. Having seen many things happen to dogs over the years in the pet, performance, conformation and rescue world I have some very strong opinions about the contract. Many of my opinions may be fodder for strong criticism but I am ok with that. I say in the Bully world we err on the side of caution, err on the side of super responsible, err on the side of safety for dog and community. I believe in zero tolerance for any potential issue or accident that could cause our breed to be anything other than Canine Stellar Citizens. I also want to protect the dog from irresponsible or even uneducated actions at any time of its life regardless of the circumstances. I may be living a dream but I believe if you don’t reach for the stars you won’t get to the moon.
A contract serves a number of purposes. A contract even saves relationships! We have a tendency to want to do a handshake when we have known someone for years; this can be the kiss of death to a long time relationship. Those are the times a contract is needed the most! Just because you are friends does not mean you are on the same page in regards to pet care and responsibilities and it gets worse when there are strings attached. It can also be a challenge working with relatives of a deceased owner who was your friend and you did not do a written contract. It is important to get things out of your head and on paper in a way that will open up dialogue with you and the partner / buyer. Yes, when you go into contract with someone it becomes a partnership of sorts. You can discuss each point and make changes as both parties agree. It also helps both parties to know what was discussed and agreed upon, sort of an I know-you know the expectations because we discussed it and we signed it. Often times a contract is like an education and you will be able to educate your puppy buyer by going over all the points. You can use the contract discussion as another part of the interview process to ensure you are very comfortable with the buyer by watching their reactions and listening to their concerns. Use your intuition; if it doesn’t feel right don’t let the puppy go. Forget the money in their hand and that you have had this puppy past 8 weeks.
The first thing anyone homing a dog or puppy should consider is "who is your target home?” If it is purely someone with cash in their pocket, stop reading now, none of this matter. If you actually care about the future welfare of your your living breathing product, its effect on the community it lives in as well as the future of your line and the breed as a whole then read on and perhaps one thing will make sense to you. I think we tend to gravitate toward people who are like us. So when we think of a target home unconsciously we click with people who are similar. We are also much better equipped to approve good homes if we are in fact good homes ourselves. The reason good homes are so important is because we need to ensure our Bullies are exemplary citizens so they are not a neighborhood nuisance, can be re-homed if necessary, do not end up in a shelter with problems and do not suffer from neglect which creates more problems. Personally I used to want a litter full of champions to make a name for my Kennel and my bitch or stud dog. I have come full circle now and prefer to have my pups go strictly to pet homes or very select show/performance homes. I also would prefer my pups stay geographically close to me. So in this way I begin to define my target home. I am willing to be open to homes outside my target but my first choice will always be within my comfort zone. I may lose out on the greatest home because of this policy but I am ok with that. I have to make decisions based on what will work best for me over the life of the dog.
You really MUST microchip all of your pups before they leave your home. Without the microchip the dog cannot be matched to your contract by the dog's name or number. You should complete the registration form yourself and hold it until the puppy goes to its new home and you feel reasonably sure it will not come back (which it won't if you have done your approval process well). You should not be scared to have a dog traced back to you. You should be proud to stand behind what you have brought into the world. You should also want to be there for any of yours that need help.
Your contract should include basic things like your kennel name, the dog's name and microchip number, the buyer, price, handling the registration papers, health at time of purchase, a period of time to return puppy with no questions for a full refund, registered name, and what happens if there is a breach or anticipated breach of contract. You can have variations for show homes, verses pet homes. You should have a different agreement for co-ownership. I suppose you could have everything in one contract with check boxes and initials to indicate what is included.
The points listed below are the ones that are important to me. Some people may have other concerns and I would love to hear about them in the comments below. Other people may think some points are unnecessary. I believe that all of these points are important to consider when re-homing or selling a Bull Breed today. Alway try to keep an open mind and be willing to make changes for different circumstances, or as insight is gained or as required by a particular partner. I think it is also a good idea to have important or key items initialed by the buyers in addition to both parties signature on the at the end.
Return and refund - if buyer can no longer keep the dog. You need an agreed upon process to return or re-home the dog at any stage of the dog's life and how this can happen and what sort of refund if any. Sometimes the parties can be across the country. As a breeder this is your responsibility to figure this out even if you bring the dog back and euthanize it. It may not be my way but I won't judge you for that. It is your responsibility to keep your product from becoming another community's problem.
Selling or Re-homing - You should be contacted before the dog is sold or re-homed to anyone including another family member. You should also make sure if the contracted owner is deceased you will be contacted by the heir as soon as possible and before the dog is re-homed. In any event you need to have first right to have the dog back but may be willing to allow them to re-home upon transfer of the contract. This may be a tough concept for some people in relation to a 10 year old dog. It is up to you how you handle the situation but you should be notified if the ownership of the dog may change or if there is a the chance the dog will be homeless and end up in a shelter or worse.
Genetic health testing and future health testing as required or suggested by the National Club - If you are not interested in the future health of your line you should really consider giving up breeding. So many times I hear about a dog that died too young, or an undiagnosed illness that the dog eventually died from. Sometimes these dogs have puppies or relations all over the country with the potential for the same heartbreak and unnecessary financial burden because information is ignored or not shared. This is one of those topics I can go on about. In 20 years I have had 10 pure bred / well bred dogs and 5 of them have had heartbreaking and costly health issues and some of the issues where already known by the breeders. It would have been huge had I known in advance.
Immediate notification of any health issue or death post mortem - See above. Genetic or not you need to know what is going on with your line. If one of yours dies you should be notified while there is still time to perform a post mortem. There are times when it is obvious but your contract should have you notified immediately to provide input. Please, if you breed, consider that you will need to have the resources available to get to the bottom of health issues that are more difficult than your local vet can figure out. Make your buyers aware of this potential. The future of our breed depends on this.
Euthanizing the dog - The dog is not to be euthanized without first contacting the breeder. Reasonable attempts must be made to contact the breeder prior to euthanizing the dog. This may be waived in the case of life/death situations but never due to behavior issues. There may be an Animal Control issue where the dog is being held and may be euthanized due to behavior. This is covered below.
Requirements if dog will be used for breeding - Do you really want a dog with your name on it to go out and be arbitrarily used for breeding purposes and have those puppies go out without contracts? What if someone buys a pup and breeds it and then sells pups and then one of those pups ends up at a commercial breeder and it's pups end up with irresponsible owners who may even use them or sell them for fighting? Yes, Staffords do end up in fighting rings. I know that there is no way to guarantee everything but this should be addressed. If you are not requiring spay / neuter you should be prepared to mentor that person for a long time. Hopefully they are someone you like and respect and who will listen to you.
Spay and neuter - Pet verses Show: I work with shelter dogs and I am a proponent of early spay and neuter but in some ways I am a hypocrite. I personally believe that a dog should not be spayed or neutered until it reaches the age of sexual maturity. In some cases I would prefer it be done at full maturity, 3 years. In the case of rescue dogs there is not a lot of follow up after the dog is adopted so I say early spay and neuter is better than the alternative. Personally I like to think I can pick the 1 or 2 from the litter that I would like to keep intact and the rest should be altered. If you are looking for show homes then s/n is not an option. You have to do what works for you and then live with the follow up and mentor-ship that having a handful of unaltered dogs require.
The next 3 paragraphs were pulled directly from the contract I use and borrowed with permission from Jason Nicolai. These are important issues and should be in all contracts.
Buyer agrees that dog is not to be used, trained, or displayed publicly, or in any form of media, in an aggressive, vicious, or uncontrolled manner, as such display causes harm to the reputation of the Seller, the dog, the breeder , and the breed as a whole.
Buyer agrees that this dog is not to be used or trained for any illegal activity, such as dog fighting or guarding illegal drug activity. Dog is not to be bred to any dog being used for such purpose, nor any puppies produced to be given or sold for such a purpose. Sales contracts for any puppies produced by this dog must contain this wording in the agreement.
Buyer agrees that this dog, or any offspring of this dog, are never to be given away, leased, or sold to any wholesale breeder, puppy mill, pet farm, pet store, commercial kennel, raffle, auction, dog fighting operation, any type of resale in the U.S.A. or any other country, or an agent, broker, or dealer for any such establishment This dog or any of its offspring are never to be given, sold, or relinquished to any animal shelter, pound, or dog rescue service. Seller is to be immediately notified if any situation arises where dog is in danger of being sent to such an establishment, due to illness, natural disaster, financial distress, or enactment of a breed-specific ordinance, and Seller will immediately make arrangements to repossess dog, either temporarily or permanently, as necessary. Emergency directions for the dog are to be made with a close relative, friend, or attorney to insure return of dog to Seller in such circumstances.
Dog parks: Stay away for goodness sake! There are plenty of articles on the pros and cons of dog parks. In my opinion they are not a place for any breed of dog that is mentioned in Breed Specific Legislation in any community. I don’t care who, what, where, when or how it starts but when it starts the Bully is blamed. You can make your own decision but make sure if there is fall out it isn’t in my community!
Off Leash: I am a hypocrite with this one too. My dogs rarely have a leash on. Everything I do is all about keeping my dogs focused on me. However, I do think this should be addressed. Even the best puppy that follows you everywhere will hit the point where they want you to chase them. Depending on the experience level of your potential home you should discuss the dangers of dogs off lead in public. You might say something like the dog is not to be allowed off lead until a good solid come is mastered and owner has an understanding of basic obedience. I know it is hard to enforce but you would be surprised how many new puppy people are like sponges and want to do everything perfect and your words hold great value.
Critical period socialization - HUGE!!! The number one problem that I encounter in shelters is under socialized dogs. Fear, impulse control, rude behavior, easily over stimulated and separation anxiety are a few examples of the problems. These problems take time and knowledge to fix and in some cases the effects linger for the dog's entire life. Your new puppy people need to ensure proper socialization between 8-16 weeks and further. This first period is critical and its effects will last a lifetime. Good or bad things learned at 8-16 weeks are difficult to un-do. Under socialized dogs are more likely to be problem dogs which equates to neglect and isolation which will cause more bad habits and anxieties. This is in your best interest because if you need to take the dog back at one point in its life you will have an easier time bringing it home and re-homing it if it has not missed critical socialization periods.
Basic Minimum Care - Do not leave the dog outside at night or during extreme weather at any time. The dog must have quality food daily and clean fresh water must always be available. Prompt and adequate health care must be provided. If in doubt contact your breeder for assistance. Yes, amazingly, you do need to mention this. I know of cases where our Bullies have been left out in cold areas and have lost tips of their ears and toes. You need to say this. My opinion is “just because they are alive in the morning does not mean it was ok”.
Basic Obedience and Crate training - You should always require this dog to go to puppy class as well as basic obedience classes. The dog should also be crate trained. Explain how it will help potty train a puppy and also provide a safe haven on holidays and during parties or when loud noises may scare the dog. It also gives the puppy a sense of belonging to the family to sleep in a crate in the bedroom where people sleep. This feeling of inclusion is a big part of socialization.
Cats and other small animals - In some cases dogs that were raised with cats and small animals may later consider them prey. Caution should always be used as even the mellowest dog can pester a cat relentlessly. Rule of thumb is to never leave them alone unattended.
Leaving the dog alone - Dogs that are left alone for long periods of time particularly during the first year of life are most likely to become nuisance dogs. The dog should not be left in the back yard where it can learn to fence fight, dig, or bark for long periods or other problems that can draw the attention of Animal Control. The owner should contact the breeder if they are unable to give the dog appropriate attention to avoid these problems. In rescue we do not adopt out puppies to homes where the puppy will be alone for longer than 4 hours at a time. The amount of time alone can increase as the puppy grows older, I think 1 hour for each month of age is a good rule. So this means an 8 week old puppy should not be alone for longer than 2 hours.
Interactions with children - Mostly Bull breeds are great with children but it takes supervision and guidance to ensure children know how to behave around dogs. It must be understood that the dog should not be left unsupervised with a child under the age of 12 or any child who is not familiar with the dog. Dogs that were not reared with children need to be socialized with them. Children interact different with dogs than adults do. A dog does not perceive a child the same as an adult There are many reasons a dog may bite a child but in all cases warning signs are given. New owners with children must be given information on warning signs. Even the most solid old dog may lose patience with a child if it is in pain.
Bull Breeds and dog aggression - Whether you agree or not, the origins of these dogs must be addressed. Due to our struggle with BSL in so many communities and the blood bath where Bull Breeds are banned the owner must be made aware that Bull Breeds need to be top shelf in regards to behavior in the neighborhood and community. The dog must never be put in a position where it can harm or be harmed. The dog must be the best ambassador for the breed. The community must perceive this dog as non threatening in every way.
Community Dog laws and Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) -Make sure they have a clear understanding of their community dog laws and know what BSL is. I would require this prior to someone getting this far in the process. Also put some sort of statement that details what happens if the dog is picked and held by Animal Control. After having to get “owned” dogs away from irresponsible owners I have learned that if the breeder has a contract that says “If the animal is picked and held by Animal Control I waive my ownership rights and by signing this agreement the dog can be returned to its breeder” the problem is solved. This simple statement may never need to be used but if it does you will be so happy you included it. Do you want one of your pups held at a shelter while a court case goes on? Be careful though, if Animal Control does release the dog to you it will probably be under the condition that it does not go back to the owner depending on the reasons it was being held.
There are plenty of other things which should be discussed at the application level: landlords, homeowner’s associations, insurance, fencing and all the other items in your application. I would also provide a copy of the contract as soon as possible so any discussion could be had before you sit down to a signing. My requirements for rescue dogs and my puppies are very similar and I have had people get angry with me and others that understood completely. You don’t want the angry ones at your house ready to pick up a pup when you tell them they cannot go to a dog park, or explain they could lose ownership of their dog if it is held at a shelter. You need to figure out what works for you considering the long term commitment of being a breeder.
The goal is always to place your puppy into the most responsible accountable home where it will stay for life. I am highly aware you cannot enforce each and every item in a contract. Odds are high you will never take someone to court because of a breach but you will be able to if needed. AKC and Animal Control are much more likely to stand behind you with a well written (reasonable) contract. In some cases agreeing to these points via email are considered legally binding. Some I would prefer to have more formally in writing. I do suggest seeing a lawyer to add the final terminology to allow you to enforce it if necessary.
As the breeder of a dog that will be a new member of a family do not underestimate the power of your word. New puppy people are sponges and eager to learn. This is a golden opportunity and the only one you may have, so make sure you use it well. Your puppies health and welfare and the community it will live in depend on it. The fight against BSL should start by teaching responsible dog ownership to everyone you come in contact with but especially your new puppy people. A contract will ensure that you have discussed each and every item with your buyer so that they understand your expectations for allowing them the privilege of buying one of your babies and a standard level of responsible dog ownership and what a responsible breeder is. A contract cannot guarantee each point but it is a good place to start.
Copyright 2013 Ciera Reflections. All Rights Reserved.
afterthoughts:
*pool hazard
*performance training before join close at 18 months
