breeding contract w/breeder

[Lovely Rita]

hey there!
we just brought our new puppy home last week, but i have a few questions about a breeding contract we have with the breeder. here's the story: our breeder (very nice very hygiene oriented etc., seems great) had a litter of puppies in october. it was the last litter from her favorite female, so she was planning on keeping a female puppy from the litter. well the bitch required a c-section, and due to some weird scarring from her previous c-section, the anesthetic worked faster than the veterinarian anticipated, and four of the nine puppies died. well the only female puppy in the litter, of course, was the beautiful plain brindle female that WE wanted. so after some thought, the breeder told us that if we were interested, we could own the puppy, but she could have one litter from it (if the puppy turned out the way she wanted, and if there were no health issues, etc.) we jumped on the offer, and now we own our boxer girl, but i am just wondering if maybe we agreed too fast. is it normal for breeders to do this? ours was very excited, and when we went to pick up our puppy, she said that she was already doing some research to bring a stud all the way over from italy to breed with our girl when she was ready. she agreed that she would pay all expenses having to do with the litter, including the spaying, etc, and of course there were more details that i won't go into, but we feel pretty safe about it. i know the risks of bitches dying during pregnancies etc., but i decided to take the risk. so, was i absolutely stupid? or did we do the right thing? please help!!

 

[JVZ Boxers]

Your situation is not uncommon. It is fairly common for a breeder to want to continue their line by keeping a puppy or doing as you did by having the puppy on a contract. As long as you are confident that this breeder is 100% responsible and ethical you should have no problems. A seasoned breeder who knows what their doing during the whelping process should be able to limit the chances of complications, although all the experience in the world is not a guarantee of a problem free whelp.

 

[boxer]

It isn't uncommon for a breeder to want to retain breeding rights to a puppy. What you should make very sure of though, is that you have everything spelled out clearly in a contract, including timeframes and who pays for what. That just helps ensure that everyone is absolutely clear on what's been agreed and can help to avoid misunderstandings or disagreements later.

The only thing that strikes me as a little odd is that your breeder is talking about "bringing a stud" from Italy for her. Perhaps she means importing semen.

 

[Lovely Rita]

The only thing that strikes me as a little odd is that your breeder is talking about "bringing a stud" from Italy for her. Perhaps she means importing semen.[/QUOTE]

i think that she said that she was going to actually bring the dog over here from italy. maybe i heard her wrong? prolly she meant just the semen, sorry!
thanks everyone for your replies, i feel so much better now!

 

[boxer]

Well, you never know

But importing the whole dog a very expensive way to go, especially if you're talking about a proven show/stud dog, and bringing a puppy carries the risk of it not turning out how you'd like. Importing frozen semen though, is comparitively cheap and accessible LOL - not wishing to be too graphic here, but when it comes to a stud dog, you don't actually need the whole dog...

 

[kassa]

Have a contract that outlines every conceivable possibility. What kind of health testing will she have to pass before she's bred? What if she flunks her heart screenings and the breeder wants to breed her anyway? What if the breeder wants to breed her without health testing, or when she's 18 months old?

Be as specific as possible, especially about who has the power to neuter and at what precise point you gain total control.

 

[PawPrintBoxers]

I will add this. While it is not uncommon for a breeder to want one or perhaps two puppies back, getting an entire litter is not common. I hear about it now and then, but it is something I would not do. I have never and will never require someone buy a bitch from me and give up an entire litter.

A friend many years ago did this and it spelled disaster. Since there were complications, it was a very expensive breeding. The owner was blamed for ruining the bitch and almost costing the female's life. Truth was a puppy got stuck, there was internal tearing and they were lucky to keep the mom alive via blood transfusions. The owner did nothing wrong. But because of the intense fighting that went on, those two are mortal enemies to this very day. Each felt the other was cheating the other.

As was pointed out, make sure every single little bitty step is spelled out in terms of liability and such. But I just could never require anyone to give me an entire litter.

Just my opinion as a breeder

 

[JulieM]

While it is not uncommon for a breeder to want one or perhaps two puppies back, getting an entire litter is not common. I hear about it now and then, but it is something I would not do. I have never and will never require someone buy a bitch from me and give up an entire litter.

The most reasonable variant of this that I've heard is when a breeder places (i.e., no charge) a bitch with someone, and gets back the first litter, save the puppy the bitch owners want to keep (if any). Litter costs are generally split. Future litters, if any, are the bitch owners' entirely.

 

[Vela]

Get evey singel thing in writing. This is the best way to avoid any potential pitfalls and disasters should they arise. Come to a mutual agreement and put it all in writing with a notary to sign.