Is this reasonable to agree to?

[Azarbrook]

My husband and I are looking at different breeders in our area and I have contacted a few asking if they are planning on breeding in the near future.
One of the breeders contacted me via email and said she has a 6 month available with terms.
I asked her if there was a problem with the dog, health issues etc, and what the terms were.

Her response was that there is no issues with the dog, just waiting for the right home. She said he is show quality and requires that he be shown (at her cost) and thinks he'll get his title quickly. At two years she wants him fully health tested (also at her cost) and if all is normal/healthy, they want to collect his semen. Then after that he can be neutered and no further obligations.

What should I think? My husband was all over it thinking we'll be getting a perfect specimen and therefore a great boxer. Probably true, just wondering if I want to share my puppy that much...

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Personally I absolutely would not do it. JMO though.

 

[Azarbrook]

Thanks for your input

I don't have any idea what is involved in showing a dog, but I can only guess that it's more than showing up on the day of the dog show to pick up your ribbon. That is my concern. I don't want to be running back and forth to the breeders or wherever for training for the dog and I have a feeling there would be. Again I am extremely limited in my knowledge of showing a dog. Could you tell my why you feel that way? Are my suspicions correct, or do you just have a bad feeling about it?

 

[Cami]

There are no perfect specimens! Although the pup may be show quality as far as looks are concerned you have no way of knowing what the judges might think or even if the dog will excel in the ring not to mention enjoy it.
Having the breeder footing the bill for showing is one thing but have you considered what all that entails? He may have to travel hundreds, thousands of miles away from you. Will he be with the breeder or a handler? Who is paying for his vet bills along the way if anything were to happen? When is he going to be trained (should have started already) for the show ring? Who is going to keep up with that training if he is living with you? What about simple obedience training (I say simple in relative terms).
The "terms" sound like co-ownership to me (I could be wrong). Unless you are already in that world or have a HUGE desire to undertake what all that world entails then I would keep looking. It is a big undertaking and a large commitment.
In my experience a show quality pup from a responsible breeder would not be still waiting for the right home at 6 months of age. The breeder would have a waiting list a mile long consisting of other people (breeders, handlers, judges, etc...) who were looking for a show prospect pup. They would be seasoned owners with a good bit of experience.
Just my opinion but I would keep looking or go through the process of getting on their waiting list for a pet quality pup.
You didn't mention if the sire and dam were health tested and championed?
As far as having a "healthy" pup....they have no idea themselves at 6 months of age. I had to beg, borrow and steal (not really but you get my point) for my girl who was slated for the show ring. The breeder did not want to give her up but wanted her to stay with them and start her show career. In the end we were able to bring her home as a pet only pup. Parents were health tested and cleared and as far back as we can track it her linage consists of all champions. She has a heart murmur which was diagnosed at 8 weeks of age. It may be nothing or it may be quite serious. We have to wait for a bit for further testing. At any rate there are NEVER any guarantees.
What if he doesn't earn his points quickly? What if he never receives a champion title? How long will they continue to try? How long might he have to go before being neutered? Are you prepared to deal with an intact male for multiple years?
Just some things to think about.

 

[larrygs]

We ran across a similar co-ownership type arrangement as were looking for flashy pups this past year. As Susi points out there is much to consider. In our case, we just couldn't get past the idea our new pup wouldn't really be ours for awhile, nor would it be with us for a large part of the time. Basically, why would we do this? In addition, much critical socialization and development occurs early on that we wanted to be part of. So we passed on that pup and arrangement.

It seemed like we would never find a pup, however over time other very nice pups from excellent backgrounds did surface. We are so happy we found the patience to wait. Jack has joined our family and is such a joy, ... LOL, even when he is a little s---.

Good luck with your search.

 

[Azarbrook]

Good info

Thanks for all the info on this matter. Yes, it sounds very complicated. I know for fact she is a very responsible breeder. I know the parents, grand-parents, ggp are all champions and she has all the proof and results of all the health tests on the dam and sire. It's the agreeing to show the dog that sounds complicated. My mind is pretty much made up, of course my husband still wants to see the dog - always a great idea to go and just "see" the dog (no, it's not).

 

[whiskers]

I don't see anything WRONG with the situation, but certainly I would not go through with it unless you really have a desire to be part of the showing/breeding world. You're right, there's more to it than just showing up on the day of the show... there's a lot of training and socialization that goes into it. If you're not "into" showing and just want a companion, then I wouldn't venture into a co-ownership.

 

[Kilby'sMum]

We had the same issue with Kilby but I didn't want any of it, I just wanted a pet. I was upfront about it, and she was disappointed (even tried to offer me puppy or 2 from the eventual litter) but we still got our girl When we got a second pup from her 2.5yrs later we took Kilby over for a visit, the breeders just adored her and said she was even prettier than they thought she would be so even though they missed out on some opportunities they were happy she was in a good home Awww!

 

[Azarbrook]

We decided to pass on it...

We talked a lot about it and after all the posts about this it was definitely enough for us to decide that it would not be a good fit for us. So I talked to the breeder and she understood and was happy that we put a lot of thought into it instead of jumping into something we weren't comfortable with. Then we chatted quite awhile about what I should require and ask about with whichever breeder we go with. She was very nice and said I could call her anytime with any questions I had along the way. So I'm happy with how it ended and that she got where we were coming from. Thanks everyone for all the great info!

 

[MonaC]

Since she is a responsible breeder and a member of the show community perhaps she can steer you to another good breeder who is expecting or has a litter.