Contracts -- Buyer Beware of These!

[blitz]

I've been reading some contracts and I have to say some are very dissapointing and the breeders need to bring them up to a higher standard if they want to be considered reputable breeders. Contracts from responsible breeders are in sharp contrast to some of the ones I read.

For example:

The 48 hour blurb, whereby if you don't take your puppy to the vet within 48 hours, the health guarantee is null and void. So, if I take my puppy to the vet in 72 hours and it has, for example, a heart murmur, it's my tough luck. How can you justify that? If the pups are health checked before they leave, why the need for that blurb?

And, I notice that there will be NO refund of money, even if the puppy turns up in ill health within the golden 48 hour period. Even a pet store will refund your money under that circumstance!

You need to stand behind your dogs better than this or understand that these are not the tactics of a reputable breeder.

[Brooklynn]

Originally Posted by blitz

I've been reading some contracts and I have to say some are very dissapointing and the breeders need to bring them up to a higher standard if they want to be considered reputable breeders. Contracts from responsible breeders are in sharp contrast to some of the ones I read.

For example:

The 48 hour blurb, whereby if you don't take your puppy to the vet within 48 hours, the health guarantee is null and void. So, if I take my puppy to the vet in 72 hours and it has, for example, a heart murmur, it's my tough luck. How can you justify that? If the pups are health checked before they leave, why the need for that blurb?

And, I notice that there will be NO refund of money, even if the puppy turns up in ill health within the golden 48 hour period. Even a pet store will refund your money under that circumstance!

You need to stand behind your dogs better than this or understand that these are not the tactics of a reputable breeder.

That's unfortunate in our breed and others!! I refunded someone's money and there was nothing wrong with the puppy they had just decided the puppy wasn't what they wanted. I guarantee my babies for 3 years with congential health defects and I give the new owners a reasonable amount of time to see their vet and that's usually 3 to 4 days and if there is something wrong of course there would be a refund no questions asked! If you are breeding for the right reasons and are ethical then you wouldn't want your contract null and void after a 48 hour period if something were wrong with the puppy health wise....now I see a contract to also protect the breeder in case it wasn't genetic. I know a breeder that placed a puppy and the puppy was fine vet checked 3 times and then the day before the puppy left and then within 24 hours the buyers called and said something was wrong with the puppy and said it was the breeder's fault when in reality they dropped the puppy and to this day 4 years later he has brain damage and is blind and deaf and the breeder refunded the money and still has the baby but he's not doing good and that's the reason she and I don't place with small children!
JMHO!
Donna Bird
Brookynn's Yorkshire Terriers

[Sugar's Mom]

I would consider a heart problem genetic and life threatening and it would be covered under the one year contract.

[puppies4urlife]

Florida has a pet lemon law to protect both,the buyer and the breeder.

[BakersDozen]

I agree that many contracts are ridiculous.....one thing to keep in mind, though, particularly on the hour requirement for the vet check is that for many breeders, this is not set in stone. The guarantee says, for example, 48 hours, but in reality they will extend that within reason. Same thing with what's covered and not....for example, most do not guarantee against luxating patella, since this can be caused by accident as well. However, upon reasonable proof that it wasn't caused by an accident, some will refund anyway. Or those that offer a 1 year guarantee (which to me is reasonable) will sometimes refund well after that year. I don't blame them for making the contract very strict in writing, as unfortunately there are many out there trying to scam breeders as well. For reputable breeders, it is a protection, and they always have the option of doing whatever they want beyond the guarantee.

Of course, I totally get what you are pointing out. This does not excuse those breeders who only give a 48 hour guarantee or something crazy like that. To me, if they will only stand behind their puppy for 48 hours, they must think there's a big chance something will go wrong after that. And I do realize that it's hard to weed out those breeders who are using the guarantee to get out of something. Personally, I never consider breeders who have less than a 1 year guarantee on life-threatening congenital defects. That is my starting point, my minimum acceptable guarantee, and they go up in "value" from there.

[BakersDozen]

Originally Posted by blitz

I've been reading some contracts and I have to say some are very dissapointing and the breeders need to bring them up to a higher standard if they want to be considered reputable breeders. Contracts from responsible breeders are in sharp contrast to some of the ones I read.

For example:

The 48 hour blurb, whereby if you don't take your puppy to the vet within 48 hours, the health guarantee is null and void. So, if I take my puppy to the vet in 72 hours and it has, for example, a heart murmur, it's my tough luck. How can you justify that? If the pups are health checked before they leave, why the need for that blurb?
And, I notice that there will be NO refund of money, even if the puppy turns up in ill health within the golden 48 hour period. Even a pet store will refund your money under that circumstance!

You need to stand behind your dogs better than this or understand that these are not the tactics of a reputable breeder.

It is my understanding that the requirement to vet check the puppy on the Buyer's end is so that there is proof later that the pup arrived in good condition. This must be done within a reasonably short period of time to be valid, as anything can happen in a few days as far as injury, etc. Not only does this protect the breeder from later claims that the pup arrived injured, sick, etc., I as a Buyer would always want to vet check the pup anyway.

The no refund of $ thing aggravates me as well....some just offer a replacement pup....well, why in the world would I want another pup from the same breeder? I would want my $$ back! Even if I felt it wasn't the breeder's fault, I would still feel I was entitled to my $.

[scoobiedooiscoo]

i have always and will always make an app. with the vet before i pick up the dog so i know it can be seen asap. i mostly do this to protect my other dogs from things.

[Susan123]

I like to have vets examine them right before they leave. I also have the buyers do the same usually within a short time frame. If they kept the dog for 2 weeks, took them to petsmart, walking at the park, etc.. and then went to the vet-They could have picked up something and claim it's the breeders fault.

[MorkieAZ]

Originally Posted by Susan123

I like to have vets examine them right before they leave. I also have the buyers do the same usually within a short time frame. If they kept the dog for 2 weeks, took them to petsmart, walking at the park, etc.. and then went to the vet-They could have picked up something and claim it's the breeders fault.

[Sugar's Mom]

Originally Posted by Susan123

I like to have vets examine them right before they leave. I also have the buyers do the same usually within a short time frame. If they kept the dog for 2 weeks, took them to petsmart, walking at the park, etc.. and then went to the vet-They could have picked up something and claim it's the breeders fault.

My point exactly. I have mine checked within one or two days before leaving and if the buyer abides by the contract and takes the puppy within 48 hours to her vet, if they tell me it's sick, you can bet I am going to want to see proof when I am sure it was healthy when it left me. My one year contract covers life threatening GENETIC illnesses.

[Yorkieville200]

Originally Posted by BakersDozen

It is my understanding that the requirement to vet check the puppy on the Buyer's end is so that there is proof later that the pup arrived in good condition. This must be done within a reasonably short period of time to be valid, as anything can happen in a few days as far as injury, etc. Not only does this protect the breeder from later claims that the pup arrived injured, sick, etc., I as a Buyer would always want to vet check the pup anyway.

The no refund of $ thing aggravates me as well....some just offer a replacement pup....well, why in the world would I want another pup from the same breeder? I would want my $$ back! Even if I felt it wasn't the breeder's fault, I would still feel I was entitled to my $.

I agree with you regarding wanting a refund rather than a replacement pup.

Sheila

[dudley1984]

Had a couple of experiences with knees---8 month old puppy jumped off the bed, yelped, and has been limping ever since. Customer now at my door looking for money for patella surgery. I have since revised and narrowed down my guarantee---my puppies are vet checked at 12 weeks, including knee exam, and sales contract calls for customer to see their vet within 48 hours to verify puppy is totally healthy. Any problems, they can return immediately for refund. After that it goes to one year, full refund for life threatening congenital problem (e.g. liver shunt). I try to be careful who I sell to and problems are rare, but that knee thing was too much....

[bchgirl]

I've come across genetic guarantees written like this....

I WILL GUARANTEE THIS PUPPY TO BE FREE FROM LIFE THREATENING
NON-TREATABLE CONGENITAL OR GENETIC DEFECTS ONLY, FOR ONE YEAR. THIS GUARANTEE IS FOR REPLACEMENT ONLY.

Maybe I'm reading it incorrectly...but it sounds like no guarantee at all. Many congenital or genetic defects ARE treatable...but whether the puppy survives is another story. Liver shunt is treatable, congenital heart disease is treatable...

Another wording I see.... puppy to be free from congenital or genetic defects that IF left untreated would result in death. That makes more sense to me than the statement above....

[Tammyh]

The breeder I bought Bella from had the same thing, 48 or 72 hours (something like that). We picked her up on a Saturday and of course couldn't call the vet until Monday and the soonest day they could see her was the upcoming Thursday (5 days after we got her). I emailed the breeder to let them know and they said no problem, they would still honor the contract (and I got it in writing via the returned email). I didn't have a problem taking her to the vet, it gave me peace of mind. The breeder has a 1 year health guarantee. I would think requesting the new parents to have the puppy vet checked would help insure that if there is something wrong that may have been missed by previous checkups it would be found sooner rather than later.

[EmrldShdwQueen]

While I do have a contract that states you must have the puppy vet checked within 48 hours for the contract to be valid, I also state that those days DON'T include weekends or holidays. Of course, if someone called me or emailed me to let me know that they had an appointment on the 3rd day, I would still honor it. But like others have said, I don't want someone coming back to me 2 weeks later saying their puppy has parvo because they took it into a dog park or something...and stating it's my fault, when I know my puppies are only in their sterilized areas and are extremely healthy when they leave here.

As far as a refund if something is found within the first 48 hours, my contract states that if I have proof from the vet, I will refund all money paid for the dog.