Do you Guarantee adults?
 

I am wondering if any breeders offer a guarantee on adults placed, the same as puppies? One of the recent posts re length of guarantee got me to thinking about this....usually puppies are guaranteed for 2 years max. So if an adult is over 2 years old when placed, do you still offer a guarantee?

I haven't gotten to that point yet, and that's a good thing to think about...

When I do get there I plan on placing my girls for little or nothing, and probably with close friends or family if possible.

But I would still want a girl back, even if it was 5 or 6 years down the road, and they couldn't keep her. My babies can always come back to me if they need to.

So I suppose the short answer is yes. :)

I dont have that many.
And I could never get rid of one of my furbabys
If the need to rehome , as I tell all my new families.
If they cant find a great home within their family or friends I would ALWAYS take them and rehome them for them.
I couldnt guarantee them as I dont know what health care they have gotten.
But I'm sure it would be for little or no fee.

I agree completely, and I think most good breeders would also. Now that I think about it more, I think really what I am asking is about situations like...well, I don't know, I should have thought this through...lol....I am thinking way too far in advance, I don't even have a Yorkie yet, much less ready to breed.

ok, let's say you have a little one with a slight heart murmur. So you decide you will keep him to see if it goes away. After a while it does, and then by the time you place him he is 1 1/2 year old. If you have a one year health guarantee, does it apply?

This brings me to another question, does the guarantee apply from date of birth or date of sale? Or maybe this is the same question....hmmm....if it is date of birth, then there is no issue about the guarantee extending.

Am I making any sense???

This is great....I can't imagine a breeder refusing to take back a dog...although I know it happens.

You're making perfect sense. And in that case, absolutely. Placing a 1.5 year old baby would still cover the same guarantee. My regular contract says DOB, but I would write up a special one for that sort of circumstance. Since that would be such a unique situation, I would be looking for a particular kind of home, so once I found that I would ammend the contract any way I needed to so that we would both feel comfortable. I have a guarantee because I want to KNOW if something is wrong with one of my pups, and also because I feel like it's the right thing to do. Most people won't give up their beloved pets 6 months down the road, but the least I can do is give them money back and offer a replacement. I do it for "1 year" just as a guideline, but if somebody comes back to me 6 years from now and says, "hey this puppy developed so and so and the vet feels it's genetic" there's a good chance I would still do something.

lol...sorry to ramble...:p

I guess it all depends on how much you sell your dog for.. I just gave away a 2 1/2 year old away to a great home as he was not what I wanted in my small breeding program.. I loved him so I could not sell him, finding the right home was to me more important..anne

So far I haven't had to place a retired show/breeding dog. If the dog or bitch is in my showing/breeding program and is being retired any health issues would have shown itself already (most of the time). Hard to guarantee what will come with old age. All the tests have been run, Xrays have been done and the dog is healthy at age 5 you shouldn't have to worry about health issues. Just like when you purchased that puppy at 12 weeks that guarantee was for the first 1 to 3 years of it's life. Does that make sense?
I have a 9 month old little girl that I have held on too and my guarantee for a 12 to 16 week old puppy is for 3 years so if I were to decide to place my 9 month old it would be until she was 3 years old but bear in mind she will have been spayed, health tested before she left my home. If any test were to come back abnormal or any health issue was present she would not leave my home or be placed (free) in a home that knew the situation and wanted to take on that responsibilty under a co-ownership so that I would be able to be involved in any decision that was made. I will always take back any yorkie I have sold or placed at any time at any age. They are still my responsiblity but I can only be responsible financially after I've done everything correctly and humanly possible up to a certain point.
Once an adult leaves my home I can't guarantee something didn't happen once they've left because when they leave here they will be healthy or they wouldn't be have been in my breeding/showing program.
I hope this made sense.

Donna Bird
Brooklynn's Yorkshire Terriers

This makes sense, and seems fair to both parties. I'm thinking, though, that in a situation where there is a slight problem it also wouldn't be unfair to exclude the particular problem from the guarantee. (I'm not talking about serious things, in my opinion the pup with a serious health problem should be cared for by the breeder or placed in a great home for free) Like, one of my little pugs I got for a greatly reduced fee because he had a slight eye injury. I would not then have expected the breeder to pay for any treatment for that eye or refund, because I knew about it prior and took the "discount." Kind of like buying "as-is". Seems like the purpose of the guarantee is to cover any unknown problems that might crop up.

What are your thoughts on this?


Thanks! :)

:thumbup:

Just to add...I would place an adult (retired show/breeding dog) for the cost of the spay and teeth cleaning.

Yep, makes perfect sense. :) The parts in bold is also part of what prompted my question....though a breeder does stand behind their dogs, it is not reasonable that the breeders would be responsible for any and all problems as the dog ages.

So let's say you held on to that girl until she's 3 yrs old and then placed her for a fee....I am assuming that there would be no actual financial guarantee....but the buyer would know the test results, etc. so could have a good assurance that way. Is this how you would do it?

That makes sense.

Yes with all test results in the new owners hands :) With age does come some issues but it being age related and not genetic related.

I'm glad it made sense...I struggled to word it right LOL...I'm not great with putting words together and it coming out right

Donna

I am nodding off while typing, so going to bed now. :) Didn't want you all to think I was running off in the middle of getting advice, but I simply cannot keep my eyes open. :) I'll be back tomorrow! Thanks!

Ok, can't resist one more post...lol....Ahhh....that is the key, I guess, is that the guarantee is for GENETIC things, not age related. What you say makes perfect sense, and came out just right. Thank you for your expertise!

Good night. :)

:thumbup: Yes, I was just about to say...of course some things come with old age...but it's the GENETIC problems in specific that should be covered IMO.

Well yes, of course. If there WAS a health problem known PRIOR to placing the dog, then the new owner would be filled in on all the details and given paperwork as to the vets diagnosis, and also printed material on treatment, etc. If there is something KNOWN before he/she is placed, then yes I would note in a contract that that particular problem would be further cared for by the new owner. However, if it was something treatable I would go ahead and have the procedures needed done BEFORE I tried to place the dog. But, as you're talking about with your pug, just an eye condition...then I would do the same as your breeder, note that particular problem in the contract but still cover all other genetic issues that could possibly come up.

On the subject of treating a problem before placing, some I know (also a breeder) was recently given a dog by one of her friends that had a pretty serious hernia. She had the vet fix the hernia and spay her at the same time, and THEN placed her in a new home, and she did tell the new owners her history, BUT she didn't offer the 1 year guarantee on this dog, because the dog was GIVEN to her by her friend, so she didn't want to be held accountable if something came back genetic that wasn't actually in HER lines. I'm not sure if I agree with that though...shouldn't you stand behind ANY puppy you sell? If she didn't want to do that, maybe she shouldn't have taken the dog in the first place. Any thoughts on that?

Hmmm...I can see both sides on this one. I think what she did was ok, as long as the new owner is completely informed of the entire situation. Then it is their call whether or not to purchase the dog. Probably what I would have done, though, is place the dog for the cost of the hernia/spay. Then no guarantee beyond that.