health gaurantee - Page 4

Hi, uh...Peter, is it? Am I remembering that correctly? No, the contract has never been tested legally. Despite having had GSD's for over 25 years, I have only actually produced one litter of five pups, one of whom still lives with me so it's pretty easy for me to keep track of the other four and stay in contact with their families. I would imagine the task gets logarithmically more difficult as the number of litters and pups increases.

Hello Patriaship, My contract states (among other things) that the buyer is absolutely FORBIDDEN to tie the dog out for ANY length of time. In this instance I would remove that animal with or without the owners permission in a HEARTBEAT. Like it or not- they read it, and sign it. They are as bound by it as I am if they have issues with health etc.

Cheers Again Keith, Nothing amiss with you memory, Keith. All that I have ever learned about the law - and I'm positively not a lawyer - tells me to first seek legal advice or Order from civil body, and before entering upon someone else's property without their permission, in any situation where new owner does not readily agree to relinguish the animal - contract or no contract. To do otherwise, I believe, could expose you to all sorts of charges, quite unrelated to the animal as such. I'm really speaking to you here, Konigtum. I do have quite a few lawyer buddies and thought I'd perhaps ask one them for advice, but don't think I really need to.

Put yourself in the position of the consumer. Period. As a new breeder are you familiar with genetics? It is a lot more to it than putting a female in heat, together with a willing male and producing offspring. You need to be prepared to take back EACH puppy you sell(if the owner is dissatisfied with the product. You breed German Shepherds to improve the breed or keep great dogs in the gene pool. Money is a side effect of breeding, not the reason to breed. If you do this properly, you are going to loose more money than you make. If you are breaking even, financially, you should consider yourself lucky. My gratification comes, knowing I am contributing to the breed, because I certainly am not getting rich doing this. But I love being around German Shepherds and love placing German Shepherds in homes, so they can share the same experience.

Remember people, a contract is only as good as the paper it is written on if you have a good enough lawyer.Contracts are very hard to inforce without the proper knowledge to back them up ie. taking back a dog if it's tied up-you could be setting yourself up for a lawsuite if done.Trespasssing and theft of property would be top on that list and a $400 dog may become a $4,000 dog if the owners wish to pursue it.Dogs are propery in the eyes of the law nothing more. Contracts need to be written by/reviewed by someone who is knowledgable in the laws for the state it is written in.It should protect the seller AND buyer in a reasonable manner.

OK- i said I would take the dog back in a heartbeat if I found out the owners were tying the dog up. However, I made no mention of slipping into my ninja gear and making a midnight run on someone's house. I simply stated I WOULD have that dog back! There is always a right way and a wrong way to do things. As for making sure the contract is solid ginagsds, I AM an attorney- so you know how wiley "we" can be! LOL

Hi Lyn! Listen to the voice of experience. Last year I had a so called sick pup returned 1.5 months after purchase...the dog went home with 7 day health guarantee. I waivered thinking it was the right thing to do. The pup, vaccinated 3 times (twice while in my care) brought PARVO to my kennel. I ended up with about $5000 in vet bills and 2 dead dogs (one pup, one almost adult). If anyone gets a pup back, isolate for 10 days! I made every precaution possible...when the pup came back I isolated him at my vet's office for 3 days. He was deemed healthy. I later learned he was recovered from the illness, but still actively sheddiing the virus. When I asked specifically, of my vet, should he be allowed near the other dogs, an emphatic YES was the answer. The people *did* get their purchase price back in full (prior to the knowledge this dog was ill from their lack of management). They should have been tarred and feathered for abandoning their very ill dog and leaving me with a nightmare. The other kicker was their vet was uncooperative and unfriendly, not willing to chat with my vet to give symptoms, treatments, etc. If their vet had been cooperative perhaps the virus could have been neatly contained? My vet's opinion was the dog had an enteritis of undetermined cause. The puppy owners made clear the pup was allowed to feast on the wilds of outdoors. They'd removed all sorts of debris from his mouth. From now on, I stick to my contract. NO REFUNDS, and to return a dog *requires* a vet statement describing the problem. I will ALWAYS quarantine now regardless of what a vet says. For those interested, a side note...the young dog I lost was an import from Germany. She supposedly came fully vaccinated. Never trust the health documents to be accurate. Perhaps they have different strains of parvo in Germany or perhaps she was never vaccinated? The pup who brought parvo remains healthy and active to date. Hope this post helps a few people and their dogs. I lived this nightmare once, please no flaming. Warmest Regards, Sue-Ann

Hello Lyn, I have put it in my contract that they have to supply a letter from the vet if there is anything found..and that I have the option to have the pup rechecked by my vet if I choose. This keeps people from getting upset like she did...all you would have to say is "per our contract, I need your vet to forward a letter stateing the problem..." As you grow as a breeder and learn you will be adding to your contract, yes this contract is to save your clients, but it is also to save you from being taken advantage of. I had a very simular thing happen, had a pup fly out to his new home, had a very through vet check to fly, told her to take him to the vet within 72 hours to be introduced to her vet and checked out, he found a murmmer and sent her to specialest after specialest, and it was all normal puppy murmer she was taken by her vet not me, this was a fine, healthy pup, who grew and is a great boy now. Good luck, keep your integraty and add to that contract. Heather

Hi Konitum, Knew I was right about you characters! Ask a straight question and ...! Luck! Do you blokes need it?