Contracts are

Only as good as the ones who join in on it.

I've learned that important lesson over the years, I have had two verbal contracts go south. One got a free dog, and initially screwed me out of the return pup, lying by saying the cobreeder said I had to pay, that she'd put out so much money in this litter she needed to make the money back. Said cobreeder never even heard of the agreement(Yep, same instance I've talked to before). Said puppy owner finally paid me what I would've charged her for said dog when she bought said pup back 3 yrs after the fact,), but now she's spreading crap about that, forgetting that she hadn't paid me for the sire, but it just shows what kind of person she is. Funny, she screams bloody murder if someone violates her contract, but she did just that, oh well. Do as I say, not as I do! Tis a lot of people's motto.

Second got a nice bitch for half what I could've sold her for, and that bitch'll probably never be bred, because the co owner got offended when I got upset about her wanting to breed her to a dog that tried to bite me, Loki's mum, and I witnessed him trying to bite a third person, all within a span of 3 days. Her only comment was if he meant to bite us, he would've. . .hello?!?!? I don't CARE!!

I just placed an otherwise beautiful bitch because her temperament was like his. Was it lack of socialization or genetics? Who knows, could be either or both. Was I tempted to blame it on socialization instead of genetics and keep her and breed her anyway? A little bit, but I knew I wasn't in a position to keep an entire litter if they were like her or worse, and never was or will be. And I have a hard time putting down a deathly ill dog, let alone a healthy one who's biggest fault is a bad temperament.

She is being spayed today and her new owner absolutely loves her, but knows her restrictions.

I'll just strive to breed something equally as nice as she is bodily, with a better temperament. But the co owner of the first bitch couldn't see it, even when presented with the thought that she might end up keeping an entire litter due to temperament. So the bitch probably won't be bred, she's not willing to let me lease her and breeder her my way, and then to have her back and do it her way, nor was she interested in any beautiful, running, performance dogs I pointed her way. Says she's interested in performance, but kept pointing out dogs with no performance titles.

Oh well, least both my puppies are loved, right? I can only hope.

What got me on the rant on contracts again?

A myriad of reasons. . a friend asked me for help to rehome a dog she has. . .asked her if she had a contract, she said no. So, I put out feelers to help her find a single woman home where this dog could be the sole dog. This is an experienced home, has dealt with dogs with issues(race track greyhounds), so when she told me about the issues this dog was having, I agreed that bouncing her back and forth was not good for the dog. She was in no hurry to place said dog, just if the right home came along. Going back to the breeder was not in the dog's best interest, not that the breeder would've abused her, but she's better off with fewer dogs than one of even more.

Unfortunately, it blew up, the breeder found out, screaming "I have a contract." Again asked my friend about contract, she said no. Since I had caught the breeder in lies, believing her was not a question . . .it ended up after digging thru papers, the owner forgot she had signed a contract. . .::sigh:: so much for good intentions. I would never suggest someone go back on a written or verbal contract, I've upheld my side of contracts even when I hated to do it, but if you have no contact with someone, you start to forget important things.

Which brings me to my real reason for my rant:

COMMUNICATION!!!

Too many breeders once the dog leaves the property(especially a pet), make no attempt to communicate with the puppy buyers, leaving it all at the feet of the puppy buyer, and then not bothering to respond back when contacted. When you're a pet person, this smacks of you're not interested in the well being of your puppies. Hell, it smacks it to me. I have had breeders not care in my eyes, due to their interactions with me or friends: when I email them info, nothing back, hell, not even communication when siblings of said dog died before my dog did. . .something as a breeder you really WANT to know, and they should've passed on. A good friend has a dog with health problems, and the breeder makes no effort to keep in contact to see how the health problems are progressing, it's nothing easily (if) treatable, but it's something you'd want to keep track of you know? She's reached out to the breeder, the breeder doesn't respond.

Communication does go both ways, but as a breeder, you need to make the 1st step, to show the owner you are interested, it makes a lasting impression on their mind.

I started out with a newsletter. It went out quarterly. It told what was going on here at home, and then talked of the exploits of the rest of the pups. Listed by litter, I told if someone was sick, if we lost them, new titles or points, new homes, etc. . and ended with a note to remember, if something should happen, you can no longer keep your mielikki's hunt borzoi, they are always welcomed home, blah blah blah. It seemed to go over well. And it was a quarterly reminder that the pups were always welcomed home if something happened.

Then I started a news list just for my puppy buyers. . .and it's a place where they can interact, tell their silly stories, and learn more on how their relatives are doing, I still have to put out the newsletter periodically for those who have no internet, but they know I am interested in the lives of their babies.

But that's too much work for some breeders. I've seen it, witnessed it, and heard of it: the lack of concern for the dog once the check clears the bank. Pet buyers treated like second class citizens unless they violate THE CONTRACT, then it was OMG! But ya know, the respect that's needed for a contract to be a good one, goes both ways, it's not a one way street. If you don't treat all your puppy buyers like the gold they are, without them you couldn't breed, they're not going to respect you enough to tell you when things go wrong.