For you dog folks out there - can a breeder do this?

[KristiKelly]

We bought a puppy and with the puppy came a one year health guarantee with a signed contract. Fine, however, in the contract it states that I am not allowed to go onto any discussion boards and discuss my dog, any problems, questions, etc. I can only discuss it with her or on her website. If I do, then my contract will be null & void. Well, for starters, after reading the contract it seems as though Hell would have to freeze over and be linked back to her dog before I would ever get a new puppy. Can a breeder make you sign a contract that takes away your right to take part in discussion boards. Let me go ahead and state, there is a discussion board for our breed/hybrid of dog, on that board, this paricular breeder is not thought very highly of and has been banned from, I feel quite sure that this is the discussion board she's referring to (not DIS, she's not happy enough for this one). It seems to me that she is infringing on some rights with this contract, *freedom of speach* comes to mind. What do y'all think?

 

[tkyes]

that sounds very weird!!!

 

[mudnuri]

It's pretty simple really, and nothing to do with freedom of speech,

She writes a contract, and puts in it, you must NOT do a, b and c. YOU sign the contract, on your own free will, and AGREE that you will NOT do A, B, and C...and low and behold, you actually DID B, well, YES, you voided the contract, any and all outcomes of that contract are now null and void.

It's this way with ANY contract, which is WHY your suppose to READ the contract prior to signing it. Not just skim over it, and sign your life away

The 2 parties of a contract can draw it up any way they want...she can even say in your contract you cant do A, B and C and in another contract state only A, and B...

Brandy

 

[BedKnobbery2]

That does sound very weird, and I think you'd have to ask a lawyer rather than a dog person. I don't know business contract law, but I would think you are correct--I don't think someone can make something that is illegal a term of a contract. You should take the contract to a lawyer and see what he or she says......but I'm curious, why would you buy the puppy from a breeder with a bad reputation?

 

[mudnuri]

A lawyer is going to tell you exactly the same thing I did...YOU SIGNED THE CONTRACT!!

By signing the contract YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS....its so simple, I can't see where all the "thats weird" is coming from..

Brandy

 

[gymnasticsmom68]

but I'm curious, why would you buy the puppy from a breeder with a bad reputation?

That's what I was going to ask. Also, if I didn't like the terms of the contract, I wouldn't sign it. You can't sign it, then change your mind because you don''t like the conditions she set.

 

[phillybeth]

It might be in the contract, and you are legally bound by it, but it is practically uneforceable. The only way that this part of the contract would be in effect is if you did have a health issue with your dog, and only in the first year, and you posted on a public forum about your dog with enough information that she can identify you and/or the dog. That's a lot of if's. Contracts are to protect the seller, not the buyer. If you post and then try to force her to pay or give you another dog, you won't win in court.

BTW, contracts can go beyond the law. I am an American citizen, I therefore have freedom of speech; I am also an employee of XYZ Company, I am bound by the terms of my contract which include confidentiality, corporate secrets etc. If I violate that contract, all the free speech arguments in the world are not going to get me my job back. I signed the contract, I agreed to the terms limiting my rights.

 

[Serena]

Yeah, the contract can say that you have to jump on one leg for an hour and touch your nose 5 times during that hour. IF you sign the contract, you are agreeing to it.

I suspect the reason she didn't want you talking about her or her dogs is because you would find out a lot more than she wanted you to.

 

[BedKnobbery2]

Yes, a contract is a legally binding instrument, however, a contract that has illegal terms makes it null and void. You can't, for example, enforce a contract to buy illegal drugs or contraband. There are limits to what a contract can do, but I'm not familiar enough with contract law to know what the limits would be in this case. Which is why if there is something questionable, consulting a lawyer is the best route.

 

[KristiKelly]

Okay, to answer some of the questions, I have not signed the contract (I don't know if I would want another puppy from her even if something were to happen) and we did not realize the breeder had a poor reputation until after we had put down a NON-refundable deposit, the red flag was when she would not let us come see the puppies after they were born - which we were told at the time of deposit that we could. It was at that point I started to research this breeder and found many negative comments & found out that she had been suspended for 3- 4 years from registering any of her dogs in AKC; our dog, being a hybrid, is not eligible for AKC registering. I hope that clears up a couple of things.

 

[phillybeth]

Originally posted by KristiKelly
found out that she had been suspended for 3- 4 years from registering any of her dogs in AKC

Wow. Whatever she did had to be major, even puppy millers don't get suspended very often. The AKC makes their money from dog registration, so it's not in their interest to keep people from registering litters.
I would consider the non-refundable deposit an expensive lesson and forget about a pup from this 'breeder'.
Hybrid is just a fancy term for a mix, don't let them fool you. You can't create a new breed just by breeding two different ones together. You would be much better off with a purebred registered dog from a reputable breeder than a mix who's temperment and health is a crapshoot.

 

[gymnasticsmom68]

the red flag was when she would not let us come see the puppies after they were born - which we were told at the time of deposit that we could.

There is no way in heck I would buy a dog from a person who wouldn't let me see them. If she doesn't give you back your deposit, take her to small claims court. As soon as she told you that you couldn't see the dogs, she broke the verbal agreement.

I suspect that she wants to put the rule about not talking about her on web-sites because there is something wrong with the dogs and she doesn't want word to get out. Her name is already mud, I imagine she doesn't need further problems.

Do you know why she was suspended from registering dogs? That is a really big deal.

I HIGHLY suggest you find another dog. This woman is obviously more concerned with money than breeding a good quality animal.

 

[Prince Eric1]

If she is inbreeding these dogs or breeding unhealthy dogs you could wind up with major vet bills later. Also, if she is keeping these dogs in unhealthy environments or overbreeding them, I would not want to buy a dog from her just in protest as a dog lover.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I would really think twice or more about buying a pup from this "breeder". As a couple posters already said, you have to do something MAJOR to be banned from the AKC. More often than not they look the other way. And I would also consider this an expensive lesson. Sounds like you may dish out more money in the long run due to possible bad temperment or bad health due to bad breeding. When we bought our puppy from the breeder, she sent pics as soon as the pups were born and encouraged me to visit as often as I liked but living 3 hours away we couldn't so she sent pics often. Our only stimpulation in our contract, other than the obvious of good care was if we didn't want her anymore we would return her to them. And that they get to see her or we send pics once a year. For pet homes, they put a spay neuter clause in too. She sounds very shakey. Don't pay alot of money for a mix. A mix is a mix is a mix. These pet stores kill me that charge 400.00 for a cockapoo.

 

[airhead]

Learn from this. Don't buy from breeders like that. And spread the word about her. These people probably shouldn't have any dogs!

 

[clutter]

er...um...

I'm on a hybrid discussion board and can think of two breeders that have been banned, but neither are near you. One was kind of nuts, good reputation, but banned for personal conflicts. The other had more of a questionable reputation and also personal conflicts on the board. (I also know of a phenominal breeder near you.)

If you want to pm me, I'll try to remember to check them this weekend.


(and yes, I did pay more than $400 for a cockapoo, but I went with a truly reputable breeder that put a lot of emphasis on personality and temperment. And I'd do it again, because I got exactly the tempermant and personality that I expected. Actually, better than I expected.)

 

[mickeyfan1]

Just my 2 cents on "hybrid" dogs. Does the term Mutt come to mind? How is it that people can "breed" 2 different breeds together and sell rhe puppies for so much? I see them in the paper (****-a-poo. golden noodle, etc) in the mall pet stores, etc. PEOPLE, these are mutts, plain and simple. If you want a dog that badly, please, go to your local pound and adopt one or two. It will cost you less that what the breeder charges, and you will still have a mixed breed baby.

 

[goofy4tink]

Do I approve of the 'hybrids'? No, not as a rule. But, make no mistake. That's exactly how most of our present day purebreds came about!!! I don't have a problem with a reputable breeder doing this. If you get a breeder who is really familier with one of the two breeds, then it might not be so bad. To the best of my knowledge, they are working with a competent breeder from the other 'breed' being used. As far as this particular breeder goes...run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. A reputable breeder will let you see her/his home and area where the dogs are. You should get to meet the parents of the puppies or at the very least the mom. You should be interviewing the breeder while they are interviewing them. I have used two breeders so far and both times have been told that there are people they will not let their dogs go to. So far they have turned down 3 families that I know of myself. Usually the contract will stipulate that the breeder has the right of first refusal if you have a problem with the dog, no matter what the length of time is. You are obligated to spay/neuter if the dog is pet quality. There are many other things but those are the tops. Please, walk away from this woman before you get a puppy that you fall in love with and get attached to. The chances are too great that it will have some kind of health problems.

 

[KristiKelly]

Thanks for all the input, we do however already have the puppy, she was DS Christmas present. We were given health guarantees on the parents and took her the first day and had a full exam. The question is not whether or not we should get the dog - that's a done deal and wouldn't change that if I wanted to, she's good and our kids love her. The question is, Can a breeder tell you that you cannot discuss your dog on an internet discussion board? I could understand that she wouldn't want me to discuss her (the breeder) and that's fine, but to say that I cannot mention that I have a dog on a particular discussion board just doesn't sound right to me. We have 45 days from time of purchase, which is coming up and I just don't think I'm going to sign it. Contract says - no refund only a new puppy, but like I said earlier, to get a new puppy, Hell would have to practically freeze over and I would not want another puppy from this breeder (not b/c of the dog being unhealthy but she's just somewhat of a "not nice person" nor would I reccommend her). It was not my intentions to get into a debate on purebreed & mixed breeds. If you will do research and go way back in history, it's true that most if not all breeds are a mix of breeds. Trust me, I don't think that 2,000 years ago a male Poodle would have walked by a female Cocker Spaniel in heat and said "Oh, I'm sorry, you're not my breed". Most of todays breeds are decendants of other breeds. Mutt or whatever you want to call her - we love our GoldenDoodle.

 

[gymnasticsmom68]

Let me get this straight, you have the dog, but haven't signed the contract yet. You have 45 days to decide if you like the dog and want to keep the dog and if you do keep the dog, you have to sign a contract? What if you don't sign the contract, does she say she'll want the dog back. If that isn't the case, I can't imagine why you would sign it.