Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Would Love Imput concerning this situation....especially from the breeders....
Bear with me here as this might get long but I want to give everyone the facts and let me also say this is in NO WAY a negative posting against dog breeders so all the breeders who read this and reply, please understand I'm not posting this to offend any of you but would love to hear your imput.
2 weeks ago, a friend of mine purchased a Jack Russell terrier from a breeder. This breeder is also into showing these dogs. My friend had to euthanize her 16 yr old Jack Russell and decided she and her husband would do better with an older dog than start out with a 6-8 week old puppy. So she found this breeder who had a 7 month old male she had shown a couple of times but didn't show well as he didn't like the judges touching him. She agreed to sell my friend this dog for $800 and the standard contract was signed. I went over to see the dog the day they brought it home. Granted it was in new surroundings, but it was more skittish than I expected for a 7 month old. It also wouldn't take ANY treats from anyone and it wouldn't play. This went on for 10 days along with lots of other problem... didn't want to be picked up, attacking their other dog, food guarding, barking and growling at her husband. So my friend called the breeder back and told her the dog had some problems she couldn't deal with and asked her to take the dog back. The breeder told her to give it more time so she tried. The dog then attacked the other pet and tore some skin off it's nose. My friend called the breeder back and told her she needs to take this dog back as it was chaos in her house. The breeder said she didn't want the dog back and for my friend to try disciplining the dog like her husband does by hitting it with his baseball cap when it acts up like that. My friend said she and her husband don't hit dogs. The breeder had another call she needed to take and hung up. My friend called me to asked me what to do. I said I would take the dog and work with behavior problems and then find a home for it if she didn't want it after I worked with the dog. So my friend called the breeder back and said she was keeping the dog. The breeder said "I"ll buy the dog back for $400.00" and my friend said "No, if you want the dog back now, the price is $800.00, what they had originally paid for the dog." The breeder said no. I received the dog later that day. My friend then gets a call from the breeder saying she would pay for the dog and my friend told her the dog was with a trainer. That's when the breeder went BALLISTIC!!!! She accused my friend of not honoring the contract she signed, then accused her of selling the dog to someone else, then demanded my name and number to talk with me about her "baby", which my friend refused to do. Long story short, the phone calls continued from this breeder to my friend for 2 days wh started refusing to take her calls. Many voice messages where recorded and one of them with the threatening tone of "you'll regret this!" That's when my friend got frightened and went to the Sheriff's dept for a restraining order. She appeared before the judge with the evidence she had including the contract. The judge ruled my friend had honored the contract as written because she did offer first refusal of purchase to the breeder. (The contract does not specify a buy back price from either party. So, if the owner wants to sell the dog, he/she can set the price if it's not stated.) The breeder also signed away her breeding rights to stud this dog and pick of puppies free of charge. (She knew at purchase that my friend was going to have him neutered and microchipped.) Anyway, the judge said for my friend to write a letter to this woman and send it certified mail. In the letter she was to state the facts, tell her she was offered first refusal and she would tolerate no more communication from her or legal action would be taken. She hasn't heard anymore from this breeder directly but she did hear from a former breeder where she purchased her last 2 Jack Russells. This former breeder wanted to let her know that the other breeder had posted to Jack Russell breeders about my friend and to "black list" her....Please do not sell to this woman etc.....Needless to say, this angered my friend to no end.
I have old contracts I've signed with breeders when we purchased our golden retrievers and when we purchased Deuce. They were in depth and spelled everything out in writing. This contract my friend signed is very basic in comparison. It's my personal opinion, my friend just found a off the wall nut job who just happens to breed dogs and tries to show them. I'm interested in hearing opinions from the gang here.
By the way, the important part is the dog is doing well here. I'm using alot of Jan Fennell's techniques and he is bonding with my "pack" of 2. Deuce is really a calming influence and Chance is teaching him good "pack" manners. The dog is learning to play by exhibiting "play bows" now. He also is wanting affection but we don't reach for him but let him come to us. He still barks at men but once he is used to their presence, he lets them pet him. We still have a ways to go but he is making good progress.
2 weeks ago, a friend of mine purchased a Jack Russell terrier from a breeder. This breeder is also into showing these dogs. My friend had to euthanize her 16 yr old Jack Russell and decided she and her husband would do better with an older dog than start out with a 6-8 week old puppy. So she found this breeder who had a 7 month old male she had shown a couple of times but didn't show well as he didn't like the judges touching him. She agreed to sell my friend this dog for $800 and the standard contract was signed. I went over to see the dog the day they brought it home. Granted it was in new surroundings, but it was more skittish than I expected for a 7 month old. It also wouldn't take ANY treats from anyone and it wouldn't play. This went on for 10 days along with lots of other problem... didn't want to be picked up, attacking their other dog, food guarding, barking and growling at her husband. So my friend called the breeder back and told her the dog had some problems she couldn't deal with and asked her to take the dog back. The breeder told her to give it more time so she tried. The dog then attacked the other pet and tore some skin off it's nose. My friend called the breeder back and told her she needs to take this dog back as it was chaos in her house. The breeder said she didn't want the dog back and for my friend to try disciplining the dog like her husband does by hitting it with his baseball cap when it acts up like that. My friend said she and her husband don't hit dogs. The breeder had another call she needed to take and hung up. My friend called me to asked me what to do. I said I would take the dog and work with behavior problems and then find a home for it if she didn't want it after I worked with the dog. So my friend called the breeder back and said she was keeping the dog. The breeder said "I"ll buy the dog back for $400.00" and my friend said "No, if you want the dog back now, the price is $800.00, what they had originally paid for the dog." The breeder said no. I received the dog later that day. My friend then gets a call from the breeder saying she would pay for the dog and my friend told her the dog was with a trainer. That's when the breeder went BALLISTIC!!!! She accused my friend of not honoring the contract she signed, then accused her of selling the dog to someone else, then demanded my name and number to talk with me about her "baby", which my friend refused to do. Long story short, the phone calls continued from this breeder to my friend for 2 days wh started refusing to take her calls. Many voice messages where recorded and one of them with the threatening tone of "you'll regret this!" That's when my friend got frightened and went to the Sheriff's dept for a restraining order. She appeared before the judge with the evidence she had including the contract. The judge ruled my friend had honored the contract as written because she did offer first refusal of purchase to the breeder. (The contract does not specify a buy back price from either party. So, if the owner wants to sell the dog, he/she can set the price if it's not stated.) The breeder also signed away her breeding rights to stud this dog and pick of puppies free of charge. (She knew at purchase that my friend was going to have him neutered and microchipped.) Anyway, the judge said for my friend to write a letter to this woman and send it certified mail. In the letter she was to state the facts, tell her she was offered first refusal and she would tolerate no more communication from her or legal action would be taken. She hasn't heard anymore from this breeder directly but she did hear from a former breeder where she purchased her last 2 Jack Russells. This former breeder wanted to let her know that the other breeder had posted to Jack Russell breeders about my friend and to "black list" her....Please do not sell to this woman etc.....Needless to say, this angered my friend to no end.
I have old contracts I've signed with breeders when we purchased our golden retrievers and when we purchased Deuce. They were in depth and spelled everything out in writing. This contract my friend signed is very basic in comparison. It's my personal opinion, my friend just found a off the wall nut job who just happens to breed dogs and tries to show them. I'm interested in hearing opinions from the gang here.
By the way, the important part is the dog is doing well here. I'm using alot of Jan Fennell's techniques and he is bonding with my "pack" of 2. Deuce is really a calming influence and Chance is teaching him good "pack" manners. The dog is learning to play by exhibiting "play bows" now. He also is wanting affection but we don't reach for him but let him come to us. He still barks at men but once he is used to their presence, he lets them pet him. We still have a ways to go but he is making good progress.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Adina P on
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Hi Leigh...from the info you presented I agree with your conclusion. Sounds like the Judge did too. What a crazy situation!
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Permalink Reply by April Cliber on
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Hi Leigh,
WOW, what a mess! I'm hesitant to reply. I have no reason to doubt you, but people get sued every day for slander and I'd prefer not to be one of them. SO, here's my disclaimer: BASED ON THE ABOVE POST AND ASSUMING IT IS CORRECT:
A couple of thoughts....
First, kudos to you for helping this poor dog. He obviously needs love, time and training. On a side note, I just read Jane Fennell's book and loved it.
Does this breeder belong to any Jack Russell organizations? (My guess is yes, if she shows.) If so, they need to be notified of the situation. Obviously she was more interested in the money than the well being of the dog. I can't even imagine the audacity and gall it would take to offer to "buy" a problem dog back for 1/2 the price she sold it for just two weeks earlier. If your friend had the dog for many months and then tried to pin the problem on the breeder that would be one thing. But the problems came with this dog and (IMO) an ethical breeder would not only take the dog back, but also give your friend her money back in full, with an apology.
This lady is clearly ticked off and to be honest, I'd not have further contact with her. Your friend can file a small claims lawsuit and will hopefully get some of her money back. She may have to return the dog to the breeder to get her money though, and that would be a sad situation for the dog.
Those are just my thoughts, but I've never dealt with a situation like this, best wishes.
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Permalink Reply by Becky Roth on
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I absolutely think the Breeder should have taken the dog back immediately with a full refund. My contracts states the buyer can return the dog within 7 days for any reason. I also have a clause in my purchase agreement that says the buyer will return the dog to me if they can no longer take care of it at any age, not necessarily for a full refund though. I do think the dog is probably better off where it is at this point.
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