[Munchkinlvr]

I bought my dog from a breeder, she is now almost 2 years old. I purchased her with breeding rights (which was an extra expense) and made it clear to the breeder that I had every intention in breeding her in the future. My dog is sterile and not able to have puppies. If I take the breeder to court and sue for the price of the dog and the vet bills would I get the full amount that I paid for the dog or only what I paid extra to have the breeding rights? She was not a cheap dog..
I contacted the breeder and she says just because I bought breeding rights doesn't mean that I get a breedable dog. I know its not her fault I ended up with a sterile dog but I feel she should work with me to solve this or I want to take her to court. I would be more than willing to return the dog and get a different puppy once she has a litter.
Please give me any advice if any of you have ever had an experience like this. Thanks

 

[Shell]

I bought my dog from a breeder, she is now almost 2 years old. I purchased her with breeding rights (which was an extra expense) and made it clear to the breeder that I had every intention in breeding her in the future. My dog is sterile and not able to have puppies. If I take the breeder to court and sue for the price of the dog and the vet bills would I get the full amount that I paid for the dog or only what I paid extra to have the breeding rights? She was not a cheap dog..
I contacted the breeder and she says just because I bought breeding rights doesn't mean that I get a breedable dog. I know its not her fault I ended up with a sterile dog but I feel she should work with me to solve this or I want to take her to court. I would be more than willing to return the dog and get a different puppy once she has a litter.
Please give me any advice if any of you have ever had an experience like this. Thanks

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice....

Breeding "rights" should be dependent on the dog being worthy of breeding. As in, all breed specific genetic and conformation tests are good such as hips, knees/elbows, eyes, cardiac testing and such. Hips for example can't be tested (other than preliminary) until over 2 years of age. The dog's temperament should be evaluated independently via showing or work or other performance (as in, a herding dog proves herding ability in the real world). Then typically the breeder will assist in finding a good stud to compliment your bitch's physical and mental traits and mentor you with whelping a litter.

So, I am guessing you didn't plan to do any of that? Otherwise you'd be working with your breeder and/or mentor to select another path.

Returning a 2 year old dog seems a bit harsh because I would think you would have bonded with the dog over that time. Asking for a refund of the difference in price between "pet" and "breeding" dogs from that litter to be put towards the purchase of a future puppy, maybe. But like you say, what a dog grows up to be can be outside the control of even the most diligent and careful breeders.

IMO, love the dog you have and maybe look to acquire in the future an adult dog who has already proven to be breeding quality, possibly via co-ownership.

(Edit to add: I know that breeders do often end up needing to rehome adult dogs who do not fit their breeding plans or end up with a breed fault once full grown, etc; I wasn't getting that vibe of long term planning and such from this point, hence commenting that returning an adult dog seemed harsh)

 

[Lillith]

I wouldn't sue her...it isn't her fault, and purchasing breeding rights does not mean the dog is fit to be bred. She could have grown up to have a temperament issue, a physical fault, or something else incredibly minor that would have made her a poor breeding prospect. And, if you decide to breed in the future, you can't expect any help from your breeder, and she may have connections in her breed that will refuse to help you or sell you a puppy too, for fear of being sued.

 

[gingerkid]

Breeding rights is not a breeding guarantee. I could see asking for the price difference between pet and breeding rights to be refunded; more than that is unreasonable to me.

I'm also assuming that it is a developmental/genetic problem that has resulted in her being sterile and not injury or illness.