My pups have now all gone to their new homes last weekend (boo hoo) I have had a phonecall today from one of the owners saying their daughter is allergic to the new pup.  I have told them I am willing to have him back and offer a full refund but they have said they want to wait a while to see if she can built up her immune system (they spoke to doctor)  I am a little worried that the puppy is getting attached and they may still want to rehome in in a few months time.  They have said they will want a full refund and for me to sello him on if they do have to rehome him.  I am worried that this pup is going to be very attached by the time he is 6months old and dont know what to do..  I really do need help with this.  I understand dogs come back to breeders for a number of reasons but to date this has never happened.

Linda

I had a family whose son was allergic.  We knew that before they took the pup.  But his Mother bought Petal Cleanse and used it on a friend's Cavalier and her son was OK.  They used it on my pup and came back for a second one 2 years later.

I wouldn't be happy to give a full refund at 6 months old when the pup may be returned with problems. :(

My OH was very allergic to mine when I met him but has built up an immunity.  I would explain to them that the longer they leave it the more difficult it will be to rehome the pup and also you wont be able to give a full refund if they leave it too long.

You could simply point out that if he is sold on aged above 4 months old, the value will be much less than for an 8 week old pup so they would have to understand they would not get the purchase price back -plus you'd have to deduct fees for food, training etc whilst trying to find another home and that could take a while.

It might be worth pointing out that any resale value will be minimal the longer they keep him.

> They have said they will want a full refund and for me to sello him on if they do have to rehome him

Marianne and Brainless have given great advice about the value of the pup being less once it's older, and about fees for food and board etc.

Did you have a sales agreement in place when you sold the pups?  If not it might be worth sitting down and composing an agreement about what you are willing to offer and what you expect from them.  Putting cost to one side for the moment how long do you want to leave it before taking the pup back?

The puppy belongs to them so it's their choice about how long they wait but, if you think there is a very high likelihood of him being returned, then it may be worth incentivising them to do it sooner rather than later.  You could check wording with some breeders on here otherwise you could adopt some kind of scale based on how rehomable the pup will be.  For example:

For pup up to age xxx - full refund of purchase price  - payable on return
For pup up to age xxx - refund of purchase price, less costs - payable half now and the balance on rehoming
For pup up to age xxx - payment of rehoming/sales price, less costs - payable after rehoming

This is based on the ease of rehoming - the younger it is the faster you should be able to find a new home.  If the pup is much older then it will take longer and cost you more whilst you wait.

The difficulty with this option is that they might decide to rehome themselves to save money, which presumably you'd rather they didn't.  If in doubt pay the price, get the pup back as soon as you can and chalk it up to experience.  It's sad for the pup to be messed around but if the owners have the pups best interests at heart they won't argue about prices and won't wait too long before deciding - they'll want to do the right thing for the dog and daughter.  Good luck

I hope you dont mind me commenting here but one question people dont ask very often is are there any allergies in the family.  This has happened to me a few years ago with a hubby being very allergic to a breed where allergies are not common.  I never used to ask this question but make sure I do now. :-)  Spending time with dogs either at a show or friends is important as the short time people are at the breeder may not be enough time to show an allergy or symptoms.  Just posting incase useful to others :-)