Hi, I have received a message to say one of the puppy owners can no longer keep their puppy due to many reasons and it is not the puppy's fault but they just feel they can no longer keep her and they really feel the best thing to do is to have her rehomed.

We did have them sign a contract to say if through any reason they could no longer keep there puppy/dog they must contact us first as we will take the puppy/dog back any time throughout the dogs life.

I wonder what you would do in this situation as I have tried to call but not yet spoken to them, what questions you would ask and what you would do if a refund is asked for etc, if the puppy had only been with them a short time I would of refunded in full. I just want to do what is best for the puppy and feel christams is not a good time for her to be rehomed and want her to come back here for us to take care of her and then decide what is best and see if she needs time spent on training and socialising etc.

I appreiciate any advice thank you

This happened to us once but the dog was a bit older at 9 months.  We offered to collect the dog and re-train before getting him another home as he had some issues.  Nothing terrible, just no training and boredom things.  I never mentioned money, I just asked the owner if she wanted me to take him back and she did.  If she'd have mentioned money I would probably have paid to get him back but not full price, just going rate.  I kept him for a month and he was a fantastic dog and very easy to train and he has been living with his second family for 4 years now with no problems.  Oh, when I re-sold him, I advertised him for quite a sum of money but when the RIGHT family turned up, I gave him to them for free. 

Think it depends on how much you want the puppy back, it is admitted the pup is not at fault so the market value for a 6 month old pup unless from a very difficult to obtain breed would be worth about one quarter of its value as a pup. You need to remember you may need to retrain this pup, advertise it and keep it for a few months so the cost to you may be high. That said if you are desperate to get it back you will pay what is asked.

I would think it also depends how your contract is worded ?

I took one back a bit older at 14months and we agreed that there would be no money - I kept him for 3 weeks, took him to his new home and charged a minimal cost plus some petrol money.  He has settled in fantastically well.  If you can get the pup back I'd say that you'd want to keep her until after christmas and that you'd give her money if there was some after expenses etc if you sell her.  You don't want to 'make' money out of this, nor should you be out of pocket.  Depending on the breed you may be able to 'sell' the pup after Christmas.

We really do want her to come back, we would worry about her and really do want to do the whats best for her. She would stay here for a few months before a new home was sought.

The contract did say they must contact us if for any reason they could no longer keep the puppy/dog. We would be able to find the right new home, and look after the puppy whilst a new home was sought. It also said this would not always entail any refund.

(We did put 'this does not always entail any refund' in case a much older dog was returned). PennyGC that was my thoughts too to say I would take the puppy back and refund any monies left after my cost.

I also wondered what you would say to the owners about the situation with regards to them making sure rehoming her is what they want to do? I know just how hard a puppy can be! They did seem in their message quite sure they are doing whats right for the puppy by rehoming her.

> I also wondered what you would say to the owners about the situation with regards to them making sure rehoming her is what they want to do? I know just how hard a puppy can be! They did seem in their message quite sure they are doing whats right for the puppy by rehoming her.

I would get them to sign a contracton her return  to say that they relinquish all rights to ownership .

> owners can no longer keep their puppy due to many reasons and it is not the puppy's fault

In that case you are helping them out...they should see it as such.

If they cut up mean then Id pay full price to get my puppy back.... but in this instance....
it will serve no one any good to facilitate getting 'rid' of a puppy at 6 months a doddle with full refund.

It's probably in the pups best interest to get her away from there, it sounds like they can't cope... a bit like the people with my pup, goodness knows what they did to him apart from teaching him not to come.  Within a week of going to his new home (so 4 weeks away from them and after some considerable effort by myself) he was coming no problems.  Take her now whilst she's young enough to find a good home and not to have to go through any trauma - if they wanted help with things they'd have asked presumably, at 6 months she's still a pup and should be easy enough to find a good home.  I was fortunate to find my home via a breed based email based forum - he'd expressed an interest in a pup and been unsuccessful so was passed my name - it's a fantastic home.

We had a pup back here at 9 months. I trusted that the owners wanted the best for their dog, and didn't mention money to them either. I didn't have any wording in my contract regarding monies returned, although like others, would have paid if needed.

As it turned out he was a lovely boy once he'd settled in and learned some manners. He was eager to learn & such a handsome chap I would probably have found a way to keep him (he was show quality & would probably have done well if shown) - unfortunately he was already been castrated and wouldn't stop badgering my male (also castrated) to wrestle, hanging off him constantly (unfortunately my boy is very easy going and never once told him off - we just wanted him to be "told" as he learned pretty quickly after his mother set him right after he tried mounting her!). He had settled in so well here and it was an incredibly difficult decision but in the end, after advertising locally to no avail, I contacted our breed rescue, who had the most perfect home imaginable - country home, breed experienced people etc, so let him go.

I must admit, it was a very difficult decision, but feedback was that he strolled into his new home, immediately making himself at home!! The biggest shame for me is that I don't get any feedback as he went through rescue. I think about him all the time :(.

To the OP, I would just arrange a date/time for them to bring him back (if that's what they want). I wouldn't even mention the money side, as IMO anyone who signs a contract requiring them to return the dog if they can't keep it, relinquish the automatic right to a refund - especially if they've had the dog for a few months. After all, the breeder then has the awesome responsibility of retraining the pup/dog, assessing them, and placing them in a suitable home. One of the pitfalls of dog breeding, and I hope it never happens again as I found it really difficult not to be emotionally involved.

Good luck, hope it goes well.

I would ask them to return the dog to me, as per your contract.  Do not mention money but get them to sign the paperwork over to you.  It is possible you may decide to keep her and/or she have issues that will take time to resolve.  As long as your contract doesn't stipulate refunds apart from if their own vet finds a problem within first few days, all should be fine and the owners just be grateful that you are prepared to have her back.

Should you do decide to re-home her, you can then give her to a deserving home or charge whatever you feel reasonable for your time/her keep etc instead of being tied down to figures with a refund in mind.

I hope you get her back soon.

Hopefully.... if they are desperate enough to have to return the pup to her breeder, money will not be an issue.

Hi, thank you for all your comments. We have now spoken and they do want to bring her back to us, which has put our minds at ease.

They seem very grateful that we will take her back, they have not taken to her as much as they wanted too and feel its only right that she is rehomed. I think we will have some training to do when she comes home.

So glad you are getting her back, that's a relief!  At 6 months it shouldn't take too long to get her into good habits with a bit of training.

If I were the puppy owner in this instance I'd probably feel guilty enough and wouldn't really want a discussion about money.  I'd assume that it was my 'mistake' and I'd be grateful that you (the breeder) would be willing to take the pup back.

However, I don't think that I'd want to see that you have profited from my mistake either so I'd hope that you would look to rehome the puppy without too much consideration to payment.  I remember someone on here once saying that they had to give a puppy back after 2 weeks and the breeder resold her for the full price within days so pocketed 2 x£1100 (!!) with no mention of offering any money back to the original owner.  I'd also hope to get an update if/when the pup is rehomed - not chapter and verse - but maybe just to know there is a happy ending.

I did once have to rehome a 3 yr old dog with his breeder and it was heartbreaking.  I always wondered what happened to him (I know what plans she had, but I didn't know details or learn the eventual outcome).   I felt so guilty for years after (still do) and never felt I could ask her for an update.  Stupid really - I'm sure she'd have been willing to tell me but I let my feelings get in the way...