been asked to provide a puppy for training for the forces?  I have been asked and apparently you don't get paid until puppy 'passes out' at approx 18 months of age - or he is returned to you or re-homed.
My question is - would you charge them more as you have to wait for your money and have to potentially re-home an older puppy?  Although hopefully it will have been well trained!
I obviously need to find out more but just wondered if anyone else has had any similar experiences.  Opinions very much appreciated.

I was asked when we bred GSDs & my answer was a resounding No, whilst the training can be reward focused for the Armed Forces dogs, the handlers IMHO leave a lot to be desired, plus a lot of emphasis is put on the protection work from the start. So if the dog fails you can(as happens to a friend)get back a dog that is very focused on protection. Depending on the breed of course should it be a gundog to be trained as a sniffer dog the the protection drive won't be there of course.

I did let the police of certain forces use our stud dogs & fortunately they all made the grade, but Police dogs(especially now)are much less focused on protection

This is a dog for the Police and not for protection.  They want to trial a more 'friendly type of dog approach' for certain types of drug/sniffer work.  I do personally know a couple of Police Dog handlers and would be quite happy for them to take it on as I know it would have a good home life too.

I wouldn't have a problem with the Police & the sniffer dogs are only trained "defensive protection"by our local force & if the dog fails then they usually rehome themselves & also pay up front. Maybe the force that wants your puppy is more strapped for cash. Since the "Essex"incident the Police have revised their training programs alot

I am going to ask a pretty morbid question....what happens if the dog dies before eighteen months of age? ( rare, but accidents happen) Do they pay you or do you never get anything? I really find it weird that they dont pay up front.

quite an honour to be asked i'd think. if you like the handlers it might be worth considering

Agree Astarte. Feel very privelleged that they'd ask you.
I dont think it would be unreasonable for you to ask to meet handlers, gets an idea of the training they do etc. After all it is a 2 way deal and the responsible thing to do is find out as much as you can if you may have to take the dog back one day.
At this stage i'd be researching and asking the police to visit the training HQ to get an idea of what goes on/what kind of dogs they are making in training.

another nice thing is the dog would always have a home- i believe that if a dog is no longer used by a force for whatever reason they make quite an effort to rehome? gives a bit of peace of mind.

given that its this kind of organisation you can check everything out as freds mum suggests and not be worried about the new owners telling you fibs (as all good breeders do, worry i mean, not fib, no matter how carefully they've vetted!).

Pinklillies - I suppose I would get nothing - but I do know that the veterinary treatment they get is first class.  If I were to insure it - as I'm presuming it will still be registered to me until such time payment is made - I could then hopefully claim something back.
Its a risk but I think only a small one - I still have a lot of thinking to do before I make a decision and luckily I have plenty of time - puppies may only have been conceived last weekend!

Freds Mum - I have started making more enquiries about the type of work he would be expected to do etc.  I have also asked to visit the training HQ and watch what they do.  If I don't like what I see I shall say 'No' immediately.  I think this is a huge honour and would like to be able to do it, but the puppy must come first.  I know 2 of the handlers who are desperate to have the puppy and I would be very happy for them to have him - just need to make sure in my own mind that he will be capable of the work they intend him to do and enjoy it as well of course as being well loved and cared for.