My girl is expecting her first litter which is also my first litter in the sense of having sole responsibility for all decision making. I've been of two minds whether or not to draw a Puppy Sales Contract, but feel it may be a good thing for some buyers piece of mind. So I looked for examples in the FAQ thread, and given that those range back from 2003-2008 I am wondering whether anything there could be improved based on more recent years experience? Perhaps a new clause that would be good to add etc.

Just to add, as many breeders here the intention behind this litter is to hopefully improve the breed, and if all goes well I plan to keep one or two puppies. It could well be that in order for the final choice to be made, the best puppies will stay at home they are 3-3.5 months old. Would you say that selling an older puppy might necessitate some amendments/additions to the Contract?

Many thanks in advance for all replies

As we/I became more experienced at picking 'the most promising' in our litters, we only kept the rest to the normal, for us, 10 weeks before letting them go to their new homes.   There's no doubt that people want their puppies from 8 weeks so hanging onto the entire litter for longer, could lead to problems - I can see people thinking 'what's wrong with these puppies'!!    I'd plan on running on 2, or even the 3 we did once out of a litter of 9.   Yes, people do have slightly older puppies available, once they've made their final choice, but with mine, so much can 'go wrong', or get better by 6 months in any case.   And apart from one boy I had to home when he was 18+ months (fighting with uncle), those I ran on, I always ended up keeping!

As for sale contracts, what you put in them is entirely up to you - I just urge you to keep it brief and to the point.... if we try to cover everything that might crop up, given how people are these days (law cases!) a Contract could run into pages.   And at the end of the day, unless drawn up by a solicitor (!), really are 'only worth the paper they are written on'.   I had a specific one for a male I sold to a fellow breeder which included me taking one stud service from him.   She sold the 2 I let her have abroad - so much for getting to him when I needed him.  Too involved - and this was before Pet Passport so I ended up using his brother who I'd kept, but he wasn't what I wanted, for that bitch.

One of the musts for me, on a Sale Contract is that the puppy comes back to me, or I'm involved in any rehoming that might be necessary, at any age.   Whether that could be upheld is anybody's guess.   Many times an owner doesn't want to admit they've made a mistake so home without the breeder knowing.......

The kennel club do a sample contract you can either use as is it change it to suite u.
www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media/14641/guidepupsalescontract.pdf

I agree with Mamabas that it needs to be short and succinct.

For that reason I am not keen on the KC version.

As for standing up to challenge any contract is only of use  if someone is prepared to take it to court, be it to enforce or challenge it.

A court would decide if the terms are reasonable. So that means no return clause would ever be upheld when a puppy is sold outright.

The point of such a clause is more to show your intent and responsibility.

My own contract has evolved over the last 20 plus years.

> A court would decide if the terms are reasonable. So that means no return clause would ever be upheld when a puppy is sold outright.

You are correct there - unless the judge happens to be a dog owner/breeder, they only see 'the law' and on that basis, indeed most clauses in Sale Contracts tend only to show 'intent'.    Even KC endorsements can be successfully challenged.  Which comes down to making sure, as much as can be possible, that you know and trust who is going to take your precious puppies - and hope for the best.   Not that a Sale Contract isn't a good idea.

Have PM'd you mine which fits onto two sides of A4, so no issues with signatures, and short enough to be read and understood..

Thank you all for suggestions (and Brainless for actual example - invaluable!) I'll have look at KC version, I've forgotten they had a template.... I think in the end I'll end up cooking my own version, but its extremely helpful to see the examples to avoid forgetting something important.

MamaBas, no won't be keeping the entire litter until older, just the best ones which from experience 2-3 pups if lucky! While not foolproof it does make sense, in my breed there is such a huge difference between a furball at 8 weeks and an almost a young dog at 3.5 months

> MamaBas, no won't be keeping the entire litter until older, just the best ones which from experience 2-3 pups if lucky! While not foolproof it does make sense, in my breed there is such a huge difference between a furball at 8 weeks and an almost a young dog at 3.5 months

Same with my main breed - what you see early days, isn't always (often?) what you have when mature!    Which is where experience comes in - I tended to go with the notion that the 5 week old puppy was often close to what the adult could be expected to be - but so often ugly ducklings turned into swans, and the opposite!!  All part of the 'fun' of breeding, pouring over pedigrees, going to shows to see what others were producing etc.etc.  Ad then there's LUCK!