Did anyone see the TV programme Best in Show on Monday?

The Bulldog breeder on there ran through her puppy sales contract with two couples buying puppies from her.  I was quite interested/amazed at the clause 'there is a $10,000 fine if i ever discover you have bred from your dog'  She the breeder was totally adamant that she would take the owners to court for her $10,000 if she found out even accidental.

Now i thought it was common practice in the states to have Spay/Neuter contracts, but fines?
How could she enforce, how do you prove that the dog has sired pups, i assume that she could not force DNA tests.  Maybe it is just scare mongering puppy owners?

To be fair the breeder was doing everything right in protecting her pups, but even in the litigation capitol i wonder how this would work?

What do you think?
Sharon

Sharon,

I've only watched a few Best in Show programmes, but the ones I saw were about the show circuit in Canada, not the U.S.  

Keep in mind that any TV show highlights the extreme .. otherwise it would be less interesting.

Most contracts for people buying companion puppies from show breeders have a spay/neuter clause.  No fines.  My sister bought a Cairn and her contract said that she agreed never to let the dog off lead outside a fenced area.   You can put anything into a contract you want, but none of these contracts are legally buying.  Once a breeder sells a puppy and transfers ownership, that's it.  

Stacey

I do beleive that in the USA the laws are different and the contracts are enforceable, especially as the dogs tend to be Cio-owned a lot, which means the breeder tends to keep some legal ownership, even though usually the rntire expense of owning the3 dog etc are borne by the keeper.

Hi Brainless,

I'm an expat and an American.  I was involved in dog showing and still have many U.S.-based breeder friends.  I am not a lawyer, but I can tell you that the laws are no different with regard to ownership.  Once a breeder passes ownership to someone else, that is the end of their ability to control what happens to that animal.  You can sue anybody for anything you want - but winning is a completely different story. 

Most dogs do not tend to be co-owned.  The only dogs that are occassionally co-owned are show dogs or obedience dogs, etc.  It's done for a lot of reasons, but is not a recommended practice, as it often ends in a "bitter divorce."  I co-owned a Cairn with her breeder and it was a brilliant experience.  There were no fines in the contract.   Even when co-owners fight there is rarely any lawyer involved because the legal expense to try to move control of an animal from one co-owner to the other co-owner is so high it's not worth it.  So usually it gets worked out between the two and they end up hating each other, spreading gossip about each other, and keeping everyone else amused. :-)

As an aside to contracts... there is the "marriage contract" or prenup in the U.S. I find it interesting that prenuptial agreements keep getting press attention her in the U.K. of late.  Even in the home of prenups, the U.S., they are often not worth the paper you paid the lawyer to print it on.   If there is any change of circumstance (like a child, one person's income changes substantially from when the agreement was signed, it's 20 years later and not 2 years after you signed the prenup) you can take the prenup and use it to start a fire, because it is virtually worthless.  Keeps the lawyers happy and rich at both ends of the deal though.

Stacey

Stacey

What time and what channel is Best in Show on? Please Viv

Viv

The show is on Monday, Animal Planet at 5 pm

Stacey

Thanks Stacy, will watch with intrest.

That is interesting Stacey, so people are just counting on bluff then :D

Yup, they're counting on bluff.  

Stacey