I have just found out that the co-owner of one of my pups could be facing AKC disciplinary action. The charges are for scams that use his association with dogs and dogshowing to bilk a lot of people out of a lot of money. Since this falls under the heading of
actions detrimental to the sport of dogs he could lose his privileges. My concern, of course, is that because his name is on my pup's paperwork that I could end up losing privileges as well. There is no way that this man will sign the dog over to me so I need to deal with the situation as it stands. This
man has been in dogs for a long time and has had a good reputation up to now so this came as a complete surprise. Anyone have this happen or have any advice?
I looked at the AKC website but didn't see this type of thing covered.

Unfortunately .... as I have been told by many who have been in your unfortunate circumstances that if you co-own with someone then you will be brought into the situation and potentially interviewed by the AKC. Many times if it is a Co-Own situation then it is not as undesirable as if you are doing breedings with this gentleman and you are co-breeding litters. I would wait and see if some discipline is actually brought against this individual and then place a call to the AKC.

Sorry you are going through this - I have a feeling I know who this is, having been scammed myself. His reputation was well-known had I talked to some more people. Live and learn - hopefully he'll get what's coming to him.

what state is this breeder in? I think I may be involved as well but a state would clarify yay or nay....

BTW - I think what generally happens is any dogs owned/co-owned with the suspended individual cannot "do" anything - no showing, breeding, transferring registration, etc... So you might be stuck with a "pet" that you can't breed or show, if that was your intent.

And if it's who I think it is, there are a ton of co-owners out there that might be in the same situation.

I hope not Florida or Ohio!

I don't want to give the state but it is in the Western part of the country. I checked around when I was researaching and everyone said good things about this guy. Maybe the economy got to him, I don't know. My problem is that this is the dog of my dreams and has the potential to do it all. I don't have it as bad as the other co-owner/co-breeder (who is wonderful) who could be in far deeper ca ca. They say that politics make strange bed fellows but the world of dogs has it beat hands down.

Thanks for the feedback. Hopefully it won't get to the final point but

what if you politely ask for the dog to all yours?
best
ritva in finland
ps one never knows what the answer might be?

All I can say is that my mentor told me YEARS ago , never do co-ownership. Since then, I have heard myriads of horrible situations. I can and only want to be responsible for MY actions, not someone elses. There are just too many things to go wrong.

By the way, the AKC HATES co-ownership, and I have heard "rumors" that they may just get tired of getting hassled with trying to deal with all the crap that people expect them to resolve. There are so many legal battles...and the AKC is just tired of how many there are.

Has anyone else heard any rumors they may not allow co-ownerships in the future???
Maybe they will make it limited to only two people with the same physical address...who knows?

If the AKC limits co-owns, then they'll have to change the bred-by rules, too!

I agree, having been severely burned with a co own, that AKC should do away with the option.
People get very nasty when it comes to dogs.
I think sometimes it gets worse than actual custody issues with CHILDREN!

I have had GREAT co-owns and terrible ones. Don't ever totally rule them out.

I have as well but the truth is, you never know how it's going to play out until it's too late and you have lost friendships or dogs or worse.
People can turn on you in an instant and if/when they do, their name is on your dog, you are up s**ts creek without a paddle

Yep, it only takes one bad co-own to spoil it. I decided to not risk the ONE...no way...may spoil my name, my rep, who knows...

It's funny how many top breeders co-own dogs with other top breeders and/or other people, and it works quite well for them - just open up any show catalog and see how many owners some dogs have! I co-own several dogs - the key is putting everything in writing so everyone knows what's expected from the partnership.

Yes, you can put whatever you want in writing but that doesn't mean all parties will actually follow the terms.
Then you are stuck either going to court or forgetting about the dog, which is hard to do, but is what ends up happening most of time.
Problem is, possession is 9/10 of the law, so they say. The fight is sometimes not worth it.
So I have a new rule.
Never, ever place a dog outside of your kennel on a co own with anyone, unless you are prepared to walk away should things turn ugly.
It's a great rule and I learned it from a friend not too long ago (thank you for putting it into simple terms)
With this rule in place, I am prepared from the very start that things *could* go wrong and there are no suprises because I'm prepared to face whatever happens.
Any dog that I just cannot and would never be able to walk away from, I don't place out.
Very simple.

I've had no problems with co owns. You just need to be sure who you are getting into business with. For one co own, I am the mentor and will be once I sign off on the dog. The other co own is with a friend who is an absolute dream dog owner.

To answer some of the questions and posts.... Yes, I have asked for full ownership and told "No Way". This pup is turning out to be the best one in the litter and the breeder doesn't want to lose any control. The other co-owner is great but can't get the partner to release the dog to me as sole owner. As for the original contract, it was simple and straight forward covering showing, breeding, and foreseeable dog related incidents. What is didn't address was the co-owner using his dogshow associations to scam people and take their money. I am probably going to talk to a lawyer about legally getting his name removed. Since
I purchased the dog to show and this person's actions could prevent me from showing, it may be enough to nullify the contract

I suspect greed is the reason most co-ownerships that fail, do fail. Someone simply demands too much. The other person doesn't realize what the implications of the agreement are until it is too late.

Perhaps you can talk to this person again - sign another contract that says something about him being put back on the bitch after/if this whole thing blows over. Problem is, if you wait until after the guy is suspended, tough luck. You have to get ownership changed prior to suspension (if it happens).