I've been reading several breeders' contracts, and am wondering what you all do and what your reasons are for doing things the way you do. So here are my questions:
1. If you guarantee hips, what is your age in your contract? 24 months? 36 months? Life?
2. Does your guarantee cover any form of HD, or only a certain level, or a certain level with visible mobility issues in the dog?
3. Do you also guarantee elbows?
4. If a puppy you sell has a problem that you cover, do you make the buyer return the puppy to get a replacement or a refund?
5. If you don't make them return the puppy, do you give them all their money back?
You might want to check into the laws that govern dog sale contracts in your state. Here in California the law states that 12 months of age is the cut off (I go 24 months in my contract). Any genetic problem that causes the dog pain and requires surgery is covered (not just hips and elbows) and the seller must offer the buyer the option of replacement or pay 150% of the purchase price of the puppy. There are many other requirements for both seller and buyer outlined very clearly. I found this and more out by Googling "puppy sales laws California" and found a wealth of info. Your contract can go beyond your state's limits but cannot be less than what your state requires - or so says my legal counsel. Good luck
For a pup purchased as a pet, I give 26 months from the DOB for the buyer to notify me of any hip, elbow, eye, heart, or other genetic condition. If the dog is physically disabled (limping, blind, in pain, etc) I will give money back--no return of the dog required. If the dog is a fully functional family pet and is NOT syptomatic of the diagnosed condition, no refund is given.
For a show/breeding prospect puppy, I give 26 months from the DOB for the buyer to notify me of any hip, elbow, eye, heart, or other genetic condition. If diagnosed with a gentic condition, physically disabled or not, I will give them the option to return the pup for a full refund. If they choose to keep it AND the dog IS physicaly disabled, they will get money back AFTER it's been altered. If the dog is NOT physically dissabled, I will only refund them the difference between the show price and the pet price, after the dog has been altered.
Yes on items 1, 2, and 3. We guarantee against any genetic condition that effects the life style of the Labradors. This means, does the dog limp, is the eyesight effected, if there is there some other problem that requires special maintenance by the owner, we cover up to 30 months. We never ask for the puppy back, we refund up to the purchase price. They can send the puppy back if they wish but we never have had that happen.
We have also referred the family to another vet for a second opinion and we pay for that also. Actually this normally resolves at least 75% of issues.
This is just what we do and have done for quite a number of years.
