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I can't remember but I think my breeder had a nonrefundable deposit clause in the contract I don't know if anybody else does that.

lots of breeders do. but good breeders care more about getting an unwanted dog back than they care about keeping a nonrefundable deposit.

my dog's breeder is unusual, but she didn't want ANY money from me, not even for his air shipment fees, until i'd had him a week and was certain i wanted to keep him. she didn't want there to be any disincentive for me to send him back.

i asked her if, in 25 years of breeding, had this always been her policy, to not accept money from people until they are sure they want to keep the dog? she said yes. i said, have you ever been taken advantage of (she ships the pup, then never gets paid)? she said no. she said she only sells to people she trusts. if she can't trust them to pay her, then she doesn't trust them enough to sell them a puppy.

makes sense to me.

If I got the bucks to lay out 800 to 2800 dollars for a high drive dog, I wouldn't squawk too hard at a 120 dollar processing/handling charge rolled into the total cost. It might of given the LEO and family enough pause to get back in the car and go home with their toy dog

Wouldn't a "time spent" or "restocking fee" added to the purchase contract be an incentive for the buyer to sell or re-home the dog on his own. That could be very bad for the dog and would sever the breeder connection. I agree with Alice.

It also sounds like a bit of an impulse buy for these folk, or they wanted first refusal since, from the OP, it sounded like they wanted to be first to see the dog. Good for you, taking the dog back...sounds like it was for the best.

Well now I'm a little interested in if you take the animal back. The way I handle my "Work" dogs is that the only contact my wife and kids have with him is seeing him in his kennel. I've had him out around my wife a couple of times and he ignores her. He will look at but doesn't attempt to get any attention from her. Now this is an awsome work dog, but in no way could ever be a family dog. So guess my point is that the husband wanted the k9 to be a work dog he should of never had around his family in the first place. Also the female sound strong...Got any pics i would love to see her. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

When we got our first GSD, our entire family was required to be there and meet the pup. We had 4 meetings of this nature plus many, many phone calls. Our breeder had a non-refundable deposit that could be applied to another litter if we didn't bond with any of the pups. The first thing she told us was-if at any time you feel the need to discontinue owning the pup, she wanted it back. No questions asked, with full refund! She really loves her dogs and wants good, loving homes for them. We ended up buying a second pup from her 3 yrs later with the same conditions. Our breeder is a GEM <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I agree with everything Alice said.

As a novice in all things dog related, I can say MHO would be that if a breeder charged a "restocking" fee I'd run the other way. It sends, at least to me, a very strong signal that I, the purchaser am a really giant pain in the ass and even though I have maybe made an innocent mistake and purchased the wrong dog for my house, the breeder doesn't care. It's more important to the breeder that I keep the dog, no matter how bad the conditions would be in my house for that dog.

Time is money, yes, but that is very, very basic part of your job, spending time getting to know the people who will be taking home one of your dogs. To even think about charging them to get to know them (since they chose to return the dog)...well, I'd never, ever recommend that breeder to anyone.

I could not agree with you more.
I spend 2 weeks with a family that was buying a female I had purchased to compete with and ended up not being competition material.So I placed an add and sold her for half of what I paid. Like I said I spend 2 weeks with this famlily and I certainly did not entertain the thought of getting paid for my time plus the price of the dog had they decided to bring her back.You have to wonder at the end, is it for the benefit of your dog or the money and getting rid of the dog.For me it has always and will be the benefit of the dog.I have 4 children, 3 dogs, 2 cats a husband with a demanding career and I still would give anytime I had to assure a good home for my dog or pup.I am a bit dissapointed of breeders that always want $ for their time, WHAT?????You don't see a off duty officer that comes to someones aid , demands a pay check in return!?.Donate a bit of your time for a GOOD cause is a good thing.Making sure your dog goes to the right home is A GOOD THING. Who says you can't change your mind anyways, I am sure the family had good intents, just not the right dog for the whole family.
Nothing wrong with that in my mind.

This one seems like a no brainer! Take the dog back back & give the people 100% refund so you can be done with them. You win some, you loose some. You don't always get to make $ on your time! I guess I'd be counting my blessings that my dog came back none the worse for wear. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Dear Barbara Earnhardt,
My name is Francesco Carotenuto and I am a professional breeder. I would like to offer my opinion in this situation.
First , I am very selective with the people who get one of my dogs.I produce quality dogs and do not concentrate on quantity. If any of my clients call me back and ask me to take back one of my puppies, I want the dog back in my kennel in less than 48 hours. I know if they are not happy with the dog they will not do the right thing by him . So I want to remove him from that environment as soon as possible.
Second, I do not know how long you are a breeder , if you are producing good quality dogs and are selling a super puppy to someone that isn’t going to do the right thing that puppy doesn’t have a bright fruitful future and at that point it will backfire at you because people will think that the puppy is not of good quality.
So when you ask this type of question it looks like you are concentrating on quantity not on quality. And your breeder “friends” that tell you to let your client deal with it or the ones that tell you to ask for a restock fee , tell them to stop to be a breeder.To be a professional breeder you must be ethical .
Sincerely, Francesco Carotenuto

http://www.K9Nation1.com

Amen to that.