Limited VS. Full Registration for Pet Pups?

[Gypsydals]

For health reasons I don't like spaying or neutering early. In dals the ones that are spayed and neutered early tend to have more problems passing stones (expecially the males). Not every dal will end up becoming a stone former.
To me early spay and neutering does alter the looks of the dog. My neighbor had a dobie that she neutered at 6 weeks old. He ended up being very very tall, lanky and he had very little substance to his bone.

[Fran101]

Originally Posted by Gypsydals

For health reasons I don't like spaying or neutering early. In dals the ones that are spayed and neutered early tend to have more problems passing stones (expecially the males). Not every dal will end up becoming a stone former.
To me early spay and neutering does alter the looks of the dog. My neighbor had a dobie that she neutered at 6 weeks old. He ended up being very very tall, lanky and he had very little substance to his bone.

Ive noticed that A LOT also. Especially with males, if you give them a chance to mature before neutering, they grow to look more "manly" and less long and lanky. My boyfriends golden was neuterterd at 4 and is built like a mack truck lol the dogs brother, who looked/weighed the same as him at birth, was neutered at 10 weeks and is shaped like a tall lanky girl lol

[BoxMeIn21]

Originally Posted by Fransheska101

Ive noticed that A LOT also. Especially with males, if you give them a chance to mature before neutering, they grow to look more "manly" and less long and lanky.

Yep. I wish I would have waited with Rowdy - I had him neutered at 6 months and he's tall and lanky. I think he would have filled out instead of up had I waited.

[HoundMusic]

Originally Posted by BoxMeIn21

This is interesting - Can I ask what your health guarantee is? I thought the guarantee had something to do with health testing and the fitness of your line, why would not spaying or neutering negate this?

My current health guarantee is this - lifetime on hips/patellas & 3yr on on any serious congenital or genetic issue. Guarantee becomes void if the pup is allowed to become *grossly* overweight (not a little chunky, morbidly overweight - I do not feel I should be responsible for health problems that occur due to another's negligence) OR if the pup is not spayed/neutered within the specified time period in the contract, which is currently within 8 months of sale. The reasoning behind voiding the guarantee is plainly because if you willfully break your end of the contract, why should one party be accountable to uphold it but not the other? A contract is an agreement between two sides, so if one breaks their end of the bargain, I have a stipulation that resolves me of my part ... Say I have sold you a puppy that was pet quality, I didn't feel the pup was breed worthy for whatever reason. So you get a pet pup at a much lower price than one who has field and/or show potential and therefore may be breeding quality as well. I trust you to alter your pet and you get registration papers that are devoid of my kennel name so you take credit for something that is not yours. You never alter your pet, go behind my back and breed it unbeknownst to me. Or worse, it is potentially a carrier for a certain problem that you would not know about since pup wasn't purchased for breeding or it is an affected - and you breed it

So now we have a litter of poorly bred pups that are carriers and potentially affected with genetic disease when you were not sold the pup to be bred in the first place. If your pup is left intact, I have no way of knowing if you bred it or not ... I cannot see honoring my health guarantee in a situation such as this. It does give me a very high rate of return on the Veterinary proof of s/n though

Whatever means necessary to protect myself, my reputation, pups & bloodline ... Yes, the health guarantee is there to offer protection for the buyer first and foremost, and is definitely a means to prove your confidence in the genetic health of the bloodline. Have nothing to hide, my bloodline has been beyond exceptionally healthy thus far. I have also been screwed over badly by "breeders" in the past so really do try to be as fair as possible myself, such as offering refunds or replacements for sick pups w/o the owner having to give back the dog, etc. I wouldn't put anything in my entire contract that I wouldn't want to sign myself. But I think fair is fair. Breeders should all be accountable for what they are producing, I have no dark secrets in my breeder closet, lol, but breeders in no way should be responsible for actions beyond their control. I shouldn't have to offer someone a full refund for a pup if they broke my contract by not having it altered. They can break their end, but I can't break mine? That completely negates the entire point of the contract. Both parties need to uphold their end of the bargain.

[BoxMeIn21]

^^ That sums it up nicely. Thanks for explaining.

[MaryAndDobes]

Originally Posted by Val_theAussie

Has anyone gone from pet owner to being a show person.....with any success or otherwise?

I sold a puppy to what would be termed a pet home. However, they did let us show their dog and we finished her championship relatively quickly. So fast that the pet owner turned to me that day she finished and said "I'm not ready to be done yet!"

She went on to earn her CD and took her through and passed a temperament test as well, and therefore, that pet home put a Register of Merit on the dog!

[MaryAndDobes]

I spay/neuter my pet puppies while they are being cropped around the age of 9 weeks. I started that just over 6 years ago. I don't have any complaints, and frankly, it gives me a lot of peace of mind.

Any show potential puppies that go out the door are on a co-ownership with a contract.

[HoundedByHounds]

Mary thanks for the note on this. Very interesting to hear from someone with firsthand experience with early s/n in large breed dogs.