Just gave away a puppy (new owner did not pay)

[maggieandannie]

My shitz-zu had a beautiful litter, the puppies are shitz-zu schnauzer crosses. I have found all of them great homes, I did not advertise it was through friends and people through work. So I have a link to each and every pup!

I know a lovely lady from dog walking, and since my dog was pregnant she let me know her sister would love one.

I reserved a boy for her sister and when puppies were 4 weeks old she picked her little boy. Her sister asked was I charging and I said yes I am charging and would offer her sister a discount so pup would be £100.00; told me she would let her sister know.


Fast forward to yesterday she picked up her puppy and left me a present, a gorgeous box and inside of the box was a bottle of very expenisive gin/soda and a lemon and a card. I thought how nice what a lovely lady! I opened the card and there was no payment.

I want to send her sister a text, letting her know how grateful I am for the present (I did include a puppy pack for this lady, with blanket, teddy, vet details, groomer details, and a bottle of Prosecco), however I was charging.

Would I be unreasonable asking for my money, I feel embarrassed to have to ask her.

Please help

[Boysandme]

Remember that you're not 'making' £100 but just covering some if your costs. That way you won't feel guilty as you're not profiting from them at all.

Good luck!

[VivaLeBeaver]

Yes, better a healthier crossbreed than an overbred unhealthy dog such as a British bulldog or one of the other pedigrees with health problems.

[teeththief]

Don't say you're worried the money has gone missing! That gives her the chance to say that the money WAS there even if she knows it wasnt

[maggieandannie]

true teeththief, still waiting reply!

[Theorientcalf]

What are you going to do if they don't reply? Do you have contact for the woman that took the puppy? Don't let it drop!

[Tryingtobecalm]

Hope you get it sorted! How cheeky of them!

[KoalaDownUnder]

I think there was some misunderstanding between you and the buyer's sister. She has subsequently passed on the wrong info to the buyer.

Do you have a written record (text or email) of asking that price? Or was it all done verbally?

(As an aside, I thought puppies weren't supposed to be taken from their mother before 12 weeks...?)

[Vivacia]

Koala I think 8 weeks is a generally accepted minimum. Dogs usually wean by 6 weeks, but 10 weeks is more appropriate (in my opinion). I would not buy a dog from someone willing to to separate them at only 8 weeks.

[VetNurse]

Crossbreed, mongrel all the same if you ask me. Sorry but I'm sick to death of all this crossing of random dogs as it's the fashion. There is no need for it and is just encouraging more breeding. I also don't understand why you would put your pet dog through a pregnancy. Way too risky if you ask me. At least OP hasn't charged a ridiculous amount for them. Don't understand why people pay loads of money for a crossbreed. There are plenty of them in rescues.

[MammaTJ]

Some people have so much cheek! I hope you get your money!

[toboldlygo]

Erm, no, that's not how it works - crossing two pedigree dogs doesn't cancel out inherited abnormalities in a single generation, particularly when we have no idea what is going on genetically in the cross. A vet check is no substitute for these pre-mating tests, unless vets now have x-ray eyes - at best they are checking for hernias, heart murmurs and palate deformities. They can't tell you if the pup will be blind by 12 months from PRA or crying out in pain while waiting for its hip replacement op.

Koala except for certain toy breeds like chihuahuas 8 weeks is usual. The socialisation window in dogs is very short so unless the breeder is really hot on getting them out and about I'd prefer to have mine at 8 weeks and get their vaccs underway.

Leaving all the ethics aside... OP it really does sound like a misunderstanding and I imagine you'll get a slightly embarrassed response soon.

[Parcelhamster]

Actually if you're crossbreeding you're just as likely to get the health risks from both breeds, unfortunately.

Say if you breed a hip dysplasia, Wobbler disease prone Doberman to a breed of dog which is prone to eye problems and elbow problems, the puppies have a chance of getting ALL of these problems. Hybrid vigour, to my understanding, needs to have a lot more breeds involved than a few to take effect :)

I'm not against cross-breeds, mongrels, mutts, whatever you want to call them.
It's just that the vast majority of people who breed them don't know their heritage, the genetic problems that they have and therefore lack the knowledge to breed out these problems...
Most of this 'crossbreeds are healthier' stuff is pure myth... It's misleading to say so.
Perhaps that is why so many people who breed these dogs don't bother to get them health checked (and have all the appropriate scorings done).

Whereas if you are breeding pure dogs - you have a pretty good idea of what diseases the dogs are prone to so you can take measures to check against these things before you breed. Not to say that all pedigree breeders are good, though. You can still ignore what diseases are common in your lines and breed whatever you want.

Although there are still people who just chuck two dogs together just because they're the same breed. That's what makes me furious :D

For the love of god if you're breeding get the parents health checked! Breed for health! I don't care if you're breeding pugs or puggles.

Just take care, do your research and don't expect a profit.

[ProcrastinaRemNunc]

I think it would be worth clarifying what your dog walking friend told her sister wrt price. I wouldn't normally discuss a non-payment issue a with a third party but given she made the financial arrangement (and may have been the cause of confusion), I'd like her to clarify exactly what she told the buyer.

It may be that the buyer wasn't at fault, although both you and she should have confirmed payment expectations at the point of sale.

Fwiw, I do think mongrels should be charged reasonably for. They are not disposable items and as such, should not be charged a pittance for. Besides which, dogs being let go for 20 a pop or free in the past, has gone a long way toward creating the overpopulation problem we have today. Not all I have to say on the matter of breeding but this thread isn't the place.

[midori1999]

Well, yes, she owes you the money.

However, anyone who thinks this is a responsible breeding is blind. No health testing pre mating is mentioned at all, only 'vet checks' done on the bitch and puppies after the birth. These do not rule out inherited conditions at all and dragging a bitch and her day old puppies to a vet is madness, as well as risking all of them. If a vet check needs to be done then it should be done in the bitch's home to reduce stress and the risk of illness. For all you know, someone could have their dog with parvo seeing the vets when you take them in.

Anyone breeding dogs should have a bloody good reason. 'I love dogs' doesn't really cut it considering that if you breed you are risking your bitch's life and that tend of thousands of dogs are being killed in the UK due to lack of homes each day. It's also pretty unusual to randomly happen to have as many friends who were actively looking for dogs as you have puppies available, although not so unusual for people you know to suddenly like the idea of cute puppies. It doesn't sound like you have even met the sister of this dog walking friend, so the puppy has gone to a home where you haven't even met the owner, let alone home checked it? Aside from which, breeding a litter ready to go around Christmas and allowing one to go to it's new home on Christmas Day is highly irresponsible. A young puppy in a new home with all the things that go on on Christmas Day is likely to become shell shocked.

[hiddenhome]

If she doesn't reply tonight, tell her that you'll be round to collect the puppy at 10:00am tomorrow.

[hiddenhome]

If she won't hand it over, you'll have to go to the police and try to persuade them that your dog has been stolen and you need her to hand it back. Your vet can verify that it's yours.

[CalamityKate1]

Everything Midori said.

Actually I'm not totally against the RESPONSIBLE breeding of crossbreeds as long as the breeder follows all the guidelines that the top notch breeder of purebreds would. Eg health tested parents, not breeding until homes are lined up etc....

However I've looked for responsible breeders of crosses. Rarer than hens teeth.

I've also looked for breeders of my chosen breed who might have puppies in the next year. They're also pretty rare because they've already got waiting lists for puppies that aren't even conceived yet!!

And for that reason I'm happy to wait for as long as I have to in order to have a puppy from the breeder I like.

Whoever said that lots of the friends who took these puppies probably weren't actively looking, but rather thought "Ooh cute puppies! Friend of friend! Maybe we'll have one!!" has it spot on I reckon.

[constantlyconfused]

I'd be concerned and ask for the puppy back if no response by tomorrow.£100 is very cheap i paid three times more.
Dogs are a bloody expensive and if she can't afford £100 how will she afford spaying ,injections etc . She sounds very cheeky .

[LoathsomeDrab]

It is a myth that crossbreeds and mongrels are guaranteed to be healthier and hardier than pedigrees.

Out of the five dogs I've owned the two with very expensive inherited health problems were the two mongrels.

Chucking two random breeds together is no substitute for proper health screening.

[Redtartanshoes]

She's not going to reply to your text. Why would she?

[midori1999]

Mrsdevere, these aren't mongrels though. They are crossbreed a and as such they could have all the inherited problems common to both breeds. Aside from which, it is highly unlikely anyone breeding crossbreed a is especially knowledgable about the various lines within the individual breeds and is therefore not best placed to rule out health conditions or illnesses within the lines that can't be tested for, not will they know if there are any temperament problems further back in the lines of these dogs. These are all things a responsible breeder should know. Irresponsible breeding causes health problems and sometimes that has been done within pedigree breeds. However, the majority of pedigree breeds are actually quite healthy, certainly no less healthy than your average mongrel. Some of course, have been bred to irresponsible breed standards, but these are thankfully few.

[CalamityKate1]

Certainly agree that it's perfectly possible to be an irresponsible breeder of a purebred dog.

In fact some breeds should, IMO, be allowed to become extinct.

[DakotaFanny]

Still no response??