Breeder refusing to refund on unsuitable pup

[LucyEllensmummy]

My lovely idiot DP came home with a supposedly four month old rottie puppy (please no rottie comments!) on thursday - i was horrified to say the least (not because of the breed!) because im not ready for another dog. Anyway, DP really wants a dog of his own and desperately misses our old boys so i agreed we could keep him. BUT the dog was just not right, it was kennel reared and had clearly had no human contact, nor been in a house. It was nervous and as it turned out had aggression issues surrounding food - the breeder knew this but didn't pass on this information clearly to my DP. To be honest, i wouldnt have touched the dog with a barge pole in the first place but DP acted on the spur of the moment and we have had a dog from this breeder in the past.

The other dog we had from them was a star, he was 8 weeks old, came with its first vaccinations and 6 weeks insurance which is pretty much par for the course for a good breeder. This dog came with none of that. When DP took it back the woman said to him "oh yes, he was quite nervous" i mean, WTF - he explained that we had a three year old DD.

So anyway, when the dog tried to take my face off for defending my little jack russel i insisted it go back and DP agreed. Took him back, they offered a replacement but i have lost confidence in them - they have refused a refund. IVe not contacted them yet as i wanted to find out if i have any legal come back at all?? Spoke to a vet friend and he said kennel club will do nothing, even though pup was registered.

Sorry to sound a bit harsh, as I know you are a very conscientious dog owner, and very knowledgeable one, but if your DP bought a 4 month old dog on impulse and without discussing it with you I really think that the breeder is entitled not to refund.

At four months it is much more likely that the dog won't adapt so easily to home life and to children than if you had him from around 2 months. So if you had planned the purchase you would have expected to have to deal with the possibility of problems.

I would be furious with DP.

Threadworm - I AM furious with DP, really seriously bloody furious - i spent most of the weekend in floods of tears and he broke every rule i have ever made regarding buying a dog. There is no wayi would have taken a dog on at this age, and i would only want a dog that was in a home, with children from birth - DP KNOWS this, which is what i am even more stunned about.

I do feel the breeder should offer a refund, if not all of the money, half maybe - i feel they were less than honest with him.

A very costly lesson learned, but not one i was willing to swallow - i adore rotties, have had two (one a rescue with serious issues so im very expereinced) but this has tarnished the whole thing for me and will probably not get another. I have said i will THINK about getting another dog in the summer, but only with my full input and much research and talking to potential breeders - I have a small DD the dog has to be 100%

Is it docked?
I'm just thinking of a barganing tool... it is illegal to dock unless done by a vet who signs documents to prove it is.

If your pup is docked, I suspect it is done illegally, so you could use this as a bargaining tool.

FWIW most breeders would take a dog back under the circs, it's just not on to sell a nervous dog to a family.
alarm bells at 4months old puppy though- it's very late on to be trying to change behvaiour easily...
good luck

IN fact, Rotties can't even be docked by a vet anymore - only some working dogs and terriers, if evidence is supplied to the vet that the puppy will go on to work. Rotties are not on the list of exempted breeds and so it is illegal to dock fullstop.

Yes, you are right.
I haven't really looked at the new law- I've never docked a tail in 20yrs.
I seemed to have tailed off mid sentance on it too- multi tasking to the max here!

I'd contact citizens advice bureau about it to be honest as they deal with all sorts of consumer deals - they should be able to tell you where you stand in all of this legally.

Where is the dog now?

Tail docking advice above is excellent if the pup is docked yes. Other than that I would also consider if the CAB can not give you any legal assurances that you could try pushing the breeder to refund on the basis that if they sold a dangerous dog you could sue them for any damage as by her own admission the pup was nervous and she did not declare this at the time. Personally on the basis that the pup was not fit for purpose I would think you do have a legal claim to a full refund. How did he pay? If credit card you may have some claim through that, if cheque then cancel it now. If cash....hmmm.

He had a tail! I hate docked tails and was a memeber of the anti docking alliance for a while, membership lapsed.

Dog has gone back BG, i wanted rid because i felt he was a danger due to his +++ possesiveness and also, i thought best send him back in state we got him - he is no less saleable a day later tbh.

Good idea re the CAB, might give them a ring - we don't have one legally, that might be enough to worry the breeder into coughing up.

It is awkward though, the dog was actually five months old it turned out - what was DP thinking of!! I know exactly what he was thinking, we had a rottie (from the same breeder) about 2 years into our relationship and that dog really cemented us together, gave us something to focus on, we had no money and all we did was walk the dog EVERYWHERE!! This whole thing at the weekend has brought it all back to me (mostly good of course) and i am back to missing my Tiny as much now as when he passed away four years ago . DP and i have had a bad few years and i wonder if he was trying to bring back what we had with Tiny, he meant well, but honestly i was so angry with him i actually considered leaving . He KNOWs my views about puppies and my criteria for choosing a suitable dog - never mind the fact that i don't WANT another dog at this moment in timie. But its done now - just want to try and get at least a partial refund £350 is a lot of money to just throw away. Paid Cash

Believe it or not, my DP isn't a stupid man (MOST of the time)

i meant we don;'t have a CAB locally!

Glad for the pup he has a tail - shame there is less leverage for you though. Did you get hold of the CAB?

BG - not had chance yet - been out all afternoon - am sort of waiting for a cheque in the post (not likely i know) before i act, might give the breeders a ring first, see if they have considered a refund. But definately will go down that route if no joy - thanks

Yes, glad he had a tail - the only time i ever felt sick as a vet nurse was when we had some puppies in for tail docking - they literally screamed and i had to leave the room