MYSQL Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I recently have had an 8 month old puppy returned due to the new owners "not bonding" with her they have had her since she was 10 weeks old & have received regular training advice from me, the puppy is not naughty just a regular puppy who likes to collect anything the kids leave lying around, she sits drops & waves & is generally a lovely girl, so I feel as a breeder I have not failed in my duty to provide a healthy happy & well socialised baby. From the start it was allways stipulated that if it didn't work out for any reason for the life of the puppy she was to be returned to me, at no time was there a mention of a refunded purchase price. When I picked her up I gave them 3/4 of what they paid for her because I felt it was the right thing to do, the puppy will not be rehomed she will stay with me for life, th old owners are not happy with this & are demanding the full purchase price be repaid. I have the dog & her papers in my name, so what should I do? I don't want to end on bad terms with these people but I also think I've been fair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelsun Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 They can demand the moon..if it's not in a written contract, they are not entitled. You have done more than what I would have done in the same situation. After this amount of time, the 'not bonding' line is just that....a line... I offer full refund only for a thirty day period for any reason other than health issues which I have a longer guarantee...the thirty day 'trial' period is just that..if they find the dog doesn't fit into their world, they will find it out quickly. I then rehome (once properly assessed to ensure that the owners haven't totally screwed up the puppy) and charge what I believe is a fair price based on age and 'issues'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYSQL Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 Thanks Angelsun, I feel a bit better about my actions now, I was starting to wonder if I was being unreasonable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kia Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Have to wonder what their understanding of "bonding" is. At 8 months aussies are just coming into their teen years. You have been more than reasonable hdr as it appears it might just be a case of the cute puppy stage is over. Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYSQL Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 Have to wonder what their understanding of "bonding" is. At 8 months aussies are just coming into their teen years.You have been more than reasonable hdr as it appears it might just be a case of the cute puppy stage is over. Michelle I agree Michelle, The puppy howled for 2 days when she came home & was clearly pining for them so obviously she had "bonded" with them ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkyTansy Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Gosh what you offered was more than fair... Poor girl - I hope she is starting to settle now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYSQL Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 Gosh what you offered was more than fair...Poor girl - I hope she is starting to settle now? Thankyou I'm feeling a bit better about my decision now, I just hated the thought that I may have "ripped them off" she's settling in well now, it just took her a couple of days realise they weren't coming back for her, she's stopped howling & doesn't wait at the gate for them anymore & has started to make firm friends with the rest of the pack including the cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayly Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Was this a Scam bub? How can someone not bond with one of them! I think you have been more than fair. Glad to hear she is settling in well, I think the Aussie thread needs pics though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rysup Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Gosh yes you were more than generous for "not bonding"!! I only refund like that for health problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PomsNZ Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 not bonding? more than likely means we cant be arrrrzed looking after her since shes not a cuty cuty puppy and now a big doggy thats been misbehaving and stuffed if we are going to go through the teens with her. you offered 3/4 back, i wouldnt have! A bonding period doesnt take almost 4 months! you know in a couple of weeks if it will work out or not.... Good on you however for taking her back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYSQL Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 Was this a Scam bub? How can someone not bond with one of them! I think you have been more than fair.Glad to hear she is settling in well, I think the Aussie thread needs pics though! :p Yep Lyndsay she is a Scam x Static baby & the typical Scambo kid a total lovebug ;) I will take some pic's this week for the aussie thread I totally agree it was more a case of "can't be bothered" I got all the excuses under the sun when I picked her up, including but not limited to : she chased the cat ( funny how gently she plays with mine ) she brought half a dead wild rabbit up to the house so MUST have killed it,steals everything the kids leave lying around, & plays too rough with their old goldie. I just wanted to scream " SHE"S A YOUNG AUSSIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! " I told them exactly what to expect before they took her home. I also know of a friend who is having a 17 month old returned because the owner is having a baby now so they don't want him anymore It just makes me wish we could put an order in for exactly what we want out of each mating , & no more, then the stress of finding the right pet homes would be gone Thanks for listening to my rant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 (edited) Reality is when you take em back you get them off the hook and they can just pass on their responsibilty - for the sake of the dog this is great but the owner doesnt have the crap and guilt to deal with either. Buggered if I can see why you should have even paid one cent to them to ease their conscience and for them to ask for full purchase price is a complete show of disrespect for everything you had to do before during and after to ensure the dog was safe and well. Tell em to bugger off. Edited April 2, 2011 by Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 I dont think you are obliged to pay them anything. The puppy is now too old to appeal to puppy buyers. I understand you've said you will keep her now anyway but that's not the point. For all they knew, you might have had a page full of potential homes for that puppy at 10 weeks old that aren't there anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 3/4 of the purchase price plus all the training advice is MORE than a fair offer. I have a 10 month old dog here who is driving me scatty, in many more ways than one, and would dearly love to send him back to his breeder, only problem is I bred him and have kept him as he is a bi-coloured sheltie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 If you were going to rehome her not keep her, the fair thing to do is sell her for whatever she is now worth, and at that age it is less than a puppy. Then deduct your costs for keeping her, re-advertising, etc and return whatever is left to the original purchaser. I doubt that would be anywhere near 75% of the purchase price, it would more likely be closer to half, so you have been quite generous. I once had an 11 month old returned because the owners life fell apart and she was losing her house. I didn't get all the details because she couldn't stop crying enough to tell me. I took the dog, trained and rehomed him at a lower price then sent the original owner a little more than half what she had paid. She had never asked for any sort of a refund and was more than happy with that because her main concern was that the dog went to to right home when she couldn't keep him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 If you were going to rehome her not keep her, the fair thing to do is sell her for whatever she is now worth, and at that age it is less than a puppy. Then deduct your costs for keeping her, re-advertising, etc and return whatever is left to the original purchaser. I doubt that would be anywhere near 75% of the purchase price, it would more likely be closer to half, so you have been quite generous. I once had an 11 month old returned because the owners life fell apart and she was losing her house. I didn't get all the details because she couldn't stop crying enough to tell me. I took the dog, trained and rehomed him at a lower price then sent the original owner a little more than half what she had paid. She had never asked for any sort of a refund and was more than happy with that because her main concern was that the dog went to to right home when she couldn't keep him. I dont think thats the fair thing to do at all. I think taking the dog back so they dont have the worry of what happens to her is more than enough. I dont think rescue or breeders should have to buy back dogs - that completely de values everything we do in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trisven13 Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 I agree completely Steve. When we ran the rescue we had a 3 week return policy in which people could get a full refund in that time but not after that. Hopefully returned dogs won't be something I have to worry about with the Fauves for a while but never say never. They will always have a home here with me until they can be rehomed but I wouldn't expect to be paying someone to have them back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 3/4 of the purchase price plus all the training advice is MORE than a fair offer.I have a 10 month old dog here who is driving me scatty, in many more ways than one, and would dearly love to send him back to his breeder, only problem is I bred him and have kept him as he is a bi-coloured sheltie. :p ;) :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 The fact that the dog pined for the owners is the clue to the situation. She was doing something that they did not like. I have taken a pup back after 3 days and a full refund, the lady was allergic. The couple was devastated. I believe they could have desensitized but they went on doctors advise I have not had to take back an older dog so I would have to think about this. You have done reasonable thing IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 We have our refund policy clearly stated in our paper work . I think irrespective of what people think about the owners one has to be thankful they did the right thing & returned the dog to the breeder ,many don't & this dog could have ended up anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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