Co-ownerships And Puppy-Pyramid Scams
By Ryan Betz

In today’s information age it is much easier for people looking to buy puppies than it ever has been in the past. Now when somebody wants to find out something about a breed of dog, dog clubs, upcoming dog shows, dog products, or dog breeders the buyer can now just fire up the computer and surf the good ol’ World Wide Web. It didn’t used to be that way. It used to be that you had to beat the pavement going to dog shows to find breeders, spend time asking veterinarians about breeds of dogs and breeders they recommend, or scouring newspapers looking at listings. A lot has changed.

Of course you can still find breeders and dogs the old way. I would however suggest you not use the newspaper for it any more. Reputable breeders do not advertise dogs in the newspaper, especially breeders of high end breeds of dogs such as Bulldogs and Mastiffs. Backyard breeders who are nothing really more than pet owners use newspaper listings to sell puppies. When you are looking to buy a high end breed of dog you definitely want to get that dog from a breeder that knows what he/she is doing and has established a healthy bloodline. That being said, the Ethernet is a wonderful tool to use when looking for that dog breeder. It is only just a tool though, and not the only tool.

So you fire up the computer and begin your search. You find a daunting amount of information out there. So much that you do not sometimes know where to begin. Along with all of the information you find hundreds of thousands of pictures of cute puppies and beautiful dogs. You begin to sweat. You begin to get twitchy and nervous and excited and sick all at once. What should you do now? You find puppies for sale right there on your desk, staring you in the face with cute little round eyes all saying they want you to be the one to take them home and love them forever. You see prices and email information right there. Hey, you can even order your adorable new friend by using your credit card and PayPal! This is getting really exciting!  But just wait a minute!!!!! Tell yourself NO, do not do it! Do not click your mouse on that link and order your new buddy like you are ordering a shiny new fishing lure, or toaster oven, or newly released DVD movie. Stop yourself, slow down, and go back to what you started to do to begin with. You started out doing research. Do you remember?

Go Back. Wipe your fevered brow, take a deep cleansing breath, and go back. Start actually reading all of that information you saw miraculously pop up on the plastic screen in front of you. After some reading you quickly realize that you saved yourself from making a HUGE mistake. You almost ordered your new friend like you were ordering some kind of trinket or knick knack for the bookshelf. You saved yourself from being scammed by somebody that is just looking to make a quick buck and does not care where the dog is going, if there ever really was a dog on the other end to begin with. You feel really smug now. You feel really good for being so smart. Well, you should feel good about avoiding that pitfall.

Reputable breeders do not post pictures of puppies for sale with prices next to them. Reputable breeders do not just ship puppies off to some stranger. What reputable breeders do is take their time to make sure the buyer actually can provide a safe, stable, healthy, and loving home for their puppies. Reputable breeders have spent countless hours learning the breed, the industry, the bloodlines, the risks, and the ethics of breeding dogs. Reputable breeders give unto themselves back to the dog community by being responsible stewards of the animals they love so much. Reputable breeders have invested time, blood, sweat, tears, and money into these creatures. Reputable breeders will not cheapen that by selling puppies indiscriminately to just anybody for the sake of making a profit.

On you go………. You dive back into your research. After some time you have now found breeders that sell show dogs. You soon discover that if you play your cards right that even little ol’ you can own a gorgeous show dog. Oh, you would be the envy at work! You’ve always thought it would be fun to have such a magnificent creature to call your own! You can see the admiration of your friends at work or from your neighbors in your minds eye now! You quickly contact the breeder in sweaty anticipation. The fever is back! The twitching, the nervous sensation, the excitement, even the sick lump in your gut!!!! You can imagine yourself standing on a podium with your future super-dog, the both of you receiving gold medals around your neck from an old man in a top hat and wearing both a monocle and a bright red sash! The crowd is cheering! The trumpets are blowing! A motorcade is idling just yards away from you, waiting to drive you through your hometown where they are going to throw a parade for you and your vaunted canine! The high school marching band is even there, and look, your neighbor has thrown a bake sale to pay for all of the balloons herself!

WAIT…….back up, hold on. Do not forget to breath. Take a deep cleansing breath. Take several. Maybe even dump cold water on your face and wake up. You were hallucinating. There is no band, no monocle, no top hat, and  no trumpets. You have successfully heard back from the breeder though, and you can get that show dog on a co-ownership. What is that? You have never heard of such a thing. The breeder explains. It all makes sense. The breeder will sell a show quality dog to you, but will stay on as co-owner to be able to protect the bloodline from you doing something irresponsible, but it is still YOUR dog. The co-ownership is on paper. The co-ownership is leverage put on you by the breeder to get you to both show the dog like you are promising AND keep you from destroying the bloodline and breeder’s reputation by breeding the animal to something hideous. That makes sense, and you do want to do things right. This can be a really good thing. This can be an extremely positive and rewarding experience. Then again, maybe not……..

There are really good co-ownerships. There are also very horrible co-ownerships. You need to get it all in writing. Every bit of it. Once upon a time you did not need a contract on paper to cover a dog deal. Once upon a time you just gave your word and a strong handshake. Two people giving their word and a good old fashioned firm handshake once built empires and nations. This is no longer Once Upon A Time……this is the Here And Now. Here And Now you have to protect yourself from crooks, scam artists, and liars. The breeder must be protected. You as the buyer must be protected. The dog must absolutely be protected. Get it all in writing in the form of a legal contract, reviewed, agreed upon by all parties, signed and dated. If anything in the agreement changes you must insist upon a written addendum being added to the written contract. Slow down, take a breath, and do it right.

Now, what kind of contract terms are you going to agree to? Well, that really is up to you. It is your name going on that contract. You are the one that has to abide and live with the terms of that contract. If you sign a bad contract you have nobody to blame but yourself. I hear whining and moaning from people all of the time that they signed a bad contract with the wrong breeder. I can do nothing to help get you out of it. That is what the courts are there for. I will listen to your bitching with an open mind. Then I will give it some thought. Then I will show you where you went wrong and hope that the next time you will not sign the same stupid contract again with that same breeder………

I know, you are saying to yourself that nobody would be that dumb as to sign that same contract again with that same breeder. Once Upon A Time I said the same thing myself. “Nobody could be that dumb.” But remember, this is the Here And Now. I have lately listened to some certain people bitch and complain about a contract that was signed a few years ago with a breeder that was and still is running a puppy-pyramid scam. Then I watched as one of these particular people dove in deeper and deeper, doing the same stupid thing with the same disreputable breeder over and over again. Many people tried to offer help and education. None of it took. Now this person is also running the same scam on more new people. Somebody needs a face slap.

It amazes me that with all of the information out there on the information-super-highway that these people refuse to heed it. Research folks, it is a wonderful thing. The warnings are out there. They are everywhere. As I write this I do not intend it to ridicule anyone. I intend it to be a warning in just yet one more place. If one person reads this and takes heed then writing it has been well worth it.

You plan to buy a bitch to show and breed from a breeder. You are walking on sunshine. You absolutely love this puppy and feel like it took the breath of life just so it could grow up to be your dog.  The breeder puts the contract in front of you to sign, and you begin to read;

• You can only breed back to the breeder’s stud dog and no other stud dog unless the breeders says you are going to. You have no choice, plus you have to pay the breeder a stud fee to breed to his/her dog if that is the one the breeder chooses.
• You are going to breed this bitch whether you show it successfully in the show ring or not. You have no choice.
• The breeder/co-owner gets at least one half of the litter back, all first picks. You have no choice.
• If you are not capable to raise the litter yourself the breeder/ co-owner will raise the litter for you and the price will be that you will only get one puppy back but it will be the last puppy that the breeder/co-owner wants. You have no choice.
• If one of the pups taken was the pup you had your heart set on and you want it back you then have to pay full price to the breeder/co-owner for that puppy. You have no choice.

What do you do? Sign the contract and take the adorable puppy home with you, or crank up your intestinal fortitude and walk away? Maybe you try and negotiate the terms. That sometimes works.

Now, you read this and shake your head. You can not believe your eyes. There is no way this is a real contract. There is no way you would sign it.  There is absolutely no way. There is absolutely no way I would ever sign a contract like that either, as buyer or seller. However, that is a real contract that is out there. It is the number one contract that I get to listen to people bitching and whining about. It is the same contract I have seen a few people go back and sign more than once, even after complaining to EVERYBODY about it. There is absolutely nothing about this contract that makes it fair and equitable to both parties. This is completely a one sided contract in favor of the breeder with the buyer taking it in the shorts.

There are certain things about contracts that must be there for contracts to be legal. One is there must be clearly defined requirements in the contract. It must also be clearly defined as to what the penalty is for breaking the requirements of the contract. Another thing is that a contract absolutely must be fair and equitable to all parties involved in the contract. It should be something for something. It should not be something, and something, and something more, for just a little back. The above contract should end up in court every time.

There is often more to the above contract as well. Do you remember the puppies, or just one puppy that the buyer gets to keep? Well, those also must be bred if they are bitches under the same terms as the mother before it, and it keeps cascading from there. You really must take a long hard look at contracts before you sign them. You need to look at the future. Just how much of this can you live with and how far are you willing to take it? Like I said, I would never sign a contract like that with anybody. Not even if the dog was dipped in gold. Would you sign it, would you really?

Not all co-ownerships are scams. Not all breeders are dishonest. Some of us do our very best to be ethical, fair, honest, and reputable. For some of us we try to use co-ownership as a tool to be reputable. My wife and I try to use co-ownership as just such a tool. Let me outline our basic co-ownership deal for a co-owned show potential bitch puppy. Then you decide the differences compared to the other contract I outlined;

• You may not breed the bitch until after the third heat cycle.
• You may not breed the bitch to produce more than three litters.
• Once the bitch reaches the age of five years old she must be spayed so as to be able to live out the rest of her life in health rather than continuously producing puppies and deteriorating her health.
• We will not make you ever breed the bitch. The dedication and sacrifice it takes to do it right is not for everyone but we will support you in showing your bitch all we can so that you may enjoy the sport.
• We will help you find several possible stud dog candidates for you to choose from since we know our bloodline and others. Once we give you a short list of dogs to choose from we all will make the final decision together. If there is another stud dog you are interested in you may propose it to us for research and consideration.
• We will do our best to teach you about planning breedings, doing the breedings, getting ready for puppies, raising the puppies, evaluating puppies, screening buyers, and writing contracts. We hope to give you the tools you need to become a reputable breeder.
• We will take one second pick puppy from the litter under our kennel name. We will not take the first pick as it is your litter. Once we have our second pick puppy we will sign away our rights as co-owners to you. However, the number of times bred and the time for spay stay in effect. We now hope that we have given you a positive and rewarding start to becoming a reputable and ethical dog breeder.

Quite a bit of difference isn’t there? Our way is not the only ethical way of doing it, but it is the fairest way we could come up with after mulling it over and over. If there is a better way we are open to learning what it would be.

So take your time. Do your research. Give plenty of thought to the deal you plan to sign before you sign it. We wish you the best of luck and may your future in the dog industry be as rewarding to you as ours has been to us.