I apologize for the long title; as I didn't know how else to word it. The breeder I like for retired sled dogs states that it's better to keep the dogs intact rather than to spay/neuter them. The question about this I had is: Because he makes you sign a contract that you will not breed with his dog that you adopt from him, what happens after an unplanned breeding? Is this a violation of the contract? I know those are usually questions for the breeders his/herself but I wanted to hear your thoughts on it. If you were the breeder, what would you say are the repercussions for this breach of contract?

Thanks,
AH

This is a specific corollary to a more general question I've been curious about: are signed breeder/purchaser contracts legally legitimate??

If it were a legitimate accident most breeders would be forgiving IF you were up front and honest with them about it. However, if you have a repeat habit of 'oopsies' they may not be so forgiving, some contracts carry a heavy fine attached to unauthorized breeding and can be taken to civil court over. Likely these breeders would remain on the bitches as co-owners so no puppies could be registered without their signed consent.

I agree with the previous poster, especially about being up front and honest about it. It probably would also depend on how the situation was handled. For example, were the resulting pups sold, or were they given away? (making any sort of $ from the situation makes the "oops" part of it seem like a lie) Was the litter registered? What steps have been taken to prevent it from happening again?
I'm not sure of any legal repercussions, unless a lot of money was made (not usually the case with reputable breeders but somewhat possible with the not so reputable ones). However, breeders do talk to each other - so it might not be so easy to find another pup from a reputable breeder. ever.

That's what I was thinking, thanks you two.

We were discussing this recently and we came to the understanding that, unfortunately there might not be a way to seriously legally enforce a contract but there is a community involved in the breed...this forum is a great example....and with any community being engaged there would be many other ways to reprimand/punish anyone who willfully disregards contracts, especially in regards to breeding and making money off of puppies.

Cheers.

There are some kennels who absolutely would go after you if you breached contract - think big time kennels. They have the money to do it and they would.

I personally wouldn't purchase a dog someone didn't allow me to alter should I decide that is the best thing for the dog.