2 weeks ago we adopted an 11 month old husky from a family who no longer had the time for her. The old owners stated that she was a papered pure bred but that it cost alot of money to change ownership on those papers therefore if we wanted her papers we would have to pay for them..
Also they told us that both the breeder and the vet had told them that it would be best for her temperment to breed her once then have her spayed. But since we've had her, we've realised that they were not honest with us about alot of things and they've also been dodgy about returning our calls (when we picked her up they told us their kids had hidden her taggs and that they would drop them off the next week-end... we still dont have the taggs). We were also told to expect her to be in heat late december, well she's in heat now and I'm totally unprepared....
I feel stuck because we told the old owners we didnt have a problem with her having a litter and splitting the sale of the pups with them (since we only paid $150 for her and they apperantly paid $3000). We told them from the get go that we had no interest in breeding, we just wanted a family dog. I just dont know how to deal with this...

I'd get her spayed after she's done with this first heat. Did you sign any agreement with the previous owners saying that she would be bred and they'd get a portion of the sale from the pups?

It doesn't cost a lot of money to transfer ownership with AKC papers, I don't know about whatever papers your pup has since you're in Canada. Unfortunately there are many cases of rehomes with questionable stories and previous owners and your case doesn't sound any different. If you don't have any signed agreement with them on breeding I would get her spayed as soon as you can. I'd forget the papers since you only care about having her as a companion, you don't need papers for that and it sounds like dealing with these people is not worth the trouble.

With regard to when to expect her first heat, no one knows when it'll start so don't blame them for incorrect information, it varies from dog to dog. Even so I would not breed her on her first heat anyway even if you were prepared. She's just a puppy herself after all and I know she's too young to have had her eyes and hips checked to determine if she's good breeding stock.

with how the "old" owners are behaving i would toss them out the back door and do what you know to be right and thats to spay her. breeding her does NOTHING to help with temperament. keep her under watchful eyes till she is done with her heat and call the vet now and set up an apt. to have her spayed.
congrats on your new addition and i can't wait to see pictures.
like Val said, most "adoptions" have fishy stories....

@ Huskyluv, thankfully,no we didnt sign anything. Thank goodness for that. I dont really want her papers but I also dont want any problems with the old owners if they say they want her back if we dont breed her...
We were also told she'd already had her first heat, 2 month ago, thats why we were so surprised...
Thanks for the advice

So I take it there is no signed agreement that they transferred ownership to you either? I have proof of ownership for all my adoptees and would always make sure they sign something stating that they are transferring ownership to you and x amount of money was exchanged for her. Even my rehomes that we adopted for free from an individual rather than a shelter or rescue organization we made sure we had signed papers stating the previous owner was transferring ownership and that no money was exchanged. It's just a really good extra insurance policy against the previous owners pulling a "I changed my mind" and turning the situation into a nasty he said, she said battle. Even if it's too late for that now with this particular situation it's something you might want to keep in mind for future acquisitions.

Hmm, if she had her first heat 2 months ago that doesn't really add up that she'd have another so soon after...even more reason to question the previous owners and get her spayed. I wouldn't even tell them you plan to have her spayed, I'd just get it done. I'd bet with vet records proving that you've been paying for her medical care (if you haven't already I'd have a wellness exam done on her, plus she'll be due for her 12 month booster vaccines soon) along with her spay that those items alone will work in your favor if things ever come to a legal dispute. That plus the cost of everything you're buying for her like supplies and food, I'd keep all records and receipts for a while. I'd also hazard a guess that the previous owners may not be very motivated to take her back after she's spayed (hence why I'd just do it without telling them) if they were only interested in making money off of her which wouldn't surprise me.

And Jenn is absolutely right, breeding her will not change her temperament one bit. And I'd be wary of anyone, especially any veterinarian, who would make such a ridiculous claim.

All of my dogs have interesting stories but what I would do is just say the dog got Pyometra and the only way to save the dog was to spay her. That way you avoid breeding her and i'm sure they won't want her back if they can't breed her (they sound like that anyway.) That's what I would do anyway. I'd get her microchipped and get her papered at your vet just in case.

jbealer wrote:

with how the "old" owners are behaving i would toss them out the back door and do what you know to be right and thats to spay her. breeding her does NOTHING to help with temperament. keep her under watchful eyes till she is done with her heat and call the vet now and set up an apt. to have her spayed.
congrats on your new addition and i can't wait to see pictures.
like Val said, most "adoptions" have fishy stories....

Right on the money with what Jenn said.
I'd bet the rent money that the "old owners" could fit all their honesty in a tea bag. What they're hoping for is for you to do all the work while they can profit from it. Get the dog tagged in YOUR name then they'll have a heck of a fight on their hands if they try to reclaim it.

When I received Biko last year the previous owner told me they would mail the AKC papers to me when his wife found them. Hmmm they must still be looking 13 months later. Doesn't matter I had no desire of wanting papers in the 1st place.

$3000, what the hell this dog have gold nails on her feet.

Just catching up on this thread. WOWWWWW, $3,000?!!! Ok, the most expensive husky that I've run across was $1,800 and that was A LOT! I'm thinking that they're totally BSing you there!

I agree, spay her. Who cares what they say. You said that they don't pick up your calls? Oh well, you can do the same!

MelissaI wrote:

Just catching up on this thread. WOWWWWW, $3,000?!!! Ok, the most expensive husky that I've run across was $1,800 and that was A LOT! I'm thinking that they're totally BSing you there!

I agree, spay her. Who cares what they say. You said that they don't pick up your calls? Oh well, you can do the same!

Agreed! After this heat, have her spayed. Forget those losers. Have her licensed in your name so that legally she is yours and they have nothing to fall back on. Your not supposed to breed females until they are at least two years old anyway.

Hmmm...can they claim she's their dog? How do you prove it's your dog? Do you have emails going back and forth to prove that they relinquished her to you? I'd rather be safe than sorry...

And yes, get her spayed asap. I call bullshit on everything. Did they even own her, if they're hiding the tags?

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

I call bullshit on everything. Did they even own her, if they're hiding the tags?

I wonder if she has a microchip yet. Did the vet check? If not, I'd do that too.

hypers987 wrote:

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

I call bullshit on everything. Did they even own her, if they're hiding the tags?

I wonder if she has a microchip yet. Did the vet check? If not, I'd do that too.

Great idea Detective Hyper!

Yeah, I'd get her microchipped and spayed. If she is microchiped, I've heard it's really easy to change over the info on it (kind of scary when you think of it, but helpful in your case). I too highly doubt they'll want her back if she's been spayed. They sound like they are just in it for the money and puppies = money to them, so you probably would have less of a chance of them wanting her back if she was spayed. The pyometra excuse would be a good one.

Yeah it sounds like the "old owners" are running a puppy mill if they want to breed her so young. Like everyone else said, get her spayed, vaccinated, registered and keep the records. Don't mess with these idiots and if they contact you you'll have all the records that say show me the money.

BTW, getting her spayed will prevent her from getting pyometra and lessen her chances of getting breast cancer. Also if you were to breed, you'd need to wait until she was at least two years old and you'd want to get her hips and eyes checked to make sure she doesn't have any problems by OFA and CERF.