Can a breeder stop you from breeding

[Class870]

My sister in law is looking to get a springer spaniel. She has been told by the breeder that if she has one of the pups, it’s in the contract that you can’t breed from the pup you purchased. Not heard of this before, is it common? Can they legally do this??
Looking forward to your replies on this one. Thanks

 

[VSS]

Sounds like someone's trying to sell her a pup....

Joking apart, it's not something I've ever heard of before except where an animal with a known fault is sold as a pet, with the strong recommendation that it's not bred from.

 

[Kwreid]

If you buy a KC registered dog then nobody can stop you breeding from it. The only thing you won't be able to do is register the pups. If you want to breed pedigree, KC registerable pups then be honest from the start. The KC is a private 'club' as are all registration bodies for all pedigree animals

 

[VSS]

If you buy a KC registered dog then nobody can stop you breeding from it. The only thing you won't be able to do is register the pups. If you want to breed pedigree, KC registerable pups then be honest from the start. The KC is a private 'club' as are all registration bodies for all pedigree animals

Surely if the animal is registered with the relevant organisation then all the new owner has to do is join that organisation in order to be able to register pedigree offspring from it?

 

[Kwreid]

Surely if the animal is registered with the relevant organisation then all the new owner has to do is join that organisation in order to be able to register pedigree offspring from it?

She can be bred, but under no circumstances can her pups be registered with the KC.

The reason breeders do this is to ensure the continued health of their dogs line,
and ensure their rep as a breeder is not tainted by somebody churning out pups
that could potentially have been bred from a dog with potentially serious health issues.

 

[Heym SR20]

A contract is will be a commercial contract between two parties and thus it will be a matter of a breach of contract. It will a contract willingly entered into by two parties.

It very much depends. If the bitch will be spayed and there is no intention to breed then it is a non question.

If your sister is thinking of having a litter then perhaps it is. Some breeders are very protective of their bloodlines and to whom puppies go. I know that in Germany if you take a puppy of certain breeds you agree that it will be trained and pass its hunting exams and if it does not the breeder has the right to take it back.

A dog and other livestock are treated as property and as the vendor you can put conditions on any bill of sale. Whether the customer accepts these and enters into the sale, or walks away is another matter.

And if after the sale the bitch is then rogerred by the local pitbull (she likes a bit of rough) will the breeder really take you to court.

Personally I would find another dog, unless you want top pedigree, in which case you will be paying the price for a pedigree.

 

[James0586]

I have heard of this happening before. There is a contract that the breeder will ask you to sign. I don’t agree with it at all!

As I see it if you sell a house you cannot expect to live in the front room!

 

[VSS]

She can be bred, but under no circumstances can her pups be registered with the KC.

The reason breeders do this is to ensure the continued health of their dogs line,
and ensure their rep as a breeder is not tainted by somebody churning out pups
that could potentially have been bred from a dog with potentially serious health issues.

How can that be? Someone's either selling a dog or they're not. They can't maintain some kind of claim over it for the rest of its life, surely? If the new owner joins the organisation then surely they would be entitled to all the same rights and privileges as any other member, including the right to register pedigree amimals?

 

[Pete1774]

She is buying the dog, not leasing it. She would be the sole owner and is not bound by any conditions once the sale is complete. There may be a difference if she was a business buying the dog for breeding but as a private individual I doubt if any of the contract terms would hold up in court. I would be very careful about buying from the KC considering some of the poor wretches some of them peddle.

 

[VSS]

Personally I would find another dog, unless you want top pedigree, in which case you will be paying the price for a pedigree.

Why bother buying pedigree bloodlines if you're not allowed to breed from it in the event that it turns out to be a good'un? Sounds like a lot of nonsense to me, and I've been buying, breeding and selling pedigree animals for the best part of 40 years, including dogs.

 

[Kwreid]

How can that be? Someone's either selling a dog or they're not. They can't maintain some kind of claim over it for the rest of its life, surely? If the new owner joins the organisation then surely they would be entitled to all the same rights and privileges as any other member, including the right to register pedigree amimals?

I agree, if you buy you should be able to do as you wish, but, the KC seem to have the monopoly on the blood lines of certain breeds, dogs have been bred for hundreds of years to get the recognisable breeds we see now! Just look at the cross breeds that have appeared, should we not just class then as Mungrels? I was just pointing out these contracts are very common. As the OP asked.

 

[baguio]

Never heard it with dogs but have certainly heard it with pedigree cats. A contract is a contract IMO. If you sign it you have to abide by it! If you can't abide by it you shouldn't sign it.

 

[Utectok]

There lots of pups about I’d get one from elsewhere?
I’ve registered a few pups over the years with kennel club and never had to get any permission from owners of parent dogs?
I’ve alway had the dam and found a sire. Maybe they can block offspring being registered?

 

[Bo Diddley]

She can be bred, but under no circumstances can her pups be registered with the KC.

The reason breeders do this is to ensure the continued health of their dogs line,
and ensure their rep as a breeder is not tainted by somebody churning out pups
that could potentially have been bred from a dog with potentially serious health issues.

Correct, I do believe that somewhere in the KC registration the breeder undertakes, there is a clause they can use that stops you from registering any pups you may breed from a bitch purchased from them, you should be told of this before you part with your hard-earned. The Kennel Club is an unsavory cartel at the best of times. No one can, of course, realistically stop you from breeding from a dog you own, they can try with a useless paper contract I suppose.

 

[Andrewslater]

Correct, I do believe that somewhere in the KC registration the breeder undertakes, there is a clause they can use that stops you from registering any pups you may breed from a bitch purchased from them, you should be told of this before you part with your hard-earned. The Kennel Club is an unsavory cartel at the best of times. No one can, of course, realistically stop you from breeding from a dog you own, they can try with a useless paper contract I suppose.

Yes the breeder can put a restriction on the pups pedigree that will stop offspring being able to be registered as pedigree dogs under that bloodline without consent of the breeder.

The restriction will state "progeny not eligible for registration".

Works in very much the same way to a restrictive covenant on a title deed to a property or land.

I dont think its a bad thing at all for a responsible breeder that has created a ‘brand’ to want to protect it.

 

[Class870]

Wow a can of worms I’ve opened?!! It is from a KC registered breeder, who is apparently well known and goes above and beyond what the KC requires. It’s not mega money either, under £1k. It’s all most 100% that the pup wouldn’t be bred from but like others have said, don’t buy it if you can’t keep to the contract.

 

[Utectok]

Wow a can of worms I’ve opened?!! It is from a KC registered breeder, who is apparently well known and goes above and beyond what the KC requires. It’s not mega money either, under £1k. It’s all most 100% that the pup wouldn’t be bred from but like others have said, don’t buy it if you can’t keep to the contract.

On the other hand unregistered pups are only a bit cheaper ?!

 

[Dunwaters]

I’ve seen this on a pup I bought, the KC registration had an “ endorsement “ from the breeder stating that the pups could not be registered. It came to light after I’d bought the pup and attempted to register it to my name, I had to have the endorsement removed by the breeder, which wasn’t a problem.
A contract not to breed in the sale conditions I’ve not heard of, and definitely wouldn’t be signing..neither will I buy a dog with an endorsed registration again.

 

[MAH]

Can they legally do this??

In principle yes.
They are offering something for sale with conditions attached, if you choose to buy it with those conditions, you're choosing to agree with them and are then legally bound by those conditions.

You can make a counter offer, and say for example
1. I agree to only have one litter
2. I'll pay an extra? to be able to bread.
Etc, etc

They may or may not accept. You may or may not choose to buy from them.
That's the what negotiations and contracts are all about.

If you breached those conditions you would be in breach of contract law a the seller would need to take action though the court to seek damages.

M

 

[Foxyboy43]

Hmmm. A bit of a segue but my friend wishes his recently ex father-in-law had insisted on a similar contract!