Am i bound to a Non-Breeding contract?

Question

I purchased a dog not too long ago. He is a wonderful pet and we love him very much. When i purchased him the seller told me I could breed him as a stud dog. After working with the animal and breed i decided that i may offer his stud services to qualified bitches for the betterment of the breed. I emailed a few local breeders to show them pictures and little info about my dog. I received some good emails and one bad one. The one in particular was threatening. The person claimed to KNOW my dog and that i did not have breeding rights. Apparently the previous owner might have signed non-breeding papers. I check over my dogs papers that came with him and nothing of the such is mentioned. I just have his pedigree with transfer of ownership. If such a contact exists, am I legally BOUND by it? I never signed nor heard of any such contract till now. They are threatening to come and TAKE the dog away from me now. Can they do that?

Please help!
- I'm in Canada, if that matters.

also... in case it makes a difference. The Dog is obviously not neutered and is 18 months old.

Answer 1

Canadian contract law follows English common law, so it is similar to both the US and UK for the general principles.

A contract is valid if there is mutual consideration, that is, both parties are benefited from the contract. If someone breaches a contract, the other party is entitled to money damages, but that is all. For instance, if someone bought an animal at a lower price that had a no breeding clause as part of the sale, both parties receive a benefit, lower price vs. no breeding. If the no breeding party were to breed the dog in violation of the sales contract, the original owner would be entitled to the difference in prices (reasonable market value of a breeding dog minus the price actually paid). Regardless of who you are, if you paid a substanitial amount which is comparable to the price of a dog, no one can take that dog from you. The goal of damages is to make the parties whole had the contract not been breached, NOT to put the parties where they would have been if the contract had not happened.

What the nasty email claims is what is known as an equitable servitude, which is a contract (covenant) which remains with the property. Lucky for you, courts only allow these with land and only if very strict rules are met (recorded with the deed etc.). This has been the case for hundreds of years, and you can rest assured that Canada has not departed from this. The first contract cannot "run with the dog" to subsequent owners. An agreement not to build a gas station or 6 story building on your land would transfer to subsequent owners, however. Dogs do not equal land, so primary contracts cannot be enforced against subsequent owners.

The only way your breeding rights can be diminished is if your dog is not registered with the primary sale. What typically happens is that the original owner will retain pedigree papers until proof of sterilization is made. This is the only legal way to control breeding rights of an animal.

Another example would be if you bought a car from someone else only to learn that part of the agreement of the original car sale was to mow another persons lawn on Tuesdays. There must be a meeting of minds for a contract to be valid (except in the case of land). You were not a party to the original contract and so it doesn't apply to you. If you leased your dog, this would be a different story, but I don't think you are leasing your dog (or that anyone leases a dog for that matter).

It may very well be that an original contract was made between the first owner and first buyer, but it will be unenforceable against you.

That email makes several claims that contradict the law. I would not respond to it at all. Your dog is safely yours and you can breed him all you like.

If it involves the internet, leave your address out and give an email first. Supply only your region. Have those interested in stud services supply you with a phone number for you to call them. When you are talking over the phone, this is the time to deal with specifics. It makes it easier to screen out people who are excessively dog crazy (if there is such a thing, as all dog owners know).

Answer 2

When considering other responses that sound reasonable, I'd say that you should request CKC records for the dog from the prior owner. If there is a non-breeding contract on the dog, you can probably take the prior owner to court for making a false claim in order to get you to buy the dog. It sounds as though you did not buy the dog intent on NOT breeding him (he'd be neutered by now), and thus you were misled.

The other thing to consider is that the person claiming to know your dog may be an unscrupulous breeder that doesn't want more competition. They may NOT know your dog. You can ask them to show proof, including CKC registration and knowledge of the prior owners. If they fail that, then I would strongly doubt the other person's claim. I would highly doubt they can take your dog--that claim alone should make you wonder about he credibility of the person making the claim.

Finally, while you can be bound by a kennel club with a non-breeding contract when it comes to certifying bloodlines, you cannot be bound if you just want to breed your dog and don't claim any special status that the CKC can grant. As far as I know, the CKC has as much legal authority in determining who can own a dog and what they can do with it as the AKC, which is absolutely nothing. They are not the law, they are a club.

Answer 3

Is they dog AKC registered? I know with AKC, that if the breeder puts the dog on limited registration (which means no breeding rights; you can breed the dog but you cannot register the puppies) the certificate has a orange border on it. You would be as legally bound as the person that originally purchased the dog, but they cannot take the dog away legally. If possible, I would contact the breeder and the registry to find out for sure, and if he is on a non-breeding contract call the person that you purchased the dog from and ask for a reduction in price due to the fact that he was marketing the dog for stud even though it cannot be used. I do not have any experience with any other registries, but I would assume that they would be similar.

Answer 4

From what I understand about the Canadian Kennel club, the pups in a litter can be sold with a non-breeding contract. I don't know if the actual registration papers look different like they do here with the AKC in the US or not, but if this dog was sold to the first owner by the breeder with a non-breeding contract, then the breeder needs to apply to revoke it before you can use this dog for breeding purposes or you can not register his offspring with the CKC. I would contact the original breeder of the dog and explain the situation to them. I don't believe they can take the dog from you if you bought the dog from someone else. This is what it says on the CKC site about this.

. What is a Non-Breeding Agreement and can it be cancelled?
A.
A Non-Breeding Agreement is a document, which formalizes an arrangement between a dog breeder and the purchaser, denying the right to breed a dog without the breeder's consent. For the CKC to recognize this agreement, a Non-Breeding Agreement must be completed and submitted with the Application for Transfer of Ownership to the CKC along with the required fees. Please visit the online forms section of our website under the CKC Services menu to download a Non-Breeding Agreement, or contact the CKC Order Desk at 1-800-250-8040.

Cancelling a Non-Breeding Agreement can be done by having all parties involved in the original Non-Breeding Agreement complete, sign and submit a Cancellation of Non-Breeding Agreement form to the CKC accompanied by the required fees and the original certificate of registration. Please visit the online forms section of our website under the CKC Services menu to download the Cancellation of Non-Breeding Agreement form or contact the CKC Order Desk at 1-800-250-8040.

Answer 5

If there is a contract and if the dog was sold with limited registration then yes it is legally binding and yes they could potentially take the dog if there indeed is such a contract.

Also there is a lot involved to standing a dog at stud..
1) he needs to be at least 2 years old
2) ALL of his paperwork MUST be in order including the registration being transferred over to your name
3) all health testing must be done & passed (not just simple vet exams)
4) the dog needs to be shown & pointed/championed or evaluated by at least 3 unbiased breed knowledgable people of the breed
5) the pedigree must be researched for at least 4 generations for health, longevity, temperament
You also need to have working knowledge of health issues in your breed, good bloodlines, breeding practices, registration info. In addition you need to be aware taht once a dog is used for stud his whole behavior can change for the bad..he can develope some very unwanted male behaviors including aggression and marking in the house.

Answer 6

Breeders sell dogs that are not good enought to breed under no breeding contracts. If the breeder was cared enough about her puppies to do this, she would probably would also want to know that the dog has tranferred ownership. She can change the contract, why don't you find out who she is and talk to her.

You may be able to return the dog to the person you bought it from, being they mislead you.

If *I* were the breeder, and you violated the contract, you would find yourself in court. However, if you talked to me about it first, I would be open to discussing it. And then you would also have the breeders expertise to help guide you in making the right choices.

This is why I have it in my contract that the dog has to either come back to me or I have to approve the new owner.


To the people who say it is not the breeders business -
It most certainly IS!!! A breeder spends years and years developing a quality line of dogs. It IS my business if someone wants to take a pet they bought from me cheap and use it to breed crappy quality puppies with MY lines!!! Do you think they spend their life breeding so that some idiot can produce crappy puppies with their high quality stock???

When you buy a pet pup from me, you are getting a pet, you are not getting free access to all my years of work!!!

GAWD! No WONDER so many breeders insist on spaying/neutering before puppies leave the house!!! What a bunch of unethical, immoral people!!!

Answer 7

Yes, if a non-breeding contract exists for that dog, you are bound to it. I don't think they can come from your dog. It may also just be a ploy from a scammer that wants a new stud for their puppy-mill....

You should really contact the breeder that you got the dog from and find out if there is any such agreement and if so, get a copy of it, then get the dog nuetered.

Answer 8

If there is a contract it's between you and the breeder you purchased the pup from. If you are being threatened by a third party contact authorities. If you have a question if there is such a contract ,contact your breeder. If your pup has not been genetically tested or evaluated by a show judge please do not breed him. Good luck.

edit: At 18 months your boy is too young for genetic testing,therefore too young to even consider breeding.

Answer 9

My dog has limited registration (meaning that her pups would not be qualified for registration with the American Kennel Club) and it definitely says it right there on her papers. I assume this would be the same for the CKC. If you didn't sign any sort of paperwork with your breeder, I don't see how there could be anything legal.

The only thing that I could possibly see happening is that the CKC may reject giving papers to the offspring. That would be the worst case scenario. I don't think anyone could take your dog away.

Answer 10

The breeder may have sold to the original purchaser on what is called "limited registration."
In this case - although the dog is not neutered - his puppies can't be registered. (I'm talking AKC rules.)
The person from whom you bought your dog may not have fully understood this when they bought him. They also may have signed a contract with the breeder when they bought him - stating that they understood that the couldn't breed him.
Case in point.....
I show & breed Collies. When I sell my puppies, if they aren't being shown, they are sold on "limited registration." I do this because I don't want my kennel name out there on a bunch of poor quality puppies. The purchaser signs a contract stating that they will not breed the puppy & that it will be neutered by the age of six months.
Well.... last year when I sold a puppy, a person called me three weeks later stating that they now had the puppy & that the person who gave them the puppy (the original purchaser) stated that I had never given them ANYTHING with the puppy! I am a member of the Collie Club of America & I follow all of their guidelines & then some! I had given the buyer a huge folder full of things including the vet's health certificate, shot records, eye check record, feeding grooming & training instructions, etc etc, and a contract signed by the buyer & myself stating that if they couldn't keep the puppy it was to be returned to me!
They didn't tell any of this info to the person that they gave my puppy to, which may the same situation you are in. They sold the puppy to you without giving you the full info.
Now, in my case, I had a copy of the signed contract stating that the puppy was to be returned to ME - not given away. However, I met with the new "owner" & determined that they would provide a very nice home for the puppy & I allowed them to keep her - although I am in constant contact with them. They are great people & are giving the puppy a great life.
There may have been a contract for your puppy too. In which case, you should contact his breeder & try to work it out with him or her. They will probably let you keep him - but they may have put a LOT of work into developing their kennel name & like me, they probably don't want their dogs out there producing puppies if they can't have control over it. And besides, since you are not interested in showing & you don't know your dog's genetic health history, you really shouldn't be offering him at stud.
Please don't take this the wrong way - just talk to the breeder & tell them that you like the dog & want to keep him as a pet.
They don't want you trying to make money off of stud services, cuz that's not what people who care about the breed do.
And if they have a contract stating that the puppy is to be given back to them - it doesn't matter if you signed it or not. The puppy was to be given back to them. One of my best friends - also a Collie breeder - had this happen. It was a different situation than mine & she did not want the new owners to have the puppy. She had a copy of the contract & she got the puppy back from the new owners. She didn't have to get her lawyer involved - but she would have done it cuz her dogs are worth that to her.
Those of us who breed & show really value our dogs & the work we have put into it. We don't offer our stud dogs at public stud because we don't need to make money off our dogs - we put money INTO our breeding. The sale of the puppies doesn't add up to nearly what we spend caring for them, showing them, having genetic testing done. We have jobs to support our dogs - they surely don't support us!
Good luck to you!
PS - to the person who said that another breeder probably doesn't "know" the dog - this probably isn't true. If he or she shows dogs - they probably know every other show kennel out there with their breed. I know I surely do!