Why do we place our puppies under contract?

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Well, this is a subject we have had a lot of experience in for over 2.5 decades and is a subject that I'm really passionate about. Ethical breeders who want to protect their puppies welfare and their future sell them under contracts. It also provides health guarantees for the buyer and much more.

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Simply put, contracts help us protect the wellbeing of our puppies and the future of our breeding program. They’re not about control – they’re about welfare and care. We’re deeply committed to the dogs we bring into the world and our contracts reflect that passion.

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Our agreements were created in consultation with a respected legal team, and while we’ve only ever needed to enforce them in a few cases, they’ve been successful when tested. This has given peace of mind to the many wonderful puppy families who value knowing their pup comes from a breeder who takes their responsibility seriously. We stand behind our word with honour.

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Over the past 20+ years, we’ve dedicated significant time, effort and resources to our breeding program. This isn’t just a hobby to us – it’s a lifelong passion, and the dogs we breed are truly part of our legacy.

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The vast majority of our puppy owners do the right thing and honour their contracts. Sadly, a small few, have not. We stand by our contracts and our word and will enforce them if necessary. Enforcing them has resulted in these people trolling our social media with fake accounts, defaming us with outright lies on just about every social media platform. This behaviour is obsessive, childish as well as very hurtful.

 

Our contracts are very reasonable, and if you’re honest and not acting deceptively, there’s never anything to worry about.

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We are very careful about where our puppies go. Once, we discovered a puppy buyer who had over 40 Labradors despite claiming to have just six. This this is exactly the kind of situation we strive to prevent. We’re strongly against unethical breeding, puppy farming, cruel living conditions, and people putting profit before the welfare of animals.

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It’s also important to understand that we are not a commercial breeder. Breeding for us is about improving the breed, not producing pups for the sake of it. We believe in QUALITY over QUANTITY. 

 

We spend a lot of time planning our breeding program, aiming to create top quality dogs and improving each generation we develop. We carefully consider structure, pedigree, temperament, health, behaviour, and overall balance – it’s a complex process, but one we’re proud to uphold.

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We're extremely cautious about selling intact puppies now. Sadly, some are trying to mimic our program for profit. We want no part in a “fad” culture that treats animals like trends. We want our dogs to be valued family members, not breeding commodities.

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Should an owner ever be unable to keep their puppy, we are always here to help rehome it or welcome it back, ensuring it gets the best future possible.

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We also provide $200 rebates for any sanctioned title our pups may receive.

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At the heart of it all, we trust our puppy families. We just ask for honesty, communication, and a commitment to giving your dog the best life.

 

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What are “Breeder’s Terms”?

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Sometimes, we may offer a pick of the litter puppy on “breeder’s terms.” This is quite common among breeders, and allows us to work with a trusted family to progress our generational bloodlines, while still giving the pup a loving family home.

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We would take a female back to raise a litter for the next generation, in which case, the owners original purchase price, health testing and associated costs are all fully reimbursed.

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​In the past, we used to give people several, reasonable options in breeding agreements working together as a team to keep our bloodlines going: 

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1.  Return the female to us for the litter, where I carry ALL of the expenses (including veterinary expenses and health testing). I sell the puppies and they receive their purchase price back at the end of it.

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2. Split profit and expenses 50/50.  This was an option originally suggested many years ago and chosen by an owner of a breeding female. It was also suggested by another later down the track.  They would raise the litter at their home. I mentor and support them 24/7, advertise the pups, photograph them each week  - put them on social media and my website, screen and interview all the buyers, arrange all the puppy sale contracts with the buyers etc.

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3.  That they receive significant money for pups, and pay any expenses to raise the litter at their home.  For my involvement and work, I collect deposits, mentor and support 24/7, advertise the pups, photograph them each week  - put them on social media and my website, screen and interview all the buyers, arrange all the puppy sale contracts with the buyers under my prefix and more. 

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This is not uncommon in the breeding world and we know many breeders who offer these arrangements.

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For options 2 and 3, we assist by managing the litter, providing 24/7 mentoring and support, lending them our whelping supplies/equipment, our weekly visits and travel for photography, videos and advertising on our social media (and website). We pay for their litter registration, and everything is managed under our prefix. We screen and interview anyone interested in puppies, all to ensure the ongoing protection and safety of our bloodlines. The owner of the female receives thousands of dollars per puppy. Unless we have known buyers for 15+ years, we are no longer entering into options 2 and 3 of because it appears that some people cannot be trusted to do the right thing by pups and dogs.

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In the past, we have ran into problems when people do not raise puppies to our high standards, ethics and morals and even breeding dogs behind our back.

 

For example, very poor hygiene in puppy areas, lack of puppy training and socialisation which adversely affected the puppies.

 

One party even refused to hand over puppies to people who had paid for them in full!

 

Puppies have gone o their new owners extremely dirty (we all get that puppies can get dirty outside), but always make sure our puppies are clean - and if they get dirty, we always give them a good bath before they leave.

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Some breaching parties have not paid the correct share of stud fees to a stud owner - which again shows the kind of things we have had to deal with.

 

It has also happened that someone said they want to breed again for financial gain (to fund a house deposit) which we denied - and then refused to honour spay/neuter agreements. This is not what we are about and we will not allow dogs to be used as money making machines by shady people who fail to raise a litter properly and do the right thing. Dogs deserve more than this! We will not allow our puppies and bloodlines to be used this way.

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Since 2024, our breeding terms stipulate that we, (Lykosia), pay all health testing and reproductive expenses and the female is returned to us for a litter. At the end of it, they are also reimbursed their purchase price. So basically, they get the dog for nothing, all expenses paid and we get to improve and develop our next generation moving forward. This is much easier to facilitate and makes us much more comfortable than dealing with the stress that we have experienced when people do the wrong thing and create unnecessary drama.

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Health testing, temperament and experience guide our breeding decisions in every arrangement.  Not every pup on breeding terms turns out to be what we want to go on with in our breeding program, and if that’s the case, they simply become beloved desexed family pets. We always aim to work with our puppy owners, maintaining fairness, transparency, and a shared love for the breed.

 

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Desexing

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There are many health and behavioural benefits to having a desexed dog. It reduces the risk of cancer, prevents life-threatening conditions like pyometra (in females), and helps avoid behavioural issues, accidental litters, or injuries from dogs seeking a mate.

 

Even after 25 years of breeding, we've experienced 3 unplanned litters – and we've always been honest about it. Hormones are powerful!  So we totally understand how easily it can happen, and we support our families in doing the right thing.

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We also provide an honest and informed view about desexing in our Puppy Bible, that gives some good food for thought about the subject.

 

​If you ever have questions about our contracts, breeding terms or expectations, we’re always happy to chat.

 

At the end of the day, we just want our puppies to be cherished, well cared for, and to live their best lives – and we’ll always go above and beyond to make that happen.

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CONTRACT BREACHES & LEGALITY

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Some people believe dog breeder contracts are not worth the paper they are written on, BUT a contract is only worthwhile if the breeder is willing to enforce the contract for any breaches.

 

We have used our contracts for decades while breeding White Shepherds with a lot success with everyone working together as a team. It is only since developing the Lykos that we have found a small number of people breaching contracts in recent years, leaving those breaching parties substantially out of pocket for their breaches. Legal action can be a very expensive and arduous process that no-one wants to get involved in. We have worked hard over the years to develop a line of outstanding quality dogs to develop the breed with and we want to protect our hard work.

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One of the cases was set as a binding precedent under the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) whereby it was considered enough of a high profile case that it is listed on Australasian Legal Information Institute website. In this case, the buyer took out a whole generation of our bloodlines we worked so hard for, in breaching the contract.

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Case Summary: The Deputy President presiding over the matter went into detail about the case. The Deputy President stated that the Respondent (buyer) agreed to buy the puppy on terms which would enable the breeder (us) to have one litter of pups, which the Deputy President stated was not as part of some ambitious money making enterprise, but for the genuine purpose of developing the breed.

 

The buyer made many excuses not to x-ray the dog to assess the dog's breeding suitability. The dog was finally x-rayed after we had to step in and make the appointment, a long time after they were due.

 

The buyer also made excuses such as the dog had not come into season for several years, which was highly unlikely. We paid for a reproductive specialist to examine and test the dog, which was found to be completely normal. Shortly before mating was arranged, the buyer went and desexed the dog behind our back, further breaching the agreement.

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Deputy President acknowledged that in breaching the contract, the buyer caused heads of loss and damage to us. This included (1) financial loss, (2) loss of reputation due to the persons involved and what they posted on social media, (3) loss of bloodline caused by the Respondent taking out a generation, and more.

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Deputy President stated that the Respondent went to entirely "superfluous issues in which she attempted to justify her conduct". 

 

In what the Deputy President called an "appalling and blatant breach of her obligations" under the contract, the Respondent unilaterally desexed the dog, a female sold under breeding terms.

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Deputy President stated that the Respondent was fortunate that the Applicant did not claim further amounts from her in liquidated damages.

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Deputy President closes by saying the Applicant (us) substantially succeeded in the proceeding. We are thankful to the Deputy President of VCAT who presided over this matter, who saw it for exactly what it was. A deliberate breach by tainted and selfish parties who wish to harm our breeding program, reputation and legacy.

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Court cases and litigation are a nightmare to go through, but it is unfortunately necessary for us to protect all that we have worked so hard for over so many years.

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