Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Co-Ownership Agreement

Asking for a friend as I have no experience with these. On a pure breed female the breeder would like a co-ownerhsip agreement as there is another breeder in the region that would like a future breeding to a pup from this litter. What is involved in these agreements in terms of limits.

- number of breedings x -- after x the dog is solely owned?
- pups from the breeding - the owner can keep one and the rest go back to the breeder?
- limits or expectations on training, diet etc.
- any out provisions that would allow the dog to remain with the either the owner or breeder?
- are the contract terms negotiable?

Any thoughts you can provide or other questions to raise would be appreciated

Wow. Co-ownership of a dog. Think of all the care and training decisions to be made. Who would make the call on all these? What if the "custodial parent" decides he does not want to breed the dog. Or to have it fixed. Or dress it in funny clothes and make it a house pet? I swear. Lawyers can screw up about anything.

Unless you plan to get in the breeding game, I'd stay away. I personally wouldn't want an un-fixed female, tried that ONCE never again.

Not uncommon in the Field Trial and show circuits....Google is your friends friend....

Thanks I reviewed those and basically as I understand it the agreements can be tailored / negotiated between the two parties as to what is acceptable or not and what the close out terms of the agreement are. In this case the breeder wants a litter from the female. In the field trial / hunting dog venue would you know if the norm on a "breeding only" agreement would be for one or two litters?

On a side note I am getting a male from the same litter with no agreement.

Friend who used to be in the FT game often breed with acquaintances Dogs....And almost exclusively on a gentleman's agreement and a handshake...The owner of the Stud got the pick of the litter....The female owner owned the rest. Someone screws another, it is a small world and the word gets around quickly. I never knew him to have an issue.

Co-ownersip may or may not come into play when another is showing or running the Dog in trials. They do the same with race horses.

With a co-owned dog, the first agreement would be between the co-owners as to when the dog will be bred, how many times/years agreement is in affect, how the costs will be shared (normal vet bills and feeding amongst others in addition to breeding costs), where the dam will stay until delivery, disposition of pups, and the whole gamut of concerns. All culminates in who decides whether to breed to a particular sire.

Once those are settled, then the discussion moves to the owner of the sire as the various concerns are hashed out with him. Those are generally easiest as it is common practice to settle for a pup or a cash amount. I have males for just this reason as my responsibility generally ends at conception. I typically settle for a cash amount which is around 2/3 the price of a pup as I feel that amount is fair for my dog and it helps offset the dam's owner's cost for the pup. I have bred for a pup in which case the price was a pup but it is so common an agreement it is not a discussion.

I have not owned dogs jointly with others but I have placed dogs with others with stipulations. I keep breeding rights for a period of time which means the keepers have to clear through me the OK to breed the dog. This is to prevent a poor breeding in which the other dog has some deficiencies or problems. Or, the other family is throwing up red flags to me.

I'll also ask that "my" dog be run in tests to a certain point. This is most often done as part of an agreement I made with the breeder which is carried over to the new owners. I have not had an objection to this as I cover any training costs (it was my agreement to begin with) and the owners get a decent field dog. Rarely do I even handle the dog in the test as the owners help with the training to learn how to handle their dog in the field and at home.

The final stipulation is I get to take the dog with me on hunts if available. I'll work out my travel itinerary months before hand and then take whatever dog(s) are available. Planning hunts outside popular times limits conflicts as does those out west early in the fall or to southern parts during the winter. Those who can often use the winter claims for their own vacation and save kennel fees.

Agreements/contracts are pretty freewheeling if one wants. Those who make a business of it are more regimentated but personal ones are pretty fluid. I'm pretty agreeable in my wants but will not do business with someone who reneges on an agreement nor will I endorse them (favorably) to others. It is a somewhat small world for breeders and the conscientious ones will ask questions of the parents of the other dog. One can quickly be left resorting to the want ads for a mate if one gets a bad rap.

I have seen co ownership agreements on camps, land and vehicles. Non of them worked.

Don't do it!