I'm a true believer in that. The latest confirmation of that is "ending up" with Sly rather than sending him to the lady that "bought" him and was waiting until he had some obedience skills and stock-work foundation. I also believe that you should trust your gut- I have to start remembering that. The lady that was going to take Sly has a goose business in OH. She had originally also agreed to buy Kit. She sent $250 towards each of them, set up a day to come and pick up Kit, pay for her, and see Sly. The morning of her planned arrival I got an email from (after I wrote to her to confirm her visit) her saying she wasn't coming and she could not buy Kit as she could not get the money from whoever... Crappy, but okay, crap happens. I allowed her to put Kit's $250 towards Sly, who I was selling for $1000- only $500 over the puppy price. I agreed to put the basics on him- recall, crate trained, sit, down, stay, walk on a leash, tie out, etc... All that was done. I also agreed that he would have a short send and the basic flank and stop commands before he went to her. At 10 months he is a very nice pup and showing wonderful potential, but is not ready for directional work- IMO. He balances perfectly, goes all the way around the sheep (and geese), and is showing very nice natural pace. As mentioned he has all the other off-stock foundation- he's well mannered, well socialized, has a 100% recall, has a call-off on stock, ties quietly, rides well, walks like an obedience star on a line, etc... I contacted the woman (who had not been returning phone calls for over a month) who informed me that she could not get here to get him this month, November, or even December.... oohhh okkkay, what the heck! Given her previous back-out history, this concerned me. (I had a dealing with her years ago with rescue dogs that were to stay at my house for one day and it turned into many, many days and only after many, many phone calls did someone finally come and get them! Hence the gut-feeling I should have heeded) I told her I thought it would be in Sly's best interest to go to her now and come back in the spring. I offered to send him with her now for $800 rather than the $1000, and the remaining $200 could be paid when his 20-30 days of stock training was completed. (or she could just take him as is for $200 less). She went nuts-o on me, claiming that would be "non-compliant" of our contract and wanted her $500 back. Non-compliant to me would be if I charged her the full price, or claimed he had what he didn't. I was simply trying to be reasonable and do what was best for the pup. Take him now for $200 less, bond with him over the winter and let him mature, then send him to me for several weeks in the spring and we'll all be happy... But no... So I wrote back and said that although I did not think he was mature enough for much "handler input", that I would complete his training by Nov 15th and she would have until Nov 20th to pay for him and pick him up- or she was "non-compliant" of our contract, and the pup would be kept or re-sold with no refund to her. Well she totally flipped out, sent me the name and address of her attorney/investigator, said I have until April 2009 to return her $500! I guess it's my own fault in two ways, #1 I let her put the $250 for Kit towards Sly and #2 I never stated how many days after the training was complete the person would have to pick up the dog. I did think about it, but really didn't think I would need to do that much ass-covering- apparently with this woman I did!! She is now hiding behind her investigator/attorney- I can no longer contact her. You really wonder why people just can't be reasonable and use common sense. This wasn't a big deal. I did tell her that I my own feelings were that she decided she couldn't afford another $500 and needed her other $500 back and was looking for a way out. Oh well, there is always a silver lining. Sucks I have return the $500- but to just end it, I suppose it's worth it. I have a wonderful pup showing great promise who has an awesome temperament and is "home grown" to boot. In the end, I will come out the "winner". The the more mature he gets, the more I enjoy him. (this is why it pays to only breed a litter you'd personally keep a pup from!) I have been in other situations with dogs and breeders where things don't go as planned, but both parties were reasonable and everything worked out. I guess when you sell a dog the only way you can guarantee you won't end up in this kind of situation, is to have an 8 page contract so your butt is covered from every angle- what sad fact! Oh well... lesson learned and a wonderful pup gained! :-) I will have some video of Sly put up by mid-week. Ella is coming on Sunday and she can get some video of all the pups.
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