I guess by this point in my life people should never surprise me, but it still happens! Case in point is the lady that "ordered" Sly when he was a couple months old. She wanted him as a goosedog. He was not going to another handler, he was going to be her dog. I wrote a simple contract. It covered only the basics- it covered that payments could be made and the pup would be paid for before he left. It stated he would have the work done she desired (short outrun, simple flanks, basic ob., etc), it stated no refund would be made unless the dog could not perform the tasks desired or he was injured and unable to work. And of course that his papers would be transferred. No "finished by" or pick up dates were mentioned. In October I let her know he was not ready for much herding work (he was not yet 10 months)- the desire was there, but he was not ready for training. I told the lady that if she wanted to take him she could have him for $800 instead of $1000 and that she could bring him back in a few months and I would finish his training- this way they could bond. Or she could just take him for the $800 and put some work on him herself. She informed me that she had hurt herself and could not get him Oct, Nov, or December. She had already backed out on me in buying a different dog just weeks before, and with no warning she was not coming to buy the dog. I allowed her to put that deposit on Sly... So she has $500 towards Sly, but it's really only $250- if I had stuck to my contract with the first dog she would have simply been out $250- I did not have to transfer the money, but I did. Now remember while you read this that she said she could not get here before January 2009 and that Sly's training as been ongoing...
She is threatening to take me to court (in Ohio) for breech of contract. What? Somehow she thinks that I have not upheld my end because the pup does not yet have all the herding training I said he would have. Yes, I said he would have it- but I gave no dates- none. I had verbally told her maybe around 10 months, but that was not a "he'll be ready by" kind of statement and it was NOT put in the contract. First she said she would take payments until April to return the $500. (why would I return the money, I have not failed on my end) Then a few weeks later, she emailed me and said I had until January 2, listed her investigator and attorney, and said she would be filing if she did not receive the $500. I did not reply. Then last week I got an email from her saying we could "settle" this if I sent her $250 within 2 weeks.... I did reply this time saying I was not returning anything. I told her she owes me $500 and I owe her a started pup- simple as that. There is nothing wrong with Sly in the least- he was just simply not ready for "training" on sheep until recently. I like him very much and he's going to be a very nice young dog. I almost wish he wasn't going anywhere. I'm afraid that this woman is going to be unfair to him because for whatever reason she has a real issue with me. He is plenty nice that I would keep him on if he were mine. His temperament is stellar and his herding abilities are nothing but positive.
She went on to say that she has "well known trainers that have written books" that told her every pup should easily have an outrun and flank commands at a distance by 10 months and that I am a poor trainer because Sly did not. (and that she was told if he was the kind of pup that couldn't handle training pressure at 8-10 months it was not a dog she would want! (for goosework!) ) I told her I would be coming to court with numerous articles stating how every pup starts different and an early or late bloomer really has little to with the finished "product". I also asked her, why, if I was such an inept trainer would she order a started pup from me? I told her I'm a better trainer for paying attention to the mind set of the pup and that my dogs are the proof of my training. And again, please remember she claimed she could not get here to pick him up before NEXT month yet anyway!! He is coming on nicely now- now he is ready for training and to stretch out the distance some. He's very natural with very nice feel for the sheep. By the end of January, first part of Feb. he'll be a very nicely started dog with loads of potential.
Also know his price does not change no matter how long he stays- he was priced based on what he could do, not his age, or how long it took. Moneywise, having him set to go at 10 months vs. 13-15 months makes sense- but I was not going to ruin a nice dog for the sake of a sale. If I had put in the contract a specific age or date and I did not provide that, then yes I would say she would have the choice to either wait or have her money returned- but I did not- because I know you cannot do that with a puppy! At this point I suppose I could send her the lousy $250 and keep Sly so this all just goes away. But I'm holding my ground, Ben is behind me 100% and we're both content to make a trip to Ohio... Is this the most ridiculous thing you've heard!? I'm still lost as to why she thinks I owe her money?
How and why do people end up being so unreasonable and have absolutely no common sense about things!? Ugh! She's not scaring me, but I admit she's putting a bit of damper on my spirits and faith in people! This, coupled with the bs that has been going on at work, I wonder what people are thinking! I guess so many people want something for nothing. I'm also reminded that you can't trust anyone! Anyone could flip on you at any time, and that's really sad. This whole experience has put a bitter taste in my mouth to ever give someone the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the buying of a dog. I guess now I know why so many people have books for contracts- because if you don't, this is what will happen! People are not honest!
I'll try to get a video of all 3 pups today if the rain holds off. All 3 are very nice. Ivy is very fast with big square flanks already. She casts like her mama, but she does not swing to their heads and freeze like Gwen did. I'm really, really excited about her! Clare has wonderful feel for her sheep and has quite natural pace in a fetch. When she flanks she's bending off her sheep beautifully. Sly is very natural like MaryJane. He covers very nicely and is perfect at balancing. He is also very, very sensible to his sheep. I always use Cruz to help keep the sheep in a small enough area for the pups to work. He is a moving fence on the high draw side. Right now I do not have dog broke sheep- just light lambs that run past me. Last night one lamb broke away and when Cruz went to bring it back, Sly went along. He wasn't wrong, so I let him be. I expected to have to call him off once Cruz started bringing back the single. I was pleased to see that he mirrored Cruz. The lamb of course would not turn around, so both Cruz and Sly just calmly pushed him backwards towards me. Pretty nice for a pup! Calm, quiet power from a just now 12 month old- delightful! :-) Many pups would just continue to ring a single as it's quite a high pressure situation and when a sheep won't turn around it takes a lot of patience on the dog's part to keep walking on with gentle authority.
I had yesterday off, so I have the day to get some things done. I need to wrap gifts. The kids and I made cookies for their teachers and bus drivers last night. Barry helped me the other night check the right things on my career preferences for management. I have to take a "test" on the computer and have to be on the clock when I do it. We were way too busy that night and it's not something I want to rush through, so maybe I can do it tonight. Depends on how many other ICS people are on tonight. I really like what I'm doing right now, but if I'm going to stay working I'd like to do something more.
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