Puppy Schemes

Bait and Switch: These include rather clever schemes where a breeder will try to hook puppy buyers into showing the puppy they buy. This will be for a discounted price or telling a buyer that the puppy they select is a show quality dog and “will sell it only as a show dog”, Part of this “deal” is that they must finish the dog. (Finish the dog means one must get the dog’s championship. Gaining a championship for a dog is an expensive proposition. The hype often includes “this will be fun to do”. If you want to show and breed dogs, most people do this after some careful thought. Breeding and showing dogs is both expensive and time consuming. But these “deals” are often done in the frenzy of the buying decision, and not thought through by the buyer.

Pyramid: Some of these “deals” include requirements of raising litters of puppies, which then turns the innocent buyer into a breeder as well, with all those chores, challenges, headaches and expenses. In these “pyramid” deals the selling breeder requires one or multiple litters and then gets pick, or multiple picks, of the litters. The breeder from whom the dog was purchased will then turn around and sell those pick puppies for their profit. Since the picks of the litter are gone, and if the litter size is small, these schemes can become additional nightmares and money pits for the people who have become ensnared in these schemes. Remember too that it is possible that one can lose a female in the whelping process and hence these deals can turn into sad tragedies. Perhaps clever and innovative schemes by unscrupulous breeders, however certainly questionable ethical practices in the opinion of most reputable breeders. If you want to breed and show dogs decide this in advance of your Havanese puppy shopping.

 There are also iron clad contracts associated with these bait and switch and pyramid schemes. Once contracts are signed there is no way out, except with your money, time and headaches. The bottom line of this bait and switch is that the innocent puppy buyer has been bamboozled into finishing dogs that bear the name of the breeder who sold the dog.  In reality the buyer is now marketing the kennel name of the seller.