I'm pretty sure that the breeder will re-sell the puppy, particularly given how young she is. Given that they are charging a hugely extortionate amount and sound like their breeding is money driven, I doubt they're going to miss out on an opportunity to make a tidy sum again.

I have to say, I'm sat here mouth gaping at the 3.5k for a designer crossbreed (not a breed as you stated).

Although a Maltese x Poodle may not shed hair, all dogs shed dander and that may be what your son is allergic to.

However, I think it's pretty standard not to receive a refund of any kind if you return a dog, whether that be to a breeder or a rescue.

 

The Breeder can resell this puppy, and, at 11 weeks old, it is very much 'saleable'.

Most Breeders would refund you, giving you whatever they get for the puppy, less any expenses.

My personal opinion, as an ex Breeder, is that this is what she should do and certainly what I would have done.

£3,500 seems an astronimical amount for a crossbred puppy, if you don't mind me saying so.

Also, the coat type should never be or have been described as "hypoallergenic". There really is no such thing.

 

Thank you both for your replies and feedback. Yes, I’m pretty sure that they will resell to make more money, but the positive side of me still says that they have misinterpreted the resell part of the Law and think it applies as a blanket rule.

Regarding the price - I do know some who have paid either side of £2k for Cavapoo’s etc, but I went with “Best breeder in the U.K.” reviews for this Maltipoo and glowing references. It is a huge amount but again if it meant having a new family member enriching our lives for the next decade or so, the amount paid wouldn’t really have mattered. You only start thinking about it in times like this, especially when we have saved up for months and spent this entire years “family fund”.

Regardless, there’s not much I can do because I know the best thing for the pup is to go back to the breeder to be rehomed “professionally” rather than do it myself. It’s best for the puppy, which is what matters most for me. I can’t force them to refund me, even a partial amount, so I guess that’s life.

I just wanted to make sure I understood the Law, which seems I was correct.

 

just wanted to make sure I understood the Law, which seems I was correct.

Lucy’s Law is intended to stop underage puppies (and kittens) being sold from stooge houses by puppy/kitten farmers.

Puppy farmers store multiple dogs and bitches in kennels in converted barns. The dogs are bred back, to back, to back until they physically can’t breed anymore, their puppies taken from them at 6 weeks old and sold in stooge houses.

When prospective buyers ask “where’s mum?” The breeders say “she’s on a walk”, or “at the vet” or they bring in a completely unrelated bitch to act as Mum because if the buyer saw the state of the actual dam, they’d be horrified!

The parent dogs (both dogs and bitches), are not treated as dogs - they aren’t walked, they don’t get to roll around in the grass or run and chase and play with each other, they don’t get to play with toys or their owners, they don’t get essential veterinary care. Their beds are piles of straws in the corner of their kennels and they go to the toilet in another area of their kennel. Human contact is limited to throwing a bowl of food under a hatch in the door, throwing the latest stud dog in with an in-season bitch, and removing the puppies when they’re still far too young.

And when those poor dogs physically and emotionally can’t breed anymore, they’re either dumped in the nearest rescue centre that’ll take them, or taken out back and shot.

That’s what the law aims to put an end to.

You’re not a puppy farmer and your puppy isn’t under selling age. But if you do resell the puppy, you will need to vet the potential new owners properly. Here’s a guide from PetPlan;
Puppy Breeder Guide

 

As I understand it, you can sell this puppy yourself.

It doesn't have to be returned to the Breeder.

You do mention it being rehomed "professionally" by the Breeder. All a conscientious and caring breeder will do is vet any prospective buyer, meet with them more than once, watch how they interract with the puppy, etc.

You can do that yourself.

£3,500 is a heck of a lot of money to lose and something feels very wrong to me about a breeder who will make £7.000 from selling a pup twice.

 

Thanks again for the feedback. I wish I could rehome her myself, but to be completely honest I’m not confident enough to take the responsibility for her finding the right place.

As mentioned, the best case scenario for us is that the breeder finds an equally loving home for her and as quick as possible - the money hurts (a lot) but that’s my issue not the pups, so I’ll live with that.

 

I’m not confident enough to take the responsibility for her finding the right place.

If you did want to explore this further you could ask a rescue what criteria they have for prospective adopters and use their list.

With that amount of money, I'm curious about how carefully you, as opposed to your bank account, were vetted by the breeder - that's a rhetorical question, I don't expect you to answer. But it does look like the breeder's goals were cash driven more than anything else.

 

I would give the puppy to a reputable rescue that does home checks if you feel unable to rehome yourself.

Only to the breeder if she returns your payment.
If you will not be refunded, then a rescue is better as it is showing the breeder is money motivated.

 

Normally we would recommend returning to the breeder however that is an obscene amount of money for them to take and I would worry about their motives. Most good breeders will refund minus costs. I would consider going through a rescue.

 

Why not contact the Maltese Club and Rescue to ask their advice and see if they could help?

Maltese Club – RESCUE – The Maltese Club

www.themalteseclub.co.uk

 

I agree with all the above. Anyone selling a crossbreed pup for £3500 is not a good breeder and I would not trust them to have the pup back if they are not refunding the money. I think you would have little problem finding a private rehome. A fair price would be well under £1000. plenty of that cross around now for around £800 straight from the breeder. I think you need to accept that you were financially 'done' and that breeder should not be encouraged by letting her double her money with your pup. During lockdown there were sadly a lot of breeders cashing in and making obscene amounts but those days have gone and pups have gone down to almost pre lockdown prices except for the odd person trying it on - and apparently getting away with it.

 

You took responsibility for this pup when you bought her. Giving her back to a breeder that you know, by now, is uncaring and money-motivated is a cop-out.

Do you think another carefully selected and vetted home will be found for her by this person? No, she’ll go to the first person with cash in their hand; and she’s an un-neutered bitch, so maybe the breeder will keep her to breed from, or sell her to somebody else who will give her the same tragic life that her mother probably had.

And she lied to you. There’s no such thing as a ‘hypoallergenic‘ cross-breed.

Have you been in touch with Blue Cross, for example. They have a ‘home from home’ service, where the dog stays in it’s own home until another is found. I doubt it’ll take long to find a home for a small, young dog like yours. I think there are a lot of avenues you haven’t explored?

 

£3500 wow, that's a lot of money, was there any sort of contract when you bought the dog as good breeders usually state that they want the dog back if you no longer want it. I can see that they sell for £1000 to £2500. Is there a friend or family member that could help you out and try and sell the dog for you. Why wont the breeder give you back part of the money, I wonder . Anyway I wouldn't let the dog go for nothing unless you were helping out a charity and some good can come out of it that way.

 

This is the dilemma I’m facing but after taking the money out of the situation, I do still completely trust the integrity of the breeder for the care of the puppy. I was on a waiting for 8 months and vetted with a full application form outlining my home life and all other integral details. I visited the home of the breeder twice meeting both parents before the pups were born - only then was I “accepted” on the list. I then visited again once the litter was born and saw the full interactions of all the pups with there mum. I had photos and videos sent to me weekly from birth onwards including with the mother. I have all paperwork, a puppy contract, welcome pack, full medical history of both parents etc.

I have no doubt the breeder is reputable and cares for the pups - I just think they charge this huge amount due to their breeder reputation, and as many have said can “get away with it” (they had 4 pups in the litter and I was third choice for selection, so no shortage of takers).

Maybe I’m being naive but they said they don’t have pups returned to them ever and so maybe they have misunderstood the reselling law having never had to experience that situation?

I could just confront the breeder and say they have got the Law wrong - but my fear is this turns sour all for the sake of the pup.

 

I have no doubt the breeder is reputable

I just have to reiterate that any breeder selling cross breeds for that eye watering sum is not reputable. Sorry.
I'm glad the pups were raised in good conditions but that's the bare minimum.

What health tests were done on the dam and sire?
What pedigree research was done to match the best sire with the best dam?
What independent evaluations of the dam and sire were done in the way of therapy dog testing, showing, obedience titles, anything to show that the dogs have been independently tested and proven to have resilient, good temperaments that will produce great pets?
What reasoning was given for crossing a maltese with a poodle other than being able to call it hypoallergenic - which is NOT a thing and most allergists will tell you that. https://www.nationwidechildrens.org...ens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2020/11/myth-hypoallergenic-dog

I'm really sorry you're having to deal with this. I agree that giving this dog to a rescue is the best option.

 

I'm afraid good reputation does not equal charging extortionate amounts, it shouldn't work like that.
I don't know about other breeds, but in my breed the best breeders (and I mean top performing kennels in the UK regarding show and work) only charge the going rate.

The dam of my pup was taken overseas to mate with the sire. That can't have been cheap yet pups were still selling for standard amounts.

I hope OP that you manage to recoup some of the cost, whether that be the breeder refunding you or you selling on privately.

 

As far as I can tell, Lucy’s Law only applies to commercial breeders, not anyone selling a pet privately?

You’ve only got to look at the thousands of ads on Pets4Homes etc to see that.

I’m not an expert by any means, only really gleaning what I’ve read on here from experienced breeders and owners, but £3,500 seems a crazy amount.

Just on absolute general principles, I’d rather the pup went to a rescue if it was me, than lose that much money and then potentially give them the chance to make that much again for no effort at all.
They’ll resell it without turning a hair, it’s guaranteed.

Terrible that your son is allergic, that’s no one’s fault and you’re trying to do the right thing, but please don’t let this person take advantage of you a second time.

They’re clearly quite clever at charming people and appearing to do all the right things and no, they’re not breaking the law, but how do you know anything they have told you is true?
It’s very easy to say you’re on a waiting list etc then just keep you dangling a little before saying it’s ‘your turn’. No way of proving otherwise and very little effort on their part, if £3.5k is the reward.
How genuine is all the other information they gave you? A contract isn’t really worth the paper it’s written on.
Health tests for parents may be genuine but is that genetic testing or just a quick trip to the vets for a check up?

It’s such a shame this has happened but please don’t let this person take you for a ride any more - either sell the puppy privately and check out potential homes and quiz them as much as you want, or turn to a rescue who can do all those things.

 

As far as I can tell, Lucy’s Law only applies to commercial breeders, not anyone selling a pet privately?

Just here to confirm this. Lucy's Law only applies to commercial breeders, aka licenced breeders or pet shops. It doesn't apply to individuals. Lucy's Law is basically just a few sentences of an amendment to the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2019.

 

A good breeder wouldn’t try and sell the idea of giving back to them to sell on. It’s not about the reviews of the breeder there isn’t one that’s the best in the uk. The x breeds can be hypoallergenic but aren’t always your kid may be allergic to the fur or the dander ( the dust mites poo that collects in the fur) it would be better to get a hairless breed there are many around. All they’ll do is vet the owners which you can do yourself and get a bit of your money back, even pure breed great Danes aren’t normally that expensive so I think you’ve been hood winked, in future make sure to do your research

 

.

 

Sorry, wasn't paying attention. This is an old post.

 

I see from this forum, I'm not entitled to a refund
Please don't take this forum to be all knowing, what you read here are peoples experience and opinions. What did you have in your contract, as you had a last day quoted as to when you could return the pup, did it also say if you were due a refund. It's your contract that counts and also what was agreed between you and the breeder although I would have thought that this would have been sorted by now.