# Breeder contract requiring specific food



## Molly26 (Sep 30, 2013)

Hello! I posted awhile back about deciding between a rescue Golden and getting a puppy from a breeder. We finally decided on a plan we are both happy with: We will go with a breeder for our first Golden, make a donation to our local Golden rescue, and hopefully down the line, adopt/foster a rescue. 

After doing a lot of research, we found a great breeder in our area who meets all the requirements of an ethical reputable breeder and has a good reputation. The only thing I have a question about is this: In the contract, the breeder requires that you feed your dog a specific brand of food. I've checked the ingredients and it is a very high quality dog food, and I am happy to feed my dog this food. I am just curious if this is a common request from breeders, and what the motivations are for doing this, besides ensuring the dog is on a healthy diet. Thank you!


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## Riley's Mom (Jul 6, 2008)

I don't believe this is normal. I would not be comfortable with that. Does it state in the contract that if you don't feed that particular food that the contract is void if a health problem pops up? I have seen contracts where breeders specify that a certain supplement has to be used and if its not then the contract is void. What kind of food is it? I met a woman that feeds her Jack Russell some food I have never heard of because the breeder said she had to. She has to order it from some place in Florida. I think the breeder gets some sort of kickback having her puppy buyers feed it.


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## Molly26 (Sep 30, 2013)

There is nothing about the contract being void if health problems develop, I believe it is more that the food is strongly recommended. There may be a kick back for the breeder. I don't really have a problem doing this...especially because in every other way the breeder meets my requirements. Just wondering if others thought this was something to be concerned about and if it should be a deal breaker.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Our breeder doesn't require a specific food, but is very helpful in answering questions about foods if you ask her. She tells her puppy people her dogs do very well on a certain food, but the choice is ours as to what to feed and when to switch or whatever. I just kept up with what the breeder fed the puppies and when the time came to switch to a non-puppy kibble I asked her a lot of questions. She helped me find a food and make a switch with very little consequence for my little guy- no digestive issues or soft stool at all while we switched.

If the breeder is otherwise reputable, following GRCA guidelines, I'd much rather see the breeder recommend, not require, more than one line of foods. I believe I've heard of breeders specifying owners need to pick from several foods rated by Whole Dog Journal. If any foods are required to be fed to the puppy and tied to the health guarantee, it would be a deal breaker for me personally. Not all dogs do well on a specific food BTW.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Molly26 said:


> There is nothing about the contract being void if health problems develop, I believe it is more that the food is strongly recommended. There may be a kick back for the breeder. I don't really have a problem doing this...especially because in every other way the breeder meets my requirements. Just wondering if others thought this was something to be concerned about and if it should be a deal breaker.


I'm personally not fond of breeders getting kick backs like that because there is a different motivation for recommending the very best food for your particular dog and your dog's best needs.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I've known several wonderful breeders who strongly recommended a specific brand of kibble or specific type of raw diet. Good breeders often have strong opinions on food. However, I've never known a good one to tie any part of the contract to it. I've also never known a good breeder who got a kickback from their food company. And how would that work if you don't order it through them?


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## Molly26 (Sep 30, 2013)

The food is called "Life's Abundance," by the way. Seems to me to be a quality food, but I still contacted the breeder with my concerns. I think that there is a financial incentive, but I do also trust that the breeder wants the best for her dogs.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I think it is good for a breeder to recommend a good food, but putting it into a contract - no thank you.


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## Molly26 (Sep 30, 2013)

I should also mention the breeder: Wyoming Goldens, in Minnesota.


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

It appears that Life's Abundance and NuVet supplements are owned by the same company, Trilogy. Do you have to order the food with a code supplied by the breeder? If yes, then the breeder is definitely getting a kick back.

Our breeder feed a similar type food and supplied a code with each puppy purchased. She received several hundred dollars every month from the pet food company. It just seemed wrong that she was continuing to profit of her puppies. I have since discovered she is a less than reputable breeder.

A breeder kick back to feed a specific food is a deal breaker for me.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I think that requiring a certain food if a breeder gets a kick back is not very ethical. I feel that way about breeders requiring Nuvet as well. If you feed quality dog food you do not need to add those supplements. We had a breeder in Maine who required you give your pup from her Vitamin C. If your pup developed hip dysplasia, you were required to show every slip from every bottle of Vitamin C that you purchased....hmmmm


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## doggiedad (Aug 27, 2011)

i can understand a breeder suggesting a certain food (top quality food) because they
get a kick-back. i don't agree that the suggested food be part of a contract. 
what happens if your dog stops eating the food? how does
the breeder know your feeding the food?



Molly26 said:


> The food is called "Life's Abundance," by the way. Seems to me to be a quality food, but I still contacted the breeder with my concerns. I think that there is a financial incentive, but I do also trust that the breeder wants the best for her dogs.


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

Have you checked to see if the sire has his hip/elbow clearances? If it is the Breve/Frank litter posted on their litter page, Frank only turned 2 on Sept 24, 2013 and could not have had his hips and elbows cleared by OFA before then. They may have been done, and not yet posted on OFA, I am not sure about the turn around time.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

I just looked at the contract and based on that alone I would personally stay away. Any breeder that REQUIRES a certain food is out of my option list. Also do not like the fact that the pups have to be spayed/neutered by 12 months of age.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

doggiedad said:


> ... how does
> the breeder know your feeding the food?


Since they get a kick back and you order using either their website or code they keep track of the sales and purchases and thus they will know if you feed it or not.


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## Molly26 (Sep 30, 2013)

Thanks for all the responses. Its discouraging, but all of your input helps a lot. Thank you!


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## tomw (Jul 9, 2012)

First off, a big good luck with your new golden retriever puppy. I hope that you will have many happy years together. As far as putting a required food in the contract, I would question that practice. As others have suggested, the breeder may be getting a kick back from the food manufacturer. However, here in MA, there are great breeders who do require in the contract that vaccines be limited and that the puppies be fed a natural whole food diet. These breeders really care about their puppies and believe strongly that their food requirement will help to ensure that their puppies stay healthy and happy. The breeder in MA that I have purchased from, has no food requirement but recommends a grain free diet, as does my vet. So I use Merrick Grain Free Buffalo and Merrick Grain Free Chicken with my two goldens. It is highly recommended in PetFoodAdvisor.com and in the Whole Dog Journal. Best of luck with your new golden.


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

From their pet puppy contract:
"*WE REQUIRE THAT YOUR DOG EATS LIFE’S ABUNDANCE 
FOR THE LIFETIME OF THE DOG TO ASSURE GOOD HEALTH AND LONGEVITY 
(AND YES WE DO TRACK THE ORDERS THAT ARE PLACED) *
Please use [wyomingswarehouse.com] when ordering food."

That's a long time to feed a dog a specific food. However, it does not appear they link the feeding of the food to their guarantee, because they don't appear to offer a guarantee.

The puppy is guaranteed to be a functional, healthy companion dog. Every reasonable 
precaution has been taken to prevent this puppy from acquiring heredity hip dysplasia, 
elbow dysplasia, cataracts, or Subaortic Stenosis. Due to the unknown hereditary and 
environment causes of such defects, no guarantees will be given against them. 

Also if the pups were born on Sept 7, the sire could not have had his OFA clearances for hips and elbows when he was bred in the beginning to mid June.


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## Molly26 (Sep 30, 2013)

I will look elsewhere, thank you everyone! I so appreciate your input.


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## Golden999 (Jun 29, 2010)

Five good reasons not to buy from a breeder with that type of requirement:

1. Your dog may experience food allergies that necessitate a change of diet later in life.

2. You may face financial circumstances that necessitate a less expensive dog food at some point in your dog's life (Even if you are well off, you never know what could happen- a sudden disability, bad investments, someone losing their job, collapse of the dollar, whatever).

3. You're presumably paying full price for the puppy upfront, but then your puppy's breeder will get a percentage of your food orders for the life of the dog. It's a hidden recurring fee. Unethical, and it'll cost you money.

4. On principle, never commit to buying anything indefinitely without a contract stipulating that the price remain steady. Let's say it's a great dog food, your dog develops no allergies, your money situation remains good, you don't have an issue with paying your breeder every month for the rest of the dog's life through the dog food kickback, etc.. You still could face an issue where the food, say, doubles or triples in price, especially if the manufacturer is aware that many people have a contractual obligation to buy it. If the old regular price was the same price as dog foods of equivalent quality of ingredients and nutritional value, if the price of your specific food tripled, you could switch to a similar food at a similar price to what you were being charged before. If you have a signed contract, you have no opportunity to do that.

5. It cedes too much control of the puppy you bought and paid for and will be investing in financially, emotionally, and in a million other ways to someone else. This is a member of your family. Training a puppy is a lot like raising a child- it's a lot of work and there's emotional investment and attachment. You're the dog's guardian. You should decide things, not the breeder. You're buying a dog; not signing a lease, taking care of someone else's dog while he/she is out of town, or agreeing to some special circumstance where maybe the breeder is providing you the dog for free because you are agreeing to take care of the dog in the way the breeder prefers. I don't like it when breeders want it both ways- they expect you to pay a bundle to buy a dog at market rate, and then they expect to exert control over the dog for the rest of it's life.

The closest analogies, I suppose, are adopting a child or buying a car. You wouldn't sign a contract promising to feed your child a special food until he turns 18 (You decide how to raise your child, within reason). You wouldn't sign a contract with a car dealer agreeing to go to a particular gas station and use a particular grade of gasoline for all your gasoline needs for the life of a car you purchased either. No matter how you look at it, to me this just isn't an acceptable demand on the part of the breeder. I'd go elsewhere.


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## BrinkleyMom (Feb 8, 2013)

Our breeder also recommended Life's Abundance and I was always under the impression that she received a kickback. That being said, it is a good dog food and works well for our family, so I have no issue with it.


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## Molly26 (Sep 30, 2013)

This may be a naive and unrelated question, but what are the reasons that a breeder would ever breed a dog that doesn't have proper clearances? Especially assuming that most potential buyers who want to pay a lot of money for a dog would not buy a dog without them, what is the point? Are they counting on people to looking past this? Is it purely financial? Wouldn't they want to avoid the risk?


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

They are cutting corners mainly, especially when they are breeding very young dogs. 

I think you have to keep in mind to that in some cases if people have missing clearances, it is because the dogs failed to clear.


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## Eowyn (Aug 29, 2013)

Molly26 said:


> This may be a naive and unrelated question, but what are the reasons that a breeder would ever breed a dog that doesn't have proper clearances? Especially assuming that most potential buyers who want to pay a lot of money for a dog would not buy a dog without them, what is the point? Are they counting on people to looking past this? Is it purely financial? Wouldn't they want to avoid the risk?


Money and impatience. Unfortunately their are just too many people who don't realize the importance of clearances, don't know the difference between OFA prelims and finals, or don't even know they exist at all! But they still have checkbooks and they create a demand for puppies that isn't being met by reputable breeders.


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## Ripley16 (Jan 26, 2012)

Our breeder had a few clauses in her contract that I found unnecessary, regarding the requirement for the dog to be feed a certain amount of vitamin c every day for the rest of her life. Instead of requiring a specific food, our contract just states "you must feed your dog a high quality food for the entirety of the dogs life". Seeing as this was a legal binding contract, my mother (who is a lawyer, and came with me to pick up the dog) thought that this clause regarding Vitamin C was not something that should be in such a contract, seeing as the consequence for not adhering to said contract was that the dog could be taken away if we did not comply. We talked to the breeder about this, and had the contract amended. If you have a concern regarding the contract, please just talk to your breeder, i'm sure they will be willing to accommodate your concerns, and address your questions (if valid of course). I actually do give my girl vitamin c almost daily, but in my opinion, is not something that should be in a legal binding contract. As for the food, we actually had to make an emergency cold turkey switch from the food the breeder suggested to Canidae when Ripley was 9 weeks old, seeing as she is allergic to corn, which was a prominent ingredient in the food she was previously on. So I would say that in regards to a specified food, I would amend the contract, because even if it is just a "suggestion" it is a legal binding contract, and you don't want to risk any ramifications if something were to happen. This is just to protect yourself and your puppy, and I am sure any good breeder would be willing to revisit that clause.


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## Leslie B (Mar 17, 2011)

I am not a fan of the NuVet product line. I could not find a link to their puppy contract on their website that would indicate if the the product is required. If the food is required then I would question why. This breeder has a stud that I like (Finny) but I do not care for their stud contract so I will not probally use him in our future litters. I would look closely at the puppy contract.

More important than the food or the contract is that the stud used in their current litter does not have either hips or elbow. He was used at stud before he turned 2 and had his final clearances. What was the big rush?


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Actually, the sire of said litter sired a litter of pups born in February of this year...


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

There are so many good foods. What works for one dog doesn't always work for another- even littermates or other related dogs. I do not like breeders that push NuVet as a requirement and feel the same with a food with a similar kick back system. Is it a good food? Yes. Is it the end all, be all? No. Availability would be an issue for me. What happens when you run out and forget to reorder? What happens if you stop feeding it? I think a judge would laugh you right out of court for something like this. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## donnaseymour (Aug 30, 2019)

Interesting. I just recently purchased a pure bred Maine **** kitten and the breeder has it in her contract that I have to purchase Life's Abundance kibble, canned food and the NuVet vitamin supplement. The kitten has soft stools, which has stuck to his fur and gotten all over our bedding. SO, I took him off of the supplement and talked to my Vet to see what she recommended. I put him on a probiotic to try to get his stools more normal. Of course the breeder told me "it's common for kittens to have softer stools until they reach about 8 months of age". Now, like the woman who started this post, I do like the breeder, and I do believe she wants what is best for her cats and the kittens she sells. However, I don't like the idea that I am "still paying for the kitten" because she has a contract that says she will only guarantee the kitten for TWO years provided I continue to keep him on Live's Abundance and NuVet. I'm seriously thinking about taking my chances and breaking the contract. Thoughts?


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## ChrisFromOC (Sep 19, 2018)

My breeder was so helpful with many recommendations, but she also recognized that every situation and dog is different. Fortunately my Ziggy has done very well on the PPP large breed puppy that she started him on. I wouldn’t get overly concerned about something like that in a contract though. If the food works for your pup, that’s great. If not you will need to experiment to find what is best for your pup.


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