GUARDIAN HOMES

The Pros And Cons
“Pro” is a full word. It is borrowed from the Latin preposition pro, which means “for”. “Con” is also a full word. It comes from the Latin preposition contra, which means“against”.  When we consider the pros and cons of something, we are considering the arguments for it, and against it.
What is a Guardian Home?  A Guardian Home is one where someone is given a breeding dog (usually a female) for free or at a greatly reduced price in return for sending her back to her breeder to have one or more litters of puppies which belong to the breeder.  At the agreed upon conclusion of the agreement, the dog becomes the outright property of the Guardian Home.  In the meantime, the Guardian Home accepts responsibility for all maintenance and medical expenses of the dog as if they already owned her/him.
When I introduced the concept back in the early nineties, it was for a legitimate reason. I was developing a brand new breed from scratch, without the technology and DNA health testing that breeders enjoy these days.  Some things worked but others didn't and many a promising dog I'd raised failed my strict self-enforced criteria and was de-sexed and removed from my breeding program.  This whole process meant that I had to own many dogs, and since I detest the thought of dogs living in rows of kennels, I had to come up with a better idea.
Basically, all I did was to modify Melbourne Guide Dogs' program where they'd give a puppy to an approved family to raise. When the pup was 12 months old they'd take it back and put it into training to be the eyes of a blind person.
I was amazed at how quickly the idea caught on, even with brand new breeders who advertised themselves as being "a small boutique breeder". Closer examination revealed that some of them had up to ten litters on the go at the one time and I laughed when their websites claimed proudly that "our puppies are all raised in our home." But I digress!
I don't do Guardian Home  arrangements any more, because I don't need to.  It's vastly different to develop a new breed from scratch than it is to breed an already established one.  I ask myself what would be the purpose of letting my puppies go off to live with someone else and miss out on the joy of living with them? Would it be just to churn out more puppies? And why would I want to do this?  For me, the answer is that it would all be about money, and since that is not what it has ever been about for me, it's a personal no-brainer. Other breeders may have different reasons, and it may work well for them.
​​I'm often asked to share an example of a Guardian Home agreement.  But there as many kinds of agreement as there are people.  So it's a matter for the two parties to discuss and see what works best for them both.  But since this article is headed pros and cons, here is a list of what I learned from about 30 years of engaging on and off, in the practice of Guardian Homes.
GUARDIAN HOME PROS
  • The breeder saves a lot of money by not having to pay for all the puppy's expenses for the 18 months or so that it takes for the puppy to grow up, be mated and to get  a return in financial terms.  
  • The breeder gets to sell a lot more puppies than they otherwise would.
  • The Guardian Home gets to enjoy a dog they may not have had the finances available to purchase outright.
GUARDIAN HOME CONS-and things to consider
  • Who owns the dog while the Agreement is still in place?  This has been tested in court and a precedent has been set.  The Law found that the rightful owner of the dog is the person who feeds the dog (pays for the food).  This supersedes whoever is registered as the owner.
  • Guardian Homes can tend to look on the dog as their own after they've had their puppy home with them for some time.  They may not agree with the way the breeder wants the dog to be managed.  And they may do things their own way.  There have been cases where valuable breeding dogs have been improperly raised resulting in HD or other OCDs rendering the dog useless to the breeder.
  • The Breeder can issue instructions about how the dog should be fed, exercised and otherwise maintained. But the reality is that if there is a dispute the contract isn't worth the paper it's written on unless it's taken to court; a long, arduous, stressful and expensive procedure.
  • What happens if the dog is injured or dies while the Agreement is still in place? Was the Guardian Home careless? Not careless?  Who decides, and what action if any, will take place?
  • What happens if the Guardian Home de-sexes the dog and dares the breeder to do their worst? This has happened in case histories.
  • What happens if the dog is accidentally (or not) mated and the Guardian Home sells the puppies un-registered with no pedigree as pets? This has happened in cases where the Guardian Homes decided they would make more money even if they had to pay fines.
FINALLY.  
  • Trusted friends or family members would never do any of the above, right?  Maybe not, but the Guardian Home trail is strewn with bitter broken friendships and devastated family relationships.
  • Strangers are an unknown quantity.
  • It can work, and work well.  It is up to every individual to decide if the risks are worth it or not.
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