Picking Partners - Co ownership Realities

A popular method of selling show dogs these days is via co-ownership. Basically in exchange for money one party gains physical control of a dog while the breeder or previous owner of a dog keeps their name on the registration paperwork.

There are a fair number of reasons breeders like this:

• It gives the illusion of control of genes.
• It gives the illusion of control from further transfers
• It allows the breeder or co owner to gain points when showing
• It prevents further transfers of registration papers.

The reason I use the word illusions is that by itself a co ownership does none of these things. Nothing prevents a co owner from giving the dog away, breeding it, concealing it entirely, taking it out and shooting it, or hanging papers on it and selling it anyways. What it does do effectively is prevent further transfers of registration papers and allows the other co owner to accumulate points and credit to their name. Most of the real power still remains with the party who actually possesses the dog however that said there is a bit of dishonesty with owning half a dog. 

I am generally speaking not a fan of co ownerships on dogs.  A co ownership is often used as a crutch to replace a good binding contract and does little to actually protect the dog, or the new owner. When the dog doesn't turn out as promised often time the breeder/co-owner is no where to be found and the new share owner is left holding the bag/dog.

For instance unlike horse co ownerships typically a selling co owner share does not take any responsibility for the care, training, vetting, showing, health testing or expenses associated with this animal but wants a say in the breeding partners, show schedule, vetting decisions, sale decisions, and successes of that animal.Basically all the monetary glory with none of the poop scooping work beyond 8 to 12 weeks.

More often than not the buying party wants a champion family pet with a hobby on the side and all too often the selling party is looking at an investment opportunity with having another party take on all the expense and risk for all of their gain which is a fairly unreasonable proposition by most contract standards as all the risk and expense is carried by a single party with another party gaining the most benefit.

That said there is a third party in this which is the dog itself. A co ownership does nothing to protect the dog from being used like a bouncing commodity rather than a family member which most people professing to love dogs would agree is the ideal. On the flip side of that a co ownership does plenty to deter doing right by the dog for the dog's sake because it puts real decisions in the hands of someone who isn't totally vested in those decisions. There in lies the rub - do right by the dog above all else should be the mantra in this club - yet somehow it always seems to fall to the side in favor of human vanity and egos.

 That said - these breeder folks will quickly remind you that you don't have to sign a contract with them or you can buy a dog on a spay/neuter contract. Which is true - you don't and increasingly people don't and throw up their hands and the stupidity and greed that goes in these contracts. Registered dogs account for less than 10% of all dogs in this country and more and more people are deciding a non registered non show dog will do the job.