Just for my own education, what are the pro/cons for the breeder who require co-ownership of their pups, and what are the pro/cons for the buyer?
Great question.
As I see it ... and others should feel free to chime in if they see it differently ...
The two biggest Pros / Cons to Puppy Buyer of co-ownership are -- Pro is that you're more likely to have a mentor in the breed ... and ... Con is that the breeder may give you information you don't want to hear (i.e., you have a nice pet, but he/she isn't a world-beater and shouldn't be bred, you need to get him/her neutered/spayed) and still expect you to do something about it.
The two biggest Pros / Cons to Breeder of co-ownership are -- Pro is you're more likely to be able to reduce the chance that an irresponsible puppy buyer is able to do something detrimental to the breed itself and/or your reputation within the breed community ... and ... Con is that, even after having spent hours trying to get to know the puppy buyer, and you've made every effort to pick the most sane sounding puppy buyer with whom to place your nicest pup that you're not keeping, that puppy buyer has lied lied lied lied and, once the pup is in their arms, you never hear from them again (which is what would have happened under own/co-own, frankly).
****************
If someone wants to defraud you, they can and they will.
If someone wants to stir the pot in an effort to make you look bad and/or hurt your reputation, they can and they will.
So, to a breeder who has put thousands of hours of research into pedigrees, ailments, mentorships, etc., and thousands (if not tens of thousands / hundreds of thousands) of dollars into the dogs themselves (showing, breeding, etc.), what would be reasonable for them to expect in terms of a sane puppy buyer?
Most puppy buyers just want a beastie for the house and yard and family trips ... etc ...
Most breeders just want SANE people who keep promises they make when they're picking up Fido (even if the promises are no longer convenient for the puppy buyer to keep).
So, what should a breeder do who if a puppy buyer had their 2nd pick male out of a litter (where the breeder kept the pick male) ... but ... only after considering the dogs at 2yrs of age, did the breeder admit they kept the wrong dog, and wanted to neuter the one they kept and collect the semen from the one they sold ... only to find out that the puppy buyer neutered him without telling the breeder. There is NO price the puppy buyer could pay the breeder for debasing their promise to not neuter their dog until the breeder told them to.
Similarly, what should a breeder do if a puppy buyer had their 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] pick male out of a litter, and the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] pick pup just sorta ‘fell apart’ after a couple of years … which, unfortunately can happen … and the puppy buyer decided they’d buy a bitch off of CraigsList and breed them to “try to get some of my money back†… and then bred the dogs and registered them under some miscellaneous breed registry … including your kennel name all over the pedigree … what is your recompense to your tarnished reputation within the breed community?
Breeders are (or should be, at least) in this for the long haul ... for generations longer than the typical puppy buyer.
The breeder you buy your pup from should be at least as knowledgeable as you are about the breed ... so, if you fancy yourself to be in tune with the nuances of a particular breed and that, in fact, you know more than your breeder ... it's time to get yourself a new breeder.
...sorry for the ramble...