The various expectations between the different parties below may differ in content. Look closely at the various examples and see the thread of communication between the individuals involved. Successful communication truly is a two way street done with clarity and equanimity.

As a general rule, people are looking for a healthy, well tempered pup who is also attractive to them. Easy to teach biddable puppies are usually sought after. People often unconsciously are looking for a puppy to fulfill their needs and/or fantasies of what they think a dog is or will bring into their lives.

When a person contacts a breeder looking for a pup, they want to find a breeder who is honest, ethical, and has sound, healthy pups. Most people are concerned with how the pups are raised and if the breeder really does care for the pups’ well being more than the money that may be generated with the puppy sales. Such a breeder won’t give the impression of "pushing" or "selling" the pups to the inquiring person. A person inquiring about pups from a breeder wants to know about the parents, their health, what they are like as dogs, and, bluntly aren’t very interested in show wins. Will the breeder invite the potential clients to their kennel before the pups are born? That, too, may be an expectation of an inquiring person.

If a client has been waiting for a litter to be born, the expectation that he will be informed as quickly as possible when the pups are born is very real. Getting frequent updates – ideally with photos of the litter – is often expected as the breeder can now do it via email and digital photos easily. Even after the sale of the puppy, clients hope for – and some expect – updates on the entire litter as well as other dogs in the kennel who may be related. The client has the expectation that he will get the best possible puppy for his needs and desires. Will the breeder take the time and effort to truly match the client and their household with just the right baby puppy? The client also has the expectation that any and all questions will be answered honestly by the breeder to the best of her ability. (If a novice breeder cannot answer the question, she should be expected to search out the answers from more experienced individuals and/or sources and then relay the answer to the client.) The client has the expectation that the breeder will have raised the puppies with the best health care (including a veterinary examination prior to the sale), food, socialization, and housing possible. The client should also expect that the breeder teach them what they need to purchase and how they should raise the pup. And finally, the client should have the expectation that the breeder will be available to mentor the new client throughout the dog’s life – including hard questions answered honestly at any time.

The breeder has the expectation that the client will honor all contracts that the client enters into with the breeder of their own free will. Not only is it unethical to not honor contracts, but it can lead to law suits. Contracts are legally binding. As the breeder is obligated under Canadian Law (Canadian Livestock Protection Act) to provide registration papers to purchasers of purebred animals, the client should be honor bound to uphold any agreement that they freely entered into.

The breeder who keeps in regular contact with her clients expects that the clients will do the same. Any concerned breeder wants to know how the pups are doing. This includes ALL of the pups from family companions to potential show/breeding pups.

The breeder hopes that the client will expect help from them and will contact the breeder when medical concerns arise. A breeder who has been "in" dogs for years may well have experienced the same concern(s) in the past and could possibly counsel the client without an expensive (and stressful for the pup) veterinary appointment. Here’s an example. Male puppies sometimes splash urine onto their tummies when they pee. If they are still small, the pup will get some reddened bumps on his tummy. This is literally diaper rash in puppies! Some tummy cleaning with a gentle antiseptic cleaner and encouraging the pup to pee on more absorbent materials can easily be counseled by a breeder.

If behavioral problems are starting to develop, the breeder has the expectation that the client will contact them for help before the behavior escalates to the point of no return. An experienced breeder with a decent understanding of canine behavior can help clients; an inexperienced breeder or one with limited understanding of canine behavior should be able to counsel the client to seek experienced professional help. This breed is very strong willed. It needs a consistent and structured routines led by a true Benevolent Leader (go to www.inharmonymalamutes.com for the article on Benevolent Leaders.) If this doesn’t happen, a Malamute puppy can easily mature into an uncontrolled adolescent or adult. Bluntly, an uncontrolled adolescent or adult can be a dangerous animal. Once the dog has learned that humans can be controlled with the threat of a bite or a bite itself or if the dog has bitten with intent to do harm then the dog should be euthanized. The client who did not follow the breeder’s or other experienced Malamute owners’ teachings about proper raising and educating Malamutes and/or did not seek guidance when the unwanted behavior escalated is, in my opinion, responsible for killing his own dog.

The client should give the breeder regular updates on how the pup is doing both as the pup grows and learns but also physically. With email, sending photos is easy, inexpensive, and quick. Five or ten minutes every once in a while – such as every month or two until the pup is a year old shouldn’t be a hardship! Think of the time the breeder spent with the litter before the pups left. Think of the time the breeder spent sending out updates to the waiting clients. Think of the time (literally hours for some breeders) that the breeder may have spent readying, arranging, and then driving to an airport (and back) to ship the pup……..and then waiting very anxiously to hear that the pup had arrived safely and is what the client had wanted. When a client does think about just the hours that the breeder has spent with the litter before, during, and after the pups were born and then before they were placed in their (hopeful) "forever homes," then spending a few minutes every couple of months or so to send an email with photos to the breeder is such a small thing to do. "Being busy" isn’t an acceptable excuse. I can assure you that a breeder with more than a couple of dogs, a job, a family, and other commitments (kennel related and other commitments) is just as busy – if not probably more so – than a client with one new puppy and maybe a second dog.

I would expect that if a breeder chooses to co-own a pup with a client then she must be considering the possibilities of either getting a pup from or a breeding to that co-owned dog as a part of her breeding program. In such a case, the individuals who house the pup would be expected to furnish updates (and photos) of the pup if they live in an area where the breeder cannot easily travel to and from in a day.

Whatever the reasons why a co-ownership is agreed upon, it is very prudent for the original owner (or breeder) of the dog to put the expectations of both parties in the contract.

Our expectations of what the pup can do should be increased and raised as the pup grows. For instance, I expect my 6 month old pups to behave like ladies and gentlemen in the house. Yes, they are pups with all the delightful puppy behavior; but when they are inside during "quiet times" I expect my pups to be quiet – and they are. I expect a 6 month old pup to do the lessons he’s been taught. I expect them to keep learning new skills and self-control and self-discipline as they mature. I do not expect my pups to do behaviors that they are not ready nor mature enough to do.

Far too many owners do not have high enough expectations of their dogs. They expect their dogs to be ‘just dogs’ and not do much. So, that’s what they get. The dogs don’t have any incentive to do anything more than the bare minimum of what they’re expected to do. If these dogs are then confronted by their frustrated owners, a huge struggle of wills begins. This is entirely unnecessary. Let me illustrate with a real-life example.

Princess is almost 3 years old. She is treated like a princess by her loving and doting owners. She is loud and very active in their home. She always "guards" the house from her own little couch that her owner made for her. She is very active and vocal at any disturbance she sees in the street. Princess took part in a training seminar (with a lot of vocalization) and then had a private lesson with the (excellent) trainer. The owners were given some techniques to use and things to do with her. At the seminar, Princess actively fought having to lie down on command. She knew the cue well having being introduced to her at 5 weeks of age. Shortly after the seminar, Princess came to "Grandma’s Boot Camp" (aka Inharmony) for three weeks. Princess had wonderful play sessions with one of the boys and was in a run beside him during the day. At bedtime, she came inside to sleep in her own crate in my bedroom joining myself and my four house girls. (At this point, only one still sleeps with the door closed.)

When Princess went home, she was very tired. You must understand that it was "hard" being just a dog and not a pampered Princess! J But the biggest change was in her behavior in her home. The owner said that she was noticeably calmer and quieter. She watched the happenings out on the street from her couch – but didn’t react with the previously extreme excitement and vocalization. What was the difference? First, I am a Benevolent Leader in my pack and Princess learned what it was like to live with such a leader. Because my expectations of her behavior are so much higher than her owners, she had to develop self-discipline (which she didn’t need to before). Finally, my routines are very consistent and consequences for not reaching my expectations are always there. She changed her behavior and rose up to my expectations. In two days, Princess willingly dropped into a down with a verbal "down" given once with no hand signals. Two days after that, she "downed" without any cues at all – I just waited for the behavior to happen. If Princess didn’t down and maintain the position she simply didn’t get her dinner or biscuit immediately until she had done what was expected. If she moved before hearing the verbal release cue, then the dinner was quickly taken up and then I just waited without saying a word. Not saying anything is key to getting the desired expected behaviors…… the dog knows what to do, it is their choice to do it by thinking it through and not being spoon-fed every little movement. They have to take responsibility for their own actions.

I knew that Princess’ owner had been working with success on her stay/wait behaviors. I just put them into practice constantly and consistently. Each time we went through a doorway and when I needed to remove my jacket after coming inside, Princess did a stay and didn’t move until hearing the cue. She spontaneously did this when she went home – which surprised her owner. Her owner then started to incorporate it into her routines. Princess’ owner is now becoming more consistent with her handling and is seeing the difference that a change of expectations can make in the behavior of her dog.

I still notice the difference that other people have in expectations of dog behavior when I have guests. My dogs are not any different from other dogs (or kids) in that they are always trying to "get away with" behaviors that they know are on the "don’t even try it" list. I make no excuse when guests are visiting – my dogs are reminded (with voice and squirt bottle) of their transgressions. When the guests try to make excuses for the dog, my usual answer is "I don’t care. They know the rules." But it’s having these higher expectations of behavior of my dogs and of myself that I am rewarded with having very well mannered dogs. They know what is and is not allowed. They know what I expect of them – and I get it.

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As can be seen by the different scenarios, expectations are truly reciprocal. A client expects certain things from the breeder of their pup. The breeder expects other things from the new owner of the pup. A dog expects certain things from their owner. The owner expects certain things from their dog. It truly is a give and take; unbalance this and friction and conflict arise. No client wants that and neither does the breeder who only wants the best for their pup and their client. Dogs want to live happy, safe, and understandable lives; we want well-mannered happy dogs. It really isn’t hard. Frankly, there is no excuse to not be able to achieve equanimity between client and breeder and dog and dog owner. I truly wish that it happened all the time. It isn’t difficult to do.