Hi Audrey,
First and foremost, NO I would not pay this man a dime!!! Unless it was talked about ahead of time between you and the owner about breeding or if the owner told you specifically at any time not to let he be around unaltered female dogs, than I do not find where you would be responsible to pay him anything (or even give him the puppies for that matter either)!
A couple of questions:
Did you have on your profile the part about your German Shepard being intact prior to the booking or have you made adjustments since this client first reached out to you?
Did he tell you at anytime during the meet and greet or when dropping his pet off not to let him be around unaltered females?
Is his dog also a German Shepard? (this question is just out of curiosity?)
and why not just get your dog spayed? This is one way to avoid any legal issues all together. She is old enough to get spayed and you can still get done. (then there is nothing to argue over). Not to mention all the benefits there are to getting your female dog spayed.
**Hi Audrey, I am adding this part that I think you may or may not have considered but thought I would throw it out there. Sorry so long. (For those who do not want to read it all- basically it goes over reasons it is not a good idea to breed during first heat cycle and how it is best to get her spayed. )
Your reasoning of waiting to get her spayed until she was fully grown. (Which I do agree with your vet, especially being a large breed.) But at this point with her being pregnant, it completely throws you wanting to wait out the door. So why not just get her spayed now!?!
Being pregnant takes a huge toll on the dogs both physically and mentally. Which is the reason that they recommend for the dogs to be much older and not to breed them on their first heat cycle. She is not fully developed, she herself is still a baby. (Especially in the German Shepard breed, they tend to take longer to fully develop and become mature adults)
The pregnancy is going to take a huge toll on her body, I would be worries about her
having bone problems later due to calcium depletion. Young moms are more susceptible to infection and disease than an adult dog would be. Her body may not be able to produce enough milk and/or she may just decided to reject the puppies. In which case you than have to step up to the plate.
Typically German Shepards have around 6-8 puppies. granted they can have less but they can also have more. It is not uncommon for a German Shepard to have as high as 15 puppies. (and why do I bring this up??) If mom decides to reject the babies ... (more)