ish

I would take that as meaning only the elbows were scored, not the hips.

It means I am selling you a pet, which you can do any activity with - except for show and breed. The vast majority of people want no more than that so having a limited registered puppy is of absolutely no consequence if you’re an ANkC registered breeder looking for a show/breeding potential puppy, I’d expect you to tell me so from the start and we could have a conversation about a main register puppy Dogs can also easily be upgraded to main down the track. I’ve put 2 initially pet puppies on main after they passed their hip/elbow X-rays and then they hit the show ring. Easy peasy. All that has to be done is to communicate with the breeder

Rebanne I think what they’re trying to say is you’re buying a health tested young adult dog as opposed to a brand new puppy who’s yet to go through all that. Good luck with your new dog, hope you enjoy her

It wouldn’t bother me for a pet dog so long as she’s fit and sound currently. 7 is still quite a low score as far as I’m concerned (I have GSDs and we allow up to 8 per side) We had a GSD bitch who scored 3/24 and lived until her teens with no issues, and everyone in hip scored breeds will have owned or know of similar stories. If she’s not showing it now, every chance she’ll be fine

It’s actually been a difficult time to be a breeder also. Sure, there might be a huge market for puppies of late but it hasn’t been easy times to produce them - in Victoria at least. Travelling to specialty breeding vets has been difficult (i do understand its ‘allowed’ but it still doesn’t make it easy) travelling to interstate dogs impossible, getting dogs on flights to stud dogs or puppies to new homes on flights impossible. It was hard to get people to visit to see puppies which means the puppies get less exposure and the breeder and buyer have less opportunity to develop a relationship too. There’s also the huge ethical dilemma about if this year is a good time to actually produce puppies considering the world has gone mad. People are in work/home situations which aren’t typical, opportunities to socialise and train puppies pretty much became non existent in Victoria. There’s going to be a huge glut of puppies who have missed a huge important part of their development because of lockdowns, plus potential separation anxiety from the working from home situation changing Thats my perspective on the other side of the argument anyway

GSDs are never recommended here for some reason. I have both show and working line GSDs and if you can cope with and like mals, you’d be fine with a GSD. I’d actually suggest a good working line if you want more of a deterrent - they’re a bit more serious. A well bred one is social and a good family dog also good luck with it

It sounds like you have been told an untrue story. If at at stage any registered breeder was going to have a litter from the mother of your pup, she would have been registered from the time she was a puppy herself - it’s not something that is done at the time of breeding. Please consider if this is the only untruth that you have been told from the breeder

Your groomer is probably the one to best advise

Maybe from the breeders perspective, they think it’ll be less hassle if the puppy is transferred directly from the previous home to yours hence the money not being refunded etc. Seems a bit backwards to me i had a pup come back from my last litter (11 weeks old, similar story - typical puppy behaviours and unrealistic expectations) Although resettling a puppy back with the breeder and then rehoming seems more traumatic, for me it was important to spend at least a few days assessing the puppy - not only to ensure the puppy wasn’t the vicious beast the owners had said, but also to make sure nothing bad had come of his 3 weeks with them. The previous owners were told any expenses I felt necessary such as a vet check or behaviourist visit were to be taken from their refund and I would refund once I was happy with his condition. Thankfully he was totally fine and now thriving in his new home

Positive K9 training is based near you also and they’re very experienced with German Shepherds

Ask the vet?

Sorry to see your sad news. Don’t beat yourself up, unfortunately these things happen and an ultrasound was no guarantee hugs to you & Lola

I expect the vets will be looking for the progesterone drop that signals labour is about to happen, so daily testing is advisable

They can go straight on to mushed up, watered down mince or soaked dry. Lots of the specialty puppy dry foods soak very easily into mush that the puppies can lap. I hand feed size appropriate beef mince meatballs from about 3 weeks - you’ll be surprised how well they’re able to cope with food at a young age

The progesterone checks are important when you prepare for a caesar because that’s how the mothers body gets everything ready to whelping, for herself and the puppy. If you do a caesar without the right timing, the puppy will be at risk and the bitch may not accept things (always a very real risk with a first time mum and caesar) Where are you based? It sounds like you might need a breeding vet recommendation. Prog tests can be as little as $50 each time and if you can get there early, it may be possible for a nurse to take the blood so you can get to work on time. The ultrasound seems a bit excessive. You’ll obviously need to be ready & prepared to leave if the time is right.

How old is the dog currently? It’s really hard to say, it may never cause him an issue if he’s sound now - or it may. I have a 3 year old bitch with UAP in one elbow, who’s sound as a bell and my vet talked me out of surgery for her until/unless it becomes a problem. She does all the usual dog things. Jumping in the higher obedience levels would be the only thing I’d be iffy about, but there’s loads of supplements you could try too

In GSD specialty showing, to compete in the open class and be eligible for Excellent (the top) gradings and medals, there is a requirement for both a hip and elbow pass under the GSDCA scheme as well as breed survey, which is an assessment of breed worth including a very basic temperament test. Ive been involved in show line GSD for 20 years, and in the last 12 months have added 2 working line dogs to my family. They’re fantastic dogs and I couldn’t be happier with them, but I’ve also owned some terrific show line dogs. A good dog is a good dog. There’s people breeding good and bad in both directions.

If I was going to consider the second option, I would want to know the elbow scores of a few generations behind the sire AND if he had any offspring with elbow scores. Generally speaking, elbow issues are more often clinical than hip issues - for example a great number of dogs with less than ideal hips don’t show symptoms where as most dogs with elbow issues suffer from it (there are exceptions to this of course, I have a dog with UAP in one elbow who is totally sound for now)

Positive K9

It helps me, when I’m in that awful position of wondering if it’s time, to remember that’s it’s not hard on them, only hard on ourselves. For them, they don’t regret not having one more day - they only know they’ve had years of happy days with us. It’s not what may still be ahead that matters for them, they can’t think like that. Making the decision before their quality of life gets to the point of being questionable will cause you more peace in the long run, even though you may question yourself at the time.

I think you’ll find it’s pretty common. As a breeder, I’ve had plenty of emails and phone calls in the first month of people taking their new puppies home with feelings of anxiety and worry - especially from those who like you, haven’t had a puppy before or who have gone from a sensible old dog to a new puppy. Things will only improve with time as he grows. Try to put things in place that can help you for when you’re feeling overwhelmed (can you send him to day care once a week, or get a dog walker to visit etc) and be happy knowing he is happy with you. Try to enjoy the short time he’s a puppy, it’ll be gone before you know it.

There’s a lady who has a stand at some dog shows who makes great ones, including padded polar fleece. I had her card on the fridge for ages but of course now i can’t find it oh my sister remembered - lucky! https://m.facebook.com/Handmade-for-Hounds-by-Ally-1407832612669976/

You could try one of the big hard plastic balls like a kazoo roll a ball or Aussie dog enduro ball - dogs seem to be all or nothing about them though. If they like them, they smack them and push them around, tunnel them between their legs, dig on top of them etc because they can’t pick them up with their mouths. They’re best with a bit of space to play. My dogs go crazy for them and they’re exhausted after a good session because it’s an all body workout

I had a young dog, 3 or 4, who had bone cancer in a back leg. Didn’t do any tests past the X-ray, she was put straight onto pain relief. Unfortunately she only had about 3 weeks with good quality of life and was then PTS. In hindsight, I wish I’d spoilt her for a special day and made the decision to put her to sleep before she had bad days. I’ve sadly said goodbye to 2 very old dogs in the last 12 months and I try to look at it this way - they had blessed, long, happy lives and they were put to sleep before either of them had more than a few bad days. They both could have gone on longer - but to what avail? I know they aren’t thinking “she’s a terrible owner, she made the decision to end our lives when we could have gone on for 3 more weeks” I miss them immensely but I feel no bad feelings about the decision to say goodbye. 3 months ago I lost a young dog to bloat and I am still wracked with guilt and sleepless nights over the thought that she suffered. Its the hardest thing to have to do, but please make the decision to say goodbye to your beloved dog before things get too rough for him.

The German Shepherd club used to tattoo pedigree pups in the right ear with 3 letters and 3 numbers (together) The 3 letters identified the breeder and the numbers for the puppy. My prefix was BNG and Frankie pictured is the 77th puppy tattooed from my kennel. The GSD club kept a database so dogs could always be traced back to their breeder. Unfortunately the RSPCA put a stop to this a couple of years ago. Not something I’ve heard of in mixed breed dogs though!