Elliot's mum

For those interested in doing the SG handling course, I have been transitioning across to her handling since she came to Qld last year. I was from GD system but I just can't run fast enough to get to the positional cues needed so was constantly handling with rear crosses, and I am not ashamed to say they were less than pretty. Anyhow, as I said I have been doing the foundation work for a few months and tried my fast boy on a couple of sequences and a course and I was in front of him the whole sequence :) not one rear cross :) this has never happened before. I find the verbals are really helping him understand his job so he can go do it and I can get the hell out of there to the next spot. Would highly recommend looking into it, if you are struggling with your current system.

No they have offered me nothing. I said IF they had offered. All I got was a response to imply I was over reacting to his problems and no further contact since. She has not responded to any further emails and has not checked once to see if he has even survived the operation. And of course you can compare it to a car, it isn't a living breathing creature but we still have expectations for our money and would not like to be told to suck it up. Yes I am emotionally attached to this, I have lived in stress and tears for the past 7 months trying to help my dog live a normal healthy life. But thanks for everyone's input. I must say I joined this site to find some help but all it has done is scare me off from breeders a bit. I never thought anyone would think it was acceptable to charge someone $3500 for a puppy that turns out to be a medical nightmare and consider it the puppy owners responsibility. Anyhow I can see my best avenue is to go through consumer rights as from the response I got from them they seem to think it is unfair that I bought such a sick puppy. Go figure. Thanks everyone for your input.

Funnily enough I was prepared to just deal with the BAOS I knew it was a risk in the breed, but it appears the problems just don't stop there. He has lower oesophageal sphincter dysfunction, a small liver and his blood tests reflect slightly low urea and albumin. (These are taken straight from his specialist notes, plus this has not been one blood test but many) Unfortunately none of these have a definite diagnosis due to his bradycardia. They have basically said they don't want to risk any more tests. Having said that he does go in tomorrow for more X-rays on his back to determine how much the hemivetebrae has deteriorated and to decide his best options. They are going to attempt them with only slightest sedative. So when does an owner keep saying it is acceptable for a breed to be this bad and suck it up? I haven't asked for money to treat him medically or for future medical costs, it is my decision to keep treating him and do what I can for him, I could put him to sleep but I love him and feel he is worth it. So if I do just treat him pallatively and spend $13500 on a dog, do I just have to say well my bad for buying that breed, chalk it up to experience. I am not saying the breeder was negligent in this, I do feel knowing even one puppy had these symptoms that it is wrong to repeat the mating. But since when did the breeder become the victim here? Even if I did get my purchase price back I am not winning, I am still losing in this. Now the really crazy thing is if the breeder had said that she feels so bad and had offered me another puppy from another litter for free, (which I wouldn't have taken) I would have just left it there. But this person has shown no care at all from what she has produced, from her choice in breeding and has washed her hands of the problem. It is not acceptable. I know of a person that their border collie developed epilepsy. That breeder offered them a free puppy next litter. Those people have since bought two more of her. No bad blood, they never once claimed for medical costs and I know it cost them thousands. Just think about the damage you can do by not standing by your breeding. If you went and spent thousands on a car and it was a complete mess and the manufacturer said oh yeah but our vehicles are known for that problem so you know what we do our best but hey, not interested, would you put up with that. I don't think many people would.

And to add now to the legal issue, when I took my boy to the vet he immediately said that he had very closed nostrils to the point that he wouldn't be surprised that he had other symptoms of BOAS. This was from just viewing him alone. He kept him for the day and did further checks under a light anaesthetic and said he did have symptoms of the condition. The specialist he referred me to is a breeder of pugs himself, has done studies on BOAS and said he wouldn't wait as his breathing is so compromised he could have further complication very early on in life. When the operation was done he said that even the saccules had to be removed as they had already inverted. So one questions how do two vets identify this condition quickly, yet the vet who check the pups gave them a clean bill of health. I don't see how this condition can deteriorate over a couple of months so quickly. The hemivertebrae I understand doesn't show up when the dog is young and develops as they grow but it is still an inherited condition. I am more disappointed in the response from the breeder and the controlling body. As you say they speak that they are superior breeders and imply that going to them you are going to get healthy pups. I am not silly and don't expect a dog that never gets sick in its life or gets cancer, this happens. But I would hope that they are breeding from healthy stock to eliminate the chances of getting conditions such as the ones above. Yet the breeder has ignored me other than the first email to say she was sorry to hear the news and that all her bostons snore and make noise it is part of the breed (which implied that I was over reacting, despite the advice of both specialist and vet) and has not responded to any further emails. The controlling body basically said don't care civil matter. Surely if you put it out there that your breeders are responsible, bound to a code of conduct and are doing their best to breed healthy dogs you would react. But instead allow her to do a repeat mating and register the pups! If, as a buyer, I have no better chance of getting a healthy pup from a registered breeder, or some protection if something goes wrong, than I would out from someone selling unregistered pups in the trading post for half the cost, why (thinking logically) would I pay the extra money. I know things go wrong, I understand that sometimes things can miss a generation, but as a breeder I suppose I just expected them to care a little more.

I guess what I am trying to say is that it is easy to see one side of the story and feel like the owners are trying to get a free dog or get money out of you. But having been on the other side of the fence and having to deal with the emotional and financial strain of a sick puppy I can emphasise with people that have had the joy ripped out from under them about having a new puppy. I think I have shed more tears on the last six months than I have my entire life. I am emotionally and financially drained and I just don't know how I can afford another operation. In the meantime the person that bred the puppy is still breeding and selling pups and hasn't discontinued the line. She hasn't had to deal with the day to day struggles I have, but gets to have my money no consequences. It is all just leaving such a bitter taste in my mouth. I have had a few people suggest that I go to a current affair, because let's admit this is a story they would love, but I don't think it is fair to the breeders that would be mortified if one of their pups ended up this ill. However reading this thread I was surprised at the responses.

He was presented to the vet with chronic regurgitation. Was referred to the specialist clinic for BOAS and operated on due to the severity. During the operation they removed warts from his tonsils which came back as papilloma virus. They also did a biopsy of his stomach in which they identified a helicobactor infection. He reacted badly after the operation and had to spend a week in the intensive unit. He has undergone numerous tests since as he has not responded to medication to clear the infection, including an ultrasound to check for a shunt, two different barium tests, however during his last test to get a biopsy of his lower intestines and stomach he nearly died so the test had to be aborted. It was then identified that his heart rate was compromised due to his airway obstruction. He has since been identified as having hemivertebrae and has just been referred to a neurologist to determine if an operation is necessary due to the placemement. On a side note I tested my other dogs in the house for papilloma and helicobactor to which I got a negative result. He is on Omeprazole: 5mg daily Ranitidine: 15mg twice daily Metoclopramide: 5mg 3 x daily Metronidazole: 100mg sid He is only allowed soft food fed every three to four hours, by hand with his head and neck stretched to aid the food reaching the stomach. He is not allowed any more than four 20cent pieces of rolled up soft food at each feed time. At the moment he is on soaked ZD prescription diet but they have allowed me to introduce a small amount of fresh chicken mince once a day. At my last visit they said to me there is nothing more that can be done for him except exploratory surgery which is a big risk due to his risk of anaesthetics. I don't know what I am going to do if the neurologist says he needs an operation. It is going to kill me if he needs an operation. I don't know how I will cope waiting to hear if he survived.

I am living this nightmare right now but from the other side of the fence. I purchased my puppy in March 2013. I drove interstate as I didn't want to risk my puppy travelling with airlines or dog carriers. I paid $3500 for my puppy and got the breeders name from DOL. I had waited four years to get a puppy of this breed. He is a lovely puppy, sweet natured, loving, cheeky and I love him so much it hurts. At three months of age I noticed he wasn't growing as expected, didn't want to eat and was very thin. A visit to the vet and some tests diagnosed him with a condition typical to the breed. I contacted the breeder immediately to let them know of the situation that he has seen a specialist (the best in my state) and that he needed an operation or he would suffer greatly and his life will be shortened. The breeder said she was sorry to hear of it, thanks for letting her know and that she had six dogs of this breed and hadn't had this problem before. I never got asked to go to another vet or show any proof etc. I went ahead with the operation and during this time other issues were identified. Hiatal hernia and liver shunt were possibilities. $4000 later I had my puppy home, but he was never right and he has since seen four specialists to diagnose what is wrong including a cardiologist as his heart is so slow he nearly died under anaesthetic during one of the tests. I have now spent $10000 on vet fees and I still have a sick dog that is not even 12 months old yet. His last visit the specialist said that he has too many folds in his stomach so will always be sick and never thrive as with his slow heart he can't risk the operation. He now needs to live on drugs (5 different types) and be fed soft food from an upright position every three to four hours. My life has come to a complete stop for this puppy. Now I don't think it is unreasonable to ask for my purchase price back for a puppy that I bought on main register in the hope I could show him (understood that he may not turn out to be a champion) or do agility with. I don't think it is unreasonable to want to keep this pup that I have been to hell and back with and continue to treat his systems and pay his medication. How is that unreasonable. I may have well have gone to a backyard breeder and bought a much cheaper dog of the same breed (which I had option of doing) and saved me a lot of money, even if it developed the same symptoms. I haven't bad mouthed the breeder, I haven't asked for a refund of $10000 or asked for the ongoing medical costs, yet it appears asking for my purchase price of $3500 and get to keep my sick puppy is unreasonable. Wow. What on earth would she do with him, put him to sleep, what benefit is there getting the dog back, you can't breed from him, you can't leave him unattended for more than three hours, seriously what is so unreasonable about my request?