anon2345

It’s definitely council. No rules in body Corp/management around number of dogs - it’s just around ‘responsible pet ownership’. Spoke with council and they advised that they will come out to just make sure that two puppies can be safely looked after.

Hi all! Has anyone applied for an excess animal permit, and been approved or denied? I’d love some advice/tips etc about the process. We live in a small apartment without our 7 month old puppy, who is a small breed. We’ve also just purchased another puppy, who will be smaller than our current pup. Unfortunately today I went to check registration costs and saw that our council has a 1 dog per unit/apartment/townhouse restriction. We will have to apply for the excess animal permit which is very concerning as we are supposed to get our pup next Friday! While we accept the apartment is small, the dogs would have adequate space to play as well as being walked 2-3 times every day. We don’t have a backyard, but we do have a balcony with a ‘potty plant’ set up which is cleaned frequently and the balcony scrubbed down every few days. Our current puppy doesn’t bark, and most of our neighbours adore her. The ones who don’t are scared of dogs. She has never disturbed the neighbours, even as a very young puppy. We baked all the neighbours cookies in anticipation of her bothering them while she adjusted, but we were told no one even knew we had a puppy. The entire apartment complex is concrete and very soundproof. We don’t hear our neighbours unless they’re in the hallway just outside our door. What exactly is the council looking for? What would be the reasons they’d say no? We are so worried that we will have to give up our new puppy!

That’s really interesting, and you raise some really good points that I wasn’t aware of so thank you! I’ll definitely keep an eye on her teeth and ears, and her heart will be checked regularly by her vet. I don’t know how breeders do it - I have a lot of respect for the ethical breeders because it must be a tough job! Is there a way to tell if she’s got any issues chewing or with her teeth? She seems to have no issues chewing but if there’s a symptom I’ll keep an eye out for her.

I think so too, we count it as a win that we got something from the breeder. Now to never have to deal with her again! I’m not really sure how to post a photo, but here goes... hopefully it works

I’m glad your pup is doing well! I won’t be buying interstate again either, too much of a risk!

Another update - breeder has refunded us the cost of the ear infection, provided we don’t pursue her for any other medical bills thank you to everyone who provided advice and well wishes. This has been a very important lesson for us to learn the hard way, but maybe this will prevent someone else from making the same mistakes we have

The issue is with her pulmonary valve. It doesn’t work competently, and she’s at risk of getting very, very sick, very, very quickly. also this was her first litter so the vet would have known she isn’t an actual breeder... I actually believe they’re good friends based on things she’s said.

I’m really sorry to hear this. Did you take it further? How is the dog doing now?

Yes, that is what happened. I don’t think a vet would have signed off in good faith surely, especially if he knew the ear wasn’t going to be treated by her... it would just get worse! ETA - 4 days before actually

Puppy seemed healthy enough, though we had concerns based on her coughing and breathing way faster than she should be. Not major red flags but not quite normal. Im really sorry to hear about your puppy, Rebanne. That sounds horrible!

That’s good advice, thank you very much. Really grateful to all the advice I’ve received! It’s so easy to get caught up in the emotions rather than thinking logically. The breeders vet has been in contact with my vet so hopefully we can get somewhere in the next couple of days. I’ll report back with any updates ETA: I know it’s possible the breeder/vet were unaware of the heart. I just find it really hard, if not impossible, to believe that in the window of 3 days the puppy went from showing normal auscultation to a grade 3 heart murmur.

I will ask the vet how he cleared the puppy with an ear infection - it comes across as negligence.. Yes, the ear infection has cleared up. 2 weeks of drops and daily cleanings did the trick We have had an ultrasound done to get the visual results also which backs up what our vet thought by listening to the heart. 3 different vets have said it’s not something she’ll grow out of it unfortunately, it’s a defect within her heart. We don’t know what has caused it or what we have to do treatment wise, which is the information we’ll get in 3 months when we see the cardiologist

I’m not sure why the vet did release records, but he did send across the puppies records to our vet which shows a diagnosis of a yeast ear infection, present in both ears... no mites. He also signed off on her fit to fly certificate, so he was aware she was flying. The breeder has contacted our vet today, basically implying she doesn’t believe that the puppy has a condition with her heart. The breeder hasn’t offered a refund yet - she hasn’t offered us anything other than the promise of eventually getting back to us. I know in hindsight I should have done more research on the puppy, the breeder and the parents. The puppy is the innocent party in all of this, and no less deserving of a good quality life so I will do whatever it takes to provide that. I think at the very least I should get a refund for the ear treatment thanks again everyone for your advice, it’s so appreciated!

The puppy is a cavachon, the breeder used two family pets to breed a litter. In hindsight it’s no wonder there are issues! I don’t actually know if she did claim to be registered with anyone. I can’t find the trading post ad either, and it should have said on that. We were way too trusting buying this puppy, but it’s definitely been an eye opener. Could we report to RSPCA, or is that pointless?

Thank you! I’ll look into this. Any idea whether this is applicable if the breeder is in NSW?

Thanks so much everyone for your responses! a bit more info so I don’t have to quote and respond to everyone individually: - Breeder was contacted 2 weeks ago advising of heart and ear issues, accusing us of lying about the heart murmur and demanding we get a second opinion (which we already had as we didn’t want to say anything to the breeder until we were sure) - Breeder then stopped replying to our messages. I asked for a refund when we received the puppies diagnosis following an echocardiogram done on Friday and was ignored. 48 hours later I told her I’d be escalating the matter if no reply, within an hour she replied saying I’d ruined her weekend and she’d be in touch in a few days with what she’s decided is the best course of action for the puppy - I have emails from her vet, copies of correspondence between myself and the breeder, as well as all records from my vet - Puppy is a cavalier x however our vet advised the heart issue isn’t because she’s a cavalier. Apparently those heart issues come into play much better, whereas our puppy was born with her condition which also voids our ability to get pet insurance. In 4 weeks we’ve spent close to $2500 on the puppy in vet bills, which is almost double what we paid for her so a refund wouldn’t even break us even. We are not returning the puppy to that unethical breeder. - Puppy has been wormed fortnightly while with us. I can’t say whether or not the breeder wormed her Is it worth going to small claims for even the cost of the vet bill regarding the ear? ($300) or will that cost us more in the long run? Our concern with small claims is that we’ll be forced to return the puppy which we do not want to do, but we also want the breeder to be held accountable for what she’s done. can we report her if she isn’t a registered breeder?

We bought the puppy from NSW and we’re in VIC. I actually didn’t really get much in terms of paperwork from the breeder. Microchip transfer papers was all we got.. The info I got from the breeders vet is all email correspondence too (recently found out breeder isn’t registered, we’re concerned about backyard breeding and whether this impacts our rights) thank you for your reply

Hi all, i would love some advice regarding a puppy we purchased 4 weeks ago, at 9 weeks old. within 3 days of purchase we had to take her to the vet for a severe double ear infection that cost $300 to treat. At this appointment the vet diagnosed a grade 3 heart murmur. 2 weeks later back to the vet for second vaccinations, heart murmur is again picked up and we are advised to get an echocardiogram which cost us $600. Puppy is diagnosed with a heart condition that will be extremely expensive to treat, for however long we are lucky enough to have her for. We bought the dog from interstate so I contacted the vet who had cleared the puppy on her wellness check and was informed that the ear infection was diagnosed by him, but breeder had decided against treating (obviously deciding to send us a sick dog, and not mention it.) No heart murmurs were detected at this appointment which I struggle to believe as 4 days later a grade 3 murmur was picked up by our vet. I approached the breeder asking for a refund and was ignored. I sent a follow up saying I would be taking the matter to tribunal as the refund would go towards her medical bills and was basically advised that she’s discussing with her vet the best course of action for the dog moving forward which implies she wants her back. We are absolutely not returning the dog. I am curious about my rights to a refund while keeping the dog. If I have no rights to a refund, Do I have the right to at least ask for the money for the ear infection that the breeder should have treated? Also, we never signed any transfer papers. The microchip is in my name, does this mean I am the legal owner? I don’t want the breeder to claim that I’m not the owner or try and get her back sneakily as she’s unimpressed I bothered her with my request for a refund. I know this is a touchy subject, and I would appreciate any and all advice. Thank you!