Registered Doesn't Equal Ethical Does It?

[mita]

Of course being registered doesn't equal ethical but registered doesn't mean infallible either.

Very sensible comment. Along with the comment by an earlier poster who said they'd like to hear the other side of the story.

[bedazzledx2]

When I was concerned about Brookie and had bloods done the vet in passing told me that liver shunts are not always congenital and can be acquired. We never needed to go further as bloods came back fine but I thought it interesting.

[dancinbcs]

I can't believe that someone would want to sell a dog that they supposedly love because it has a health issue??? Surely if you can't afford to treat the dog you would rather pts than sell/give to an unknown person????? Sounds dodgy as hell to me, forgetting completely the breeder bashing.

This. If I couldn't afford treatment I would euth not palm the dog off. I love mine too much for that

There isn't really any need to immediately put to sleep a dog with a liver shunt. There isn't any special medication. It is a matter of treating symptoms as they arise. So antibiotics if the dog develops a UTI. Diuretics if fluid is in the belly. The Hills L/D food is pretty pricey but you could do a home made diet.

The tests are expensive. $500 for a ultrasound (50-70% chance of finding the problem). CT scan $1500 (needs a general so dangerous for dog with liver problem). $4000+ to inject dye whilst dog is open + liver biopsy. Then after all that a lot of the liver problems can't be operated on and you have to treat with medicine anyway.

The operation to fix a single shunt also has a 50-70% chance of working with a 10-20% chance of the dog dieing in the first 24 hours due to hypertension.

My local vet didn't push me to go to the specialist. I was given the option of treating medically straight away. The specialist also didn't push for the tests. I guess because Amber's symptoms suggested she wasn't in a great way anyhow. Might be the same for this pup.

Luckily the ultrasound picked up Amber's shunts. It still cost me $1400 in tests to find out what was wrong. I don't have pet insurance but have a line of credit account for such emergencies. Not everyone can come up with this sort of cash.

Can't say I thought about giving Amber away as an option though!

It is disappointing when a breeder does not offer support. Very disappointing. Makes you wonder why you bother doing the whole registered breeder thing. Undoubtedly there is an element of the breeder feeling defensive but suck it up and be there for your puppy buyer.

I don't think the breeder needs to offer monetary support or even to replace the pup but emotional support would be a good thing to offer.

Absolutely Jules. Any dedicated breeder will want to know about strange health issues with any dog they have bred. They should be there emmotionally for the owner and do their own research to find out what has happened. Personally I would refund the dog's purchase price to help with the testing expenses, especially with a puppy.

No breeder should be blamed for breeding a dog with a health issue unless there is readily available testing to avoid that particular problem. If you breed enough puppies you will always breed problems sooner or later. How a breeder handles the situation when problems do occur, sorts out the truly dedicated from those just producing puppies.

[littlesquashyguys]

I can't believe that someone would want to sell a dog that they supposedly love because it has a health issue??? Surely if you can't afford to treat the dog you would rather pts than sell/give to an unknown person????? Sounds dodgy as hell to me, forgetting completely the breeder bashing.

This. If I couldn't afford treatment I would euth not palm the dog off. I love mine too much for that

There isn't really any need to immediately put to sleep a dog with a liver shunt. There isn't any special medication. It is a matter of treating symptoms as they arise. So antibiotics if the dog develops a UTI. Diuretics if fluid is in the belly. The Hills L/D food is pretty pricey but you could do a home made diet.

The tests are expensive. $500 for a ultrasound (50-70% chance of finding the problem). CT scan $1500 (needs a general so dangerous for dog with liver problem). $4000+ to inject dye whilst dog is open + liver biopsy. Then after all that a lot of the liver problems can't be operated on and you have to treat with medicine anyway.

The operation to fix a single shunt also has a 50-70% chance of working with a 10-20% chance of the dog dieing in the first 24 hours due to hypertension.

My local vet didn't push me to go to the specialist. I was given the option of treating medically straight away. The specialist also didn't push for the tests. I guess because Amber's symptoms suggested she wasn't in a great way anyhow. Might be the same for this pup.

Luckily the ultrasound picked up Amber's shunts. It still cost me $1400 in tests to find out what was wrong. I don't have pet insurance but have a line of credit account for such emergencies. Not everyone can come up with this sort of cash.

Can't say I thought about giving Amber away as an option though!

It is disappointing when a breeder does not offer support. Very disappointing. Makes you wonder why you bother doing the whole registered breeder thing. Undoubtedly there is an element of the breeder feeling defensive but suck it up and be there for your puppy buyer.

I don't think the breeder needs to offer monetary support or even to replace the pup but emotional support would be a good thing to offer.

Absolutely Jules. Any dedicated breeder will want to know about strange health issues with any dog they have bred. They should be there emmotionally for the owner and do their own research to find out what has happened. Personally I would refund the dog's purchase price to help with the testing expenses, especially with a puppy.

No breeder should be blamed for breeding a dog with a health issue unless there is readily available testing to avoid that particular problem. If you breed enough puppies you will always breed problems sooner or later. How a breeder handles the situation when problems do occur, sorts out the truly dedicated from those just producing puppies.

I'm not a breeder, I have ever only owned two dogs, and at the moment I own a Pug.

I think what you and JulesP are saying here about the breeder being there for the buyer, offering emotional support and handling the situation professionally (regardless of the money issue) are all excellent points. I couldn't agree more.

(Edited for grammar)

Edited September 4, 2011 by littlesquashyguys