My Friend Is About To Buy An Unvaccinated Foxy Cross Poodle 9 Week Old

[Guest donatella]

she's getting it for $50 and i'm really trying to tell her to save her $50 and invest it on something else, as that $50 will possibly turn into $5000 in vet bills. what sorts of things could this pup pick up not being vaccinated and could it be caught up if she took it to the vet immediately to be immunized?

i don't think they've been wormed either, i'm asking her to ask the man if the parents have even been vaccinated

[Guest Ams]

Vaccinations can be given and then followed in sequence and the puppy will be covered but in the meantime it should not be taken out and allowed to walk around in public areas. This means the pup will miss out on experiencing a lot of things during the crucial socialisation period. Worming is very important and I'd do it once on pick up and again two weeks later to make sure all are gone. A fecal float at the vet probably wouldn't go astray either. Parental vaccinations won't help the puppy once it has been weaned.

Info re vaccinations:

Canine Vaccinations

In dogs, the primary diseases that are routinely vaccinated against are:

Parvovirus: causes potentially fatal diarrhoea, especially in pups and dogs under 2 years.

Distemper: causes coughing, diarrhoea and sometimes twitching, seizures, loss of balance, blindness

Hepatitis: causes vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and possibly even liver failure.

The vaccination against these three diseases is called a C3.

Further protection against the components of Canine Cough is also available:

Parainfluenza: the viral component of Canine Cough (C3 and parainfluenza is a C4)

Bordatella bronchiseptica: bacterial component of the cough (C4 and B. bronchiseptica is C5)

A C5 vaccination is the minimum requirement for most boarding kennels and is recommended for dogs mixing frequently with large numbers of dogs (eg Obedience training).

Vaccinations cannot stop an animal from becoming infected by a virus, but they do reduce the chance and severity of infections and make recovery quicker. This is the reason that dogs may still pick up Canine Cough, even when vaccinated with a C5, or why cats can get the flu even when fully vaccinated. The benefits are that they are generally less unwell than an unvaccinated animal, and more resistant to the development of disease.

Source: http://www.animalaid.com.au/vacinations.html

[poodlefan]

On the other hand they could be very healthy.

But here's the thing.. Fox Terriers and Poodles are VERY DIFFERENT DOGS.

Different coats, temperaments, trainability etc. The chances of this dog growing up to be the best of both breeds is not great. The chance of her getting characteristics of either breed that she's not going to like is quite good.

Hope she's up for a smart, super high energy, independent dog more interested in pleasing itself than her and inclined to be a bit of a scrapper. That's one potential result of this cross.

And as for what sort of coat it will have? Who'd know?

She has no idea what this dog will be like as an adult. I do think the odds of it being a barker are pretty damn good though.

Edited October 6, 2011 by poodlefan

[Christina]

There is not much you can do except to advise her to get a vet check, vaccine, worm & flea treatment if needed.

At least she did not pay a pet shop $795 or an equally stupid amount for this pup.

On $50 they are not likely to be breeding & churning them out for the money.

The dog may be weird or cute, cranky nature or great & may be fine. Lucky dip.

Hope its lucky.

[poodlefan]

My guess is this pup will be full of worms.

Hope your friend can cope when puppy poos the equivalent of live spaghetti.

[Dju]

I thought it was illegal to sell puppies without their first set of vaccinations?

[Simply Grand]

Oh D, it sounds like you're trying to stop your friend buying into a problem! You are doing the right thing. Of course it would be way way better for your friend to get a pup from a better source. But if she does buy this dog, goes straight to the vet for vacs and check up and is willing to pay for whatever (which could be alot!) is required in future, she could have a good pet.

Like PF said though, likely to be difficult, but hopefully worth the effort to your friend. If I were you I'd keep on with advice such as "So, do you want the name of my vet, they're great?" "How are you going with training, want the name of my puppy/obedience school?" "How often do you brush your pup? Are you going to groom it yourself or take it to a groomer every couple of weeks?"

In my experience you can sort of show people what they at least need to think about without coming straight out and saying you're doing the wrong thing... not always of course but at least sometimes enough to keep the dog in general good health...

[dancinbcs]

I thought it was illegal to sell puppies without their first set of vaccinations?

Not sure about Qld but in NSW it is illegal to sell puppies without vaccination and microchip. At least this puppy is 9 weeks and they aren't paying much for it.

I know someone in NSW that bought a 5 week old supposed "British Bulldog", unregistered, unvaccinated and not microchipped. I hate to think what they paid for it with the current price for BBs and when I urged them to return it the same day they bought it, they unfriended me on FB. This person, I have known for 35 years, is very intelligent but my pointing out the fact that the puppy was far too young to be sold, the laws that had been broken as well the fact the puppy looked like a crossbred and was nearly all white (so likely deaf)as well as looking like it had a skin condition, all fell on deaf ears. I apparently spoiled their excitement at getting a puppy and they didn't care if they had been ripped off and were probably in for years of health and temperament problems.

I also have a relative getting an "oodle" this weekend. I spoke at length to her about why "oodles" are a bad idea, where thaey come from, etc. She doesn't have time for a puppy and I managed to find her a stunning 4 year old Champion retired show dog for just the cost of desexing. She was all enthusiastic then suddenly changed her mind and ordered the "oodle" puppy. I give up.

Many people see a puppy and turn into complete idiots as far as thinking things through. Unfortunately there is not much you can do about it except sit back and watch the train wreck that is about to happen.