Puppies Being Sold With Fatal Diseases

[Yonjuro]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/18991813/puppies-being-sold-with-fatal-diseases/

Unsuspecting dog lovers across Perth are increasingly being sold puppies with potentially fatal diseases including parvovirus, warns the state's consumer watchdog.

More than 30 cases of ill animals being sold by breeders have been raised with WA's Consumer Protection unit this year, with some breeders prosecuted and others forced to pay compensation.

And families planning on a buying a new pet have been warned to do extensive background checks first.

"If you were told a dog has been vaccinated and you get it home to find it's sick, or you bought a small breed of dog but it grows really quickly and you realise it's a much bigger breed, these are the types of scenarios where you may be entitled to redress," Commissioner for Consumer Protection Anne Driscoll said.

Sellers have also been warned they must comply with the Australian Consumer Law - meaning pets must be "fault-free" and match the description given.

Mandurah pet owner Don Jacobson, who bought his flat coat retriever Kaja two years ago, only recently found his pet has a severe case of hip dysplasia, which will cost thousands of dollars to alleviate future pain.

Kaja's breeder was pursued by Consumer Protection and forced to pay back $500 to Mr Jacobson.

"The breeder was in total denial, then she ignored me and in no way could I consider losing a dog that I had had for two years," Mr Jacobson said.

"It is not treatable and all you can do is alleviate the pain and help the dog out."

[espinay2]

"fault-free"

OK I agree with some in the article. A dog should basically be 'as advertised' (buy a purebred from a registered breeder for more guarantee on what you see is what you get... ) and a pup should be healthy at time of sale (breeders getting written health checks done before/at time of sale can help with this - but we all know that there is no real guarantee once a pup leaves your premises) but HD....I know there was a court case some years ago (St Bernard comes to mind?) regarding HD that ruled in favour of the pet owner (if memory serves me right because the breeder had not hip scored??). But we all should know that with polygenetic conditions there can be no 100% guarantees no matter how much health testing and care a breeder puts into it. We can only REDUCE risk, not REMOVE it and an owner can play a big role too in how they raise the puppy. It pays to make this VERY clear to puppy buyers before and at time of sale......a puppy is a living breathing thing folks! And sometimes no matter how far a breeder goes to reduce risk, sh#t happens....

Edited September 18, 2013 by espinay2

[WreckitWhippet]

The only diseases that you can guarantee against are those that you can genetically test for and therefore know the status.

Vaccinated puppies can contract parvo and HD is not simply a genetic issue.

If you buy a puppy, having done your research and know what can best tested for, then the rest is in your hands as an owner. It's a living creature and shit happens, just like kids gets sick, live life in pain or die, so do dogs.

As a breeder, I'm sick of being punished ( as part of the dog world as a whole ) for sick and diseased animals. Wake up world, it's a living breathing creature and things can and will go wrong, accept it, deal with it and move on.

[minimax]

sounds like buyers aren't doing their research, and are buying BYB pups from un-health tested/scored parents. And bad stuff happened. And we are meant to be shocked?

[Yonjuro]

Yeah, it is bit of a current affair type article that assumes the general public are complete morons. Having said that, anything that can alert the general public to do more research and shun BYBs is a probably a good thing - it is a pity that there is not more of a focus on BYBs.

[mita]

Sellers have also been warned they must comply with the Australian Consumer Law - meaning pets must be "fault-free"

Pets must be fault-free??? What's the magic ingredient which allows that to happen? Quickly, pass it over to human medicine. Parents having babies would be so grateful.

An article like that is not just useless in providing information to the pet-buying public. It's providing misinformation. Espinay is right. Even when a breeder does everything humanly possible to set their puppies up for the best health possible.... it can only reduce risk. No such thing as 'no risk' for a living creature.

Edited September 18, 2013 by mita

[tdierikx]

A 2 year old large breed dog with hip displaysia does not mean that it was sold to the buyer that way - and HD can be rectified with surgery, but it will cost a lot more than $500.

Puppies don't come from any decent breeder with diseases, but many will only have had their first vaccination before they go to a new home - and new owners do so love taking their new "baby" everywhere, regardless of any warnings stating that they need ALL their vaccinations before they are unlikely to pick up something nasty. Some strains of Parvo have as little as a 2 day gestation in small pups, so automatically blaming a breeder for selling you a "sick" pup may not be the case at all.

But we live in a society where responsibility is always someone else's province, right?

T.

[OSoSwift]

Yep agreed. You cannot produce and present a puppy who is never going to get sick or have any issues. It would be nice to think the BYBers may get a dose of reality but it will probably end up that Regod and therefore traceable breeders will bear the brunt and the idiots will get off Scott free as normal

[_PL_]

I would think the term 'breeder' is applied fairly loosely here.

There's a very large farm and it's shopfront that I'm sure Perth rescuers know more about.

[Yonjuro]

This made it on the tele news tonight. The main message they seemed to be getting across via vets was to avoid buying from pet shops, puppy mills and BYBs. I will try and find a link.

[kelpiecuddles]

If a puppy has made it to 8 weeks without contracting parvo and then gets it after a week in it's new home how could they honestly think it's had it from the breeder's house...

[Salukifan]

If a puppy has made it to 8 weeks without contracting parvo and then gets it after a week in it's new home how could they honestly think it's had it from the breeder's house...

I'd say a more important issue would be whether or not the pup had been vaccinated. Plenty of puppy sellers don't waste money on things like that and don't wait till 8 weeks to sell puppies either.

[Yonjuro]

here is the news piece

[kelpiecuddles]

So the reporter called Dancinggate Kennels a backyard breeder but the owner called them a registered breeder.

[minimax]

So the reporter called Dancinggate Kennels a backyard breeder but the owner called them a registered breeder.

When you Google them it looks like they are registered, and have many many many previous reports of the same issues.

Some reports say they have "handed in their dogs west registration"

Edited September 18, 2013 by minimax

[RallyValley]

This story makes me feel sick to my stomach. I am not in any way defending the breeder mentioned but the media making out that HD is 'fatal' and that they did a $500 'genetic test' to find out the dog had HD - don't they have to have some level of truth in "news" programs

The man's dog is also looks overweight, how can they prove the HD is not environmental?

[Dogsfevr]

not shocked at all

[Angeluca]

did a google saw this forum:

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/choosing-golden-retriever-breeder-puppy/121549-beware-dancing-gate-2.html

Page 2 last post (I think no. 5)Dated yesterday

'I got a reply from Dogs West.

Apparently this afternoon Joy Smith handed in her resignation as a member of Dogs West, effective immediately, this means that Dogs West cannot take any action against her.

-very smart on Mrs Smiths part i reckon.

anyway, i don't know if that means that she is legal able to sell pups now but lets hope she has now stopped!'

Hmmm very sly now she is a backyard breeder and will probably change the kennel name.

[OSoSwift]

She is an elderly lady now so maybe she is thinking about not breeding any more, but honestly if people have not heard about these dogs and the issues that many of them have it would be suprising.

Yes she was registered, had been for years, as for doing Hip scores etc I am not sure but the chances are they were not done, at least not for a very long time.

[OSoSwift]

At lot of crap and a lack of true info in there however I would be interested if the parents of the puppy had been hip scored and what those scores were. I also think the dog looks overweight. Having said that none of this suprises me after knowing dogs from these kennels.