Advice Wanted

[Homeriver]

I purchased a labrador pup on the main register from a registered breeder with the intent of showing and breeding if he turned out to be suitable. The pup is about 7 months old now (purchased as a three month old), and has hip dysplasia. The pup was fed and exercised as recommend and hasn't had any sort of injury that I am aware of, though he does play with my other dog and kids. Am I entitled to any refund etc from the breeder or is this just my bad luck?

[Salukifan]

I purchased a labrador pup on the main register from a registered breeder with the intent of showing and breeding if he turned out to be suitable. The pup is about 7 months old now (purchased as a three month old), and has hip dysplasia. The pup was fed and exercised as recommend and hasn't had any sort of injury that I am aware of, though he does play with my other dog and kids. Am I entitled to any refund etc from the breeder or is this just my bad luck?

I gather the HD diagnosis has been made based on X-Rays?

I think most breeders would look at a refund but the only way to know for sure is to talk to the pup's breeder.

You have my sympathy - you must be gutted.

[persephone]

was the pup diagnosed at a local vet, or a specialist ? It must be a hard thing to hear

Oh - and - have you mentioned this to the breeder? They will be upset as well. perhaps, though, they have a vet/specialist who could also check .....

Edited June 18, 2014 by persephone

[Nekhbet]

Your first port of call is to get proper x-rays done and speak to your breeder with the result. If the dog is definitely HD and is outside the breedable score then it's up to you and the breeder what type of middle ground you reach considering the dog cannot perform the function it was originally purchased for.

[Tapua]

Firstly I am sorry this has happened and I hope you poor pup isn't suffering. Please contact your breeder. If you specifically bought a pup with show/breeding potential and the breeder knew this and it was documented at the time of purchase then you have a case for a return of money or a replacement. However I am more concerned about your puppy it health and its prognosis long term. Some breeders will require the pup to be returned to them and will offer money or a replacement some will not. You can have generations of 0:0 scores and produce HD so to that point it is bad luck breeders don't intent to create HD and when this occurs all concerned are upset. You need to ask yourself 1) what is to become of puppy - return him or keep him? 2) Do I want a replacement puppy or money back

The breeder has a right to get a second opinion of Xrays by a radiologist.

[dancinbcs]

At 7 months he is too young to be scored the normal way. If a normal vet had diagnosed this, they are not qualified to make a diagnosis. Has he been been x-rayed and Penn Hipp Scored by Penn State University? This is the only definite way to make a diagnosis at this age. Other scorers here may be prepared to look at x-rays but would not give any sort of score in a dog that is still growing. The breeder should be consulted about anything that is happening. As has been said, the breeder has probably done everything in their power to avoid HD but it is multi genetic as well as environmental and therefore without a crystal ball cannot be predicted, all breeders can do is reduce the odds of it happening.

[Sandra777]

"Has hip displasia" is a very vague diagnosis - what is the score? Many dogs "have hip displasia" but have such a low score it's irrelevant. As already mentioned the pup is to young to have been scored officially except by pennhip so first thing is how has the diagnosis been made and second thing is talk to the breeder. What were the parents scores? Grandparents?

EFS

Edited June 20, 2014 by Sandra777

[cavNrott]

Homeriver, can you tell us more about how the pup was diagnosed? Who xrayed and diagnosed HD? The pup is too young for an accurate, positive diagnosis at this age.

If in fact he does have HD and you bought him from an ethical breeder you may well be offered a refund but this would more than likely mean returning the pup to the breeder. Are you prepared to return him?

Have you contacted the breeder? If not you should do so.

[Wundahoo]

You need to contact the breeder and tell them of the problem. Keep it nice and dont make them feel as though you are blaming them. HD is considered to be polygenic and multifactorial so it isnt wholey and soley a problem of genetics.

If the diagnosis is adequate ie radiographs are of sufficient quality and have been reported by someone who is known to be experienced, then you may have grounds for some compensation.

The accuracy of the diagnosis needs to be established in the first instance and then you can take things from there.

While your dog is very young and is too young to be officially scored it isnt too young for a diagnosis to be made. Sometimes it's very obvious from radiographs of young dogs that all the growing in the world will not fix the hips. It really depends on how bad they truly are.

When speaking with the breeder, the best results for you will be obtained if you are not portioning blame but simply and politely state facts. Present the evidence that you have and allow the breeder to seek a second opinion if they wish. Give the breeder and the vet that made the diagnosis permission to speak with each other about the case. Dont make any threats or argue. Keep it sweet and simple.

If the breeder is reputable and reasonable they will show concern and will want to get to the bottom of the issue, particularly from the point of view of a planned and continuing breeding programme. This just might be the spoke in the wheel that they will not want ! They may be as disappointed as you, perhaps even more so.

[sas]

If the dog does in fact have Hip Dip and the dog was sold to you for breeding and showing, the dog no longer meets the criteria it was sold to you as and given dogs are 'goods' you are entitled to a refund or replacement.

[bianca.a]

I am so sorry, it can be such a shock to get this news.

My working line German Shepherd was diagnosed with severe HD at 10 months old (by three specialists including one who does pennhip scoring). He had his first Total Hip Replacement at 15 months of age and then four weeks ago, he had the other hip done. He is only 2 1/2 by the way. Each hip costs in the region of $8000.00 plus ongoing repeat xrays etc.

I notified his breeder and sent her xrays and asked for her opinion. She was wonderful and had a few of her vet friends look at his films too. Bless her heart she offered me a complete refund and said she would understand if I ended up going down the euthanize route when his pain got too bad. I really did not want to take it but my now ex, insisted. This breeder does all health checks and then some on her dogs and I wouldn't hesitate to get another puppy from her when I recover from this one! I figure it was just plain bad luck my Cooper ended up with this and also that I was lucky to get him (because I could do both surgeries).

Anywhoo wishing you both all the very best ((hugs))

[aussielover]

Is the dog lame, showing signs of pain or abnormal or restricted movement?

I

[RuralPug]

I purchased a labrador pup on the main register from a registered breeder with the intent of showing and breeding if he turned out to be suitable.

Was the breeder aware of your intent?

Did the breeder assist you to pick a potentially show quality puppy or did you choose by yourself?

Did you ensure that the hip scores of the parents and grandparents were suitable for a future breeding program?

Have you ensured that the growth/weight ratio and exercise routines were well within the guidelines for optimum large breed rearing?

If the answer to any of these questions is "no", then I humbly suggest that you should have researched more carefully before selecting a puppy and/or been more up front with the breeder regarding the purpose of the pup.

Many show dogs will have already had a puppy class or two or at least show training by seven months old - has your pup been shown yet?

Ethical breeders do their utmost to eliminate HD and other ortho diseases from their lines.

The best chance of avoiding getting a pup that develops some form of HD is to select from good stock with excellent hip scores and to very carefully rear the puppy to avoid stresses on the hip joints. However it is not an iron clad guarantee - just your very best chance, there are unknown elements which can mean bad luck has a small role to play.

Work with the breeder - an ethical breeder would refund on return of the pup or offer a suitable replacement from a future litter. They would want to know that the pup has developed HD and would try to work out how it happened, given that parental and grandparental hip scores were excellent.