OCD diagnosis

[DiMaurice]

My daughters Golden retriever pup has been diagnosed with OCD in both rear legs. She has had multiple xrays and CT scans in the process, trying to diagnose and is now going to be operated on to fix it.  She's 10 months old but has been sore for the last 4 months.  As there is a genetic component to the disease, although the breeder claims to have never had a pup with this, is it unreasonable to ask for part or full compensation? The breeder also admitted that the pups were bottle fed early on, though I don't know if this makes a difference. She would never give up her dog as she is so attached to her, being now 10 months old, but I don't know whether to approach the breeder or not.  She lives in a small country town and has to travel 2 hours for a decent vet and is so stressed over it all. I thought buying from a breeder eliminates these problems. 

[Dogsfevr]

Health issues are not elimated by buying from a breeder but a breeder who health tests the parents are hoping to minimize the risk .

There is no guarantee .

 

No different than humans who produce a child with health issues 

 

OCD can be owner created it can also be a breed related issue so the blame can be both ways .

 

Bottle feeding is very common especially supplementing a large litter or assisting a bitch lacking in milk early on.Bottle feeding doesn’t mean anything sinister just part of helping a litter survive or thrive .

 

 

[sandgrubber]

It is reasonable to approach the breeder (politely).  If she does testing and follows health guidelines, and if there was no health  guarantee, it's unlikely you have a legal case, but many breeders will do something to compensate above and beyond legal obligation.  

Bottle feeding is irrelevant.

Edited March 8, 2018 by sandgrubber
Further thoughts

[RuralPug]

I don't know if there is any genetic testing available for OCD in rear legs in Australia. If there isn't, and the breeder has had no prior incidents of it, then they cannot be held responsible in my view, especially if there is an environmental component.
But any good breeder would certainly want to know that this has occurred so that they can take extra steps to avoid any future occurrence in planned litters.

[mackiemad]

From my knowledge ocd has a huge environmental component so I'm not sure how successful you'd be in thing to get a refund. 

 

Definitely worth talking to the breeder and keeping them informed etc, she may decide that a partial refund is acceptable/necessary/the right thing to do. 

[persephone]

On 3/8/2018 at 10:10 PM, DiMaurice said:

I thought buying from a breeder eliminates these problems. 

sadly, no. 
IF you researched your breeder , found that they have health tested their  dogs , have previously bred healthy dogs ... , then THEY have done their homework .


 

 

20 hours ago, RuralPug said:

I don't know if there is any genetic testing available for OCD in rear legs in Australia. If there isn't, and the breeder has had no prior incidents of it, then they cannot be held responsible in my view, especially if there is an environmental component.
But any good breeder would certainly want to know that this has occurred so that they can take extra steps to avoid any future occurrence in planned litters.

With living things, there are no guarantees at all .

[Roova]

Firstly I'm sorry this has happened to both the dog and your daughter.

 

Just curious but was your daughter aware of the importance of limiting jarring movements until growth plates close,  maybe around 18 months?  Beyond normal play,  if a pup has been allowed to chase balls,  jump on and off couches, beds or stairs and perform jarring movements there is a much higher risk of permanent damage.  (No matter how well bred). 

 

If absolutely none of this has happened you'd have to imagine there's a good chance it was genetic?

Edited March 10, 2018 by Roova

[Rebanne]

The breeder should have been approached long before this. You really need a 2nd opinion. Can you take the dog for a couple of weeks and get it to a specialist? I bred a dog with OCD in the shoulder, was diagnosed by 4 months, seen by a specialist shortly after. He told me that by operating to scrape out all the cartilage etc the dog still would not be right, so I didn't. This was a pup I kept. As it turns out the dog was pretty much a lemon and was relieved of all pain before he was 4. Sh!t happens no matter how careful anyone is. Broke my heart.

 

But I would want a 2nd opinion and hopefully by a specialist, before doing surgery. This where the breeder might have been able to help.