Pup with broken tail, nervous temperament and not long haired. - Page 1

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by CelticSpirit on 21 February 2017 - 15:02

Hi all,

I'm relatively new to this forum but have found it very helpful so far.
I'm hoping to get some advice from experienced buyers or breeders as to where I stand on the following.

After a long search and a total cost of €2000, €1250 for the pup and €750 on transportation
our family took delivery of a Swiss Shepherd pup.

We were delighted when we finally got her but noticed immediately that she appeared to be very nervous of people, cowering behind us if she seen a car or heard a noise on the street or if someone walked past.

We put this down to her being a pup but having read information online it appears she was not socialised properly with people. We received the pup when she was 4 months old due to vaccination requirements.

Apparently socialisation is essential in the pups early life and socialisation becomes almost impossible after 4 months so we're now left with a very skittish dog who won't let anybody but myself and partner touch her, she won't walk down the road without pulling back on the leash out of fear and hides behind us if someone walks down the road.

We have her approx 3 weeks now, we noticed her fur on her tail is looking strange so we made an appointment with the vet to check her over, the vet felt a bump in the tail and a recess on the underside indicating that the tail was broken at some point in the past. The pup has no pain at all and had no pain at all since we got her, which would have been obvious as we were petting her a lot.

In the vets opinion the break happened a long time ago, well before we took delivery of her as it is fully healed and the bones are fused in place.

We were also told the pup would be a 'long haired BBS' but it appear the pup will be a medium haired dog at best.

We were assured by the breeder that this pup would 'win shows' (their words) and it comes from champion lines, although we still love the pup and have bonded with her, we are left hugely disappointed as it looks like this pup does not have the temperament to become a show dog, it being very fearful and nervous. The tail is also very noticeably broken so this would also go against the dog in shows (according to our vet).

So I suppose what I'm asking is what would those of you with experience buying or selling do in this instance?
The pup cost a lot of money and effort to get but is not really what we were expecting, particularly in regards to the broken tail and nervous temperament.

Any and all opinions welcome.

Thanks.





Q Man

by Q Man on 21 February 2017 - 15:02

What country are you in and What country did you get your puppy from?

Have you contacted the Breeder or person you got the puppy from?

I would suggest that being the first thing to do...

Did you receive any guarantees...Written or otherwise?

~Bob~

by CelticSpirit on 21 February 2017 - 15:02

I am in Ireland, the pup was from Spain.

I have contacted the breeder, their reply was that they never noticed anything wrong with the pups tail, that was basically their only reply to that issue.

They also said the pup was never nervous around other people when they had it and that the nervousness must have started after we got her, they said that nervousness and being fearful like that are part of the Swiss Shepherds character.

I didn't get any guarantees written, but the breeder did imply in emails that the pup was a future champion.
I made it very clear in our communications that I wanted to show the dog and enter dog shows so the temperament had to be suitable and obviously the dog shouldn't have a broken tail and should be long haired as advertised.


Sunsilver

by Sunsilver on 21 February 2017 - 16:02

Nervous temperaments are often genetic, and there's not a lot that can be done to fix them. I am speaking from experience.

I don't believe for one minute that this breeder wasn't aware of these issues. Sorry, you have been scammed...

It sounds like you are too bonded with the dog to try to replace her, but I definitely would protest long and loudly about her problems, and try to get some money back. Breeders depend a lot on their reputations to sell pups, so I wouldn't hesitate to publicize the breeder's info.

I have heard far too many stories like this, and it's the reason I would never buy a pup from another country, unless I knew the breeder extremely well, or was able to go and see the pup in person before buying. It's very difficult to get any sort of compensation when the breeder is in another country, and hundred of miles away.

Oh, and BBS temperaments being like that? BULLSHIT!! I know someone who has a BBS puppy, and she is very happy, friendly and outgoing! She's been this way since they got her at 8 weeks of age.

An image


by CelticSpirit on 21 February 2017 - 16:02

I find it very hard to believe the breeder didn't know the dog was not socialised with people.
The dog is 5 months old now and cowers behind me if a car passes by us on a walk, she pulls back immediately in fear if a stranger reaches to pet her so I really can not see how she could cope with a judge at a show touching her or with being surrounded with strange people.

Also, it not being a long hair as was described and then the broken tail....it's all just very disappointing.

The breeder is on this site and does have the pedigree of the dog on this site although I'm unsure how active they are.
As for naming and shaming, that will be the last resort but I will do it if there is no reasonable effort made to make it right.

I believe people have a right to know which breeders are ethical and which are not, especially considering the cost and commitment involved.


susie

by susie on 21 February 2017 - 19:02

First of all, I don't know the breeder, but...

A lot of Swiss Shepherds don't have a stellar temperament - they need a lot of socialisation-the sooner, the better.

In your case the pup had to stay with the breeder ( rabies tita? ), maybe supported by mom and/or siblings for 4 months-not the best start for later life.

Broken tail-happens more often than people realize-in case the tailset and movement is not affected it's nothing you have to worry about.

The coat- during this age even longcoats look short because of coat change- you will know for sure in 5 more months.

Take her outside as much as possible, don't pamper her, in her special case let people pet and feed her.

Good luck!


by CelticSpirit on 21 February 2017 - 19:02

Hi Susan,

I take her out twice or 3 times per day, have put her through 3 socialisation classes with a dog behaviourist and had a private consultation with a dog behaviourist with no improvement at all.

We paid the premium price in the understanding she would be a show standard dog with a good temperament, this clearly is not the case. In fact, the BBS breed standard states overly shy temperaments are a disqualifying fault.

I understand the tail could have happened when the pub was young or during birth but it definitely happened before we got the dog.

I can see by the coat, she is not long haired, it's medium at best.

It's either genetic or the pup was never socialised which I would have thought would be the least a breeder could do if they're charging a premium price for a 'show dog'

Just very disheartened with it all. Lesson learned I suppose.

yogidog

by yogidog on 21 February 2017 - 19:02

Best to get the dog out as much as possible bring food with you and when nerves feed and bring the dog through maybe a place where there is many people somewhere like the cost road if u live in Dublin plenty of people passing that wont show mush interest but she will get ususe to people passing the road is pretty close to the walk way where she will c the cars and here them but not close enough to scare her make it fun . second I would bring her to a dog club . Hope this helps u out best of luck

Sherman-RanchGSD

by Sherman-RanchGSD on 21 February 2017 - 19:02

Ireland didnt require a health certificate for dogs to travel in from other countries? Would not that have indication of the problem you now mention? In the USA we must have the dogs go thru the physical exam and I can tell you regardless of age the vets I have used go thru them from eyeball to asshole. So it is odd to me that would have been missed or problematic now whats with that ? The ? of temperamen I feel perhaps you should refer to an experienced trainer who has some familiararity with the breed or types of breed.
As far as *show quality* I know nothing of the breed but pictures and proper handling and stacking can reflect what you think is not show quality? FOR me this is why I choose not to ship site unseen an older pup/youngster...everyone loves a puppy but the other ages have more room for descrimination sometimes with merit, other times just people not knowledge of those growing ages or stages. This does not mean bad behavior is acceptable should someone purposefully misrepresent said dog..that is shameful

susie

by susie on 21 February 2017 - 20:02

According to the breed average you didn't pay "premium" price - and the breeder kept her 2 months for you... you will never know if the problems are caused by genetics or by lack of socialisation, I guess it's both.

I'd stay away from "behaviorists" who focus on the dog-just try to meet as many "friendly" people as possible, but don't overreact -try to behave as normal as possible. Try to show her that life is no big deal, just normal procedure.

Once again, good luck!






 


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