re; puppies are a crap shoot - Page 2

I've bought dogs that had good guarantees, walked away from those that didn't. I had to collect on a few, no problem. I've sold dogs with very fair guarantees, I had 2 , one for pet sales, one for show/breeding sales. I had to make good on 2 show/breeding dogs I bred and I did it ASAP.

Some breeders spin the words to stack the deck in their favor, they require things they know cannot be verified or most buyers will never do......the dog has to eat a specific diet......can't be allowed too much exercise....can't be allowed too little exercise......can't be allowed to jump from a high surface...can't be housed on cement......can't be housed on gravel and the biggest breeder loophole of them all - the dog MUST be returned before restitution is made. What's wrong with simply asking for a doctors report and proof of neutering OR returned as agreed  upon by all involved parties. Most pet owners won't return a dog, more breeders will  .Personally the only buyer who ever said she'd send a 9 month old puppy back got a refund, not another dog. I didn't want to give another dog to a buyer who valued the animal so little that she'd just put her on a plane and never looked back. I was more than happy to have the dog back and to give her a full refund, no questions asked.

I would think that most here have enough savy to not buy a dog from a breeder who doesn't offer a fair guarantee or from a breeder without a great reputation. I get tired of hearing that contracts are worthless, they are not. It's the breeder who reneges on one or who makes such ridiculous terms that is worthless. Breeders are the crap shoots.

Guaranteeing dogs is the price of doing businees. If a breeder doesn't want to do that, then they should sell those puppies at  discounted prices and promise nothing.

A while back I sold a puppy and all was good and happy.......a year later both were laid off, they couldn't find jobs, lost their house... They were going to dump the dog at the local shelter....... I talked them into giving it back to me, so I could find a suitable home for him. I took the dog to the vet, did some obedience and socializing and found another home for him. Vetting, food, flea/tick, heartworm.... I put about $600 into the dog and sold him for $300 to a good home.

Many breeders wash their hands of the pup once its sold.

ED/HD is known to come from both genetic and environmental causes. Early spa/neuter, improper diet, slippery surfaces, too much exercise at an early age, letting puppies jump from the back of trucks and injuries.... I cannot controll any of these. The vast majority of my puppies go to companion homes, I do my best to educate them, but still......

If a puppy was diagnosed with no hip sockets or something horrible, I would give them another puppy, as it would be obviously a genetic issue. So far, none of my puppies have had any issues with ED or HD of any kind, no matter how careful I am with selecting breeding dogs its bound to happen sooner or later. All my puppies are sold with limited registration, once hips and elbows are certified, or the pup is spay/neutered I change to full registration for the cost the AKC charges. A companion puppy with borderline or mild HD can live a perfectly happy and long life, the owners still enjoy thier pet.

I did my research and still ended up with a pup with health issues.  My poor dog was diagnosed with EPI at 15 mos of age the breeder said it must be caused by something environmental (although she never bred the pair or the dam again to my knowledge.  Then at 4 years of age she is diagnosed with hip dysplagia and spondylosis. Retired from competing at this time. As she could no longer jump. She also was diagnosed with Pannus at 3 years of age.  Can the poor dog get any other hereditary disorder?    I was told by the breeder she was sorry that the dog did not meet my expectations.  and she would give me a discount should I choose to get another pup. Really???  No thanks

LynOD, that's horrible!
Getting a puppy from your breeder that has completely different bloodlines could be a solution.

There's a GSD betterment database, please go there and register your dog...... People need information so they can be more informed and also breeders need to know so they can choose better breeding stock.

My female has ancestors with good hips, going back 2 generations on both sides of her pedigree. She has a mildly dysplastic hip.

There is no history of faded pigment in her picture pedigree. Her pigment has faded so badly that she has no black on her tail at all, and her saddle is just a black smudge on an otherwise red dog.

As for conformation faults, her elbows turn out slightly and her earset is less than perfect, though I've seen worse in the show ring.

Could ANYONE have predicted this when she was a pup?  Maybe they would have noticed the elbows and ears, if they'd had YEARS of experience evaluating puppies.

I asked several experienced people to look at her 8 week puppy pic, as I was worried about the white spots she had on her chest and hind toes, and they said that was okay, her pigment would be fine.  As she got older those white spots would fade.  Well, they did, though she still has 2 white toenails. But so did the black pigment. I've since found out this type of fading is due to a recessive gene that's fairly rare and has nothing to do with the white markings. Heh. Lucky me!

Would I trade her for another dog? Not on your life!

LynOD, that is really crummy that the breeder did not offer you a FREE puppy of different bloodlines. That is what I would have done and what I would expect. I know it doesn't fix the issues your dog is having, but at least it is some sort of consolation for what you have gone through.

I also got a male pup whose 2nd testicle did not drop. He was purchased as a show/breeding prospect with "full health guarantee" and when the testicle had not dropped at 4 months I informed the breeder. She said "give him til 6 months", so I did. It still did not drop, so I let her know and she told me that she had offered to take him back at 4 months and I had refused so now it was too late. I have all if the emails and never once did she offer to take him back. She just kept telling me that it would eventually drop (which we all know is crap, if they don't have it by 12 weeks, it is most likely not going to make an appearance).

Is this about pups being crap shoot or about warranties?

Gustav's mother sounds exactly like my mother. LOL.

My mother was also famous for saying: "I'll give you something to cry about." (insert ominous background music here)

I would have to say that they are somewhat of a crap shoot considering above health issues that were not predicted.  Don't get me wrong My girl is a great dog, and I wouldn't trade her for the world but it is hard to watch your hopes dreams and hard work go down the toilet even though you were so careful when picking a breeder.

EXACTLY, Lyn!

It was a big disappointment, but there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it. 

And I certainly can't fault the breeder. He paid a lot of money to import my dog's father (an Ursus son!) but as a result of issues with the offspring, only used him twice as a stud. Star was from his first litter, and as there were only two pups, it didn't give a very good idea as to what he was capable of producing.