Breeder concerns? - Page 2

I've had no direct experience with Appleridge, but have heard enough from others to be extremely wary. Also, some of their ads on the PDB have struck a wrong note with me. E.g., they frequently market their pups for a certain niche, such as service dog. How can you know that about a pup until it has actually been TRAINED?

The V-rated male they recently purchased and a breeding the crap out of is also, IMO anyway, a horrible example of the breed!

Kitkat, 

Trying to understand how it's possible that you would completely misinterpret both of my posts? You keep trying to assign a position to me that I have not taken. --> That I knowingly have a perfectly and certifiably healthy dog and am expressing unrealistic and unfounded concerns about this breeder just for the sake of complaining. Really? 

Are you a personal friend and fan of this breeder? I ask this because your close-minded and seemingly biased support of this breeders practices would certainly support that as being the case. 

In my first post, I stated that I believe my young pup to be healthy. Key word: BELIEVE. 

In my second post I stated that it appears as though he is healthy even though it is still way too early to know for sure. Key word in that sentence: APPEARS

While I do have many years experience in owning this breed, I am not a veterinarian. At this young stage of my pups life, and aside from my experience and ability to notice postive vs. negative changes by observing his behavior, strength, development, coordination, agility, eating habits, social skills, and of course his need for veterinary intervention....ALL I have to go on is the following:

2. DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED BY THE BREEDER to support all advertised claims. In part, genetic studies, OFA certifications and ratings, and veterinarian records to show and prove that shots were actually given and thorough health examinations performed to rule out the presence of any illnesses and diagnosable defects! 

He came home from the breeder with an intestinal infection. One easily diagnosed by any breeder above novice level as the diarrhea that he (and his three siblings that were present) all had while still in her care was mucus filled. It also had the pungent odor that any experienced dog owner would immediately recognize as being bacterial in nature! I mentioned this to her on the spot and she dismissed it away as being normal stress related runs. My suspicions were confirmed two days later after a fecal exam was done by our vet. The bacterial issue in his intestinal tract was a typical (and contagious) puppy infection. Had he been vet checked, this would not have been the case. Hope this clears things up and makes my concerns easier for you to understand, Kitkat.

As for those of you who have your own experiences (good or bad) with this particular breeder, I would appreciate hearing from you! 

You're not going to find many people who know anything about dogs at all having much experience with this kennel because they clearly (based on website) cater to the very very novice buyer. It's not a kennel that a GSD enthusiast is going to be impressed by, and the board is mostly comprised of GSD enthusiasts of various experience levels. MOSTLY- not all. There are also pet owners who were novice and got burned and then they found the forum. I think that's why you're not getting what you want- you're kind of at an in between stage. 

I don't think anyone really understands what the heck you're asking; I think that's the problem. It seems like a typical case of "Oh, crap...I guess I should've done my homework BEFORE I bought the pup." I think if you can state what exactly is really wrong with your dog, then people can offer more insight. But you're going to need more than coccidia and the fear of the unknown to get everyone up in arms. We just don't have any info, it appears. 

They inquired about buying a dog from me, once. Uh, no...don't think so...don't think you're using my name in your "program." 

My observations of the website and the pic's of their dogs they have advertised for sale is a perfect example quality wise of a back yard bred dog.  I did not see really any quality in their dogs.  Of course pic's only and have not met in person so from that standpoint only my observations, however for a novice it could be impressive as they tend to offer "trained" youngsters or teen agers;  that could be attractive to some people not wanting to raise a "baby" puppy or someone that knows nothing about the breed or training. 

Found the sales part of it much like a car lot sale...  JMHO  Really sorry to see this as they are pretty active breeding dogs...  Nan

And 'WHO' in their right mind would buy a puppy from ANYONE with mucus diarrhea,  that more than one pup had, and then be surprised there was an intestinal  issue...just saying

Ekana-all things you should have documented BEFORE you got your pup.
No one has that gsd crystal ball, what might happen down the road. And NO, i don t know this breeder, nor do i care to.

Susie is from Germany and you can be sure she is not connected to the breeder of your pup.

Ekana: "I have a young pup from that kennel and while I love him to death and so far, believe him to be of sound health, I have some serious concerns with the actual breeder, her claims, her behavior after the sale and her lack of follow through on keeping her own word and adhereing to her own contract."

" Wow, I have read the incoming responses and am saddened to find out that so far, my red flag moments and suspicions about this breeder are dead on accurate. Aside from the first two comments by Kitkat and Susie, (who either have NO clue about business tranasactions, contracts and doing business in good faith....and/or are personally connected to the breeder!)..."

Ekana, I neither know the breeder in question nor any of the dogs - I just googled "Appleridge" to know what you are talking about. I´m not even American/Canadian, and I don´t know the names of sire/dam of your puppy.... I just didn´t read about any "real" problems in your first post ( over here we buy a puppy and its ours - nobody is going to blame a breeder as long as peds are okay ).

This just seems to be one of the thousands of AKC licensed kennels breeding working dogs without proof of working abilities, not more, not less.
You said that you have been there by yourself, did the dogs look healthy and well cared for? In case not - why did you buy?

At least they claim to health test their breeding stock.
Are dam and sire  DM / HD tested? Did you get the pedigree? Did you get a vaccination book? Is the pup chipped?

I didn´t understand their " 6 weeks pet insurance " though - does this mean the costs for the vet ( diarrhia ) are covered by them?

I really hope you got a healthy, outgoing dog - I just wondered, because they seem to do more than they need acoording to AKC...

Kind regards from Germany

Ekana, I forgot to mention -

"Pick of the litter" is common sales practise in North America, a lot of breeders do so
The current DM test is the best test we have right now, although it´s discussed controversal

"Only as my pup ages and has certain tests of his own, will I know for sure if he is developing okay and without any issues."
All of us have to do so, world wide.

To the OP (Original Poster),

It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. As newbies, we just don't always know what to look for or what we are looking at. It is our first experience diving into this world.

The fact you visited the kennel shows you were trying to do the right thing. Of course, as newbies, the signs of a poor breeder might not have been obvious to us as they would be too more experienced breeders.

I would urge you to try to stick around here. Try to resist the urge to be super defensive (I know it will be hard!!) as sometimes people are so experienced that they forget what it is like to be new to the breed (as things seem so obvious). I know that based on your inquisitive mind, you will get to that point someday as well! Just keep trying to educate yourself and keep learning! It's a lifetime process...

There are good and bad posters on here. Some just post to get a rise out of you or to instigate. They like to start fires. But, there are also lots of people on here that WILL help you learn.

So, don't be afraid to ask questions! Just start off by saying you're a newbie and....your dog is having this health problem and does anyone have experience? Or, what should I feed my puppy? When should I start training?

When I first joined this forum, I didn't even know there were german showlines or working lines or american lines. I didn't know such a split even existed. I had never heard of schutzhund or breed surveys. Thus, you can really learn a lot from this forum!

So, I would urge you to try to stick around. Keep your head up as we all have made mistakes. Keep trying to educate yourself. Ask questions!! Hang in there!

Sarah

No one is BLAMING Ekana. No one seems to understand what the problem is. She can't explain what's wrong with her pup, and the only complaints are things that are obvious for anyone to see right on the website, so it's not "blame," it's confusion. What is the desired response to this thread?