Is this a responsible breeder? Out of options. - Page 1

I'm not quite sure what responsible breeders do in the kind of situation that I'm in, so I figured you guys could be of some help :)

I currently have a 2 year old female shepherd out of (what I think is) a reputable breeder in Wisconsin. As she's matured, she's developed pretty serious environmental allergies. I've taken her to the vet numerous times for all the skin/ear infections she's developed, and even put her through a round of desensitization treatment. I'm a college kid, and don't have the financial means to put her through more of these treatments. At our last visit to the vet, I was informed that she had swollen lymph nodes, which could mean something serious.

She's an amazing dog, and is exactly what I'm looking for as far as a protection/sport dog, but I can't give her what she needs anymore.
I contacted the breeder because (as it says in the contract) I assumed that they would take her back and rehome her as necessary. Instead, I was told that all they would do is put her down and that it would be useless to bring her back to WI. They then said they would give me a puppy out of their next litter, as it's their responsibility to make it right with me and me only. I was shocked. I wasn't asking for any money back, or even for a new dog, I was just asking for them to take her back and hopefully find her a new working home that could better care for her health issues. 

I'm not sure what to do at this point. I don't think she should be PTS. I do, however, think an owner with the financial means and desire to take care of an amazing working dog should step in. I thought that the breeder, having many more contacts than I could make that happen.

Any advice???
 

Could you rehome her yourself? Of course you'd have to be up front about whatever may be wrong with her but there are plenty of people about who can give her the active home she needs and take on any health problems too.
That way she doesn't need to be PTS, the breeder doesn't have to see her again (as it sounds as though they just cannot be bothered in my opinion) and you get a pup from their next litter as promised.

In the meantime, do you ahve any family or friends who may be able to help you out financially with vet's bills etc?

how,s about the breeder of your girl paying your vet.bill for the investigations n if the prognosis is for long term medication then they pay for this or as a compromise at least half .Perhaps if he/she is not agreeable to this,then instead of a puppy ,the cash value of said puppy is sent to help with vet bills.Understandibly yu DONT WANT HER PTS.I cant understand any breeder wanting this for an animal they,ve bred unless the vet says its in the animals best interest.If i was in this situ.i,d at least wish the breeders to contribute to the vet bills.Carole S.

I'm very sorry your in this situation. If you have a teaching vet school / ASPCA near you sometimes they will see your dog at a reduce rate. Or contact your local GSD rescue for help with placing her or if they have resources that offer reduce vet rates. Your dog should not need to be PTS at only 2 years old. Sounds like the breeder played with your emotions so you wouldn't send the dog back by threaten to PTS.  Instead of getting the replacement puppy should request the $ value of the puppy instead to use toward vet bills. If you really need to place the dog then would work with your GSD rescue & vets normally have contacts for placements.

What did your contract with the breeder say?  Most ask for "first right of refusal" meaning you offer a dog to them first, but not all guarantee that they will actually take the dog back.  We can all sit here and post all day about what *we* think a breeder *should* do but it boils down to whatever agreement you had when you purchased the dog.  Personally I would not expect the breeder to foot the vet bill as someone suggested.  Getting a dog is always somewhat of a crapshoot and unfortunately this breed is riddled with allergy problems so unless the breeder specifically "guaranteed" against that I don't think they own any compensation.  If the breeder does not want the dog back then I think you've done your part and it's your right to rehome the dog if you choose.

While I don't think the dog should be put to sleep, I also don't believe the breeder should be responsible for paying any Veterinary bills for the dog.  I have yet to see a breeder sales agreement that states a breeder would pay Veterinary expenses on any of their puppies unless the dog has a genetic health issue, and the breeder wants the dog examined by their own Veterinarian.  I have only seen one or two agreements in which the breeder offers the money for the value of the puppy instead of the replacement puppy as well. 

Edited to add:  If you're asking if the breeder from whom you purchased your puppy could be considered reputable, in my book? No.  I don't know any reputable breeders that would sell a puppy to a current college student.

Offering cash instead of a replacement puppy is also not their legal responsibility and probably not in their contract; however, in my shoes, I'd be offering the cash value in this situation since the OP obviously cares for her dog but can't afford the appropriate treatments. 

The contract states (based on what you stated) that the breeder would take back the dog and find another home for it, but I'm also guessing (in between the lines) that means, "as long as the dog is healthy and of sound temperament."  In the breeder's mind, they are probably thinking, "so we have this dog with severe environmental allergies that needs to go for treatment and now has swollen lymph nodes.  No one is going to want it, and I don't want another mouth to feed [irresponsible] so I will take it back and have it euthanized."  Again, this is solely a hypothetical thought.

Unfortunately, you've fallen into the college student trap that many students fall into: get a dog, can't afford the long-term treatments the dog requires, must get rid of dog to someone who can afford it.  I'm not judging you.  It's just a standard event that happens all the time.  Skin/Ear infections is one thing, but swollen lymph nodes are something else. Although, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought severe allergies and swollen lymph nodes often go hand-in-hand?  I'm not a Veterinarian though, and I'm sure, just like humans, Vets will want to run MORE tests to see what's going on and make sure it's not another illness on top of the allergies. 

I agree with cphudson: maybe you could find a teaching Vet University near you or within reasonable distance.  I'm also guessing that since you're a college student with a limited budget, CareCredit is out of the question as well? Have you sought out other options such as a holistic Veterinarian?

Sending good thoughts your way that this can get sorted out for you.

What do you feed the dog?

Ditto to what Keith said.

If you don't find the right trigger for allergens, allergies can become a huge ordeal, as you're describing. I know it can be frustrating. I have never had a dog w/allergies except one rescue and it was due to a botched spay, crazy cocktails of treatments when she was sick w/kennel cough, and accidentally doubling up on her vaccines. She had literal holes in her neck where her collar touched her skin. Was it really her collar causing it? Of course not! That's my point; you have to look deeper. It's difficult and complicated, but it can be done and once you find the true cause, it's like night and day. You say the allergies are environmental, but even so, you need to make sure the gut is as healthy as it can be- this means proper diet, probiotics, etc. All these help, if not eliminate the problem.

Just something to think about...if you can't afford to take care of the dog you already have (and truly, I don't mean that in a mean way) and want to return it to the breeder, are you sure you should be buying a new puppy? With all due respect, what's to say the new puppy won't be less than perfect and require some medical or other investment? You don't have to answer- it's none of our business, really...I'm just bringing something up for you to think about, in the best interest of the dogs, both the ones you already have and the one you're getting.

I also had really good luck with Carmspack.com supplements. Amazing nutrition. She is in Canada. Pricy but NO WHERE NEAR as pricy as the vet's office.

And yeah, someone mentioned this also...the lymph nodes can be swollen with any number of infections, allergies, long term inflammation, etc. Unless you are using a highly competent allergy specialist, I would say that the vet is at a loss and going overboard trying to rule other things out. Not the vet's fault; they don't have much training in allergies. Bascially, they're trained to give steroids and feed SD. See a specialist before you make any rash decisions. As long as you just keep treating the skin and ear infections, you'll never find the root cause. You need to start from the ground up.

As an example, I have horrible mold allergies; I shouldn't eat wheat. When I do, my allergies are much worse. I'm not changing the mold around me, I'm changing my body's reaction to it; when it's not chronically inflamed because I'm eating wheat though I know I shouldn't, it doesn't overreact to mold spores and I can breathe. Thus, if your dog has, say, an allergy to grain or chicken, if you eliminate that and get her gut in better shape, she will be better able to deal w/her environmental allergies. The symptoms may disappear completely. What you're describing sounds like yeast/candida. Also, Google "Leaky Gut Syndrome" and assume she has it and let me know if that helps at all.