What have I bought ??? - Page 1

I would like input please. I found an ad on this site for a titled czech female. I contacted the owner and the dog was about to have pups so I had to wait to get her. I sent a $1000 deposit and waited for her to be ready, in the meantime I rec'd a copy of her paperwork. Right before I was going to get her the owner said she had a hematoma in her right ear and reduced the total price from $4000 to $3000. I decided that the ear did not affect her breedability and to go ahead and still get her. So when we went to get her we had to drive 3 states away and then had to drive to the far side instead of the near side and finally got there. The seller showed up with a newer truck but had asked us to meet her at a restaurant so I now wonder if she was running a puppy mill. Anyway, the dog had not been groomed, winter coat falling out. She did not appear to have leash manners and jumper up on people, not what I expected from a titled dog. We got her home and she is not house trained and does not know basic commands and barely knows her name. I cannot verify her ear tattoo because thats the ear that is now affected. I would like any input, I realize I made mistakes, multiple mistakes, and now I am uncertain as to what to do. Thank you. P.S. I am having computer problems, after you post a response can you also copy and paste it into an email and send it to me at Houseofchristina@aol.com as I can check my email at work. Thank you again.

Just as an FYI not all titled dogs have house or pet manners...You probably did make quite a few mistakes there, and didn't know what you were getting into, but not all sport dogs have manners. Many are taken from the kennel to the field, or the crate to the field, and may never have been around in the house. It does not mean that the dog has no titled. I personally know LOTS of titled working dogs that jump and pull on the leash and are not house trained. Also please be aware that if you do not have a bond with the dog, and do not know how to work him/her, she probably won't perform for you even if she IS trained. I could hand you my sch3 dog right now and if you were to give him a command he would look at you like you were nuts, and then at me like I'm nuts for handing him off to you. So just because the dog is behaving this way does NOT mean the dog is not titled, or that you got given the wrong dog or something. Your biggest mistakes were probably not to do your research on what it's like to get a dog like this, find out if the dog had been raised in the house or was a working dog raised in the kennel. Not to say that it was ALL your fault...for all I know it COULD have been a puppy mill dog or switched out or something, but just wanted to give you an idea of what could be going on there. shasta

Females usually blow their coats after a litter and tend to look a bit crappy. You can brush them and 20 mitues later they look like they have never seen a brush. Nothing unusual about that. Most working dogs are kennel dogs. They are usually way too energetic to live in the house, at least if you have several dogs at once. I don't know a lot of working line GSD that will not jump up on you. On the contrary, it is encouraged if the dogs are worked. For bonding, playing etc. She seemed very open to be jumping on you as a stranger, I would see that as a plus. Pulling on leash - she was excited, yes, she would pull. Again, if she is pulling forward trying to get into things and check things out I would see that as a good sign. She seems inquisitive and open. Nothing wrong with that. Not knowing her name and commands, that should settle in a few days. She does not know you after all. Though you feel like you have already known her for weeks now, you are a complete stranger to her. You can speed up the bonding process by not feeding her from a bowl, rather get a fanny pack and put the daily food ration in there. Every time she comes to you, she gets a morsel. Every time you ask something of her and she does it, she gets a morsel. Pick one person in the family that she is going to bond with first and that person focusses on the dog the first week. No food from anyone else, no food in a dish, food comes from only one source and that is you (or whoever is the main focus). She has to work for her food and before you know it she will pay attention to what is asked of her and start doing it. Some working GSD can be a bit on the stubburn side or pretty hard. They may need a firm and very consequent command before they react. Pretty please may not do it. One command, firm and distinct, and spoken with conviction is what may be needed. Then reward as soon as you see a response. Keep it simple in the beginning and in a few days you should be able to check the tattoo. Looks like you got a bit ahead of yourself here. A working line dog is not for everyone. I agree, you should have asked if the dog is used to being in the house, and about the temperament. On the good side, most kennel dogs adjust to living in the house quite well, but they need some time for potty training. I would not leave a working line dog alone in the house... Hope you have a crate.

Another thing is about the person delivering her, if they have a lot of pups on the place they may not want strangers coming in and possibly bringing diseases in. I have breeder friends who will not let anyone into their place when they have puppies. I agree with everything that DH has said; I have bought adult dogs before. I have one now who was nothing but a kennel dog and it was like starting with a monster puppy. Even still she counter surfs and does the trash thing when she can get to it. Pluses are she learned the doggy door function well. I've just had to change a lot of my habits.

Thank you for your reply, actually thank you to everyone who replied. I have gotten good information from the responses and right now it looks like the biggest issue is the right ear, the tattooed ear. The seller said after she had the pups she developed a hematoma, but I was looking very carefully on the bottle of drops she gave me (very hard to read the label) when I picked the dog up and the date on the bottle was 3 days before she posted the ad. Also, if she is the dog the papers actually represent, with a pedigree to die for, then she was sold for a reason. I am the dogs 4th owner in a year, I kept all the emails and this dog had 3 litters back to back. Her coat and her manners are not a huge deal, but I wonder if I can ever verify the tattoo in her ear. I now know I was dealing with someone I perhaps ought not have. I do have a crate and she is using it. Also I was told she would not know german commands so I am now using Czech commands, she does know something. As a seller I feel the person I bought her from should have grilled me like a criminal and given me more info. And maybe even not sold her to me being as I wasnt overly informed. Live and learn, expensive lesson. If I actually have the right dog I can deal with the rest, I was waiting for her records from her vet to go to my vet and I will contact my vet on Monday to see if they received them so I can make her an appt. I really appreciate all the responses I got, it helped a lot, and everyone was very kind, I half way expected to get lambasted. If I ever get to the point of selling pups I just want you to know I will be a much more responsible seller, and honest. Thank you very much, everyone :)

hi, make sure you ask and see if she is microchiped and if not do that so that u can have a perment for of identification

Ear drops are NOT for the hematoma. They are most likely for the underlying infection that made the condition right to cause a hematoma. FYI: An ear hematoma is when the blood vessels burst on the inside of the ear pina, and a large blood pocket forms. It is cause by trauma. Usually either obcessive scratching of the ear or shaking the head and hitting the ear on something like the side of a crate. So it is very possible that she is telling the truth that she did not have the hematoma when she placed the ad. To treat an ear hematoma the vet needs to drain the blood and then bandage it tightly so that it can not refill. Debby

It sounds to me like the dog got lucky, as you are taking good care of her and educating yourself quickly, Christina. Sometimes that matters more than being very knowledgable when taking a dog on. If you are dedicated, you can housebreak her. I've housebroken two adult Import dogs now...they love to be in the house with me. Even the super high drive dogs learn to behave well enough for the priviledge of being inside the house. On the other hand, I have a large house with a lot of space, so it might be easier for me. And I have a very understanding and patient husband!

I am sorry to find out that you have issues with your new female. Your mistake is not making me aware of it. I had 1(one ) litter in 2006...does that make me a puppy mill? If you would like references I would be more than happy to offer them. But you never asked. My pups go to primarily to Police K-9 officers, working police search homes or SAR. I do not breed per se for the general public unless I have low drive in my pups that would be suitable for companion homes. You were more than welcome to come to my house to pick up the dog, but I was trying to do you a favor by meeting you.I still traveled 200 miles for a mere $50.00 which did not even cover gas, and then I bought you and your husband dinner and paid $40.00 for it and you never even thanked me. So much for gas money!!!!!! My house is always open to any one that would like to come. As most buyers come from 3-8 hours or more away and do not wanting to ship, I try to help them cut down their driving time.Since picking up the dog is your respondsibilty..I never even got a "Thank You" for agreeing to meet you at your request. I am glad to hear I had a NEW truck as it is a 2000. Not that it should matter what I drive. I guess because I take care of my things it looks newer. Thanks for the compliment. But it has no bearing on the subject unless you judge people by what vehicle they drive. If you are looking for a Czech workline female, I assumed from your conversations that you had knowledge of workingline. My mistake for believing that you had done the research you said you did. I told you in person she was blowing coat from her litter. It is common knowledge that females do this. The dog was imported from Czech Republic from a very knowledgable breeder..and I bought her after being imported and bred. As many will attest from the time the dog receives their title to years later breeding they do not always retain things. If you go back to basic training review most of them will recall their training and come back to form. Her Hemotoma came as she was about to deliver. My vet advice was NOT to stress her at delivery time by having surgery and putting her on antibiotics.Due to my feeling so bad about the situation I personally emailed you and said "That if you still wanted her I would either reduce her by $1, 000.00, or you could have one of her pups along with her or $1,000.00 off one of my top breeding males along with a payment plan for him." I went over and beyond to give you great options. YOU chose to take her with the $1, 000.00 discount.This was also noted in the "Bill of Sale" Continued......

continued... As far as not reading the tatoo..she is DNA'd. You are more than welcome to have her tested..of course at your cost since you feel I am so dishonest.I am sure you will find that she is indeed the dog that you have all the paperwork on. I see that her workingline qualities bother you. They are high drive dogs. You were not buying a breed that just lays around. As you stated you had another titled dog with workinglines..I would think you would know the workingline qualities. You got a great female at a great price due to an unfortunate incident with her hematoma.I took the brunt of that sale on the chin to satisfy you..my customer. Then you send me a link to your vet and tell me to find their fax number for all her records to be transfered. I believe this is your respondsibilty to call your vet for the fax number and to give to me. You should be careful calling people dishonest when you did not even say anything to me in person about your issues, nor did you email me with any questions or comments before posting in a public forum saying that you were so taken advantage of. To me that is being a dishonest person! If you have an issue you have to bring it to the seller first. As I have every email of our communication to confirm that you never questioned being "taken, and every email I sent you describing the dog and her situation, I would be careful making it sound that you were taken advantage of. We had an hour dinner and you NEVER once questioned the dog. I politely answered every question you had plus more. If I sound a little mad it is because when breeders go out of there way to "do the right" thing, it's customers like you that take advantage of the breeder.You chose to go to a public forum to air your concerns without ever once mentioning anything to me.I find that unacceptable and immature. If you have a problem "do things the right way"! This email is also to notify you that this is a copy of the public response to your public concerns.As I debated responding at all, I felt that your comments of me being a "puppy mill" and "dishonest" breeder were very crossing the line. Honestty and Integrity are dealing with the person directly instead of behind their back.