[Chicky Monkey]

What I’ve learned:

I won’t let a breeder choose a dog for me anymore. If I’m going to live with the dog, I’m going to pick it and take responsibility for that choice. I’m not going to allow myself to be “allocated” a dog ever again.

If I do make the wrong choice and the dog isn’t what I need for our family ie: aggressive or fearful, I’m going to acknowledge it and return the dog or place the dog in a home that is more appropriate for it.

I’m going to go with my gut instinct about people. If I feel the breeder is defensive or demanding, I will look elsewhere.

I’m not going to be told what to do anymore by a breeder. If you want say in how my dog is medically treated, you pay his vet bills, take him to the vet, nurse him and comfort him. Otherwise, it’s my decision and I’ll do as I see fit.

If I ever sign another contract I’m going to make sure it protects me as the buyer as much as it protects the breeder. I don’t need or want a certain dog enough to sign my life and rights away for your puppy.

I know why puppy mills and backyard breeders are in business. This experience has been the worst of my life of dog ownership. I was allocated a dog that didn’t fit the profile I asked for, I was accused of abuse and mistreatment when I expressed my concerns, I have been ridiculed and berated for my decisions. I own a terminally ill dog and I’m out over $5,000.

Edited by Admin: All breeders are not the same!

edited to add: I will be happy to reveal my breeder to anyone who PMs.

 

[Tink]

Chicky, I'm so sorry. It sounds like you've been living a nightmare.
HUGS

 

[annabelles mom]

Wow - so sorry to hear you have had such a horrendous experience and that your furbaby is terminally ill

hugs and prayers

 

[cracker9ball]

What was your final decision? Do you still have the dog? I send you my best. SO sorry for what you are going through.

 

[blueteal]

I am so sorry for your experience

 

[Chicky Monkey]

What was your final decision? Do you still have the dog? I send you my best. SO sorry for what you are going through.

I don't know what we're going to do! Yes, I still have him.

We can't justify spending any more money for him. I have to be realistic here.

Thank you for your kind wishes!

 

[Maureen]

oh chickymonkey,
I am SO SORRY for your experience! As a breeder (a reputable one, I hope) :wink: I am stinging with what you have gone through!

You've tried and tried with your Harley, and I'm very sorry for your experience.

 

[Chicky Monkey]

her words are:

He was not sick or coughing here
(no, I never said he was)

From what you have described noone has yet found anything wrong with him.
(I told her the exact 2 things the internal medicine specialist thought it was and that for a definitive diagnosis he needed expensive testing at UC Davis. The internal medicine specialist...the doctor with 2 advanced degrees has stated the problem is genetic and incurable.)

I need to assess how much damage has also been done by all the antibiotics. I also need to be reassured that it is not the antibiotics that are causing the problems.
(The antibiotics are not causing the bacteria they found in his airway. Any intelligent person knows that. This statement is accusatory and ridiculous.)

It is written all over my website and on my application.
(This is what I get when I ask about her availability. I guess I am supposed to memorize everything. )

I could go on and on. And these are just the recent exchanges that don't include when she told me that I must have done something to him to make him timid because he wasn't timid in her kennel. You know, the kennel he'd been in all his life? That he was comfortable in? With his littermates?

 

[lauren46]

wow, she sounds... lovely :roll:

well instead of accusing you of things, she should be worried about which parent caused the problems and what other puppy owners she needs to contact and tell them to watch out for these problems.

 

[doodleheaven]

I don't know what to say except that this is so unfair. I'm so sad and so angry for what you and Harley are going through.

 

[Shaia]

oh, my. i am so so so sorry to hear this, but i am glad you posted it so other may be aware. i too bought a dog from a backyard breeder years and years sgo - a rhodesian ridgeback. i bought her sight unseen for $300 and felt terribly guilty for not being excited upon picking up my new pup. she was not playful, disinterested, and scared. although she wasn't what i expected, she turned out to be the most loyal, smartest (yet wonderfully aloof and well behaved) dog i ever had out of many. she died early - 5 years - from an freak accident but i still miss her. i love my labradoodle pup now b/c she is a great pup and the opposite of my ridgeback - outgoing, friendly and playful, but each dog's loyalties develop at their own pace. i know you love your pup and it is reciprocal, but the relationship will develop over time. also, not sure what you're feeding, but as i'm sure you're aware, a non-processed natural diet can work wonders. (food allergies are strongly implicated in auto-immune illness if that's the trouble)

 

[Guest]

Chicky,
I am so sorry. At the least the breeder should be reimbursing your medical costs up to the price you paid. And from what I read on this website
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... icleid=442, the umbilical hernia ALONE should be enough to not breed the parents again, (the hernia surgery correction that you were never even advised about!), let alone the immune problems you are experiencing:

Hereditary potential

As a note, umbilical hernias in puppies are a genetic or congenital defect in over 90% of the cases. The disorder is passed from generation to generation just like the color of the coat or the animal's overall size. Very, very rarely are they caused by trauma or excessive pressures during whelping. Animals that have a hernia or had a surgical repair of a hernia should never be used for breeding. Additionally, those adults that produce puppies with this condition should not be bred again.

Have you tried asking the vet about using just plain robitussin for the mucous?

Again, I am sorry.

 

[Maureen]

I could go on and on. And these are just the recent exchanges that don't include when she told me that I must have done something to him to make him timid because he wasn't timid in her kennel. You know, the kennel he'd been in all his life? That he was comfortable in? With his littermates?

ugh. This just sounds so sad. And wrong. I'm really sorry.

 

[Sal]

Oh dear, I am so sorry. We e-mailed eachother a bit ago.
We experienced a lot of the same stuff with the SAME breeder.
Is it "legal" on this website to name the parents of your
poor pup? In that way, smart buyers can STAY AWAY!!!
BTW, our little pup does have an umbilical hernia.
Our vet said it should have been taken care of when the puppy was spayed.

Also, this breeder belongs to all the "right" organizations and is
on the board of one of them.

Wish we could report this somewhere.

 

[Chicky Monkey]

Chicky,
I am so sorry. At the least the breeder should be reimbursing your medical costs up to the price you paid. And from what I read on this website
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... icleid=442, the umbilical hernia ALONE should be enough to not breed the parents again, (the hernia surgery correction that you were never even advised about!), let alone the immune problems you are experiencing:

Hereditary potential

As a note, umbilical hernias in puppies are a genetic or congenital defect in over 90% of the cases. The disorder is passed from generation to generation just like the color of the coat or the animal's overall size. Very, very rarely are they caused by trauma or excessive pressures during whelping. Animals that have a hernia or had a surgical repair of a hernia should never be used for breeding. Additionally, those adults that produce puppies with this condition should not be bred again.

Have you tried asking the vet about using just plain robitussin for the mucous?

Again, I am sorry.

Hi Linda,
and thanks for your comments!

The mucous isn't actually the problem...it's the 3 bacteria that were flourishing in his airway despite 7 weeks of antibiotics including clavamox, baytril, cephalexin, and a combo round of cephalexin and baytril at the same time. The antibiotics should have killed those bacteria.

After that we did 3 weeks of zeniquin and then during the 4th week added doxycycline so for the last 10 days he's been on both and the cough is getting worse. Although we don't have a definitive diagnosis, a dog who is on 12 wks of antibiotics and the bacteria is not gone obviously has a compromised immune system. Most likely missing antiobodies or similar.

Anyway, this is why we don't attempt to clear the mucous...our primary objective as been to kill the bacteria.

 

[Chicky Monkey]

Oh dear, I am so sorry. We e-mailed eachother a bit ago.
We experienced a lot of the same stuff with the SAME breeder.
Is it "legal" on this website to name the parents of your
poor pup? In that way, smart buyers can STAY AWAY!!!
BTW, our little pup does have an umbilical hernia.
Our vet said it should have been taken care of when the puppy was spayed.

Also, this breeder belongs to all the "right" organizations and is
on the board of one of them.

Wish we could report this somewhere.

Exactly...she's got all the right "stuff". But the reality is far different. Her people skills alone are a significant reason to stay away.

I'm so sorry you dealt with her...I truly hope your pup is ok!

About her vet, she has told me he is "shocked" that my vets (2 of them...one a specialist with advanced degrees) gave him repeated harsh courses of antibiotics.

I have told her: stop the antibiotics and he will die. Quickly. The bacteria will invade his lungs, he will get pneumonia and he will die.

He will die anyway, but the only thing that's kept him alive while 3 bacteria thrive in his airway is the use of antibiotics.

 

[lmtoth2]

I'm really so sorry to hear all of this. I really don't have anything else to add, but wanted to tell you it really really stinks you and your poor puppy had to go throught this

 

[Cinsmom]

I so sorry you're puppy is sick, and with something that is life threatening. We're all pulling for you!

^^^^^'s & <<<<<< hugs >>>>>>>!!

 

[dixiedi]

This just really upsets me, I know there are breeders out there that will use every excuse in the book to not hold up their end of the contract or guarantee and it just infuriates me. Have you placed a complaint about this breeder to the organization she belongs to?

I feel your pain and only wish I could do something to help. I hope Harley isn't in too much pain

 

[Chicky Monkey]

I thought I would say: she has not yet said she absolutely won't give me my money back.

But, she wants me to relinquish ownership of the dog to her before she's decided whether or not to return my money. This seems wrong to me and so I've been resisting it.