Our First (and Last) Puppy from a Breeder

[Carol Vernon]

My husband and I have had shelter dogs all our lives but this time around, we decided to give ourselves the "gift" of a lovingly raised 8-week old puppy.  We decided to purchase an 8-week old F1 mini Aussiedoodle pup from a breeder. Although our puppy is wonderful, we had a terrible experience with the breeder in spite of doing extensive research beforehand. We'll never purchase from a breeder again.  More about that later...  

I'll start by saying we have had our puppy, Dash, for about six weeks and she is a joy!  Well, a joy and a menace, ha ha!  We are working through her bitey stage.  She reliably responds to the sit cue; she is house trained (mostly); she is pretty good with down, touch, come, drop and loose leash walking.  She is so smart!   We think she is adorable but you be the judge.  See the tiny black freckles on her nose?   Adorable, right???

We are having fun socializing her. She has not been fearful, shy, aggressive or reactive.  She has a wonderful temperament!  We are starting a S.T.A.R. puppy class next week.  I'm delighted that she is super friendly with everyone she meets.  

The only wrench in our first six weeks together has been the care (or lack thereof) she received from the breeder.  When we picked her up from the breeder, Dash was scratching.  The breeder even comented on it.  She continued to scratch.  A lot.  A day later during a visit to the vet, we saw fleas!  She was infested. She also had a severe ear mite infestation.  My husband and I could not believe the amount of black gunk that came out of her ears!  Dash was in misery for weeks and weeks as we tried natural cures and a special puppy flea shampoo and ear mite medication.  We had to use foggers throughout our house.  We both had flea bites.  The worst part was seeing her suffer.  

When I contacted the breeder, I was told that in many, many years of breeding dogs, they'd never once had a problem with fleas or ear mites.  (Never once?)  They claimed to be astonished by our puppy's fleas and ear mites.  They wish I'd taken photos; perhaps they didn't believe me.  We didn't ask anything of the breeder; we just thought they'd want to know.  It has been six weeks since I contacted them and they haven't followed up with us once.  

This experience was awful.  We will never buy a puppy from a breeder again, mostly because I don't think I am capable of evaluating breeders and selecting a good one.  I had done extensive research to find a quality breeder, and I educated myself about red flags and questions to ask.  I spoke with many breeders and asked those questions.  I spoke with friends and acquaintences about breeders they'd used.  I read reviews and Facebook pages.  The breeder we chose seemed reputable.  And yet we still had this sad and frustrating experience.  Our puppy was $1,500.  I (wrongly) assumed that our puppy would be healthy.  I am horrified that she clearly received such poor health care in her first 8 weeks.  I'm grateful for her wonderful temperament, and I'm so happy to have her.  I am deeply relieved that she is over the worst of the itching and scratching.   But I will not deal with a breeder again:  Apparently even the ones that sound good can be losers.  I know there are GREAT breeders out there; I'm just not confident that I can discern the good ones from the bad ones.  Thanks for reading - writing this gives me a sense of closure about the breeder.    

[Carol Vernon]

Ginny, thank you for your kind comment.  I'm sure reputable breeders do not have flea or ear mite infestations; sadly we found out we were not dealing with a reputable breeder (even though they have a large following on their Facebook page).  Live & learn!  Your three cuties look adorable!

[Ginny Nightingale]

That is terrible! But Dash sure is cute and love the name! I work for a breeder and we never have fleas or ear mites--and I am appalled that this would happen to anyone--you would think the breeder would be miserable if the pups were all scratching--apparently they did not care! How awful....glad you got to the bottom of it quickly.

[Carol Vernon]

Bonnie & Kona, thank you for your kind comment!  Your pups are adorable!  They look like they are best friends.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Carol, I am so sorry your sweet Dash had to go through this, but heartened that she has you now to love and care for her. She could not be a bit cuter! 

[Bonnie and Kona]

Carol, I am so sorry your sweet Dash had to go through this, but heartened that she has you now to love and care for her. She could not be a bit cuter! 

[Carol Vernon]

F. and Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom, thank you for your comments!  Yes, I felt better for writing about it and I felt a LOT better after reading the outpouring of support & understanding from the DoodleKisses community.  Dash is still scratching but not incessantly.  So there's that...  My husband and I love having her - she is a joy. Thanks again!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I think everyone has pretty much covered the issue of the breeder and you feel better for just having written it down, so I just want to say those freckles are adorable ... enjoy your Dash!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am sorry for your troubles but I hope from now on you just get to enjoy adorable Dash.

[Carol Vernon]

Lorry, I'm so sorry to hear about Thunder's sudden death and having to put Chiweenie down last month.  Grief over losing our beloved pets is hard to bear...  I know Turbo is a comfort to you.  

Our other dog is a Jindo.  Tommy is 50 lbs and turned 16 last month.  He is simply amazing.  He has slowed down in many ways but he still loves his daily half hour walk (and food).  I cherish every day I have with him.  

Our vet recommended that we switch Tommy from FrontLine to NexGard for flea & tick prevention, and we have also started Dash on NexGard.  We also use HeartGard for heartworms.  I've been keeping Dash out of high grass & weeds, etc. since her immune system is still developing.  She is scratching a lot but less than the first few weeks.  I'm calling it progress.  Thanks for your comments!  

[LORRY SWETLAND]

Carol I hope your cute little dash is getting better.. I use the flea chewy tabs once a month on Turbo..He has done well no side affects from the tabs.. also I use heartguard heartworm chewy tabs on Turbo. The flea tab seems to be working cause Turbo rolls around in the grass all the time. I have an acre of land and Turbo runs from one end to the other and slips and slides and rolls. He is quite active in the running and jumping department. The sudden death of Thunder was heart wrenching....and then Chiweenie my 16 yr old Chihuahua had to be put down last month......It's never easy to loose a loving pet...I think of them all ---all the time...But having Turbo at my side is good medicine.....He is a nut and very loyal and good companion......Have a good weekend Lorry and Turbo