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]

Lorry & Nancy, thank you for your kind comments!  

Lorry, I envy the delightful experiences you have had with the breeders of your pups!  I was sorry to hear that you lost your puggle unexpectedly; what a painful loss it must have been...  

Nancy, I appreciate your understanding.  I felt so sure that I'd found a great breeder.  Thanks, too, for commenting on Dash's name. She is wonderful!  

Thank you both!

Carol

 

[LORRY SWETLAND]

I agree with you 100%. I know of but not personally of puppy mills here in Pa. It's terrible that they can stay in operation.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Dash is adorable.  You have chosen a wonderfully fun name for her.

I am so sorry for your experience. It happens all too often.  This really shows us how slick some breeders (usually puppymills) are. They totally fool those of us who are mere mortals when checking out their websites etc.

[LORRY SWETLAND]

I am so sorry for the trouble your little baby went through and you and your family. I had bought a puggle 11yrs ago from a pet store and the pet store gave me the name of the breeder. I also had a phone number for the breeder and I was able to get pictures of the mother and the father of my puggle. My puggle came with a health certificate from their vet and a 6 yr guarantee for any birth defects....This breeder was wonderful and my puggle never had anything wrong with him until 11 yrs later. when he died unexpectantly.

I now have a 10 month old goldendoodle. I got him from a breeder in Mo. The breeder shipped my doodle via van from Mo. to Pa. My doodle is now 11 months old and 75 lbs. This breeder also gave a health certificate and a vet check the day he left Mo. He was 30 lbs when I got him and 3 months old. He was 500.00 and 100.00 to transport him by van. The company that transported him took very good care of him..He arrived smelling delightful and clean and happy. He only had 3 accidents in the house.  His parents like the puggles parents were all AKC registered. In fact my doodle's dad is a two time grandchampion.. Sorry to say that there are backyard money making breeders out there and no matter how much you investigate you can get hooked into a not so reliable breeder. Hopefully she will have all her troublesbehind her now that she has a good home with the best of care.

I might add that she is the cutest pup with her freckles.....best of Luck Lorry and TURBO

[Carol Vernon]

Lynda, thanks for sharing your perspective on this.  I didn't even ask the breeder to cover the vet bills; I believe her interest ended the second we paid for the puppy.  I imagine a good breeder is a wonderful resource.  I'm glad you have had a great experience with your breeder.  I appreciate your response.  

[Lynda Kamrath]

She looks like a sweet puppy.  I am so sorry you had a bad experience with the breeder.  It is so important to pick a good breeder.  I have had very good experience with my breeder and recommend her to others.  Don't judge all breeders by your experience with this one.  She should at least pay for the vet bills for your puppy, but I doubt she would be willing to do that.

[Carol Vernon]

Laurie, thank you for your kind & supportive comment.  This experience was so distressing, and it really helped to write about it.  I appreciate your taking the time to comment.  Fudge & Vern are adorable!  I love their names and the photo of them!  

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I am so sorry you had this experience. I hope everything is resolved now and you can put it behind you and enjoy that adorable puppy. Fleas....oh my goodness...what a nightmare for you. I would be furious with that breeder, but sounds like your puppy is great.