I am so mad - at the breeder and at myself.

[Anna]

This breeder sold me a sick puppy.

 

Let me tell you the whole story.  I am so mad - I might be mispelling things.

So - We traveled 3 hours to pick up this puppy.

When we got there - she had all the puppies out in a little playpen - if front of her house.

Now - I made sure (as much as one is able) to read as much as I can from here and other websites about all the breeders b/c I didn;t want - what exactly happened to me.

I thought that I did my homework pretty well.  I didn't pick the breeders that had puppies for Way cheaper - b/c I didn't hear anything good/or bad about them.  I went with a slightly more expensive price -  but a breeder that people here wrote good things about.  I went to their groups and read as much as I can etc..

 

So - here I am thinking that - I really did my part in ensuring that I get a healthy pup.

(of course there is no guarantee - but I felt that I did my part)

 

So - while I am looking at the pups. a couple of the pups in the playpen poops.  they had very stinky diarrhea.  I sort of looked at the breeder and she told me that she just gave the pups some worm medicine and that causes that.   So - here i am - I don't know - what caused puppies to have diarrhea. 

so before I left - she gave me a little packet with white pills in it.  she said that her vet tells her to give it to the buyers - so that when the pups have diarrhea from the stress of going to a new home - I can give it to him.  uhhh.  a little confusion - b/c no one here said anything about this.  but again - I didn;t know. 

 

I picked out a pup and he did very well in the car.

So - we got home he didn't go to the bathroom for another couple of hours.  So finally he poops - its definetly very soft.  didn't think much of it = b/c she told me about the medicine.  so then during the night he has diarrhea in his crate.  then again - in the bath yard.   then he has another one in the house - but this time there is a little blood in it.

So - now I'm freaking out.  I checked out the little packet and it says - it is metronidazole.  so i looked it up and -= it said its for clearing up infections and parasites.  

 

I emailed the seller - she didn't get back to me for a whole day.  She says - that blood in the stool means giardia and that we need to give her the pills and have the vet do a fecal test.

I did start him in the medicine - and he actually didn't have any blood stool after that.  and he seems a little more energetic.  but still he seems a little lethargic.  and hasn't been going to the bathroom regularily

 

I don't know - what I am feeling right now.   I am so mad that - I traveled hours, paid hundreds of dollars for a sick puppy.  But I think also - I am so mad - is that she obviously knew that the pups were sick - but she didn't tell me and was passing it off as stress.

 

can someone - help me with this.  I am so upset.

I think I'm in some weird shock. 

 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm no Vet, but it seems to me that you either have contacted and been infested by the giardia protozoa or not.  If you've not been in contact then I can't understand how stress would create symptoms.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Exactly; and I'm sure a vet would confirm that, too.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I have read that if the mother is a giardia carrier, then the pups can/will be born with it. Possibly stress will exacerbate the congenital guiardia?  Just asking what you think.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There's really no such thing as a giardia "carrier". That idea comes from the fact that a dog can have giardia and not show symptoms; when they're tested, they come up positive for the parasites, so people call it a "carrier", but it's really just that the dog is asymptomatic. That doesn't mean that all dogs have it in their systems, far from it. It is not a naturally occurring organism like normal (and beneficial) intestinal flora, dogs are not born with it, and it should not be present in a dog's body. It's a protozoa that comes from contaminated fecal matter, in standing water or elsewhere.  Very similar to amoebic dysentery that people get, otherwise known as Montezuma's Revenge, and that's why they used to tell you not to drink the water when you went to Mexico, lol. A dog can have the giardia cysts in their systems and not have symptoms, but they still have a parasite that should not be there and comes from filth, whether it's their mother's filth or another dog's filth. The mothers shouldn't have it, either. The same with coccidia. It is common for dogs to become immune to the coccidia protozoa and not show symptoms when they're older, which is why you see it in puppies primarily. But it shouldn't be in an adult dogs' system, either.

[Bonnie and Kona]

DK is the doodle lover's therapy site! haha

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Amen to that Bonnie.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

That sounds unlikely to me!!  Anyone handing out antibiotics with their puppies knows there is a possibility that they are infected.  Otherwise, why give drugs to people.  I think a dog should be examined by a licensed Vet and treated for an illness that is diagnosed by the Vet.   I don't trust this woman, based on what you have said.  I am so glad the Vet has gone over the pup and he is OK.  Are puppies that are raised in the breeders home usually displayed in a pen on the lawn? And how do they get exposed to skunk?  It just doesn't add up.  I will get off my soap box now.  Would love to see some pictures :-)

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Actually if you have kisses from your own doodle you won't need a therapist!!!

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

When we got Daisy she had hookworm - it took 3 treatments and visits to clear  The third round of the panacur finally got rid of it...the sample prior had one egg - ugh. I wish I had thought to send the bills to the breeder, it never even occurred to me. Daisy never had runny or bloody stools, we just took her to the vet 2 days after we picked her up to make sure she was healthy or didn't need anything and took a sample with us.

What is you puppy's name by the way, we can't wait to hear the good things.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

I know how you feel-really. We ended up with a puppy with a major underbite and the vet said it could cause problems, the breeder did not tell us either so when we called and got a note from our vet to send to him he never admitted that he knew about it, by the time we went through all of this we were in love with her and he said we can return her! We said no way and he refunded half the price of her eventually. He also said if she needs a specialist that he would pay half of those bills. We love her no matter what but all he had do was tell us about it! Glad to hear that she is cooperating so far and your pup is going to be ok. On another note" Congrats on your new puppy and your husband will come around.

[Anna]

i never understood the whole - return policy.  I mean - do people really return pups for medical reason?  i thin any breeder that has a return policy is shady

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Anna, A good breeder should absolutely be willing to take back a dog and willing to find it another home. A good breeder should care about the dogs they breed and pups they sale. This is a far better option than for the owner to dump the dog in a kill shelter or sell it to some idiot on Craigslist. Sometimes, life happens and someone cannot keep their dog for many different reasons and the breeder should always be willing to help.

This probably says it better than I did, but it comes from the What to Look for in a Breeder under the Help section on DK!

9) What is the breeders return policy?
While a puppy is certainly not the same as a toaster oven or other item that one would return to a store--if for any reason if you are unable to keep your puppy a good breeder will ALWAYS take it back. This shows that the breeder has taken responsibility for the puppy he/she has brought into this world and wants to prevent any puppies from ending up in a shelter. So check the contract to ensure that the breeder is always willing to take a puppy back if necessary. I have known a number of doodle owners who due to life circumstances could no longer keep their labradoodle or goldendoodle. Their breeders refused to help either because they were 'just a family breeder' or didn't want to take responsibility at all. Now don't get me wrong...don't expect a breeder to pay you for your doodle if you can't/won't keep it a year later. But a good breeder will help you out and take the puppy to rehome it if life changes course for you. THAT'S RESPONSIBILITY, CARE, and COMMITMENT and a breeder that is worth supporting!