Blood clotting problems in your doodle??

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

I was told by my vet that Gracie tested borderline for Von Willerbrand's. It is a clotting disorder. Her ear was accidentally cut by the groomer and wouldn't stop bleeding for weeks!! They finally gave her a plasma transfusion which fixed the problem. I am wondering if anyone else had any issues with platelet counts or clotting disorders. I know the disorder is common to standard poodles.
Thanks!

[Adina P]

I'm so sorry to hear that Alyson. I haven't actually heard of a poodle that had it though I know it is a supposed common disease. Sounds like Gracie's breeder did not test the parents for this disease--if the parents are negative for this than pups won't get it.

Just yesterday I had a conversation with a breeder who was not sure whether to test her parent dogs for this because her vet didn't think it was common enough. But it's cases like these that make the case for testing because you just never know unless you test.

Good luck with your sweet Gracie, I hope someone here with more knowledge can jump in and help you out with experienced advice.

[2loqbxc1f3777]

VWD is a congenital disorder( hemophillia) and should be coverd under your breeders contract for a pet. All breeding dogs should be tested for this or cleared by parentage so as to not produce this disease and then have pet families have this issue. Please notify your breeder immediately and see what she will do to help with payment of medical expences, or what ever you pet contract covers in a case like this. She also needs to know for her breeding program as both sire and dam of your girl needs to be tested now so no more are produced as well. This will give her a heads up should anymore puppies from this breeding come up with bleeding problems....below is a link to better explain it....It is a disease common in golden retrivers and poodles which are both in labardoodles and goldendoodles...
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2&aid=488

I'm so sorry you girl is ill, hopefully they will get her under good management soon...learning about this disease is the key...

Did your vet run a VWD dna test?

Carol/scl Southern Charm Labradoodles

[Patty Barnes]

You bring up a good point regarding your breeder's contract, Alyson. Many breeders, including myself, have contracts that offer people the option of keeping their dog plus receiving a full refund if the dog has a genetic illness. No matter how excellent the breeder, a customer having purchased a sickly dog will probably not want a replacement dog fearful of other health issues. So sorry you are facing this.

[Jacque Reynolds]

Excellent point, Patty. In fact, I hope that all breeders read this and take a look at their contracts to evaluate if they are requiring the return of the dog for the contract to be honored.
I think that when we select our families and deliver one of our precious puppies to them, we would be expecting them to love the pup enough to take it "for better or worse"!
Unfortunatley, even from tested parents, diseases happen...but a good breeder has compassion for these circumstances and is prepared to refund purchase prices if it will offset the enormous burden on the family.
I would be so grateful for the love and devotion of this family. I would, without hesitation, refund the money to assist in the puppy's care.

[Patty Barnes]

I agree, Jacque. I believe customer service is empathy--and empathy focuses on the adoptive family not me. "How can I make this better for you," is my first question when there is a difficulty. I want my customers to know that they, and their concerns, matter to me. Just the old Golden Rule.

[2loqbxc1f3777]

I agree Patty, my contract states I will pay/assist with medical bills up to the purchace price of the dog...Most families don't want to give up their pet, but do want some assistance or afirmation and support from their breeder...

Carol

[Adina P]

Ann, vitamin K (at least in humans) is a factor that aids in blood clotting. However, VwD is not a deficiency of vitamin K so vitamin K would not be of help...although I'm just guessing...perhaps it is used in treatment, but I wouldn't do it without the aid of a vet prescribing a precise amount.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Von Willebrand's Disease is known to run in specific breeds; both Standard poodles and Golden retrievers are among the breeds most affected. Testing for VWD is a routine practice among quality Standard poodle breeders, and should be for doodle breeders as well.
Here are some links for more info:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_von_willebrand_s_disease.html


http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2101&aid=488

VWD can be managed; I am very sorry to hear that Gracie has this problem. I would definitely contact the breeder immediately.

[Jacque Reynolds]

Allyson, I am so sorry for you and Gracie.
I can't add to the information you have already received, except to say (for anyone buying a puppy) that the DNA test for vWD (and 27 additional genetic diseases) can be performed through one simple, painless, very inexpensive DNA test.
It costs between $49 and $55 per dog, depending on how many are tested. There is NO excuse for anyone to suffer through your pain...and I am deeply sorry that this has happened.
If there is any reporting agency in the breeder's state, you may want to tell them that she is breeding vWD carriers and that you have notified her of this. They will, hopefully, contact the breeder and monitor the situation.
In this case both the dam and sire were carriers or your Gracie would not be affected. The breeder should have run these test prior to breeding and now that they know, they should remove both dogs from the program. I doubt that they will...and so at least 50% of all of their puppies will be affected and the others will be carriers.
It is pitiful. It is senseless and so very sad.
I do believe that you and your vet will be able to control Gracie's disease, since you have found it this early.
I am going to send you a private message.

[Barbie]

Hi Alyson, I'm really sorry your dog is sick. Your breeder may not have known about it. I'm not meaning the disease, I'm meaning she may not know if she produced them. I don't know the breeder at all, but just like with PRA all of us at one time could have bred two carriers together and produced sick pups, We just didn't know it at the time. We do now and I think what the breeder does for you now will speak volumes.

There is no need to remove a carrier of any disease from anyone's program. They just always need to be bred to a clear for pups not to be affected.

[Jacque Reynolds]

I agree with you, Barbie, that the dogs do not need to be removed from the program if they are bred responsibly from here on out. That would mean, however, that the two carriers are not bred to each other again and that the puppies from the litters of even one carrier are not sold as breeders without first determining if they, too, are carriers so that the next breeder is aware of the issue.
I also agree that what the breeder does from here on out is very telling.
But I really can't agree that breeders are innocently breeding diseases that can be detected by a $50 DNA test. Any knowledgable breeder will keep current on testing availablity and will conduct testing on their breeding stock as soon as it is commonly available and used by other breeders.
It is a choice that they make. It is a delibrate election to breed dogs without conducting the available testing.
Training never ends when you are a breeder and it is our responsibility to stay informed. DNA testing has been available for quite a few years now, however it was more expensive to test before. But, now that the testing is available inexpensively, it is mind-boggling to me that there are breeders who choose to continue to breed dogs without testing.

[Barbie]

Hi Jacque,
Are you talking about pawsitive ID testing? I'm not sure I would rely on those test results and some have taken 6 months or more to get back. I'm not sure it's really reliable.

I'm not saying the testing shouldn't be done, I do believe it should be done with any poodles. but I've found the testing to be $140 per dog or $120 per puppy per litter