I am a Bad, Bad Puppy Buyer......

[sillysally]

I bought my lab Jack from a breeder nearly 2 years ago (he turned 2 in July). I feel that the breeder was a reputable one, maybe not one I'd go to again, but a reputable one. He was involved in confo showing--although Jack's sire was titled his dam was not, he was obviously very into his dogs and they had a good temperament, etc. His parents and grandparents had the necessary lab health cerfs, with the exception of him mom not having her elbows OFAed at the time (but everything else done).

When he was 10 months old, after several months of dealing with a mystery lameness, Jack was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia--fragmented coronoid process to be exact.

I should have contacted the breeder right then and there. However, things were crazy--taking to get him diagnosed, them telling me that they could not operate, them putting him on tons of pain meds while he only got worse, them having us bring him back for surgery to remove a bone chip, having to take out a loan to pay for all of this, going to all the physical therapy (that was a 2 hour trip twice a week), etc. Contacting the breeder was put on the back burner.

After things settled down I had the opportunity to go to a lab event and talked to some breeders, one of which pretty much implied that contrary to what the vets told me, what happened to Jack's elbow had nothing to do with genetics and he just injured himself in my care.

At the same time, I very much blame myself for condition of Jack's elbow (arthritic). I fed him EP large and giant breed puppy food, but maybe I let him play too rough with Sally, or run around too much. I should have been way more aggressive than I was when the vet couldn't find anything and was sure it was growing pains. My gut said that there was more wrong and I didn't go with my gut and as a result there was added damage to the joint from the bone chip as a result.

I feel like I owe it to the breeder to at least email him know about Jack but now it's been so long that I'm not sure how to go about doing it. I don't want anything from him. I love Jack and certainly don't want to give him back. However, it would break my heart for him to think that he put Jack in the wrong home, because Jack is very, very loved here.

I know I'll likely be slammed for irresponsibility, and I know there is no excuse for not letting the breeder know from the get go, but how do I go about this now?

 

[noludoru]

Maybe this isn't the right thread for this. . . but why would anyone bash you? That doesn't sound irresponsible to me. You treated him for the issue. He's your dog, not the breeder's and you don't actually owe them any information, although they'll certainly appreciate knowing.

 

[Erica1989]

Tell the breeder exactly what you've said here. If he understands, great - if not, Jack is YOUR dog, you're not giving him back - and no one can make you. Your love for Jack and Sally is not in question.

 

[duncan15]

Maybe this isn't the right thread for this. . . but why would anyone bash you? That doesn't sound irresponsible to me. You treated him for the issue. He's your dog, not the breeder's and you don't actually owe them any information, although they'll certainly appreciate knowing.

how about the fact that the breeder birthed the dog and took care of it for the first 8-10 weeks of his life (a bonding experiance in those first few weeks never leaves a person). im not trying to bash the op, but people who buy from reputable breeders DO OWE them a phone call to let them now how the pup is doing, and especially if the pup is sick/injured (even more so if the injury could be genetically related, which the op's posible could).

i work with a breeder, and she keeps track of every dog she has sold (at least all the ones that are still alive), and if the owners dopnt call her, she calls the owners, just to see how they are doing. this is her line, a line she has spent 30 years developing, and not only does she love every dog she breeds, she NEEDS to know how they turn out, good or bad. this is b/c if something ever does come up (like elbow dysplasia), she knows not to breed the same dogs again. she would be very upset if someone didnt tell her that one of her dogs had such an injury (not mad, just upset, and she probably would have insisted on helping with payments too).

Because the bitch was not tested in her elbows, I would not blow off the genetic possibility. She very well could have bad elbows, and could be passing the gene on. Either the breeder doesnt know, or does know and its why he doesnt have her tested (b/c then he would actually have to stop breeding her). You should call him. I dont know if hes a good guy or not (i would not consider him a great breeder), but generally speaking, a reputable breeder would want to know about something like this.

 

[Dekka]

Just send an email. The breeder will want to know if they produced a dog with elbow issues. A healthy lab should be able to run around and not develop arthritis. But sometimes these things happen.

Think about it this way if it helps... you telling the breeder might help him avoid producing pups with the same issue thus saving people from going through what you did.

 

[MicksMom]

...I don't want anything from him. I love Jack and certainly don't want to give him back. However, it would break my heart for him to think that he put Jack in the wrong home, because Jack is very, very loved here...

Tell him exactly that- You love Jack and don't want anything from the him. But you thought he would like to know what's going on. Also explain the delay in telling him. Obvioulsy, if you wanted a replacement pup you would have contacted him as soon as the diagnosis was made. I don't think Jack's breeder would think he placed Jack in the wrong home. On the contrary- he placed Jack in a home that loves him so much the first thing on their minds was helping Jack.

 

[release the hounds]

Just explain what happened. Tell them your sorry for taking so long and just explain. Rational good people won't hold a grudge, they'll understand and be thankful

 

[BrownFCR]

I also say to let the breeder know. Even though you can't be sure if the elbow problem is genetic or related to an injury, since they didn't test the dam's elbows prior to the litter being born, hopefully they'll get it done now. Responsible breeders want to know what they're producing. And they also want to know how their pups are doing. If they don't want to know, bad on them, but you're doing your best with your dog and you obviously love him.

 

[HoundedByHounds]

I would want to know.

 

[Tankstar]

I would want to know.

I agree. Im not a breeder. But I would also want to know. even if you dont want anything as in money or offcourse to replace the dog 9which I DOUBT you do) Still in my mind, a breeder (atleast a good one) will want to know everythin the good or bad that they produced.