Puppy Strangles

[wehkah]

Hi all I haven't been on in a while so I thought I'd start with this dandy!!!


I show weimaraners and last night one of the breeders calls and tells me that her last puppy came down with an auto immune deficiency called Puppy Strangles. I had never heard anything like that so she said that I should check it out on the internet. She tells me that it's not hereditary and that she wasn't going to let any of the other puppy owners know about it. I told her that if it were me I'd let everyone know about it but that's just me.

So I did about 5min worth of searching this morning and found out that the immune deficiency is usually brought on by vaccinations and the deficiency is most likely and can be hereditary. The exact cause is still unknown. Breeders of weims have been noticing more and more auto immune issues in the last 10 years than ever before. This is one of the reasons why we had a vaccination seminar in PA this last national.

Would it be wrong of me to tell her that I'm NOT going to show her dog anymore because I don't believe in the same principals as she does??

 

[JennSLK]

A really close firend of mine breeds and shows weims. In fact she just got a BPIS with a bitch out of her lastest litter.

When I was house sitting for her, we were talking about shots and such and she has all her dogs on a limited program. She told me Weims are VERRY prone to imune reactions. PM me if you want her e-mail addy to talk to her about it.

Would it be wrong of me to tell her that I'm NOT going to show her dog anymore because I don't believe in the same principals as she does??

No not at all! I recently told one of my clients that untill she puts weight on her 2 dogs I am showing for her I will NOT show them. When you are working as an agent for a breeder that means you are supporting them. You should not support a breeder whom you wouldnt be willing to stand beside.

 

[wehkah]

She still wants to show her but the other half of it is that I don't think that she's got what it takes to finish. She's almost 2yrs old and she has yet to get an AKC point on her. She looks more like a field bread weim, very square. So she's going to be VERY hard to finish and the owner is going to have to find the right judges to go under in order for her to get any points. At first glance I didn't think she was too bad but after you put her up against other weims with better confirmation you start to really see her flaws. The WORST flaw is that she's completely scared in the ring. IMO that's a trait that goes against the breed standard. I personally wouldn't have bread her but it was an opps breeding and now we know that breeding her and the male she has doesn't produce quality puppies. Out of the 6 that were born I personally would have only shown 1. =-S

 

[JennSLK]

Well the best you can do and what I do is tell your clients your thoughts. Thats your job too after all is to advise them. If you dont want to be seen showing the dog then dont show it. If they want another handler to do it and find another handler thats thier choice but at least it doesnt damage your reputation.

I would rather be know as blunt but honest then shady and out for the handling fees

 

[wehkah]

I will definitely take your advise! Thanks!

 

[JennSLK]

Your welcome. And PM me if you want her e-mail and stuff to talk to her about the imune stuff. It kinda goes over my head. LOL but Im learning