was stupid...more informed now that I found this website

[saza]

I bought LuLu from a classified ad. It was from a "breeder" that was close to where I live, and he had pups available when I wanted one. This is the first time I ever bought a dog, all my other dogs have been given to me, or rescued. I always knew NEVER to get a puppy from a pet store, but I will admit that I did not know about BYB's, brokers etc. I called the number from the ad, and the guy tells me he has 2 females left. I thought I was asking the right questions (is she registered with the AKC, has she had her shots, is she wormed, is the tail and dewclaws removed) He answered yes to all of these, and I tell him I will come pick up the dog. (this all happened within 1 hour) Okay, so I get there, and the guy comes out and shows me the puppies about 8 in all I think. They were in the backyard of his house in a dog house. They were 8 weeks old. (or so I thought) At this point, I already fell in love with LuLu and was eager to take her home. I pay the guy $1,000 cash, he gives me the AKC papers and the papers showing her wormings and that was it, I was on my way with my new puppy. I know, I know STUPID.... but please forgive me I have never done this before, and I was just so overcome with joy of my new pup I was holding. I get home, and look at the AKC papers, she's only 7 1/2 weeks old and come to find out she came from Kentucky!!! I live in Massachusetts! what??? I didn't understand that.... So I bring her to the vet the next day, and she's positive for roundworms and giardia. Well, now that I know what I did was so stupid and wrong from reading this website. LuLu is now 7 months and she's healthy... no problems other than the worms and giardia. Obviously she came from either a puppy mill or a BYB, so the chances that her parents were health tested are slim and none. So now I feel like I'm doomed because my puppy is going to get sick with some genetic disease down the road. When do these diseases start affecting dogs, and are there any tests that I can do now that will tell me now if shes going to have any heart or hip problems?

 

[Sansal]

I wouldn't drive myself too crazy about it right now. You love her, she's healthy and hopefully she will stay healthy in the future. I don't know about any test you could do right now, but probably your vet would know?
I think the best thing to do is to educate the people around us who don't know about backyard breeders and puppy mills so eventually those businesses won't exist anymore!

 

[ehayes21]

Well, don't beat yourself up too bad. We all learn one way or another even if it's after the fact. Just because she's from a byb or puppymill does not automatically make her doomed. There are many a byb dogs that have lived happy, healthy lives.
With regards to health, problems can start to surface as early as a year or two or they can surface later in life. You just never know...and unfortunately there isn't any testing you can do right now, the testing for heart and hips is usually completed at the around the two year mark.

Again, don't stress, the best thing you can do is educate yourself and others. Good luck with your pup.

 

[Caney Creek]

Genetic diseases can start affecting dogs at any time in their life. There is no telling whether your pup will end up having any problems at all, or when she will have them if she does end up having them. That, you'll just have to wait and see. Testing for genetic disease cannot be done until the dog is 2 years old; anytime before then would give unreliable results. It's very expensive and usually done only for breeding dogs, but if you REALLY wanted to do it and have the money to do so, then I suppose you could. I honestly haven't heard of anyone doing that though -- health testing a pet just for the sake of knowing what's to come, that is.

Don't beat yourself up over this. We all make mistakes, and many, MANY of us have made the mistake of falling prey to a BYB. Creek is from a BYB... BF bought her when he was in college, and of course he didn't know any better at the time. I feel we've been pretty lucky that the only issues she's had are her hypothyroidism (which she takes medication twice daily for, has since she was 2 yrs old), and her MCT's which we had her in surgery to remove just a few weeks ago. Neither of these things were a death sentence of course, but still both have been costly to treat and have made an impact on her overall health as well. But, she's nearly 9 yrs old and still kicking, thank goodness

Just love the puppy you have now, enjoy every day you spend with her, and educate others you know about backyard breeders and how important it is to buy a puppy from an ethical breeder if you're not rescuing a dog.

 

[RoxiesEcho]

If we beat ourselves up for every mistake we ever make we would never be happy with ourselves! Like has already been stated, many of us have gotten our furkids from BYB before we knew any better. Bella is from an aquaintance who would fall under this grouping. I wouldn't go this route again but I knock on wood everyday that her parents are healthy, none of their previous puppies have had any health issues and at 3 1/2 Bella shows no signs of any genetic issues. All you can do is give Lulu the best possible life that you can, love her with all your heart and should a health issue surface somewhere down the line, give her the medical treat that you can.

 

[Guisseppemom]

You could do a prelim PennHip at 4 months if you wanted to. That would give you a fairly accurate indication of what her hips will be like, it is a prelim though. I would wait however, if you really want her hips X rayed, wait until you are having her fixed, as they want the dog out when they do them, that way she is only going under once. The majority of OFA testing is done at 2 years, but really only for breeding animals.
Don't worry, just love your dog!