We purchased a puppy from a breeder a year ago, and shortly after settling in, she began to show signs of discomfort, so, after a few visits to the vet, and two exrays, she was sent to Newmarket to have two operations, and afterwards, told that she would always be gluten intolerant, and probably incontinent for the rest of her life,and that her parents were carrying a bad gene. We were devastated that our beautiful baby had had to go through so much in such a short time. Not unsurprisingly, she became depressed, and the vet encouraged us to get another pup for her, as she had 'forgotten how to be a baby' due the stress of the ops. We settled for another bitch of the same breed, but were careful to choose a different line to our other girl. All was well until she reached 8 months old, when, after being exrayed for a mysterious limp, we were told that she has hip dysplacia in both hips.  I really did break down in the vet's surgery, and the nurse was very kind as she knows both dogs very well.I just feel so sad for our dogs, and feel a complete failure at the moment.

Hi Duchess your not the failure the breeder is, have you contacted your breeders and told them their dogs are carrying genetic faults.  I've been in a similar situation myself although it was my fault as i hadn't done any research to see who were good genuine breeders.  On the general board there's a woman called Moreen who's got a thread going on the sale of sick puppies people have bought in the past, why dont you email her and let her know about your dogs.  Sorry to hear your news, best wishes take care Susan.

Thankyou Susan, yes I did inform the first breeder that the vets at Newmarket had advised that the parents should never be mated again, and the reply was 'well , the rest of the litter are fine',and that's all she had to say, although,when I asked if she would pass on the addresses of the other litter owners , she declined. I informed the kennel club, and they said there was nothing they could do! Our other little girl has only just been diagnosed, and I am dreading telling the breeder. When we went to look at her, one of my first questions was to ask about the parent's hip score, and she said that they hadn't been scored, but not to worry about it as in all her years as a breeder, they had never had any bad hips. BOY don't I wish I had just walked away! Thank goodness they are both insured, as one has already cost £2500, and now we are being referred to a hydratherapy pool 40 miles away for regular swimming sessions,and a lifetime on drugs for number two!We love them both dearly, and will do whatever it takes to get our girls as right as possible, but it makes me so mad to think I was so gullible, and that there are people out there who so obviously don't give a hang about their dogs, only the cash.

I wouldn't necessarily condemn the breeders without knowing the details.  There may have been extensive research of pedigrees and DNA & health screening for all known conditions in the breed but that still doesn't guarantee healthy offspring.

You seem to have been very unlucky Duchess but that doesn't make you a failure.  I agree with Susan, you should inform the breeders so they can try to avoid these problems recurring in other litters.

Julie

Hi Julie i'm not condemming the breeders but Duchess did say she'd informed the first breeder, and from the sound of it she doesn't seem interest at all, i'm not saying all breeders are like that but as soon as the money has crossed hands she sounds like she's not interested now which isn't fair on Duchess is it or the other owners of her litter,  You wouldn't mind if you thought they were going to take action and stop breeding the parents of the litter.

Warm regards Susan

How very sad for you and your poor dogs Duchess.

Just a note about hip clearances though... even dogs with perfect hips produce a puppy with hip dysplasia about 5% of the time. It doesn't mean the breeder should never breed those dogs again because those statistics are actually good. It is just a very sad and unfortunate situation in that once in awhile someone has to be the one who ends up holding the puppy with the health problem. Seems that Duchess was doubley unlucky. I have heard it estimated that every dog carries about 7 genes for significant genetic defects... its just a matter of time before one of them shows up in a litter. Please don't blame the breeder. Maybe she is terribly upset and doesn't know how to respond or show her grief properly. It is the heartbreak of this hobby and something every breeder dreads to hear about.

I would agree with that especially with the first case with the metabolic problem, as it is likely to be a complex inheritance if inherited it is, and it wouldn't mean the parents per se should not be bred from again but not to each other.

As for the second case, the breeder didn't even hip score so no sympathy there to them, as I would have if they had scored but the pup was one of the few unlucky ones that will occur even in the best of scored stock.

As breeders we can only do our best to avoid KNOWN problems, and to do health screening for the more understood condiitons to HOPEFULLY load the dice in favour of producing sound healthy pups, and only use the healthy ones for breeding, sadly nature doesn't work like that.

I'm racking my brain here to try and think of a hereditary condition which would require 2 ops to sort out and lead to gluten intolerance?  Just curious ;)

I agree it does seem a little extreem

Hi, to make everything a little clearer, there were two very different operations that were needed, as she had tummy problems, and bladder problems! As for my other pup, , I have been in touch with the breeder, and she couldn't have been more helpful, and supportive regarding our latest worries.The vet has been very reassuring too, and hopes that pup will show some good signs of improvement in 4-5 months with the medication and swimming sessions. (...wonder if she'll need goggles and a rubber swimming hat?!)
Thanks to everyone's comments, and GOOD HEALTH to all , may they be on two legs or four!