Bad vet?

Buttonmoons

As some of you may remember, my friends sister boyfriend (wow that's long) got a Shitsu that died 3weeks after they bought it. They did actually report that puppy farm to the RSPCA :j He actually went and bought ANOTHER one if you can believe it, but from a breeder, but he got it at 6weeks and it only had about 3 teeth AND a hernia - Jesus! Enough about them idiots though.

My friend still lives with his mum & dad, and they decided they wanted to get a dog, they have had it about 2/3weeks, and it's a Siberian Husky - I warned him beforehand that he has no experience of such a dog and they are apparently very difficult with sensitive stomachs and really need a lot of stimulation otherwise destructive behaviour - but of course, I'm a know it all:rolleyes: They bought it from a reputable breeder though, who breeds and races them but they got the dog at exactly 6weeks and apparently it had been away from it's mother a while before that. Surely not right?!

Anyways the dog really is a cutie, but has had diarrehea for 3weeks! They have had him back and forth to the vets many times, he is very underweight, they had been worming him but he still had worms, they are all gone, but the diarrehea has not.

They took him to the vets again today with a stool sample and the vet said -

If I was you I'd return that dog and get my money back because it's inbred and it's pancreas aren't working right! - How would he know it's pancreas weren't working? That paticular vet had only seen the dog twice!

The dog is a puppy and trys to bite you a lot (I've told my friend he needs to nip that in the bud and he is going to take him to puppy classes when it's had it's second jabs) anyways the vet went to touch the dog and it mouthed at him (It never hurts when it does it) and the Vet said - Whenever it does that you need to whack it off it's legs - Meaning, hit the pup so hard it's legs go out beneath it :eek:

He then gave them antibiotics to see if that helps and to go back in 7days or something.

Surely, someone shouldn't be telling people to beat their dogs! Yes the pup is a bit of a monster sometimes (He must think he is alpha!) but really, he's only playing and not being aggressive!

My friend, rightly is very upset by what the vet said, and is now thinking he is a bad owner because the dog obviously has a bad digestion, underweight, and not the right size for his age.

They had the dog on JWB hypo allergenic stuff I think, then the vet said to change to Eubanka, with no change in the poopy department. The breeder he got the dog from says that he was only to feed the dog 50g of food a day, which is very little for a growing pup IMO, and he phoned her up and she said the reason it has diarrehea is because of overfeeding, but even when they reduced the amount again, he still had it plus a very hungry pup - He's very greedy too, sits and WAITS for a crumb to fall. He was licking my toes for toast crumbs and he's just had his breakfast!


My point to this thread was about the Vet, and if what he said is out of order. I deffo think the inbred remark and hitting the dog was out of line. Don't think my friend will be taking him back there!

foreign_correspondent

Some vets know b*gger all about dog behaviour, and this one sounds very old school, it was the way people used to train dogs, but now most people realise it can be create more undesirable behaviours.... but his medical knowledge should not be judged by this....he is a vet, not a behaviouralist - but the dog may well have pancreatic problems - I have had pancreatitis and they realised pretty quickly...

It may also be inbred, but I would be interested in why the vet thinks that, but a lot of pedigree dogs are far too inbred, hence the health problems.

Can your friend cope with daily six mile on lead walks?? These dogs need a lot of exercise but generally cant be let off the lead as they tend to dissapear into the distance! If the breeder sold the pup to your friend without ensuring this, I would be doubtful about the credentials of the breeder... nevermind the fact that he sold the pup at 6 weeks!

Buttonmoons

Well he originally picked that breed because he's very outdoorsy and goes hillwalking alot, up into the mountains/lakes. So thought it would fit into his lifestyle, albeit when it is fully trained! He will just have to put up with very long walks until he manages to train it OFF the lead, which will be hard - I did tell him all this but, of course, I'm a know it all who dosen't own a dog - That's because I know fine I don't have the time one and don't do silly impulsive things, but thats another thing altogether!

Well it dosen't LOOK inbred, it's features are all fine etc, it looks like it should (although underweight) It's not like a pug, with a wee squashed face or bad breathing.

What does Pancreaitis do to a dog?

foreign_correspondent

the pancreas produces digestive enzymes, hormones and insulin, all to do with the digestion of food, but I do not know what sort of pancreatic problem he suspects the dog has...

hmm, a dog wouldnt look inbred, squashed face dogs only look that way becauce both parents have squashed faces...

I suspect the vet realises this is inherently a sickly pup and clearly thinks the cause is poor breeding. I have no reason to think he may be wrong.

Buttonmoons

The thing is though, the Breeder he bought his dog from takes ALL her dogs there (She has 15 of them) so unless he knows something about HER dogs, I can't see why he would think that without cause.

But the breeder woman seems to genuinely care about those dogs, the pup has all his papers and official name, she's put a ban on breeding him (not that they would) and if anything happens he has to be returned to her. When he got the pup, there was a 1yr that had been returned to her and she was looking to find it another home.

She seems to genuinely care and SHE reccomended that vet too him as that guy apparently knows a lot about the breed, why would she send him to a vet that would say her puppys are coming away !!!!!!? Seems a bit boggling!

foreign_correspondent

... so, the vet knows the breeder, and her dogs, and presumably gets a lot of trade from them - but advises the new owner of the pup that it should be returned to the breeder and that it is inbred...?

I can't see him having any ulterior motive to advise this, and to be honest, it sounds like he stands to lose a lot of trade if the breeder stops using him... so, as I said above, I can see no reason to disbelieve him - why do you think he may be wrong?

Buttonmoons

I'm not sure of all the if's and but's she told him, but he joined a husky forum and has found out most of the things he needs to know from there and has been getting good advice.

I personally feel he shouldn't of bought that type of dog, his mum would of been happier getting something small, like a westie. He has made a bad choice, and perhaps bought a sickly dog, but he was a first time buyer, and the woman seemed to be husky mad so what can you do.

The important thing is that he isn't just getting rid because of the problems and he never would. He's just devastated the vet has made out like he is doing things wrong - with the pup mouthing etc.

Who knows!

Buttonmoons

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

... so, the vet knows the breeder, and her dogs, and presumably gets a lot of trade from them - but advises the new owner of the pup that it should be returned to the breeder and that it is inbred...?

I can't see him having any ulterior motive to advise this, and to be honest, it sounds like he stands to lose a lot of trade if the breeder stops using him... so, as I said above, I can see no reason to disbelieve him - why do you think he may be wrong?

No I don't think he is wrong, I even said to my friend that it probably has been mated with a relative down the line! Just seemed a bit quick to say the dog has major problems because of it's sensitive stomach, OK it could be something more serious but we don't know yet.

I didn't know a vet could take a look at dog and say It's inbred, return it and get back your money, after seeing it twice for about 5minutes!

Yeah I see your point, he would loose a lot of money from the Breeder, so maybe there is something seriously wrong with the dog? Hope not. He seems fine in every other manner, except for the diarehhea.

suki1964

I imagine the vet was saying that the dog was the result of over breeding as there isnt a huge gene pool to breed from so there are bound to be problems.

I have a cocker who is from an excellent reputable show breeder and hes costing me a fortune with skin, ears and eye complaints, all because he is so pure bred. By last cocker although a KC registered pedigree was a mutt in comparrison, had a larger gene pool and was much healther.


The diarrehea could be down to all maner of things and changing food so often can be one of the problems. Over feeding is also a problem and will cause runny bum. 50g (spread over 3 meals) a day sounds about right for a premium dog food. If the dog is still hungry that a - the food isnt the right food for the dog or b - you have a very hungry wee fella and you need to bulk it out a bit with VEGGIES - like boiled cabbage. The wee springer I fostered ate every meal if it was his last and was terribly underweight because of runny bum when I got him (and even skinnier after the op to removed the obstruction he gave himself eating a stone) But I had to have a heart of steel and had to stick to feeding the right amount so that him runny poo improved and he gained weight.My cocker never got on with Burns, was skin and bone and JWB gave him a runny bum - Arden Grange suits him

Your friends family arent giving human food snacks are they?

Pancreatitiis is a nasty disease and wont be diagnosed without blood and stool tests. It can be a killer but hopefully if he does have it then a powdered enzyme added to meals will keep it in check.

Your friends really doesnt seem to have much luck with finding well bred dogs

Buttonmoons

I will tell him to reduce the food again and bulk it out with cabbage - What other veggies are good? Carrot?

No they don't give him ANY snacks at all, his mum heard that giving dogs sardine was good for them, so has given the pup 1 or 2, I believe but that's it. He also has a big shoulder bone or something to gnaw on, but all the meat has been scrapedoff. They always put him in his crate when they eat too because he is a pain when food is about.

They didn't want to change his food, as the JWB is what the breeder had the pup on, but the vet said to move him onto Eubanka. I will tell him to reduce it back down to 50g a day, he is a very greedy dog though. Even on the 50g a day he had runny stools, and it was after a vet visit the Vet said that it was far too little and to increase it to 150g a day! They only put it up to 100g, and even then he was still under your feet in the kitchen, waiting for ANYTHING to fall. I don't even think his food touches the sides the way he wolfs it down.

Nope no luck it seems, which is a shame, as he thought he was doing the right thing after his sister bought that ill dog from the puppy farm. The breeder seemed knowledgeable, and has 15 of her own, so I guess you just don't expect them to have serious problems.

foreign_correspondent

If the vet is advising they return the dog to the breeder, I think it may be seriously worth considering. He is better qualified than any of us and has actually seen the dog!

I would not be adding any veggies to the food whilst his tummy is so upset... may make things worse...

I take it they know not to feed him cooked bones, only raw are safe.