8 week old Puppy is sick - what to do?

jetta_wales

suki1964 wrote: »

It really is such a shame that you feel the only support you are getting is from someone else who really doesn't have a clue about responsible breeding and is herself a back yard breeder


No one is having a go at you or your friend everyone here is concerned for the well fare of the wee pup. What we are trying to do is educate you and anyone else who might be thinking of getting a pup the dangers and pitfalls of not doing your research before hand

Already we have shown that no matter what this so called breeder has said to you - it's lies. And no harm to you but you really don't have a clue as to how many other pups are at this minute fighting for their lives and you have no idea as to whether this breeder really is going to help with the vet bills this time or not.

No matter where this pup is from we all are praying for a speedy recovery. Just because we advocate responsible breeding doesn't mean we don't have hearts

Ahh more assumptions, I know nothing now do I? The arrogance continues. Because *gasp!* I bred a cross litter! lol

thorsoak

jetta_wales wrote: »

Are you suggesting then the OP's friend is not a good enough owner as it sounds to me like the breeder did indeed find a very good owner for her puppy. Or are you suggesting that only pedigree breeders take time and effort in making sure that their puppies do not go to an unsuitable home? A very arrogant and incorrect assumption there indeed.

Let's put it this way - a pedigree breeder such as myself, who only breeds when s/he wants to keep a puppy, invests a lot of time in researching the lines that s/he wants, often travelling abroad to use the best possible stud so that the puppies when they arrive will hopefully be truly good examples of the breed. If someone approaches me for a puppy, they are asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire, invited to come and see me and my dogs (not the puppies, because at this stage, they are only a hope!) and if I'm satisfied that they could give one of my carefully reared puppies a good home, then they are put on a waiting list. When a mating occurs and pregnancy is confirmed, then I would notify people on my list that puppies would hopefully be born on xxxxx and were they still interested - and in most cases the answer would be yes, and we would all be hoping for a successful whelping, with the hoped for sexes. And when that occurred, I - as do other breeders - would stay with mum and pups 24/7 for the first two or three weeks, to ensure that mum didn't crush any pups by lying on them.

So yes, responsible breeders invest time and love into their puppies and do ensure that they go to suitable homes. This is what responsible breeders do. Commercial breeders take the view that where there is livestock, there is deadstock - and do not put the same emphasis on who gets what - all they worry about is selling puppies before they leave the "cute" stage.

thorsoak

And I do not think that the OP's friend will be a bad owner - just sadly one who has bought a sick puppy, from someone who has not done all that I would expect a responsible breeder to do.

I am very "anti" the designer cockerpoos, yorkiedoodles etc etc etc. The public are being suckered into buying cross-breeds at extortionate prices.

rising_from_the_ashes

sophieschoice wrote: »

She is a genuine breeder whose own two dogs had pups which she sold.

Why would she have her "own" dogs that she didn't want to breed if she's a breeder?

If she's such a knowledgeable breeder, she should've been able to stop them breeding if they're not dogs she wants to breed from.

sophieschoice wrote: »

I don't know how that makes it a puppy farm and, to be honest, right now I don't care.

Well, you should - puppy farming is the most horrendous business that goes on practically everywhere. These poor dogs are bred and bred and bred, live in appalling conditions, are not well treated and get poor feed/vet treatment etc, and are often so in-bred genetic conditions are common.

sophieschoice wrote: »

All the other puppies are happy and well in their new homes it just this poor little mite who has this horrid bug.

How do you know this?

Have you personally spoken to the other owners?

sophieschoice wrote: »

Apart from the obvious emotional roller coaster and the heartbreak of not having your new puppy home with you to bond with and to train, the financial cost is now going to be around the £1,000 mark after paying £250 for her.

This is why we're all trying to stress to others who may be looking for a pup to do their research, go to a breeder who's been recommended etc etc.

I know many people who've unwittingly fallen into the same trap and have spent £000s on vet treatment to save the poor wee one that they've bought in good faith. Often they've required extensive vet care for their whole lives.

If someone looking for a pup stumbles upon this thread, and if by reading the advice of the knowledgeable people on here, and it stops them going through the same anguish as your friend and the poor wee pup is going through, surely that's got to be worth it?

sophieschoice wrote: »

Insurance hasn't kicked in yet so how many people do you reckon in the same situation would have a) given the dog back b) thrown it out on the road c) had it put to sleep d) abandoned it at the local dogs home/rspca or whatever?

As Fire Fox says, no-one has said anything against your friend - she's doing everything for the wee one and I (and I'm sure without an exception, everyone else) are keeping everything crossed that she pulls through.

Not everyone would be in a position to be able to pay a bill like this so if it was someone who couldn't then the poor wee mite would've had to be pts - that's what we're trying to avoid by raising the issue of buying from reputable breeders.



Glad to hear her "levels" are a bit more normal and, yes, I'd love to see a pic if there is one!

suki1964

jetta_wales wrote: »

Ahh more assumptions, I know nothing now do I? The arrogance continues. Because *gasp!* I bred a cross litter! lol

Im so glad you find this so amusing - even though this thread is not about you

sophieschoice

suki1964 wrote: »

Im so glad you find this so amusing - even though this thread is not about you

It's not about you either.
It's about a tiny sick puppy.

lozzybeast

Hi there, I'm a vet nurse I have read very briefly over the thread, I try not to comment on these sort of things but I dont really think the breed of the puppy is relevent here, and I also very much doubt that the vet would categorically say that the incubation period of this puppy's gastroenteritis is 5 days, I imagine that yes it probably is at an educated guess, but gastroenteritis literally means inflammation of the stomach/intestines, it doesn't say what bacteria/virus has caused it, therefore without knowing this by way of further testing it cannot be proven. Most puppies have some gastrointestinal upset with the change of environment etc but if not covered by insurance most responsible breeders will be willing to help out in some way and wont just wash their hands of the puppy, it may be worth finding out if any of the other pups are affected, hope the puppy makes a full recovery x

sophieschoice

Thank you so much!
The lady my friend bought the pup from has rung all the other owners and their pups are fine so it's just my friend's little one who has contracted this.
Friend has just been in touch to say the clinic is awaiting results of the blood test carried out. She has stopped leaking both ends and 'seems a bit brighter' so we are carrying on hoping.
The lady who sold her is definitely going to pay half of all bills incurred.

thorsoak

That's good news all round! Fingers crossed that puppy bounces back to health quickly.

jetta_wales

thorsoak wrote: »

Let's put it this way - a pedigree breeder such as myself, who only breeds when s/he wants to keep a puppy, invests a lot of time in researching the lines that s/he wants, often travelling abroad to use the best possible stud so that the puppies when they arrive will hopefully be truly good examples of the breed. If someone approaches me for a puppy, they are asked to fill in a detailed questionnaire, invited to come and see me and my dogs (not the puppies, because at this stage, they are only a hope!) and if I'm satisfied that they could give one of my carefully reared puppies a good home, then they are put on a waiting list. When a mating occurs and pregnancy is confirmed, then I would notify people on my list that puppies would hopefully be born on xxxxx and were they still interested - and in most cases the answer would be yes, and we would all be hoping for a successful whelping, with the hoped for sexes. And when that occurred, I - as do other breeders - would stay with mum and pups 24/7 for the first two or three weeks, to ensure that mum didn't crush any pups by lying on them.

So yes, responsible breeders invest time and love into their puppies and do ensure that they go to suitable homes. This is what responsible breeders do. Commercial breeders take the view that where there is livestock, there is deadstock - and do not put the same emphasis on who gets what - all they worry about is selling puppies before they leave the "cute" stage.

And you assume we didn't do most of that just because I didn't breed to get a puppy that I thought could win competitions?

I turned down lots of people for many different reasons like working full time, not having any garden etc etc or just if I really didn't get the right feeling about them.

She gave birth in a suitable whelping box beside my bed and had a whelping kit (a Lady sells an excellent comprehensive kit she put together herself for eBay which saved us money on buying the medical disposables separately). Had charts and scales for recording their growth, bottles and milk for 'just in-case' and her scan showed three puppies. They were not left on their own for about 4 weeks, I would not have had a litter if I had been working but I'm a full time Mum. They had a pen and bed downstairs and in our bedroom and was often woken in the night when one went for a wander out of their bed and couldn't find their way back in. They sound like baby birds lol.

We also didn't breed for profit, certainly didn't charge extortionate prices and probably made a loss overall because we spared no expense on Mum and pups, there were only 3 and one went to our neighbour for an even smaller price.

Show breeders seem to think that pet owners are only worthy of the pups that won't win them prizes or breed more pups that will.

Not every non show or even non KC breeder is a scrupulous back yard breeder just because they are not out for prizes or chose to breed a cross. And let's not forget that crossing breeds is how different breeds come to be it is not some evil act that must never be done. It is our intention to find a suitable Papillon stud for her in the future but as they are not known to be good whelpers I wanted to be more sure the pups would be small for her first litter.

Many in this thread have just not been able to resist the back yard breeder lecture over and over and over despite the fact that the OP was just asking a legal question. Assumption, judgment, assumption, judgment and so on and so forth.

Take a step back, lose the high horse routine and stick to the topic, the poorly puppy.