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new puppy for Sassypips ?

hilary

Well-known member
hi I was wondering if sassypips got the puppy yesterday . I am in exactly the same position and due to collect my new pup in 3 weeks . I had no idea about all the pitfalls until I joined this forum last week . now I dont know what to do . I contacted my vet who told me it was very rare in this country to be provided with a health cert when buying a cavalier . he more or less said it was pot luck and wished me luck with my "purchase".I thought the breeder was a really nice caring person when I met her , very knowledgeable about her dogs and was rearing the pups in her own home . she was extremely fussy about where the pups were going to and showed all the signs of a responsible breeder . she didnt mention anything about a health cert nor did I request one . I was so much looking forward to this new addition to our family but now I am worried that its a big mistake . I have a little boy of nine and I dont want to risk breaking his heart if the puppy turned out to have serious health problems . my gut instinct is that this pup is fine but is my gut instinct enough in this case . I would really appreciate your expert advice . I can totally empathise with "sassypips and would love to know what she did . also , how does one find a good breeder ???? people tell you different things . really love the forum . never knew it existed till last week and have really learned a lot from you guys so thank you !
 
The ONLY way you can hope for a decent chance of a healthy puppy is to go to a breeder who takes the time to test. Your vet is right that few test, but it is depressing that he thinks you should just take 'pot luck' (and thus keep condemning the breed to the proliferation of these problems). I wish a few more vets would push breeders to at minimum, do the proper cardiac testing on their dogs, and follow the MVD protocol as that is so important for the breed's health.

Personally I would not even remotely consider a puppy from a breeder who doesn't test hearts and follow the MVD breeding protocol, and also check eyes, hips and patellas of breeding stock. And in my case, with two dogs with syringomyelia, I now only would ever consider a puppy from SM-screened breeding stock (dogs that have been MRId). People here have paid hundreds and thousands on addressing the problems that are far more likely to arise from dogs from breeders who don;t care a jot about the health of their breeding stock.

The fact that breeding dogs LOOK healthy means little. It is knowing what they can potentially carry genetically, and what conditions they may have, unseen to the eye, that is crucial. Plenty of breeders also rear puppies in their houses. That means very little in terms of whether those puppies will live reasonably long and healthy lives and whether the breeder is a good breeder. Consider this: if you take potluck, you have a *minimum* 50/50 chance that your cavalier will have heart problems by age 5. The chances are actually much higher because theat 50% estimate takes into account cavaliers from good breeders who follow the heart protocol and whose dogs don't tend to get early onset murmurs and lead far longer and healthier lives.

As long as buyers do not ask breeders to follow these protocols, many of the breeders will not change. The power to create change lies very much with the puppy buyer who holds the purse strings.

I've given you a contact point I think earlier by PM for help in finding a breeder who does heart test and MRI.
 
Please read the posts to "sassypips" and remember we are not talking about a certificate that the puppy is healthy, although they should have had a Vet visit and you should have some assurances that you are getting a healthy puppy, you are not likely to get a "certificate" that your puupy is healthy. What you are looking for are certificates the puppy's PARENTS and GRANDPARENTS do not have heart disease, serious eye problems or elbow/hip problems. Again, read the e-mails to "sassypips" and the information in the files on this Board about buying a puppy. Good luck to you.
 
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