Contacting the breeder

[giglz15]

I wasn't sure where to post this but I am having difficulty in trying to form what I want to say to my Rotties breeder. He has HD and needs surgery and has a bad mouth. I don't know if I should call her or write a letter... I am scared if I call her that I will just end up getting really angry and yelling or something. And if I write a letter what should it say? I am pretty sure it wont do me any good to contact her she was most definatly a back yard breeder, and I doubt she would even care, but you never know. Any advice? Thanks Melonie

[Bruce Lanthier]

What do you hope to accomplish by contacting her if you already know she is a BYB and doesn give a damn?

[BostonRott]

I would definitely try to contact her. If you don't think a phone conversation is going to go well, then by all means, send her a letter. Let her know that the dog has been diagnosed with HD. Include when symptoms started showing up, age of diagnosis, current treatment and how the dog is responding. Let her know that since HD is a heritable disease, you feel that is your duty to notify her of this problem and that she needs to strongly re-evaluate whether or not she ever breeds those two parents again. Let her know the cost of the surgery and show her the impact this is having on your life.....maybe that will help open her eyes up.

Then, try calling her about a week after you send the letter and see how it goes.

As well, see if your vet will submit the xrays to OFA for evaluation and sign the form to allow failing results to be published. This helps inform other future buyers of what a dog is producing and allows them to make an informed decision. You can also put the pedigree of your dog on Pawvillage.

Some BYB's are willing to learn, others are very haughty and just continue on their way. If they are not willing to learn and to change, the very least YOU can do is put the information out there on publically accessible mediums (OFA and Pawvillage) so that future buyers can make informed decisions. In my opinion, this is the responsibility of the breeder (to share info about their lines) but if it is not done, then that falls on the buyer.

[BostonRott]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lanthier

What do you hope to accomplish by contacting her if you already know she is a BYB and doesn give a damn?

Well, she could be simply uninformed. I agree with you that the vast majority will not change their ways, however, some do. I have a friend that started out breeding with poor practice, was virtually "attacked" by an online community (an email list), but being of strong character, she pulled through it and is now doing things correctly.

In the case of those who don't care and wish to continue their practice, then the effort becomes one of education. We need to keep teaching as many people as possible about the health risks in this breed, and how to work to avoid them (using screened parents). We need to educate people on what to look for and what to avoid. And, we need to make a concerted effort to have information publicized. If the BYB's won't stop their poor practices, we can work on taking away their target buyers by informing the buyers of the problems already produced.

[Mavides]

Absolutely you should let her know -- too many times I hear backyard breeders say that they have no health problems in their lines...when I ask how they know without health testing, they say "well, nobody has ever complained about a problem"...so my advice is to definitely let her know what health issues she is producing!

[Vobiscum]

Originally Posted by giglz15

I wasn't sure where to post this but I am having difficulty in trying to form what I want to say to my Rotties breeder. He has HD and needs surgery and has a bad mouth. I don't know if I should call her or write a letter... I am scared if I call her that I will just end up getting really angry and yelling or something. And if I write a letter what should it say? I am pretty sure it wont do me any good to contact her she was most definatly a back yard breeder, and I doubt she would even care, but you never know. Any advice? Thanks Melonie

You should definitly call her and tell that your dog has hd and other problems,
if i was the breeder i would take that in mind the next time i used the mother or father in breeding again.

[targonrotts]

call first and try that way. but if not, mail her a letter with your explanations and a copy of the vets' diagnosis. even if they care or not, she should be aware of the problem.
some states, like florida, make the breeder liable for defects like that up to 1 year of purchase and you would be entitled to your money back, replacement or vet bills up to the cost of the dog. they call it the puppy lemon law.
good luck, hope your puppy feels better.

[keller27]

Khori has a leaky heart valve. I went to a specialist and faxed the paperwork to my breeder, and she will not contact me. :( She kept alot of things from me and was not truthful. Got suckered into her website. I wanted a puppy to be my demo dog, so didn't want a dominant one. So guess what, because I was stupid to not fly to see him, I got a very dominant puppy. I was not told that he was food aggressive at 4 weeks of age, he had a umbilical hernia that she didn't tell me about. There were about 10 stray white hairs that she didn't tell me about. You can't even see those those. I posted his results with OFA website and he is listed on it, so maybe I will help someone thinking about getting a puppy from her. The more I think about it, it makes me upset. I had such high hopes for him. We are going to a seminar with a trainer who will be helping us on the food aggression. I am afraid to ever get another rottie from anyone. I don't have much trust anymore. :(

[Vobiscum]

Originally Posted by keller27

Khori has a leaky heart valve. I went to a specialist and faxed the paperwork to my breeder, and she will not contact me. :( She kept alot of things from me and was not truthful. Got suckered into her website. I wanted a puppy to be my demo dog, so didn't want a dominant one. So guess what, because I was stupid to not fly to see him, I got a very dominant puppy. I was not told that he was food aggressive at 4 weeks of age, he had a umbilical hernia that she didn't tell me about. There were about 10 stray white hairs that she didn't tell me about. You can't even see those those. I posted his results with OFA website and he is listed on it, so maybe I will help someone thinking about getting a puppy from her. The more I think about it, it makes me upset. I had such high hopes for him. We are going to a seminar with a trainer who will be helping us on the food aggression. I am afraid to ever get another rottie from anyone. I don't have much trust anymore. :(

In time you will get over it, search and ye shall recive as they say, there are several good breeders in the states .

[SonnyRott]

Originally Posted by keller27

...I am afraid to ever get another rottie from anyone. I don't have much trust anymore. :(

I don't either! I HEAR you loud and CLEAR!!!!

Even some that say they are COE do not subscribe to ethical practices. (But they sure do charge an arm and a leg for their puppies!)

After this dog, I am done! If I want another dog, I am going to a Rottie Rescue and rescue an adult.

[moondog]

Originally Posted by giglz15

I am pretty sure it wont do me any good to contact her she was most definatly a back yard breeder, and I doubt she would even care, but you never know. Any advice? Thanks Melonie

Your responsibility is to not ignore what you know and act on that. Don't worry about the breeder's reaction, that just gives you a route to succumb to your fear of her reaction and the turmoil it cause you. If you become aware of a genetic problem with your puppy, in my mind you have an ethical obligation to inform the person who bred your puppy. What that person does with the info is not something you can do anything about, and time will tell in any case.

Maybe she'll care, maybe she won't, but do it anyway...for yourself. Any test results that can be disclosed in a database, I would disclose.

[keller27]

Originally Posted by moondog

Your responsibility is to not ignore what you know and act on that. Don't worry about the breeder's reaction, that just gives you a route to succumb to your fear of her reaction and the turmoil it cause you. If you become aware of a genetic problem with your puppy, in my mind you have an ethical obligation to inform the person who bred your puppy. What that person does with the info is not something you can do anything about, and time will tell in any case.

Maybe she'll care, maybe she won't, but do it anyway...for yourself. Any test results that can be disclosed in a database, I would disclose.

Even after I contacted Khori's breeder, she is still breeding both like crazy. I waited so long for him, so maybe its why I get upset over how I am being treated by her. I haven't e-mailed her to really say what I am thinking. I know it won't do any good, but might make me feel better.

[Sharon Marples]

Originally Posted by keller27

Even after I contacted Khori's breeder, she is still breeding both like crazy. I waited so long for him, so maybe its why I get upset over how I am being treated by her. I haven't e-mailed her to really say what I am thinking. I know it won't do any good, but might make me feel better.

Sounds like the typical BYB to me. Just out for the money. I suggest you email her and tell her exactly what is happening. Be firm, but don't scream at her in the email. She will either respond or not. Your one recourse is to place the info on PawVillage or any other database (OFA) that you can. It won't help your situation, but it may help someone else.

Did you purchase him as a show dog with a contract? If so, what does it say about a guarantee? Does it cover the dog for a bad bite (by saying that it guarantees all breed standard defects)? What type of contract did you agree to?

Hopefully you will be able to do surgery or keep his HD under control with meds. A bad bite will not end up hurting him in any way physically. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this person who does not stand behind the puppies that she sells. Good luck.

Hopefully