puppy mills

"stop the puppy mill business, hurting & breeding unhealthy puppies"
I am glad you finally see this. Sadly, you were one of the people who
cause this to happen by buying from puppy mills. There are rescues for
all breeds and one can save lives by adopting from these and from
shelters. We have a pure bred Bichon that we adopted from the Humane
Society.
"All we want now is for our puppy to get better"
I am glad you love your puppy and didn't abandon him because of his
health issues. Some people would have done that.
I hope everything works out well for you and your puppy.

This really sucks. I got all my dogs at the pound but if you pay good
money you should get a healthy dog.

I do not understand the fixation about having a pedigree. What has
been done to dogs for the sake of "looks" and fashion is despicable.
Look at the once strong and brave German Shepard, now bred for
exaggerated sloped haunches that inhibit the ability to actually work.
The pug type breeds that can barely breathe.

God help me if I am ever so vain or insecure as to think my little
Ubbie sends a message to people about my strength, beauty or social
status!

"Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who
possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
and all the Virtues of Man,
without his Vices.
This Praise, which would be unmeaning
Flattery if inscribed over human
ashes is but a just tribute to the Memory
of Boatswain,a Dog." By Lord Byron

passed away recently (the memorial service was today), and the
obituary listed his church and a Golden Retriever rescue for donations
in lieu of flowers.

I think that is great, I really do, as a matter of fact it is a great
idea...instead of getting flowers from my husband I am going to ask
him anytime he feels he wants to send flowers he should just donate to
a worthy cause. Not only is it more heart warming it's a tax
deduction!

Why on earth would you take ownership of a lethargic puppy?

Puppies from the pound can be just as loving and loyal of dogs.

Plus you are saving a life.

Oh you may not get the joy of having as many people oogle your dog,
like a purebread may get you.

You may not get AKC papers that will just be filed away or misplaced.

You may not know what the puppies mother's name is, but when he runs
to you arms, that thought will be all but forgotten.

Call me old fashioned, I just like saving abondoned pet's lives
first.


Good Day

Even when you think you are buying from a reputable breeder, chances
are you are not. I bought a Golden Retriever - McKenzie - in GA from
a "reputable" breeder. I was told that he only breed Golden's. It
was a lie. He breed anything that had 4 legs and he didn't even care
if they crossbred. He was out to make a buck. Unfortunately I didnt
find this out until alot later. Thankfully my Golden had no medical
issues and he was quite healthy, even if he was as dumb as a box of
rocks. Sadly when me and my husband separated I lost custody of him.

Sadly, too many people do research *after* the fact. If research had
been done prior, you would've noticed the many red flags. For one,
none of the dogs listed on the website are champions nor have field
titles. While there are champions on the pedigrees, this does not
mean
that their offspring were worthy of being bred. Not only that, it
does
not seem that any of their breeding stock is OFA'd(test for hips),
CERF'd(test for eyes) and tested for any other defects known to
afflict Golden Retrievers. While there are dogs in the pedigrees that
have been OFA'd, this does NOT mean that their offspring will be free
of hip problems which is why any dog used in a breeding program needs
to be tested for it. In fact, I did a search on the OFA website to
see
if this breeder had done any health testing and it shows nothing..
http://tinyurl.com/yjocopy

So basically, this breeder is riding on the coat tails of other
breeders hard work and really isn't adding a positive contribution to
the breed.

Yes, they offer a health guarantee but quite honestly, it's
worthless.
First of all, a 2 year guarantee on hips isn't a lot because you
cannot do an OFA evaluation until the dog is 2 years old. Not only
that, it seems that in order to make good on the guarantee, you have
to give the dog back. How many people are going to give back a dog
they've had for 2 years and have fallen in love with it? Not many and
breeders like this count on that which is why they add this little
"loop hole" instead of out right refunding the purchase price like a
responsible breeder would do.

With that said, there are red flags abound and that's why it's
important for folks to do research on whatever breed they're
interested in. You can start by visiting the American Kennel Club
website.. http://www.akc.org , going to a dog show to speak to
various
owners, breeders and handlers.. http://www.infodog.com . By doing
this, your chances of getting a well bred puppy from a responsible
breeder is way higher. And for further reading, here's a puppy buyers
guide... http://tinyurl.com/y9wl2sd

As far as the OP goes, you might want to look into "puppy lemon laws"
in your state. Based on your contract, you really have no recourse
unless you're willing to give back your puppy for an exchange for
another one that may end up having the same problems with the one you
got.

I have two dogs; one is from a breeder and one is from a shelter. I
did *a lot* of research on the breed and on what to expect from a
breeder before I got my breeder dog, and I was able to find red flags
that would make me unwilling to deal with a breeder within 10 seconds
on your breeder's website. The biggest red flag is that I didn't see
any indication that the breeder ever says "no" to prospective dog
owners. Some people shouldn't have dogs, and any breeder that isn't
prepared to turn such people down is probably not committed to the
very best for their dogs in other ways, either.

It is possible that none of the dogs in your puppy's line, going back
a reasonable number of generations, have hip problems but that your
dog does. It happens, and you can't check little puppies' hips to be
sure. On the other hand, in my quick pass through the website I
didn't see any information about testing the dogs at that kennel
undergo -- but if you didn't make sure the dogs were tested, then I
can only assume that the risk of hip dysplasia wasn't that big a deal
to you back in June. It's quite likely that "Bessie" is the name by
which Lady Lacey is or was known at home. I can't find a reference to
that dog by either name at the website now, though the dogs that are
listed clearly as having both an official name and a more familiar
name. But, again, it doesn't seem as if you spent much time
researching your puppy's dam back in June.

Whenever you make a commitment to an animal, you take risks. There
are all kinds of things that can happen, and it is entirely possible
that you could have bought a puppy from a reputable breeder and ended
up with a dog with bad hips. If you weren't prepared to learn later
that your dog had a serious health condition, you probably shouldn't
have gotten a puppy. You can know so much more if you get an adult
either from a breeder who has done the testing or from a shelter with
the understanding that you will pay for the testing and will be
returning the dog if it has a health condition you can't cope with. I
absolutely understand wanting a puppy; both my dogs came to me as
puppies. But it's an even greater gamble to get a puppy than it is to
get an adult, and if you "lose" you can end up spending years living
with, loving, and caring for a dog that wasn't what you envisioned or
wanted.

But you're right. People shouldn't support breeders with lousy
practices, either those breeders that have lousy practices because
they are trying to make a profit breeding and selling puppies or those
breeders that have lousy practices because they want to experience
their own dog having puppies. That's not because it isn't fair to
"consumers" but because it isn't fair to the dogs. The people have
all the power here and the dogs have none, amd the people therefore
have responsibilities toward the dogs that they wouldn't have toward
toasters.

I hope the surgery addresses your puppy's problems, that he has a long
and happy life, and that he enriches your life as much as mine enrich
mine. That's an enormous amount. If you get even a tenth the
pleasure out of your dog as I do out of mine you will be lucky, lucky
people. But I hope that if you get another dog in the future you do
your homework -- both the scrutiny of the people from whom you
consider getting your dog and the scrutiny of the people with whom
your dog will be living.

"don't purchase your dog from an internet breeder without doing a
thorough investigation of the breeder!!!!"

Gee, didn't take you own advice, didn't you?

"stop the puppy mill business, hurting & breeding unhealthy puppies &
ripping off the innocent consumers"

YOU aren't innocent; the puppies are (were).

Stop supporting puppy mills. You are completely at fault here, along
with the puppy breeder, for not thoroughly researching the breeder.
Shame on you.

Never buy from a Pet type store unless you have done the research. My
youngest worked for a small pet store that flew in animals from all
over. All from mills. So she brought home a Jack Russell with elbow
dysplasia. Subsequently, he will not live out his full life as
eventually water will begin to collect in his lungs and he will
suffocate. This has already begun. He is one the the happiest dogs I
have ever known. And he knows his demise. We will likely have to put
him to sleep, to spare him the agony of drowning. But not for a long
while, I hope. And no, we cannot afford the surgery to correct this.
The other she brought home was a bag of skin, bones, and pus. And only
for a couple of months, she said. I nursed this Great Dane back to
health and she is now a recognizeable 135 lb Blue Merle Dane! Returned
to the pet shop due to flea and demodex mite allergies that rendered
her nearly dead. Three years later, she is my devoted companion. She
still has outbreaks and I can never afford to repair the damage done
to her from the swelling and infections. But I don't care and neither
does she. BTW, couple of months turned out to be a forever thing.
So always research before you buy!!

The breeder does have a 2-year guarantee against hip dysplasia, but
requires a DNA test at your cost to confirm it is the puppy they sold
you, before replacing the dog with another. In addition, you would
probably have to pay shipping costs at least one way.

I could understand that both the love you have for the dog and the
financial cost to get a new puppy would make you reluctant to go this
route...

On the "About Us" page, right at the top, is this quote:

"We created our “All About Goldens” page as a resourse for you in
answering some of the most commom questions about our dogs"

I'm sorry - I would not buy a puppy from people who are this careless
and/or illiterate. If the internet site is all you have to go by, you
need to examine it carefully as a clue as to whom you are dealing
with. That is my philosophy anyway.

I didn't look at the rest of the site.

This is very sound advice, but I admit I am a bit shocked you didn't
realize this before you bought. I remember browsing the internet, and
I did find breeders I would not deal with just from the looks of their
site. What I did was contact the local AKC group for my breed
(sheltie), and dealt with someone they recommended.

I know there are people who advertise on the internet who state that
they will not ship a puppy - you must come and pick it up in person.
I like that.

I bought a dog this year from someone (a breeder) I first met through
the internet, but was local enough I could drive, meet the person, and
see the living conditions firsthand. My memory is the breeder wanted
the dog inspected within the first week, and stood behind a guarantee
it would be healthy. I wouldn't want it any other way, and neither
did the breeder.

Hip dysplasia is a tough one. They don't normally guarantee against
that, AFAIK. You do have to trust the breeder for the history of the
parents if not old enough to be tested.