Dog Breeders

Question: Professional dog breeders: tell me about the health guarantees?

(Posted by: on 2010-02-28 14:02:25)

Now, i have noticed differences on health guarantees with dog breeders... puppies for sale, i have seen a 72 hour health guarantee, a 1 year health guarantee, and a life time health guarantee.....can someone tell me about this? if the health guarantees on your pups that you're selling is short (like the 72 hour) does that make you look like a bad breeder? and how about the "lifetime health guarantee "...what if someone buys the perfectly healthy pup, then lets say the pup somehow gets around something that has a disease or serious illness...if the pup gets sick or gets cancer or any health problems, will you get sued? tell me how this works. thanks

Posted by: Julie D. on 2010-02-28, 14:21:37

Yes, a 72 hour guarantee is almost as bad as none. Say a puppy has contracted Parvo at the breeders home, but the symptoms don't show up for 10 days. Well, the buyer of that pup is SOL. When it comes to lifetime guarantees, that would guarantee that dog would be free of any inherited issues, for it's lifetime, that run in the breed, such as Hip Dysplasia, VwD, etc., etc. No breeder can guarantee that any given dog will ever come down with Parvo, or the like, as it is up to the owner to have the dog vaccinated. No breeder can guarantee everything, becuase many issues are caused by the owner, not the breeder. Many breeders give a 2 year guarantee, because that is the age that a dog can be certified for issues such as Hip and Elbow Dysplasia. When a breeder doesn't have any contract at all, they are more than likely a BYB who never did any genetic health testings and don't care about the welfare of what they produced.....they only care about the money and don't give a rat's butt if the puppy dies 2 days after leaving their home.

Posted by: Love a Poodle not a Cavoodle on 2010-02-28, 14:08:35

I don't offer a "Lifetime Guarantee " that makes my dogs sound like second hand Televisions. I DO however provide copies all all health tests performed on the parents and the puppies.

Posted by: joanplus4dogs on 2010-02-28, 14:09:17

Lifetime ensures puppy from getting genetic/ hereditary issues not from catching diseases & they have been properly vaccinated. The issues are spelled out in detail by breeder which means the parents were tested for hereditary issues with their breed so breeder can be more certain that the pups are in good health. Only reputable breeders will give you a lifetime guarantees. The rest are crappy breeders. Many genetic issues won't shown up past 2yr so a 1yr is as worthless as 72 hr. The contract states what happens if pup does have an issue with a reputable breeder. Add: For the "breeders " who supposedly tested their dogs but no guarantee b/ c it makes dogs sound like an item - you are in fact selling something. If you really health tested & knew & had faith in your breeding, it shouldn't be a problem for you to provide a basic guarantee against this issues. This holds for any breeder - if you cannot guarantee the health & quality of your puppies then you shouldn't be breeding & no one with any intelligence would not buy from such a breeder.

Posted by: Robyn S on 2010-02-28, 14:10:35

Health Guaranties in general make you look like a bad breeder. A good breeder will understand that you cannot guarantee absolute health. They understand that dogs get diseases and disorders, and therefore do the proper genetic testing to attempt to breed these out, but in the end know that a guarantee cannot be given.

Posted by: CanineTruth on 2010-02-28, 14:13:30

General health guarantee (the one for 24-72 hours) is for general health: ear infections, worms, injury, etc. You basically have that much time to bring the pup to the vet to be cleared of basic medical issues. If there are issues, you call the breeder with the vet report and figure out if you want refund, replacement, or partial payment (depends on the breeder.) Genetic guarantees SHOULD be for life - good breeders would willingly take back their animals if they're tested or diagnosed with a genetic defect (or at any point in the animals life regardless of reason) and most will refund or replace the animal. A four year MINIMUM guarantee is sound so long as you let potential owners know that the dogs can only be tested for diseases at two years of age and if there are no symptoms and no testing until after that four year mark, they're on their own. Generally, a breeder with a good guarantee will not get sued. They would work with the owner of the affected dog to figure out what should be done - usually they offer replacement, occasionally they're offer to pay for some of the treatment. Good breeders also genetic test breeding dogs to prevent the spread of genetic disease - if a breeder knowingly breeds animals with genetic conditions and sells the pups as "healthy " or claims to not have done the testing or that the testing was "okay "... then they can be sued if it can be proven. Robyn - You have the idea wrong, i think. A "guarantee " basically means that IF the animal inherits a genetic condition or IF the pup is ill in that certain timeline then the owner is GUARANTEED to get some sort of compensation. It does not guarantee the dog will be totally healthy it's whole life.

Posted by: Stacey on 2010-02-28, 14:14:26

No one can ensure perfect 100% health for any pet no matter how meticulous the pedigree is. I dont do health garantee's but all my pets are hip/ elbow scored and eye tested with low scores of 0,0 and clear for their eyes.

Posted by: Lizzie on 2010-02-28, 14:19:52

You have to be able to read and understand all of the points of any pet health guaranty. Most of them aren't worth much. A lot of hereditary and other diseases don't show up until the dog is at least two years old. This includes hip dysplasia and hereditary eye disease that causes total blindness, among other things that a GOOD breeder would screen all of her/ his breeding stock for and never breed a dog that had any such problems. Most health guaranties are good for replacement only. If you bought a dog that became terribly ill and died within one year, would you want another pup from that same breeder? I wouldn't! No way!!! Many illnesses have an incubation period of several days to a couple of weeks so the puppy that seemed fine when you got her could still die of Parvo virus it caught at the breeder's home, breeding cages or whatever. Whatever breed you are interested in, please contact the national breed club online and find a good breeder through the club. You can save yourself a load of heartbreak and a lot of vet bills. Just type in, for example, "Collie Club of America " hit Search and find the listing that is connected to the AKC.

Posted by: 4Her4Life on 2010-02-28, 14:25:24

Generally, the dog is guaranteed to be free of communicable diseases (rabies, distemper, parvo, etc) for a short period of time - like 72 hours or seven days - and has a lifetime guarantee on hereditary disorders like hip and elbow displaysia, progressive retinal atrophy, or epilepsy. The guarantee may specify that the breeder will pay vet bills up to the purchase price of the dog, take the dog back for a full refund, etc. Many breeders do this so that owners will contact them if their dog develops a hereditary disorder - they want to know that it's in their lines! A 1 yr guarantee is fairly worthless, no better than a 7-day because of the length of time it takes for hereditary diseases to show up. You can't test for most until the dog is 2, and most diseases won't manifest until the dog is 3-7 years old (like joint problems, blindness, etc).

Posted by: Rayven ~ Life's a B on 2010-02-28, 14:27:47

Robyn ALL reputable breeders provide a health guarantee. Its not just "guaranteeing " that nothing will happen but that IF something does happen the breeder will provide some compensation whether it be a refund of the purchase price or a replacement animal of similar quality. To the op a reputable breeder will provide two guarantees. The first involves the time frame in which the pups must go for the first vet visit, normally within 72 hours and how long the pup may possibly be covered against diseases like parvo. this ensures that the owner has received a healthy pup, parasite free , lack of congenital defects etc. The second is the genetic health guarantee which from a reputable breeder is usually a minimum of two years. they will outline what that guarantee covers, what the compensation is and how to go about claiming it, proof of vet diagnosis etc Some guarantees are good and some aren't worth the ink and paper they re on because they protect the seller(bybs, petshops, puppymills) and screw the owner.

Posted by: Carol on 2010-02-28, 15:42:46

I would not give a lifetime at all. I have them take their puppy into the vet within 72 hrs to honor the guarantee and then they have a year for their heart, kidneys and liver. You will not find a puppy that is under $700 with a health guarantee at all. If the puppy does come up with something you have to either give their money back or if you have any litter or one coming soon you give them another puppy.

Posted by: Dutch on 2010-02-28, 17:11:32

No guarantee on puppies...only on adults. However....we've always replaced one that had major issues with no fault of the owner. To guarantee a puppy is nothing more than a "sales " technique.