Hey everyone,

Some of you may remember that I posted a couple of weeks ago about getting a pup. Well she is here and we love her to bits!

However...

We took her to the vets yesterday for her checkup and first vaccs and upon inspection it has transpired that her lower canines are misaligned so they are digging into the gum above rather than wrapping around the outside. This means, according to the experts (I go to the local vet school so high caliber of staff I hope!), that her adult teeth will follow the same route, causing her pain and requiring surgery (it will also stunt the growth of the lower jaw due to the teeth locking in). We were recommended by the vet to be referred to an animal orthodontist as they have lots of experience in the procedure (more complicated than just pulling the teeth out) and after a lot of thought we have decided to go ahead with this. Since this is a condition from birth no insurance company will cover it so this will be out of our own pockets to the tune of £400.

What I was hoping for was to get your opinions on where we stand with this? Ultimately we have been sold a "faulty" puppy that is not truly fit and healthy. Now the breeders are very reputable and have been breeding for decades, win countless awards etc and we do not want to irritate them as we respect them. However, having called them after the initial consultation with the vets and explained what we were told, we were told it was rubbish and that the breed has narrower lower jaws and that they have never had a dog with any problems after puppyhood. Its worth noting that this litter is the first to be bred from a new stud they have. The condition is a genetic condition, but a recessive gene so only 1 in 4 pups in the litter would get it.

Where do we stand? What do we do?!

I hope that was all clear enough. We're really upset about this having paid a high price for her being a rare breed.

All help welcome

Congratulations on your new arrival, any chance of photos? What breed is she?
I have no idea of what you can do, sorry, but I bet you'll get plenty of good advice from others on here!

i wouldnt have much respect for this breeder i am afraid...both the sire (stud) and dam (mother) should firstly have been health screened before the breeding took place and as this is the first time the stud has been used and the vets have said and i agree that the condition is a genetic defect then it is pretty obvious the stud is at fault... as a reputable breeder they should atleast offer to pay half the expenses of the orthodontic procedures! i would expect this if it were me who had purchased a pup from them,,, also the kennel club need to be informed of the breeder and the defect as this is bad practice and bad breeding! .... this isnt a healthy pup im afraid and usualy this type of defect indicates inbreeding in other words incest mother to son breedings and father to daughter breedings also brother sister breedings can have the same issues... i would advise u to contact the breeder again and demand some type of assistance with the expense of treatment or part-refund for the cost of the pup and report them to the kennel club... this pup will suffer as a result of there irresponsible breeding and this isnt fair ...

Was the puppy vet checked with the breeders vets before you brought her home? If so, did you see proof of this? Is she had been vet checked then surely the vet would have seen this problem and told the breeder, who should have informed you.

Thanks for this. However, in support of the breeder the genetic condition is not caused by inbreeding and there is no way of knowing if the dam or sire have the gene. Both had perfect teeth when we saw them so I do not think the breeder has been irresponsible - we have seen the family trees of both dogs and they come from other sides of the world! Very unfortunate that they both carry the recessive gene that has become apparent in our little one.

This is why we are in such a predicament!

I know this may not be what you want to do but weren't you told by the breeder that you could take pup to the vet for an initial check-up (to satisify yourself about its health), then if there was any issue you could return the pup? This options was given to me.

If you've decided to keep her no matter what, then I don't think (though im not 100% sure) that you have any comeback ie i doubt they will pay for or re-imburse you any vet bills, for treatment in the future.

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Did you have any written contract with the breeder?

Usually if the puppy has a birth defect/condition thats found during the puppy check at the vets then the breeder should take the puppy back into their possession, if thats what you want.

But, they usually won't help pay for any treatment you decide to go ahead with if you're choosing to keep the puppy despite the defect.

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Thanks for all the replies so far. We will be keeping her regardless of her faults, and certainly had this been picked up two weeks down the line the insurance would have kicked in and taken care of it. What we are concerned about is the fact that we have paid full price for slightly damaged goods. She is part of the family already and we wouldn't want to change that, I guess we feel a bit hard done by. I havent approached the breeder regarding the finances and will wait until I have the official report from the orthodontist before contacting them again and then I guess the ball is in their court. I do genuinely believe that they are good and honest people that care the world about their dogs, but I also hope that they listen/read the report and perhaps not breed the pair again.

I guess we just need to clarify what our rights are! Very confusing area.

Either they are great breeders who did all they could to ensure healthy puppies ... or they were lax in not making sure that this gene was present in both the sire and dam

Either way their attitude towards what the vets have said isnt very good

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hi there just a suggestion, communicate if poss to the breeder via email, you should do this to have written proof of everything they say ie. if they agree to having it fixed and paying for it you have the evidence.

alfie had a hernia when we took him to the vets after getting him, i didnt even know about them even though i had dogs for 25 years as never had one with one and the vet told me. i was so annoyed as the breeder was reputable, bred the bob winner at crufts and was highly recommended by others too. she told me he was vet checked, and healthy in every way throughout our plans to have him and when we go him.
i couldnt phone her as i was annoyed and instead emailed. she agreed to pay for the repair op.

when i called about legal rights they told me to communicate this way as it was proof, i had just done it as i couldnt bare to speak to her as i was so upset! as you have paid it is the same as goods and you can demand either replacement, repair or refund, this are your rights as a consumer.

hoped this helped.

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