Di I hope you read this, you are obviously very experienced in all things labrador!
After reading this post I now have a few concerns. We bought Guinness in September last year. He was then 12 months old. We originally had no intention of buying a pedigree. I used to have a huge fear of dogs, but after much harrasments from my partner, i agreed on getting on a dog, on the condition that we only get a labrador. We had a hunt around for a rescue dog, but found our local lab rescue lady was a little disorganised!! and kept promising us dogs, then saying they had already been rehomed!
anyway.... we ended up purchasing Guinness from a family who could no longer cope with him. He is very lively, but if exercised enough is actually very placid and gentle! We all felt we had found the perfect dog!
we love him dearly, but now i am concerned that we were not given any health check documents. I have his pedigree sheet here with the breeders details on. Should I contact her? we would never give him up, so I'm not sure if there would be any benefit knowing he may get problems later, or prehaps we could do something to help prevent any problems. Its such a mine field.
thanks Di if you do read this !!
Laura
" we love him dearly, but now i am concerned that we were not given any health check documents. I have his pedigree sheet here with the breeders details on. Should I contact her? we would never give him up, so I'm not sure if there would be any benefit knowing he may get problems later, or prehaps we could do something to help prevent any problems. Its such a mine field. "
Hi Laura! I'm reading call it egotistical behaviour - grin but I watch the posts I write on quite closely incase anyone comes back and asks a question or something - exactly as you did!
Ok, its very common that during a later purchase, sometimes in haste on the part of the emotional side of the previous owners and so on, to not get all the documents.
Now lets look at it two ways. Certainly you have every single right to call the breeder and ask if the parents were hip scored and eye tested. You might be very pleasantly suprised and she is very forthcoming and helpful and sends you copies (which if she says they are, then you need to see or else its as bad as not knowing if you take it just on her 'say so' - unfortunately breeders have been known to lie...
However, my first question would be, if the breeder was a nice, helpful forthcoming person, why would the original owners feel the need to sell the dog and not return it to its breeder when they were in their hour of need? No critism of any party at all, just practical that if she had assured them at the time of purchase to come back to her with any problems you wouldn't have the dog now, she would....
BUT that said, she MIGHT have told them that and they ignored it so a call is definately worth a try (after a nerve settling glass of wine or two.... - grin)
Now the other way you can go about this is, on his pedigree if you have his registered (posh) name, then you can call the kennel club, speak to the registrations department and just simply quote his parents names to them from the pedigree and ask their hip score and last date of eye certificate. They will tell you immediately. No secrecy there.
If he is NOT kennel club registered then its fairly simple, his parents will not have been hip scored and eye tested anyway.
Come back to me, or the thread or forum after you have done one of the above and know where you stand and we can talk further on courses of action for forstalling any problems or just general practical advice, but tlets find out the facts first and take it from there.
thank you for writing, its so flattering to know people actually READ what one writes
Di
____________ '...and maybe someday we will meet, and maybe talk and not just speak..."
Di
Hi, Is your website up and running?, if so can I have a look?. Was a really interesting read and I am alot clearer about how the health checks are scored. Thanks
Thank you for replying Di! i have a kennel club sheet here with 5 generations on for Guinness, so this means he is registered? I have just gone through all of his papers and found he is registered! Still in the breeders name, but i can transfer him to us for £10. His previous owner must not have done this. We had lots of papers with him, mostly his vaccine record and pet insurance documents.
His last family loved him dearly, hence his beautful temprement (spelling?!) but as the woman started working 12 hours shifts, Guinness was left alone all day. so she very bravely looked for a new family for him. Would a breeder take back a dog at 12 months? Glad she didnt! She was friends with the breeder, but i dont know if they discussed this!
looking at the certificate, it has kc/bva schemes DNA tests but nothing is written here, does that mean tests were not carried out??
Thanks for letting me know about calling the kennel club, that sounds really easy and painless!
Laura
I have read your info post above and it is very informative for new puppy buyers, BUT, I'm a little surprised that you haven't mentioned the Optigen DNA test for GPRA, in the Eye Certificate section, I know it isn't essential, but I think it is becoming an important issue not to be over looked, especially as you realise that there are many Labradors coming back as carriers of GPRA. Is it worth inserting some info on this too?
I have written in very many places regarding the Optigen test, indeed my website carries a banner on the front page stating to call me for Optigen testing details as one of the kennels using the test as far back as early 2004. I am a huge advocate of the Optigen test. BUT We have to be realistic. This was a general guide for puppy buyers. Optigen testing falls under an ideal, but as rare as hens teeth.
As one with 10 dogs tested and running 20/20 clinics shortly myself can assure you I haven't in any way 'overlooked it'. I have written many times on the forum regarding it in detail and briefly.
However MOST forum members are buying pet puppies from non competition breeders. No breeders or very very very few breeders in this catagory Optigen test...... yet..... its enough to ask them to hipscore
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call it egotistical behaviour - grin but I watch the posts I write on quite closely incase anyone comes back and asks a question or something - exactly as you did!
