Good morning:

I'm hoping to pick your collective brains for advice. We purchased a 9 week old puppy from a breeder in Texas the week before Thanksgiving. We received the puppy on Thanksgiving weekend, shipped from Texas to Massachusetts. Approximately two days after we received the puppy, the breeder's wife emailed us to tell us that her husband actually stepped on the puppy a couple of weeks before and he wouldn't come or eat for about 3 days. She did not mention which body part was stepped on. They said he was fine after 3 days and they saw no problems with him. We didn't see any problems with him also so we didn't think it was a big problem. He's a soft dog so we thought maybe he was just shooken up.

This past week, he started limping in his back left leg after regular puppy play chasing the jolly ball around in his playpen. We took him to the vet, they verified nothing was broken and prescribed crate rest and ascriptin. We took him back to the vet after 3 days because he's still limping. I asked for X-Rays of his leg and hip to be taken to check for any damage. The hip x-rays show that there might be some healed damage in his back left hip and they're sending out to another orthopedic specialist for a 2nd opinion.

I've emailed the breeder to find out where he was stepped on and received a reply back that it was the left rear leg. I stated in my email that he was limping but didn't mention which leg, etc. and that since it's been over a month since we received the puppy, he doesn't think the two are connected. We did receive a 1 year written guarantee with this puppy. We sense he's going to fight having to honor his guarantee.

Any one have a previous expereince like this or any advice?

Steve,
unfortunely my opinion is that I would take the puppy back.A puppy can heal pretty quick from certain injuries but when it comes to a hip , it's a different story.my parents' Dobie they had , was limping for weeks when we rescued her from the desert, the vet assumed she had been stepped on (somehowsomewhere) but in the Xray she showed a tiny fracture that was on her hip bone and long story short, she never walked normal and ended up later on having lots of artheritis in her hip .I don't know that your pup has the same exact thing but from what I understood then is that had she been stepped on her leg area instead of hip she would have made a better recovery.She was 9 years old or so when she passed (this was moons ago) but she did walk kinda weird all her life.
I hope for you it's not as severe, if it was my puppy I would return him, I believe when you buy a puppy it should be healthy and free from any kind of injuries.
I wish you luck,hope everything turns out right for you all..
http://s141.photobucket.com/albums/r77/cadogancna/

This is heartbreaking, and I sincerely hope things work out for you. My opinion is to definitely take him back. Puppies are a crapshoot no matter how you slice it, so it's only sensible to want to start of with the VERY least a clean slate.

My family got a puppy once that had a severe hernia that would require thousands of dollars of surgery to fix (all on top of the $1000 price of the puppy). After lots of deliberation, we decided to request just that the breeder compensate us for HALF of the surgery (we agreed we would be willing to front the other half). But nope, she was going to do no such thing. So the cheque was cancelled and the puppy was, heartbreakingly, sent right back to her doorstep. It was the only way.

So I understand what you're feeling right now, but as hard as it is, believe me, giving up the puppy now (and fighting for your REFUND, since you do NOT want another puppy from the breeder if they fight their guarantee) it won't be as hard as dealing with this for the rest of the dog's life potentially. If the breeder is co-operative and helpful, then I'd be willing to consider a replacement pup. But insist on a refund otherwise.

Best of luck!

Sounds like you are in a tough spot. I hope the breeder will
do the right thing. My bitch has produces a few litters over the years and I only give a verbal guaruntee. I have only had 1 complaint and it was from the last litter. I guy called and said the pup did not eat since he picked it up and passed away.
I am going to give him a replacement pup from the next litter.
The problem is you just do not know what people do with the pup once they leave so it is a tough call. In this case I believe the guy but if I was suspicious it may be a different story.
BUT they admittted stepping on the dog and in that case you should have the benifit of doubt from them. HOPEfully.

Steve

I understand where you're coming from Steve and that's why we've asked for a second opinion on the x-rays to determine if this is a completely healed hip injury or more recent. I've almost spent the same amount of money on xrays and vet visits as I have on the dog, so I'm not trying to pull one over on the guy. Frankly, we're very upset for the breeder for not telling us about stepping on the dog after we had already paid for the dog and before he shipped him to us.

My first reading of your post made me think "Well, at least the breeder admitted the injury". My second reading of your post had me saying "the breeder is covering her a@@". Certainly sounds like they knew or strongly suspected this was more than a mere soft tissue injury...X-rays don't lie...and knew this might come back to haunt them.

Fact is, they told you after you had received the puppy and after you had 2 days to fall in love with it. They were dishonest and you can't do business with dishonest people. They are probably betting that you, like most people, can't bring yourself to return a puppy (I was unable to).

I'm so sorry you have to go through this

This is horrible. It's incredibly sad because what happens to the pup when you ship it back? The breeders must have known you'd be in love with him. I'm angry at these guys...it's rotten, really rotten.

Sometimes a breeder will send you a new dog and allow you to keep the old one. What are you hoping the breeder will do?

 Quote: Steve Behnam

I understand where you're coming from Steve and that's why we've asked for a second opinion on the x-rays to determine if this is a completely healed hip injury or more recent. I've almost spent the same amount of money on xrays and vet visits as I have on the dog, so I'm not trying to pull one over on the guy. Frankly, we're very upset for the breeder for not telling us about stepping on the dog after we had already paid for the dog and before he shipped him to us.

An honest breeder would have told you before payment and made some kind of arrangement or held on to the pup for awhile to see the outcome.
To put someone in that situation is unexceptable. Why would they even tell you after the fact?? I would guess it was a slip of the tongue and they had no intention of letting you know.
Sounds like no matter what you will not have a good outcome with vet bills and all but I hope you get a fair shake with the next one.

Steve

What's ironic is that he didn't tell us, his wife emailed us to tell us that the puppy was stepped on.

My wife and I feel terrible about this because we're very attached to this puppy. But we're both realistic about this and trying to think with our minds and not our hearts. We're not going to pay thousands of dollars in corrective surgery, with no guarantees that anything will be permanently fixed. We'll most likely ask for a replacement puppy and have to start this whole training/adjustment process all over again. Very difficult situation and one we're not happy about.

I will say that I'm going to ask for daily/weekly updates from any breeder we deal with from now on in regards to eating/sleeping/playing/injuries, etc until it is shipped to us.

I really feel for you and your wife. For the breeder to let a puppy go like that, knowing full well that people get attached to their pups and reluctant to give them back, is so wrong. What will happen to this little pup if they take him back, I wonder. So unfair, to the pup and to you. What a emotionally difficult position he put you in.

Am also wondering what other breeders, perhaps on this forum, would have handled a situation like that (pup injured in that manner before leaving breeder's premises). Would the breeder keep the pup, put the pup down, or give the pup away to someone willing to take it?