I got a puppy but need advice

[WaitingForFrostyMornings]

I've had setters so not a novice owner, my beloved boy passed away in March and I had a crazy idea to get a puppy.

After weeks of researching breeds and breeders etc I found one, chatted on the phone and felt they were responsible breeders and arranged to visit their puppies today.

When we got there they had sold every puppy (last night they had 6 and I turned up at 10am). No phone call or anything. They said their friend down the road also had a litter so as I had driven 50 miles I said I may as well have a look.

I made the mistake of letting my children see the puppies and I have left with a little boy (wanted a girl) who was filthy, clearly full of worms, not been deflead/wormed, no microchip, no paperwork, no vaccinations and no food. The seller couldn't remember when he was born or what food he has been eating They kept the puppies in a barn with very little socialisation.

I've booked him into the vets Wednesday for a full medical and I've started him on james well beloved food as the vet suggested this was fairly delicate on his stomach.

Can anyone advise me as to any potential problems I may need to look out for with him in the meantime? I felt sorry for him living there which isn't the way I normally make decisions The breeder said if I didn't take him she would have to think of another way to get rid of the pups.

[ExitPursuedByABear]

No idea but that sounds horrendous and the breeder should be reported. Whole thing sounds like a scam.

Hopefuly someone more knowledgeagble will come along with proper advice.

[Queenbean]

Yes the whole thing sounds like a scam, how terrible

Can you report these people?

[DragonsCanHop]

Oh no, that does sound like a scam

Do you know a rough age for him?

[WaitingForFrostyMornings]

I've been told he is 9 weeks but the other 'breeder' told me they were 12 weeks. I'm guessing 10.5?

He's very happy and is a lovely little boy he's smelly and dirty with a very podgy tummy.

I know I've been stupid and should have walked away but I didn't want to leave him there. If I had enough money on me I would have purchased the others too.

His lunch has passed through and it's very runny and smelly, the vet said that may happen. I'm going to try some of the food recommended on another thread once he is sorted.

As I don't have papers for him I am guessing he is not kc reg. I will check with the kennel club and local breed clubs too just to put the word around.

He will be well loved and fussed over anyway, I just feel stupid about it all really

[Floralnomad]

You've been well and truly done by a puppy farm ,congratulations on your aquisition and I hope it works out well . Not knowing the background of a pup is not always a massive problem - I have a dog that we got from Battersea who was an abandoned pup and a friend has a labradoodle that she got in eerily similar circumstances to yourself and he's lovely and very well adjusted and healthy after the initial problems .

[bamalam]

Don't feel stupid. I think you've done a wonderful thing.

Because he's so young, he'll likely recover just fine. Your vet sounds right on the money with the advice given. It'll be a tough few weeks, but he'll be right as rain with you, I'm sure!

Please call the RSPCA or similar and report both breeders. The one you purchased from is definitely in need of a look over, and I say the first should be too just in case it's part of a wider scam there.
Your boy hasn't been looked after, and the RSPCA might be able to ensure future puppies aren't born into the same situation.

Good luck - and enjoy it! He'll be lovely I'm sure, and I'm SUPER jealous you have a new puppy!

[tabulahrasa]

I'd go overboard on the socialisation a bit as it won't have been done and he could be fast approaching the end of the best period for it.

Carry him as many places as you can over the next few weeks and have as many visitors as you can.

[theaveragebear1983]

No real advice, but definitely get him insured on a lifelong policy as soon as you possibly can. Good luck!

[Backforthis]

You've just bought from a puppy farm.

Agree with above on getting the poor creature insured ASAP and reporting both 'breeders.'

[SmartAlecMetalGit]

Report the one you bought the puppy from to HMRC as well (information about how here), chances are they not paying tax on their profits and getting hit in their pockets is more likely to have an effect than anything else. It also might be worth reporting them to their local council, I'm not sure which department it should be. If this isn't a one off (and it does sound like a well practised scam) then they may be breeding more than the minimum number of litters requiring them to be local authority registered.

Like tabulahrasa I'd be very concerned with socialisation, especially as you don't know how old he is. Get him out and about everywhere you can (carried of course) as soon as you can.

Did you see the mother? If there was no sign of her then there's the possibility the pups were taken away from her too soon. This can make them more like to have separation issues, be anxious or fearful and can result in poor bite inhibition.

What breed is he? It's worth researching any heritable conditions that can affect the breed, his parents won't be health tested. Hopefully he'll be fine but it'd be an idea to know what to keep an eye out for just in case.

[Cheerfulmarybrown]

I can totally understand why you have bought the puppy but in doing so you are fueling the puppy farmers. They know that most people can not leave the puppies in that situation and will just breed more and more to meet the demand of innocent people.

I am not criticizing but just making sure that other people do not fall for the same trap. Walk away and report.

I would try to get to the vet before Wednesday. As you say large tummy could indicate worms and often fleas go hand in hand. You don't really want to get your house infested by leaving it until Wednesday. Are you able to take the puppies temperature I would want to rule out any infections asap.

I would not be rushing out and socialising in the next few days, one in case the puppy is infectious and also just give the puppy time to get used to a major change. A few days will make no difference in terms of overall socialisation. Generally puppy farmed puppies have not had the correct interaction with other puppies or their mother in the first few weeks of life so general household noises can be traumatic for them. I would be inclined to keep him in a small area of the house to start with.

Be prepared for physical and behavioural issues to arise as time goes on.

[WeAllHaveWings]

You have let you heart rule your head and the consequences for you will be a tough few weeks/months maybe even years. But its our hearts that make us human and you've done a kind thing for this one pup. For the sakes of the others please report.

Yes, yes to as to building up carefully as much socialisation as you can (you will need to carry him until better and vaccinated) and getting good pet insurance asap.

[imabusybee]

What breed is the dog? Did you at least see mum and / or dad? Any health tests etc? If not - what were you thinking?! Giving money to a puppy farmer is just perpetuating the problem :(

Hope pup is ok and well but in this sort of situation (if you didn't get the right info about health testing) it is just wait and see what happens.

[Scuttlebutter]

You have just created a vacancy for the next lot of pups from this bastard criminal. You have not done any puppies any favours by doing this. All you have done is perpetuated and encouraged the trade.

I find it so especially depressing that the decision to buy a pup is nearly always taken finally by the mother of a family yet the way that puppy farm bitches are treated is beyond horrible. This pup's mum is probably being kept in a dark, miserable shed with no bedding. When she has reached the end of her breeding life she will be got rid of. Finally. The breeder will have no use for a bitch of no economic use.

You may be lucky and be able to turn the socialisation and health issues around, but you may also find that the horrendous and stressful pregnancy, birth and early weeks have left their mark on this poor soul.

Please, report both breeders to HMRC. I won't suggest bothering with the Council as some of the worst puppy farmers I've ever seen have been fully licensed and approved by the local Council. The RSPCA won't act as they have an agreement with local authorities that puppy farms are licensed so the welfare conditions are looked after by the Councils, not by them.

[WaitingForFrostyMornings]

Yes I saw mum who was happily wagging her tail to greet us. Dad was out working with a colleague. They are spaniels and they claimed they had been tested for all the correct health conditions etc

The original 'breeder' I saw spoke to me 3 times over the phone and in addition emailed asking me dozens of questions about my suitability as an owner. She also asked for a reference from my vet who has confirmed she did contact them.

The friend asked similar questions when I arrived and the original lady repeatedly expressed my suitability as an owner to her friend. I was supposed to be viewing the original puppies advertised as 7 weeks old with a view to choosing one and leaving a deposit and collecting at a later date. I didn't expect to take one home today and I guess I got taken in by the first breeder. She seemed completely genuine. Her advert was at a vets which reassured me too.

I followed the same process as with my previous dogs. I guess I trusted them more than I should have.

I've spoken to the vets that advertised them and they have a visit booked in for mum at the weekend so will look into it when they go. They said they can report them to the right people if they are irresponsible breeders but he believes they're just inexperienced with this being their first litter (that he knows of anyway)

[imabusybee]

Waiting did they show you any certificates relating to health tests? For pup's sake I hope the vet is right that they are just inexperienced but the worms raises a red flag to me - even the most novice first time breeder can Google and find out about worming pups. I'm concerned why the vet didn't advise the breeder on this too as he/she should have seen the pups at some point prior to rehoming. Just sounds a bit messy overall & not ideal but fingers crossed it's all going to be ok for pup

[SmartAlecMetalGit]

Totally agree that council licensing is a complete joke as far as the welfare of the dogs goes but it's worth doing anything that will hit breeders like these in their pockets.

[BertieBotts]

There should be some kind of national scheme run by a dog charity. If you turn up to buy a puppy and find it's a puppy farm, you can report them, after investigation to stop unscrupulous people trying to wrangle a discount, if they are found to be operating cruelly the puppies are removed and you can then adopt one directly from that litter through the charity. You could even have the option to donate the money you were planning to pay to the charity as well. Because I think you're right - if you see a cute puppy in horrible conditions, most animal lovers would be really hard pressed to just walk away, report and leave the animals in that condition. It goes against all instinct, which is what they want, but the charities ought to be able to work with that too.

[WaitingForFrostyMornings]

Update on this.

Hmrc said the details I gave them (name and address) do not match with their system. They asked me if I was sure of the details because a person of that name is not known to them at the address and the phone number I had relates to another person and not to who I said it was.

Trading standards referred me to the kennel club

Kennel club referred me to the council

RSPCA said they couldn't help unless I wanted to surrender the puppy (I don't) and they cant really be bothered may drop by after speaking to the vet with the advert.

I like the idea of a separate organisation to report these things to. It's ridiculous that no one seems to be bothered.

[landrover]

Hope you didn't pay much!