advice on contacting breader about concerns

[Livelovelife35]

We got our pup from a farm and the breader was highly recommended and we know a few folk that have got pups from the same farm and are doing well

We've been told to maybe contact the breader and let him know whats happening with the pup as when we got him we assumed he was healthy went to vet for his checkup and was told he had ear mites and paid for treatment for this then experienced a mild dose of diarrhoea which we then had to pay more money for 2 tins of special food and paste for a few days had also said to vet about our concerns about his poo as was always soft and we kept seeing blood (tiny spot) so he recommended that we handed in a sample so they can see what was going on again that wasn't cheep £80 (still awaiting results) had spoke to vets yesterday to see if they were in and said that Sunday night there was quite a bit of blood and he started the pup on antibiotics just now just to be on the safe side again more money.
The pup is 13 weeks and so far we've spent over £100 in vets in the 4 weeks we've had him
Plus were having a time of it the now with bitting etc
When we say to breader about all the concerns about health what will he do?
As we're thinking the pup probably hasn't been checked over by his vet as puppies were born in April

Where as all the other dogs we've seen that have been from the farm were obviously born before
We are determined to make this work for and hopefully he will snap out of the bitting stage and continue with constant training but we have had a family chat that if and its a big IF we may need to rehome him if things don't change

My big question is will the breader decide to take him back if were have concerns etc or will he just brush it aside and are we in the right to say to him about this

[TurtleStar]

Did you by any chance get your puppy from a farm in Wales?

I've recently got a puppy who is also now 13 weeks and I've had very similar problems. I thought she had ear mites but vet checked and her ears just needed a good clean.

She did however have diarrhoea and blood/mucas in her poo. I called the breeder about this a few days after it started and he recommended mixing half her kibble with cooked chicken as it could have been due to stress.

This hadn't eased up when she went for her vaccination (which has been delayed) and we recently had results back from her faeces sample which showed she had campylobacter. She's got antibiotics for it as is much better now.

I haven't told the breeder this as I think unless I plan to return her or have proof she had caught it before she came home (it didn't start until 4 days later) they probably won't do anything. Thankfully she did come with 4 weeks free insurance so I'm making a claim to get some of the money back.

[TurtleStar]

Also biting is normal for a young puppy and they should grow out of it but is likely to get worse one teething begins. With mine we've taught her the command 'off' whenever she chews something she shouldn't and rewards when she stops. We also keep toys on us so if she bites our hands when playing, we encourage her to bite the toy instead. If she starts biting for the sake of it, we just remove our hands or even ourselves from the situation until she has calmed down and realised it's not a game. This seems to be working

[Livelovelife35]

@TurtleStar no were in Scotland so was a farm local to us
Apparently his ear mites were quite bad and we are cleaning them with a little olive oil and cotton wool to remove the dirt
His poo hasn't been great since we got him and he's on the food we were told to give
As hes on antibiotics the now been told to give a light diet of chicken and rice just now
Plus oddly enough I've not been great myself probably just after we got him (to which I've had to my self send samples into doc )

His poo is a ongoing issue thats how we got a sample to check to see if its something hes had from birth or the farm or if its just his diet etc

[TurtleStar]

For a moment I thought you might have had one of my puppies brothers.

It can't hurt to call the breeder. Other puppies from the litter may have had the same problem so they may be aware that something is wrong. If nothing more, they may be able to give some advice to help the situation.

Do you have any kind of contract in place regarding returning the puppy? Mine states that she can be returned for any reason up until the vet has declared her healthy and vaccinated her.

[BlueSlice]

hopefully he will snap out of the bitting stage and continue with constant training but we have had a family chat that if and its a big IF we may need to rehome him if things don't change

Do you mean your rehome him due to the biting or you’d return him to the breeder due to his health issues?

Biting is absolutely normal for a puppy to do. It continues for quite a while.

How old is he?

[Floralnomad]

It’s certainly worth letting them know the issues you are having with the poo , although I’d be tempted to wait until the samples come back because it’s really not uncommon for pups to have loose stools when they first go home . With regards to the biting , puppies bite and that can go on for months and is perfectly normal behaviour . It does concern me that you think £100 and a couple of tins of food is a lot to have spent - dogs can be expensive and that is a drop in the ocean really . Did the dog come with the usual 4 weeks insurance and have you carried that on because you do risk getting into exclusions on a policy if you have not done so .

[Livelovelife35]

Vets called he has 2 gardia and campylobacter (which can passed to humans) now need to say to doc about second one just incase it shows up in my test
So antibiotics they gave yesterday was a waste now have to pay for 2 more sets

[BlueSlice]

Surely the insurance will cover the costs? Though I get that it’s absolutely terrible that a puppy has come to you poorly.

[BrexitBingoGenerator]

Poor little puppy, at least he is being treated for these ailments now.
I agree with others OP- biting is par for the course with a puppy and it will get worse before it gets better. Ours was horrendous at 5 months when all her big molars came in. But fine now. It can be a sign of overtiredness though, especially if she is also poorly- if you have a crate, try settling her into that if she gets nippy and she might fall asleep. Good luck with it all.

[icedaisy]

I'm not really sure if your question is about the health or the behaviour.

If you contact the breeder they should discuss your concerns with you and take the puppy back if that's what you are seeking to do.

Both campylobacter and giardia are common in puppies.

The puppy should have been seen by a vet when with the breeder. The puppy should also have been micro chipped and mine would have had first injection.

Did you adhere strictly to no walk guidance prior to injections? Is it possible these things were picked up after the puppy came to you? If not then the breeder should absolutely want to know. Puppies on farm environments are often getting more outdoor time than ones born in a residential setting. Therefore they pick up stuff there as well.

The behaviour comment concerns me the most. Biting is absolutely normal and part and part of a puppy. That's really not an issue just now to be concerned about. Puppy is teething and learning.

[fivedogstofeed]

To be perfectly honest when you first posted I strongly suspected that your pup had giardia.
If I remember correctly you did mention to the 'breeder' and he didn't seem surprised? And the pups weren't even wormed?

If he's prepared to sell pups in this state he obviously doesn't give a fuck. The only thing you can do is report him to the council, trading standards, HMRC and tell everyone you know what a scummy lowlife he is.

Ear mites, giardia and campylobacter are common in puppies that are kept in crap conditions, and in puppy farms. Any reputable breeder would be mortified if this happened one of their pups.

[fivedogstofeed]

Collie puppies are especially known for biting at this age, and if you're not prepared for it, it can be hard work.

[P0lka]

Honestly you sound under prepared for having a puppy, and it might be in the pups best interest to consider return/rehoming.

Puppies at that age bite, and dogs get sick - the fact you seem to begrudge the pup for this makes you sound at best overwhelmed, at worst unpleasant.

[Wolfiefan]

Puppies do bite.
You know quite a few people who all got pups from the same farm? Sounds like a puppy farmer or commercial breeder. You can tell them what’s happened but I doubt they will care in the slightest. I agree with five dogs.

[icedaisy]

Ah @fivedogstofeed didn't realise previous post.

Yes I also wondered which use of farm was being meant here.

[Livelovelife35]

We had no idea about the health issues he has we were not informed about ear mites when we got him so the chances of the rest of litter having the same is high plus with the gardia and campylobacter we never knew about that
I had my suspicions on gardia before we got the results back and had no clue on the other plus I'm not well the now either chance I could have picked up something from the pup waiting on my own results coming back
Question was to see if we are in the right to contact breader about this and see where I gos from there
We never got insurance from breader also we thought he was in perfect health after all he looks it
Now does 100 odd quid not sound a bit much for treatment from vets snd we've only had him coming on 4 weeks plus he's 13 weeks old

[BellaVita]

Surely if he didn't come with 4 weeks insurance, then you should have arranged your own?

£100 doesn't sound like a lot to be fair. I think you have got off lightly.

Please arrange insurance asap.

Pups do bite btw.

[Livelovelife35]

We have insurance just not from breader and its the fact we paid alot thinking he's healthy and he's not so obviously the breader hasn't had the litter vet checked then

[BiteyShark]

Now does 100 odd quid not sound a bit much for treatment from vets snd we've only had him coming on 4 weeks plus he's 13 weeks old

In a word no it's isn't a lot. A severe episode of D&V with treatment and vet admissions over a couple of weeks set us back around £2000. This is why it is important to have good insurance cover.

It's also the reason why you can't just go on how a puppy looks for health. You can get DNA tests through the adults for certain genetic conditions but a 'health check' from a vet won't tell you whether your puppy is necessarily healthy, just at that moment in time they were.

[CodenameVillanelle]

Did you ask for evidence that the puppies had been health checked by a vet?
To be honest it sounds like you've bought a puppy from a puppy farm and for that you should be ashamed. You've bought a puppy in poor health from someone who is probably mistreating their bitches by over breeding and doesn't give a shit about the animals' welfare. This is a risk people take when they buy from outfits like this. Now suck it up and pay to get the puppy healthy.

[Wolfiefan]

A decent breeder wouldn’t knowingly sell you a sick pup. They generally send off new pups with a couple of weeks of insurance.
And no £100 is very little. My older girl had an ear infection. One bill was over £800.
Sound like this is a puppy farmer. You can tell them but I doubt they will care. I also doubt they will do the responsible thing and warn other new puppy owners who may face issues. Because if they were responsible they wouldn’t be churning out sick pups and sending them off uninsured.
Also be aware that having had a dog with these issues you may find insurance won’t cover anything even vaguely related or similar in future.

[CodenameVillanelle]

I spent £70 recently on my cat - antibiotics and anti inflammatories because he had an infection from a fight with another cat. He cost me £50 last year when he stopped eating and needed a stomach settling medication.
Animals are expensive and the 'small' expenses that aren't worth claiming on insurance or fall below the excess can mount up hugely. You should have been prepared for this.

[justasking111]

As soon as I saw your post op I thought giardia. Now you will have to be so careful if he poops outside that spot is contaminated so try and train on concrete then disinfect that bug loves to live in soil. It does happen sometimes. Biting is normal. Follow all the advice for giardia puppies diet etc.

[frostedviolets]

I’m more concerned that you don’t seem to be aware that puppies bite...
Did you not do any research at all?!

There’s not a puppy in all the land that doesn’t bite!
It’s a very normal phase, you need to teach the pup bite inhibition.

[BiteyShark]

Animals are expensive and the 'small' expenses that aren't worth claiming on insurance or fall below the excess can mount up hugely. You should have been prepared for this.

That's reminded me. For an emergency out of hours vet appointment the starting cost was £150 without treatment. £100 in vet terms is very little.