No Health Testing

[christiancharacter]

Hi All,

This may be an obvious answer but figured I’d ask anyway.

My wife and I met a Malamute breeder yesterday. Super nice lady, her dogs have wonderful temperaments and the puppies are adorable.

She was very transparent that she recently inherited this whole operation from an older woman who had passed away and had been her mentor but she was also a very stubborn woman who was a retired “geneticist” who didn’t believe in official health testing.

This new lady seems a lot more with the times but hasn’t quite gotten health testing done, but she was very transparent about it and says that she plans to do it soon. She mentioned that she is more than happy to work with people if anything happens that is health related but she has hardly had any problems with her puppies since taking over. She doesn’t have a contract with that stated in there because people had been trying to come after her for things like dogs getting hit by cars/issues outside her control.

We love her dogs and her transparency however we just lost our 13 year old boy to a splemic mass so health is definitely on our radar, is it unheard of to ask her to work up a contract specifically for us that has some health guarantees? I’m not trying to scam anyone and I don’t think she is either, I just don’t want to get a puppy who ends up with hip dysplasia, PN, a bad heart or thyroid etc and then be screwed.

Would love to hear some thoughts. We honestly thought about just not going with her until she starts doing health testing. But we don’t know when that will be. Since she mentioned she is willing to work with people regarding issues that pop up I considered that a slight “green flag” but I would want that in writing if that makes sense.

Thanks all!

EDIT:

Thank you everyone for all the replies, this is my wife and I’s first time ever even considering a breeder. I’ve since done a lot more research and I’ve found several Malamute breeders who post their Embark results and OFA results as well. They even have some “giant” dogs so we could still get that wooly look we were hoping for AND have some peace of mind knowing we are supporting a breeder who cares about health. They aren’t close by so that’s a bummer but hey they made FaceTime for a reason and most of them do shipping as well. I hadn’t even considered that us buying a puppy that had already been born is still supporting “greeder” actions so again, thank you for that perspective.

 

[fish14]

@christiancharacter Honestly it's a deeper red flag to me that she is promising she'll do these things but " She doesn’t have a contract with that stated in there because people had been trying to come after her for things like dogs getting hit by cars/issues outside her control. " Can you really imagine that a contract wouldn't say exactly what it does and doesn't cover? Can you imagine that a court would be like "Well Rufus got hit by a car but the contract doesn't say it DOESN'T cover that so I guess you win." No she's lying because without a contract you are buying the puppy as is which you already know is untested. Now that makes the puppies less valuable to anyone who knows much of anything so why would you intentionally not test? Is it because something is wrong and you wouldn't be able to ethically continue with those lines one you know for certain that there are problems?

 

[christiancharacter]

@fish14 Yeah for us it was finding out, that you can easily pay for these tests yourself after you get the puppy(not that it does any good afterwards), it just costs a little bit of money and effort. And they only have like 8 dogs that they breed so I can’t imagine it would be that hard to get them tested to be positive.

 

[carolinafan74]

@christiancharacter 8 dogs is a fairly large amount for many breeders. Does she breed to studs outside of the kennel or just within her own?

A big worry for large breeds is hip dysplasia, this can be pre tested at 6 months with OFA for roughly $500, official screenings aren't valid until 2 years old. PennHIP can be done much younger. The issue isn't testing ease so much as what if you test your puppy to find out it inherited dysplasia and now needs 10k in surgery? She doesn't know of her dogs have fair or good hips, they could even have poor hips and be asymptomatic.

She should be discounting those untested puppies heavily and not breeding further until the dogs are tested. Otherwise she's just another byb producing dogs that may or may not be healthy

 

[bailey2017]

@christiancharacter Dogs without any health testing done should not be bred. She should not be producing any litters until the health testing is completed

 

[christiancharacter]

@bailey2017 Yeah I definitely agree, the issue is that it’s already done, you know what I mean? Like the puppies are already here and have to go somewhere. But yes I fully agree people should not be breeding without testing.

 

[knicole97]

@christiancharacter You might be setting yourself up for tremendous grief by getting a puppy with unknown issues. And sadly not early death but disability in life. Or great veterinary expenses. There are good reputable breeders out there doing the testing that a puppy deserves.

You will find the right puppy for you.

 

[christiancharacter]

@knicole97 Definitely, it’s looking more and more like a no. Unless she changes her tune and get health testing done before her next litters in the fall.

 

[knicole97]

@christiancharacter I wish you the very best.

 

[smilerman312]

@christiancharacter If you buy a puppy, you are perpetuating the problem. If she gives you a puppy that is different but as soon as you give $$$, you are saying you are OK with less than responsible, ethical breeding. Yes the puppies need homes but do not condone breeding without health testing, titles, etc. as she should not be rewarded for breeding without the testing. Contracts can be written so that the breeder is only on the hook for hereditary health issues, she is blowing smoke and may or may not be there financially if health problems present themselves. Go elsewhere or be complicit in furthering breeding without health testing. Full stop.