Questions about a breeder

[xavier86]

Hi everyone,

I need some advice about a breeder, and not sure where to turn. Not sure if the breeder is having a streak of bad luck or if this is just a series of red flags and I should run for the hills. If this is not the appropriate sub please let me know and I will post elsewhere.

In February I went on a waiting list for a pure GSD pup. Breeder seems great, we've visited the premises, I met him and his 2 females and 3 males. We decided to go with him. The pup was born in June, and we received weekly updates on her progress. We visited the litter twice before we received her. 6 puppies were born in the litter, 4 survived.

Within a week of her coming home I noticed she wasn't well. I contacted the breeder, he reassured me she was just adjusting to the food. She was vomiting up to 20x a day - this clearly wasn't normal and I had her evaluated by a vet on day 5. She was diagnosed with congenital mega-esophagus. I informed the breeder, he picked her up and put her down the next day. He paid the vet bill and told me he would replace her soon.

On his next available litter, apparently the female was pregnant at at some point lost the entire pregnancy.

He just had another litter, an x-ray confirmed 2 days ago 4 puppies, she just delivered 2 live puppies- 2 of them died in delivery.

Is all of this normal when breeding GSDs, or any dog, or does any of this seem off? Over breeding? Is he losing too many puppies? I know shit happens, it just seems like there is a lot of shit happening here.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[treesd]

@xavier86 How old is the Dam? Age has a lot to do with it. Also is he using the same Dam? That’s not good.

 

[xavier86]

@treesd Different dams, and I don't know the ages. I should have asked!

 

[treesd]

@xavier86 Yes! Age matters. I’m breeding now. Though it is my first time, and a different breed, I know a man who was the handler of a police drug dog and had GSD my whole life. He bred his dog after he retired (he got to keep him) to his female but had to stop after the second time as she got too old. He wasn’t a breeder technically to begin with, just knew how from his younger years, however, once they hit a certain age, especially larger breeds, it’s very bad! Think about woman...the older we get the higher the risk, same thing. I think my vet told me the best time to stop is about 6 and that is pushing it.

 

[treesd]

@xavier86 It also sounds like over breeding.

 

[treesd]

@xavier86 A internet search said ideally five but 8 is pushing it. Especially, when you consider their age expectancy is 9-12.

 

[dukedesu]

@xavier86 Could be horrible luck, who knows. The only way to really judge a breeder is if they’re doing everything they should be otherwise— health testing, good husbandry practices, good contracts. Bitches can lose litters for reasons that cannot be controlled, same with stillbirths. So I can’t make judgement based on puppy loss.

 

[truebeliever344]

@xavier86 I think it sounds like something is wrong/off with his dogs. I would move on.

 

[brycliff]

@xavier86 Run for the hills. A good dog is worth waiting for.