Obligatory puppy health checks

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:22:50 GMT

[quote user="Niall Taylor"]The "free" remark was directed at the micro-chipping stuff-up, where we find ourselves in the position of either working for free - to the financial advantage of dog owners - or being branded tight-wad luddites by government, Dogs' Trust and aforementioned owners.[/quote] The Dogs Trust are beginning to grate on me. I practice close to their centre in Harefield and have been very supportive in the past being prepared to offer reduced rates to re-homed dogs. But it has pissed me off that they've stated that when the time comes they will only give their free chips to vets who are prepared to implant them for free. This is on top of their insistence that I write a prescription for medication for dogs on ongoing medication and state the maximum I should charge for writing said script. Not to mention some incomplete vaccine certificates have emerged accompanying re-homed dogs they've vaccinated. This all reduces my willingness to give continuing support for their activities.

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Niall Taylor — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:42:11 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"][quote user="Clive Ansell"]Why on earth would anyone do it for free, even the suggestion is ridiculous?[/quote] Calm down dear! I believe Niall posed a rhetorical question which clearly got the response he was looking for.[/quote]

The "free" remark was directed at the micro-chipping stuff-up, where we find ourselves in the position of either working for free - to the financial advantage of dog owners - or being branded tight-wad luddites by government, Dogs' Trust and aforementioned owners.

I appreciate this is a different scenario - it is accredited breeders only, who have to do this (so not many) and it is a commercial situation. But, in the same way that people expect decent burgers but only want to pay tuppence for them, I suspect this might be a situation where people want the kudos of being, or buying from, an acredited breeder but are outraged at having to pay an extra premium for it.

I could be wrong of course, it has been known before!

Cheers,

Niall

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:14:50 GMT

[quote user="robloxley"]

Have the kennel club also got a band playing while they re-arrange the deck chairs....

And are the Lithuanians and Welsh puppy farmers signed up...

[/quote] Cynicism apart, you can't knock it as a sign they are at least attempting something, surely it is at least partly aimed at reducing the impact of these types? I am hardly a fan of the Kennel Club or breeders but I don't think that even they would be expecting anyone to say the puppies were free from of yet to appear genetic abnormalities, surely its just to say they are not alive with external parasites and suffering from parasitic diarrhoea or any obvious congenital abnormality.

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Rob Loxley — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 23:21:58 GMT

Have the kennel club also got a band playing while they re-arrange the deck chairs....

And are the Lithuanians and Welsh puppy farmers signed up...

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Virginia Campbell — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:59:25 GMT

[quote user="Utlendigur"]Can't help feeling this will simply give buyers a false sense of security. It's only going to pick up those congenital problems which a. are present at 6-8wks old and b. can be picked up on clinical exam alone. It's not going to pick up hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, atopy, entropion, liver shunts, etc etc etc. How many new owners are going to understand the limitations when their pet starts developing problems a few months later?[/quote]

+1. We have a Boston terrier inpatient at the moment getting serum drops hourly in the hope that his eye ulcer stops its astonishingly rapid slide. His legs are brown up to knees and hocks from licking even though his owner complies with all his atopy control measures and he's had both patellas operated on in the past. I don't think we can accurately assess conformation at 6 weeks; after all, no vet would write a prepurchase cert for a foal at this age beyond one stating that it was free from clinical signs of infectious disease perhaps.

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Hanna Bennett — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:27:27 GMT

[quote user="Dagmar Steele"]

A puppy check might have addressed the umbilical hernia I found in a Shih Tzu puppy this morning. "Oh, I din't know about it, the breeder didn't tell me! Does it need to be repaired? Do I have to pay for it?"

I agree with Clive though, no breeders here except for one cat breeder who will not last much longer I expect.

[/quote]

ah breeders round here are more on the ball - 'yes the mentioned that, he said it was where mum pulled too hard when she ate the placenta'?? followed by 'but i wanted to breed from it, it can't be hereditary they'd have told me'...

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Gillian Mostyn — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:26:17 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"] I do (at least they've banned themselves from me because i won't kowtow to them)[/quote]

That sounds familiar. We see very few breeders because we only ever drop 10% off the normal vaccination fee, regardless of number in litter or numbers of litters. Someone else round here must be offering very big discounts!

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:22:47 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"] I think if I had my own practice I would have a blanket ban on them.[/quote]We sing from the same hymn sheet. I do (at least they've banned themselves from me because i won't kowtow to them), they go to the cheap vet up the road who asks no questions and hands out blank record cards.

PS this is not an invitation for those who don't believe in vaccine certificates to take the lid of Pandora's box again!

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Dagmar Steele — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:41:37 GMT

I agree with Clive though, no breeders here except for one cat breeder who will not last much longer I expect.

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Clive Ansell — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:33:05 GMT

I am calm.

It does annoy me though how the profession sells itself cheap to the breeding fraternity, particularly as there is no loyalty from breeders whatsoever, and they will sue you rather than blink given the chance. I think if I had my own practice I would have a blanket ban on them.

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:37:41 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]Why on earth would anyone do it for free, even the suggestion is ridiculous?[/quote] Calm down dear! I believe Niall posed a rhetorical question which clearly got the response he was looking for.

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Utlendigur — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:39:25 GMT

[quote user="Niall Taylor"]The kennel club is now making it a requirement for all breeders to have a veterinary health check done on every puppy prior to sale, [/quote]

Can't help feeling this will simply give buyers a false sense of security. It's only going to pick up those congenital problems which a. are present at 6-8wks old and b. can be picked up on clinical exam alone. It's not going to pick up hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, atopy, entropion, liver shunts, etc etc etc. How many new owners are going to understand the limitations when their pet starts developing problems a few months later?

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

James Laidlaw — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:15:39 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]

[quote user="Niall Taylor"]Is this something else we are going to be expected to do for free "for the good of the UK dog population"?[/quote]

Any breeder making that suggestion to me would get a swift answer.

[/quote] Which four letter word will you choose.

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:58:01 GMT

[quote user="Niall Taylor"]Is this something else we are going to be expected to do for free "for the good of the UK dog population"?[/quote]

Any breeder making that suggestion to me would get a swift answer.

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Clive Ansell — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:11:42 GMT

Why on earth would anyone do it for free, even the suggestion is ridiculous?

It will need to be a full and comprehensive examination, and possible signing some form of document or writing a report. Provide a good professional service and charge good money for it. Guess there will always be some jackass down the road that will do it for a fiver though.

Breeders should be charged as much as possible, one way of deterring some of them from what they do. If people can go and spend in excess of £1000 for a puppy, they can pay an extra £30 - £40 for a veterinary examination.

Re: Obligatory puppy health checks

Kate Richardson — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:52:03 GMT

Won't be my decison, but I say yes, its a professional service, it adds value to their puppies which they benefit from so we should charge for examination and extra if they want a written health report and the breeders can incorporate the costs into their puppy prices if they want to. If we continue to not charge for things it does nothing "for the good of the UK dog population", it just reduces owners perception of responsibility further. They will still turn round and try to sue us if we certifiy a puppy as healthy that develops a problem regardless of whether they paid or not. I'm glad the KC are putting the onus on the breeder to inform of any problems not the vet.