I just picked up my 9 week old pup from the breeder Monday, noticed a bump under jaw Tuesday, got her into the vet Wednesday and after X-rays the pup has a fractured jaw. Apparently the mom or other adult dog had bitten her. They also suspect infection may be in the bone. So she is on antibiotics for 14 days and a soft muzzle to help stabilize the fracture and I have to feed her gruel with a syringe. After the antibiotics are finished we will go back in for more X-rays. The breeder said if more needs to be done afterwards then she will take over the care of her and I will get credit for a pup in a future litter. We are already attached to her now and do not want to take her back for fear the breeder will put her down.

I took the pup to the vet within the time stated but I am rapidly racking up bills. I do not think the breeder intentionally sold me the pup knowing she had a problem because the pup does not act like sick in any way. The breeder has been in contact with my vet and me and has been helpful but has not offered to help out with the bills we have on the pup so far. So should the breeder be responsible for part of the cost?

If it is found to have occurred in the breeders care of if it is hereditary then it should be the responsibility of the breeder. This is an ethics question and i don't know how every single breeder handles these things - I just know how my breeder handles it.

I have taken the pup to two different vets and they both saw that the infection was so advanced that it definitely happened in the care of the breeder because it could not have happened then gotten to that stage in the less than 48 hours I had her.

The breeder just wrote me and said that she will not pay a fraction of the cost that I have paid so far. She also says for me to bring the puppy with the antibiotics back to her and I will get another puppy later. I don't want another puppy. So I am going to keep the pup and run up my credit card to get her fixed up. Then I am going to file a complaint against the breeder.

You can't really file a complaint unless the contract you signed said they would cover it. Did you sign a contract? What state is this in?

It is in Missouri. The contract just stated that I had 5 days to get to a vet for healthy puppy check and that I was responsible for all cost associated with getting her spayed. The rest was about what date they said she had to be spayed by. There is nothing else that says they would not be responsible either. Breeder said she would send something in writing about just getting a replacement puppy instead of a refund and that's all she could do. I told her I did not sign that do how can you just throw it in now? I am not signing anything else. She doesn't get why I am so concerned about a bone infection when it is not life threatening. It is ridiculous. At least I know the pup will be better with me instead of back there.

Is this breeder AKC registered? You aren't giving me much to go off of and without seeing the contract I can't really comment on much.

All I know is, if it doesn't state in the cost that the breeder is responsible, then technically they aren't. I don't agree with it, but contracts are something to re-read a ton of times.

So so sorry this is happening to you.

Thank you. Yes she is AKC registered. I will try to post the contract later on.

I guess it depends on the breeder/contract, but most breeders I encountered during my search, would give a replacement puppy from a future litter and not require you to return the original puppy. However, that was more along the lines of a genetic problem, not an injury/infection. Also, they include documentation from their vet stating the condition of the puppy within a certain period of time from the pick up. Did the breeder have her checked out by a vet before you brought her home? Also, I would suggest getting something in writing from the two vets you took her to stating that the infection was too advanced to have happened in the first 48 hours of your care.

I already have it in writing along with copies of her X-rays. Just a bad situation.

This sounds awful good thoughts for you and your pup.

Also, I would say you have some legal wiggle room in terms of getting your money back. I'm guessing in the contract it states that its required that the puppy be healthy, if not healthy she is in breach of the contract. So you might be able to get a refund if you threaten to get a lawyer.

It doesn't make sense to me, if she says to bring puppy back to her and she will take care of it (meaning spending her own money) why wouldn't she help you out. I think you really need to think about this one, bone infections are nothing to fool around with, and what if the jaw doesn't heal properly, are you looking at thousands in medical care? Not saying you should return her, but I would seriously be thinking about the future. What does your vet say about her healing process?

I would tell her you are going to consult a lawyer, see what she says? Good luck this really sucks for you!

gonna go out on a limb here and say you got the pup from a BYB? i say lawyer and court is in your future, a good breeder would be willing to help you out some, i also see how returning the pup would most likely result in its death. sorry you are in such a bind, but like June said you also need to think about how this issue will effect the health of the pup in the future.

Shaqua came from a breeder in Missouri. Which breeder did you get your pup from? I lived in MO from the age of 7 until a little over a year ago. I know the breeder I got Shaqua from 11 years ago wasn't of the greatest reputation. (I found this out later) I got lucky but many did not.

I think this breeder is just starting out. She shows dogs and only does a few litters a year. I did not understand why she would want to take over the care of the pup but not help me out which would be cheaper for her. She told be to bring her back now when I have already paid for the pups antibiotics, steroids, and muzzle to brace her jaw and to make sure I bring all this with her. Yeah right!

We are thinking about the future. We are going to re X-ray her jaw when antibiotics are finished. If it is going to take thousands to fix her I will unfortunately have to return her. She does not act sick, her swelling has gone away, and even with the muzzle she is eating well. So I hope everything will be fine.

The breeder says I can still bring her back if the X-rays still show a lot of damage and I can have a pup from a litter that come from one if her show dogs. I told her I would rather be refunded because I just didn't want to deal with her anymore if I had to bring the pup back. She said I could have a replacement pup or a I could have an adult dog that was retired from breeding and 7 years old. Really? I am just frustrated. I will post am update and the pups health when we get new X-rays. The breeder is AKC registered so can I report her to them or anyone?

Poor puppy--I feel for ya! Really take a deep breath and think carefully beforr you speak to her again. Print out a timeline and emails/texts for court if it comesto that
If I had to spend thousands on care, I won't want to send the pup back. Just my opinion.

Hugs!

That is normal protocol. The majority of breeders do a replacement pup, not a refund.

That being said, I would need to see the contract and know who the breeder is to really comment.

Breeders are not AKC registered, their dogs are- that does not mean they as breeders are approved or sanctioned by the AKC it just means their dogs are registrable with their registry. This sounds like a horrible situation that is truly of no one's malicious doing. Puppies do get hurt, yes the breeder should have caught it, but the fact that she didn't doesn't condemn that breeder alone IMO. It does sound like she's at least trying to make it right, maybe not the route you wanted to take but in reality she could have just completely ignored you like so many breeders do once they get your money. You should not have to send your puppy back, if she wants to offer you a replacement puppy and that's the way you want to go that does not mean your pup goes back. If you'd rather work to get a refund for that pup, it really would depend on your contract that you signed. Most only cover genetic disorders for refunds, and unfortunately this is not genetic.