Got sick dog from breeder - now what?

[theotheo]

I'm at a loss and hoping someone can help.

I have owned yorkies before and a month ago bought a yorkie from a breeder for a pretty penny. The breeder is AKC registered and looked to have very clean and pleasant living conditions. I chose the largest female she had among three litter mates. My puppy threw up in the car on the way home. I attributed it to motion sickness.

After having my yorkie for three days, I took her to the vet with a stool sample. She had had diarreha and had thrown up some bile. The vet diagnosed giardia.

That was a month ago. My yorkie has now since been through three treatments for giardia - one 5 day treatment of panacur, one 10 day treatment of panacur, and one 3 day treatment of drontal plus. By the way, the drontal plus made her sick and she threw up 2 of the doses. I had to get replacements for her.

It has been four days since her last dosage of drontal plus and she just threw up, had diarreha, and is coughing. I am very frustrated by what has now not only obviously caused a ton of heartache, but an expensive ($400) and time-consuming effort to get my yorkie well.

I have three questions:

1) How can she shake this giardia?
2) Is it possibly something else?
3) What can/should I ask the breeder for in order to make good on what should have been a healthy dog?

Thank you so much for your help!!!

Theotheo

[tjdmom]

Well, first off, what sort of guarantee did the breeder give you? I would think they should be paying for the vet bills at this point but really, it depends on what your contract says.... Sorry your baby is having such a hard time.

[a2luckygirl]

I am sorry I can't help you on your questions!Did you have a contract w/ the Breeder??

I am sure in the AM someone will be able to help you, if not tonight!
Hope your baby gets better soon!

[blondiebabe54]

I am so sorry your baby is not feeling well... I would get a second, and maybe even third opinion form other vets... they do make mistakes and your baby doesn't sound like it is getting better. Also, go back to the breeder, and explain all of this to her. Check what her health guarantee is because I know I have mine for a 2 year guarantee and another for his lifetime. Make sure you do both of those things, they could clear that 400$ amount (if not all of it, then at least some) and could get your baby healthy again. Also, I was wondering if you called the breeder after your vet told you the puppy was sick a few days after you got it?? What did the breeder say??

[theotheo]

Thanks for your responses!

I have "broken" my contract which says to return the puppy within 24 hours of finding the "defect". I never thought I would be in a situation a month later with a ton of vet bills and puppy that was still sick. I did contact the breeder immediately upon finding out and she told me she was "glad I caught it early as it can get bad" As things have progressed, I have been corresponding with her but have not asked for anything other than advice.

I did try two different vets. One vet diagnosed the giardia and prescribed the two bouts of panacur. When my puppy got diarrehea over a weekend, i took her to a specialty vet center where they did a "full blown" fecal sample and again diagnosed the giardia and prescribed the drontal plus. they suggested a blood test as well to check for liver disorders that i didn't have done as it felt it crazy to give a 4 month old puppy.

Aside from occassionally throwing up and having diarrehea, she is still pretty lively.

I really appreciate any other thoughts - especially on how to treat giardia or what other causes show giardia as a symptom or a side effect.

Thanks!

Theotheo

[Ladymom]

It says in your avatar that you are from "SF". Is that by any chance San Francisco?

If it is, you are in luck. California has some of the toughest puppy lemon laws in the country. No matter what your contract said, you had the option of treating your puppy rather than returning her. Since you kept her, your breeder is responsible for up to 1&1/2 times her purchase price for her vet bills.

Here's a good summary of the California law:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/lemon_ca.html

[theotheo]

Yes - I am in SF. Thank you for the info!

[yorkiesmiles]

welcome to YT - so sorry your pup is sick

[LoveMyGirlz]

Awww I kind of went through these issues when I got Gemma. She also "got" giardia and also had ear mites and also had to stay the night in the hospital because she was throwing up and her blood sugar dropped to low, etc etc....
I remember getting lots of advice here - you could try a search on Giardia. Are you really washing everything well and cleaning floors and everything your baby can come in contact with? I know they track it around on the bottoms of their feet making it easy to pick up over and over.
As for the breeder - I ended up asking mine how she felt about covering the earmite situation since she admitted that she later found another of her dogs to have earmites. she wasn't happy about how high my vet was, but she did reimburse me. I think I waited too many days to really be sure the giardia came from her, so I did not ask for her help with that.
You could ask your breeder if she'd be willing to help you get your puppy well and at least go in halves with you? Seems fair to me.
I am also in the Bay Area by the way

[Ellie May]

Although I think the giardia has to continue to be treated, I would go with the vet's suggestion and do a bile acid test to look at liver function.

Breeders who test their breeding dogs for this usually give a one year health guarantee. A 24 hour guarantee is bare minimum, so I am guessing they did no testing...

[marymccormick22]

I am sorry your little puppy doesn't feel well. I just got Rascal 3 wks ago. The breeder warned me about Hypoglecemia (that yorkies could have it because they are so small) but didn't tell me that my little puppy had it. I woke up one morning and he was very limp and couldn't even stand. I took him to the vet immediately. Now that I know my dog has it, it has been under control for the last two weeks. Thank God!! I was very nervous for a while. My mom now puppy sits during the day while I am at work (to make sure he eats.) I hope your story turns out well also. Just hang in there.


It is so nice to be in a community where everyone wants to help everyone.

[lisatodd]

ck your state for lemon laws. i guess try to google it and see if you can find something.

[Yorkieluv]

I agree with Ellie May...Four months old is not too young for liver disorders. Yorkies are 36 times more likely to be born with a liver shunt than any other breed combined.
Do some research on liver shunt, and you will realize that most of the time, it is congenital and they are born with it.
Although I do not know that this is what what your dog has, I just wanted to put the info out there so you know that this is very common in yorkie puppies/dogs.
Before my dog was diagnosed with liver problems, he was very sick, vomiting all the time, etc. Well, I asked for a bile acid test, and they told me that it was impossible that my dog had liver problems because he was too young. Boy were they wrong...Obviously they were not educated about liver shunts.

[Patti]

When I bought my Pom 11 years ago she had giardia and it took over a month on treatment to clear her of it. Then she was fine. I hope your baby gets better.

[patty58]

I don't have answers for you but wanted to welcome you to YT. I am so sorry that you are having such a bad time with your sweet little baby. I hope she gets well soon.