[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by bchgirl

I've come across genetic guarantees written like this....

I WILL GUARANTEE THIS PUPPY TO BE FREE FROM LIFE THREATENING
NON-TREATABLE CONGENITAL OR GENETIC DEFECTS ONLY, FOR ONE YEAR. THIS GUARANTEE IS FOR REPLACEMENT ONLY.

Maybe I'm reading it incorrectly...but it sounds like no guarantee at all. Many congenital or genetic defects ARE treatable...but whether the puppy survives is another story. Liver shunt is treatable, congenital heart disease is treatable...

Another wording I see.... puppy to be free from congenital or genetic defects that IF left untreated would result in death. That makes more sense to me than the statement above....

Exactly! I think contracts that only give a guarantee against LIFE THREATENING genetic defects are crap. There are many defects that aren't life threatening and should still be guaranteed against. What about heart murmors, LP (non-injury), Open fontanels, Legge Calve Perthes, Blindness, deafness, etc, etc. Plenty of defects are not life threatening, but they can still cause an animal pain and cause the owner a lot of anguish and monetary expense. I think it's just a cop out... I personally want to see a guarantee against ALL defects..not just "life threatening" ones. (although I do understand with LP it's sometimes hard to distinguish between injury and genetic so a little more complicated)

I agree with the 48-72 hour rule is a good one. It protects the breeder from being held reponsible for something the buyer causes, and it gives the buyer time to find out about any diseases, parasites, defects, etc. at the beginning before they get really attached.