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Originally Posted by FxE  Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all of your help.  so I ended up asking her for a health guarantee but the said "I'm afraid I'd have to charge a lot more if I provided a health guarantee. The parents have had 3 previous litters and none of them had any problems". Is it okay if the parents have had 3 previous litters or is that considered too much? She went on to say that the puppy can go into a coma if he plays too much and she'd give me an information sheet before I leave. Does all that sound alright? Should I take my chances without a health guarantee? I'm just scared of something happening and being stuck with a huge bill in the end like the poster who had to pay $1600. And why is it that they can go into a coma with too much playtime? |
She's referring to hypoglycemia where the blood sugar drops dangerously low. It can be triggered by exercise and yes, puppies can go into a coma and die if not treated quickly. It's usually just a problem in the first few months, not a lifelong problem.
Hypoglycemia, although scary and something to watch for, is not the purpose of a health guarantee. You want a breeder who will stand behind her puppies should one have a genetic disorder like a liver shunt, Legg-Perthes, etc.
I would certainly not take my chances on a puppy with no health guarantee. I'm sure this breeder isn't doing any health testing or screening so the genetic makeup of these puppies is probably unknown. Read through the posts in our Sick and Injured and Health sections and you will see all the genetic problems Yorkies are prone to, especially liver shunts and luxating patellas.
My best advice is save a little bit more and get a well bred puppy from a reputable breeder. If not, you run the risk of huge vet bills and heartbreak later on. My Lady is a rescue and poorly bred and her medications and routine bloodwork to monitor all her health issues run
$5,000 a year. That doesn't include unplanned vet visits when she is sick. We usually have at least one a year (this year we have had two) and they run between $500-700.