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Originally Posted by BamaFan121s  Well that speaks volumes, in particular if you see this as a concern and actually have had first hand experience with them. Yes, health issues can and do happen in even the best of breeding programs--but that does NOT justfy having no background knowledge of the dogs to begin with! Why take a chance like that if you know in advance that there is some vital info missing!?  That's just begging for a problem, IMO. Yeah, it *could* happen with any other breeder, but why increase your chances by choosing someone that you know ahead of time is playing with fire?  |
Brokers sell puppy mill puppies who have had no genetic screening or health testing. You are playing Russian Roulette with the future health of your puppy.
Remember, just because your puppy doesn't get sick or have symptoms right away does mean they are healthy. Poorly bred puppies can carry genetic time bombs that may not go off for years. My Lady is a rescue, but poorly bred. She was perfectly healthy until she was four years old. Then her genetic time bombs started going off and she was first diagnosed with epilepsy, then a year and a half later, diabetes. Over the years she has developed other health conditions.
I spend $5,000 a year on medications, diabetic supplies and routine vet visits to monitor all her conditions. This does not include emergencies which usually add another $1,000 to that figure.
My advice, take it or leave it, is to pay a few hundred dollars more upfront to get a puppy from a responsible breeder who is health testing the dogs she breeds and carefully breeding to avoid genetic conditions. It will save you a lot of money and heartbreak later on.