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Originally Posted by laylaoh  I'm thinking about buying a yorkie from a certain breeder. I asked several questions, one of which regarding whether or not the puppy has been tested for liver shunt. The breeder stated that I only needed to be worried about liver shunt when the dog is 4-6lbs. The breeder also said that you cannot test the puppy until they are at least 1 yrs old. The breeder did say that the puppy has a health certificate. I tried looking up info on when you should test your puppy for liver shunt, but haven't come up with much. So my question is, when should you test a puppy for liver shunt and is it true that I do not have to worry about liver shunt in dogs that are 10lbs and over?
Any helpful info is appreciated. Thanks in advance! |
it is true usually they have stunted growth BUT not always as i helped again that yorkie i just posted about and he was 7lbs and had 3 shunts and no symptoms other than bladder stones. If i were to get a yorkie again i would make sure the mom and dad were bile acid tested and the puppy as well before i came home with it as the health guarantee means nothing after you take that yorkie home and bond with it then no way are you going to give it back if the dog is sick as you are emotional attached and soon to be very financially attached. Yorkies are 38% more likely to have shunts so i would want this ruled out or at least as much as you can as there still is no guarantee 100% no health issues but if you can rule out as much as you can before becoming emotionally attached i would do it. I would think a responsible breeder would test the parents before breeding to try there best not to throw a shunt pup even though they still can and why the pup needs to be tested as well - trust me having dealt for 5 years with an unhealthy yorkie due to poor immune system as breeder said she was an accident and i did not know what that meant and still got her it is very costly and not fun pay attention to the red flags i didn't and sorry i didn't. Also be careful of inbreeding as that yields poor immune systems which leads to allergies, hypothyroid, demodex mange, etc. Review the papers carefully and ask if inbreeding to the breeder. Many do it but having one that is inbred I know now it is horrible to the immune system as the first comment the vet said to me about dee dee was whoa a little inbreeding here SO now i know what that means a POOR IMMUNE SYSTEM. She is hypothyroid and has severe allergies and i have spent over 8k in seeing dermatologists, specialists, holistic you name it to keep her comfortable. I think the accident was she was inbred accidently but i never questioned the breeder what she meant by she was an accident and since she was akc i thought I was doing better as my first yorkie was a puppy mill pet store pup as i had no clue about all this stuff until after my boy yorkie got pancreatitis and i joined all these dog groups and wow was i enlightened. You learn alot you never knew you would when you get a sick pup so try to avoid it all cost if you can
