HELP; new yorkie pup is sick - is the breeder sketchy???
 

Hi all! I am looking for some insight and advice on our current situation with our 13 week old yorkie puppy Leo. I have had a yorkie in the past and had a fabulous experience with a breeder about 3 hours from my home. She was healthy and wonderful and had zero health issues so I may have been a bit naive in this recent experience.

We picked up Leo at 8 1/2 weeks old and he is bright, adorable and independent! We took him to the vet about 72 hours after he came home. Vet said overall appearance was great, got 9wk boosters and did stool sample. Unfortunately, the stool sample showed positive for Giardia. We treated him with antibiotics and let the breeder know immediately. She apologized and let us know she tested and treated all her animals after we told her.

Fast forward to this past week. Our breeder also babysits, and since Leo is still young we were happy tonhear that she also babysits in her home. Our pup was in her care for 10 days. She assured us that she had bleached her dogs cages, washed bedding and treated all animals for the Giardia. Stupid me believed her. She texted us on the last day of our vacation to let us know she was now seeing tapeworms in his stool. We picked him up the next day when we got home to notice he also had a slightly bloated tummy. The breeder began giving him Panacur when she saw the worm.

First let me say, we currently have no other dogs in our home, and we although he goes outside occasionally, it's only in our yard and we watch him like a hawk. Leo is only 13 weeks and I feel like the Giardia and Tapeworms could only have come from her home/his ironical environment.

I had a funny feeling about the breeder and her demeanor when we picked him up, but my husband told me I was just being paranoid so I let it go. She said all the right things. "She's local" "doesn't ship dogs" they "live in her home with her". I tried to find reviews on her business, checked the BBB and couldn't find anything negative. But after this recent incident with the worms, I started doing some deeper checking. It turns out she is doing business by her middle name, so when I checked her actual first name, I found previous convictions for dog confinement and violated vaccination protocols. I feel absolutely terrible that we supported this woman's business in any way if she is breeding dogs with unchecked health issues and I would hate to see more people go through what we are going through with Leo.

I guess my question is, do We do anything of just enjoy our pup and never contact her again? Do I ask for help with vet bills? Am I just being paranoid? I know Giardia and Worms are common in puppies, but this seems pretty excessive. If she is breeding dogs wih untreated health problems, should we really do nothing? Any advice would help. Thanks

Besides sharing her name and right reviews every where you can I'm not sure there is much you can do. Reputable breeders don't let puppies go home until 12 weeks so that's also a pretty big red flag. Also tape worms generally come from eating fleas. Did you see her facilities?

We went to her home. She said the dogs live in her house with her and her adult Yorkie's were not crated anymore so I didn't interrogate too aggressively. She claimed he was her last puppy to go, and she wasn't having any litters for a while because she was moving. She claimed our pup slept in a crate in her bedroom and we did see/meet both his parents in the back yard running around. Her house seemed relatively clean. My other yorkie girl came to me at 9 weeks (from a different breeder) and was totally healthy so I didn't think anything of the time frame. Still, she seemed off to me. Nervous. But my husband told me I was being too paranoid.

The reason I started digging into her background was because when we dropped Leo off for babysitting she was selling another puppy - after she had already told us he was her last one. Then he came back to us with the tapeworm and that's when I posted on here.

I feel your dealing with a shady person.