Questions before buying a new puppy
 

Hello, I am back to this forum after 8 months. We lost our sweet Coco in October at age 2.5 due to pancreatitis and now we are ready to get a new puppy. I am driving out tonight to see a puppy I found on the AKC website through a registered breeder. It is a 11 week old male and she is asking 1000 plus 60 for tax. The mom is over 6 pounds and the dad is 4 pounds. She has been breeding yorkies for 13 years. She said that she only had one genetic condition in these years, a liver shunt but the dog recovered. She is willing to give me a health guarantee for genetic conditions. I have to take the puppy to a vet in 5 days and she would replace the puppy if something is wrong with this one. My question is: is there a specific paper or wording for the health guarantee?

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/pup...uy-yorkie.html
Here is an article that might be informative to you


The health guarantee comprises part of the contract of sale and should outline what the breeder warrants or guarantees and usually established to limit their liability in light of sickness or ill health.


Often times only covers a term of one year ... Which is not long enough to cover or defray costs from many genetic illnesses. Watch out for the term Life threatening ahead of diseases or in general what they will cover - many diseases are not life threatening but are debilitating and or significantly affect activities of daily life.


Many breeders offer a replacement puppy in the advent something goes wrong with yours. If you think about this .. this is not much of a warranty as who is going to give up their pup after even just 24hrs of loving them?


Try to negotiate on this term - ask for the cost of the puppy should with in the first year preferably two years some serious illness is diagnosed that requires surgery or lifelong treatments or results in death.


Then if you decide to go ahead with this purchase cover your puppy from day one with pet insurance that covers genetic or hereditary diseases.


$1000 will not do much to cover any serious illness or almost any surgery.

Thank you so much for your advice. I will definitely purchase insurance after what we went through with Coco. And you are right, you can't give up your dog even if she's sick after being with her for so long and 1000 wouldn't cover much and the breeder did not offer money anyways, just a different dog. Is healthy paws good insurance company, I got a quote of 30 dollars per month and it covers anything with 80% reimbursement and 250 deductible.
Illnesses
Accidents
Hereditary Conditions
Congenital Conditions
Chronic Conditions
Cancer
Diagnostic Treatment
X-Rays, Blood Tests, Ultrasounds
Surgery
Hospitalization
Prescription Medications
Emergency Care
Specialty Care
Alternative Treatment

Yes many folks like Healthy Paws -- there are a few threads on here about Pet Insurance ... if you do a search they should come up!

I can only offer my personal advice. As I type this, I am in a Hotel room, my beautiful 5 mo. old girl is going under the knife for the second time in her life for a liver shunt after having hernia surgery in her first couple of weeks of life.
Now I promised THIS dog when I got her that I would make her healthy and happy no matter what. But I have to believe that a high percentage of people would say that 10K for a dog that is not even 6 months old yet is not worth it... but to see this dog look at me when she is not feeling good is WAY more than enough motivation to keep my promise that eventually she will be healthy and happy.
Sometimes we are destined to have a particular dog. It is our chance to do right in the universe, and their chance to have the life that they deserve instead of being "put down" for their problems.

Bella is as lucky to have you as you are to have her.

Thank you. I won't give up until she does, and she is one hell of a fighter! She inspires me so much because she has never been really "healthy" since she was sold to us, but she still tries so hard to be a puppy. I freaking HATE these indiscriminate breeders out there.

Bella sounds so much like Sasha. They never complain about the pain because they have always known it. They just accept it and enjoy life in spite of it. The surgeries are not cheap but the payback will be tenfold when you see your Bella pain free with a big doggie smile on her face. We will keep her in our prayers.

Just seeing her healthy will be more than payback enough! Praying for the little girl.

I have Healthy Paws for my 4 and really like it.

Looking for a Yorkie?
 

You may want to consider a rescue Yorkie. They turn up at the shelters and rescue groups all the time. I have 4 that were found as strays. Pics are in my profile. Check out RescueMe.org

A lot of breeders stipulate that the dog must die, be destroyed or returned to the breeder(then destroyed) in order to get a new or replacement pup under the guarantee. By the time something pops up most people with a heart will be too in love with the pup to put him/her down and will opt out of the contract and just pay as much as you can as long as you can to keep em' healthy and comfortable. Just get some good insurance and pray nothing bad happens. That worry is not good for you or the pup.