health guarantee
 

Exactly what is a "health guarantee" ?? I see a lot of people saying dont buy a puppy without one. What would you as a consumer expect this health guarantee to do for you if your puppy ended up unhealthy?

Just curious.

Some breeders offer a health guarantee so that if something happens to the puppy within whatever time limit they say, then they replace the puppy or give some sort of refund or an offer of a puppy from a future litter if none are available.

They guarentee against heriditary diseases only, usually for one year.
Not for contagious diseases that they could get from other dogs, or things that could happen due to improper care.

would MVD or Shunt be considered hereditary, I know its not proven to be but is it considered that way??

Usually, yes. There are some who will say they can be congenital, which is different from hereditary, but many health guarantees will cover both congenital and hereditary defects. The catch in these health guarantees many times is that the breeder will want the puppy returned to them - which most of us would not do once we have chosen our puppy and had 10 minutes to bond and love her or him.

I would not go with a health guarantee in which the breeder would want the pup back if it ended up with MVD/liver shunt...I would want a breeder to stand behind their pups and offer at least partial refund to help with the medical bills. I don't think it's fair of a breeder to ask for the pup back once you have fallen in love with it. So I would not go with a breeder that makes you give the pup back and merely replaces it with another one. That's just my opinion though...

That's a problem my parents ran into years ago. They bought a puppy which was sick within 2 days. She had something seriously wrong, I can't remember though, I was a kid. I just remember the breeder asking my parents to bring the puppy back, and they didn't want to do that. They ended up taking the puppy back and they got another puppy, but then they thought about it and called to get the sick pup back and decided to just keep the both pups and try to help the sick puppy get well. The breeder had her put to sleep. This was only a few hours after they took her back.:(

See, thats what confuses me. With Diggy when he was thought to have liver issue the breeder instantly offered to take him back and give me a full refund or the other pup that was there. I was horrified, confused, sad, upset, just everything. The only thing I did know, was I had this lil guy for 4 days and there was NO WAY i was giving him up. I did not have a written guarantee, just verbal and she did hold true to it. I opted to keep Diggy (thank GAWD) and it was only hypo. She did not offer to help pay for the Bile Acid Test, nor any of the 500+ in vet bills. SO I am torn on wether I would call her a backyard breeder as I hear so many called. No the conditions at her house were not the best but that still doesnt mean she's "backyard" I personally would buy another dog without a guarantee. I agree it's like the lottery but I guess Im a gambler. Its all just and opinion and a preferance. I have absolutely NOTHING against someone saying they HAVE to guarantee, I truely think most of what we do in life is a gamble, and I take chances everyday. I just really wondered what the guarantees were for being i Have never had one!

So If I breed a dog, and have all the proper certs and lines, have every puppy Bile Acid tested, and follow every guideline set fourth to breed but offer no guarantees with the pups, would I be a backyard breeder? Or is this phrase more geared toward people would breed and breed with no certs and proper lines and are in it for the money??

I know how sometimes posts can sound bad or be taken the wrong way PLEASE dont think I am being argumentative/controversial as I am sure this can be a touchy subject I really am trying to get a feel for what is considered Back Yard Breeding.

our health guarantee covered both, but ours became sick from contact at her vet office and she cut the price in half for us to pay for the care and bought us some of the supplies/meds for us....( we also had the choice of another puppy or not to take anything and get down payment back) We dont have to give out puppy back, but if he dies in the first year ( not from contagious) we get a new puppy.

Most guarantees won't cover an injury; or an illness picked up from the dog park or the vet. I think it would be difficult to return a puppy to a breeder after a few days--we had a similar experience with Dayzee, our teapot yorkie--no papers ever given, puppy had kennel cough and 4 other infections--she refused to help with the vet bills--she'd take the puppy back but she wouldn't help with the medical care; so I do understand.

Exactly!! Here Diggy was having seizures after being with me 4 days and she wanted to give money back. I personally could NEVER have given him back. Whether it was congenital, hereditary, etc., I was fully commited to him.

What do those of you who wrote"no papers given" mean? I feel silly but I feel lost in the conversation because I got so many papers and contracts From breeder, her vet and AKC..that those are the only papers I can think of.
Thanks.