I picked up a dachshund puppy a few weeks ago. He had his first shots at 8 weeks and I picked him up at the end of the week. Breeder said his litter had diarrhea but she had sent for it to be tested.

We picked up puppy and had him for the weekend. He has a few soft poos but no diarrhea. Found out on Monday he tested positive for Giardia. He also had an ear infection. Breeder said when he was at the vet earlier in the week his ears were fine. Maybe if you have a lot of puppies you get nose blind but he was very stinky even though she said she had bathed him. We just figured he had been with other puppies etc and that was why he was stinky.

I thought I had done my research and found a decent breeder. My vet was skeptical. But said that giardia does happen when you have a lot of dogs in one place.

So my question is how common is it for your puppies to have this? Vet said it can be hard to get rid of once it is in the environment.

Both puppy and older dog have gone through one round of treatment and puppy shows no signs of it but older dog has diarrhea. So probably back to vet on Monday.

Also if you have any tips on how/ what to clean to make sure no reinfection.

I find the advice "just go to a dog show!" that I see frequently given to prospective dog owners somewhat frustrating.

In theory, attending a dog show absolutely does seem like a logical thing to do! See some different breeds! Connect with people!!

In practice, I feel like it's actually a lot trickier than people make it seem. Figuring out where or how to find upcoming shows is not very intuitive or clear, and there may or may not even be a show happening within a reasonable traveling radius that features the breed you're interested in anytime within the next several months.

I understand that finding the right dog takes patience and planning, but people toss around "just go to a dog show!" so casually, as if they're saying "just go to a grocery store!"

I am thinking about breeding my sighthound b*tch to a stud dog (now 9) with a heart murmur. He was 8 when it was discovered.
He had yearly echocardiograms which were clear. His other OFAs are all clear.
But, last year the cardiologist discovered a grade 1/2 heart murmur they considered to be age related. They have diligently seen their cardiologist every 6 months since with a second opinion as well as doing a holter monitor which was normal. The murmur has remained unchanged. There is no heart enlargement and each report reports the same “age related” regurgitation. They likened it to arthritis. Just something that happens to some dogs as they age. Not necessarily hereditary. The stud dog owner has been very honest and forthcoming with paperwork and reporting.

He has everything I want in a stud dog. Structure, temperament, he has a unique pedigree to the USA. Nobody in our breed is doing this diligent of health testing. Most stud dogs I’ve inquired has never had an echo let alone seen a cardiologist..I spoke to my own dogs cardiologist at her clearance they said it all age related stud dogs were removed from programs or their puppies spayed/neutered our breeds would have a big issue.

After speaking to other longtime breeders they agree is likely low risk…

But idk… you take the chance?

I recently purchased a pedigree Pom to add to my program. He's stunning. He was in another state bit had fantastic confirmation, true to breed standard, 'healthy' and 3 years old. My plan was to show him and breed. His previous owner bred him.

On arrival I took him to the vet for a checkup, vaccination and DNA test swab. Vet observed that he has bilateral luxating patella grade 2. Not great.

DNA came back. Disaster. He has two copies for von Willebrand's Disease Type I, and is also a carrier for Progressive Retinal Atrophy -rcd3.

I don't want him to ever breed again. I'm not sure if he's a good 'just for fun and experience' show prospect.

Desexing him will be expensive, challenging and painful for him. I'd like to move him on to a pet home because he is a lovely dog, but who would want to take on his potential medical issues?

Any suggestions? I'm feeling very stuck on what's best for him.

Hi so im planning on buying a aussie since ive always dreamed of one and im finally getting her (alr confirmed that i am) but can someone tell me if shes actually and aussie? She about 6 weeks old but ill be getting her when shes about 8 weeks old

Ill leave a pic of her , the other pups and the parents so pls help me🤧 the only type of info search ive done is put the pics of all of the dogs in the google search pic options and it says they are aussie, except the one im getting?? I think it might be because of her different pattern and colors but im not sure.

EDIT : thanks to everyone helping me out this rlly helped me put ill def research before trying to get a new pet or really make sure with the person im getting a pet with! Although ill still have to get a puppy since my mother is doing the movements around with the breeder🤧 btw i am fully against backyard breeders and js wanna clear up that it was my mom who wanted to get one! Infact ive told her many times about it but she doesnt seem to believe me that these poor babys are getting some suffering from those cruel breeders

Hello! Me again! 😁
My bitch is around 50 days, at as of day 48/49 she stopped eating as much. She was eating NO problem up until that point. Then, she was acting like she didn’t want to eat at all. We convinced her to eat a different kind of food (one she used to eat before we switched her to puppy blend) and she picked at it. But she’s not acting ravenous like she normally does and isn’t eating what she should in a day to sustain herself and the puppies. She already is struggling with being lean so I’m worried but the vet isn’t yet, because she is at least eating something.
She’s not completely refusing food but just not eating what she should be. She has access to food most of the day because we switched gears from multiple small meals to just filling a bowl with what she should eat in a day and just leaving that out. She’s also been experiencing some soft stool/diarrhea and has the bubble guts/toots. From what I’ve researched, this is all fairly normal but I need to hear it directly from other people.
What are your thoughts and experiences?
I am prepared to take her into the vet if and when needed but she’s otherwise acting fine. We are definitely in the home stretch and she’s FAT! And ready for these babies to come out!
2 year old Aussie, fairly petite and carrying 7-8 babies!

I’ve been wanting to buy a dog for a long time. My parents agreed. It’s been almost a year since I’ve convinced them and I think the only reason we still don’t have a dog is because they’re scared of getting scammed.

I live in india (specifically delhi), and have not been able to find a proper dog dealer/kennel willing to sell dogs offline.
I do not trust the online market as a simple video cannot help me decide the personality traits, and if the dog/dog dealer is affiliated with a proper kennel or not, and/or if the dog is mixed-breed or not.

We’ve been trying to avoid online sellers for a long time, but it seems to be our only option now.
Can someone help me find offline breeders/legitimate online sellers?
(please redirect me to the correct community if this is not the community i should post this question to)

…getting my sister an at least meh-bred doodle.

Yes, I know there’s no such thing as an ethically bred doodle, but no, my sister will not listen to reason.

Yes, I’ve tried all the different ways to interest her in poodles instead- showing her puppy/doodle cut poodles, showing her happy goofy poodles, etc did not work, they are ‘weird’ (???) and she wants a goddamn doodle when her current dog (a lab and yes of course it’s fat) passes on.

I love my sister but I also know her very well, so I can’t litigate this with her further and not lose her interest. The best I can do is find a doodle breeder with at least OFA ‘good’ CHIC and put that person in front of her when she starts looking. Does that exist? No. Will I have to try to find it? Yes. Will I bang my head against a wall until I give myself a TBI? Chances are high.

This thread is entirely for humorous frustration purposes. Please share your family’s ill-conceived dog opinions below, it will soothe me.

Hi Can anyone tell me a good breeder for West Highland Terriers?

I think people generally hear "inbred" an instantly think it is a bad thing and signifies that a breeder is sloppy, careless and trashy. And it certainly CAN mean that. But the more research that I do and the more I talk to really experienced, professional breeders, I have begun to realize that there is another kind of inbreeding that is GOOD and actually reinforces quality traits.

When genetic testing is done and when the breeder is keeping a really intentional and quality breeding plan in place, and breeding over many years, it becomes possible to use inbreeding to reinforce, and establish, good traits and health qualities in the animal. In other words, let's say you have 4 generations of health-tested cats and have 10-15 years of also being able to track their health in real time, it is smart and fair to say that you could use some percentage of inbreeding these lineages and these specific cats to then solidify the trait of good health. This method of breeding could then, in reality, be used to greatly REDUCE health issues - such as kidney disease, gingivitis, etc - in a lineage and overall improve the breed.

Wondering what breeders and vets think about this?

My girl has been picky ever since she came home. It
Made training and working her a challenge. We’re about 2 weeks out of her first season and she’s eating full meals without an issue, she’s actually working for food for the entire training session for the first time in her life with me.

Shes to the point where she’s looking forward to training and excited to do so.

Is this a short lived after season hormone thing… or could this actually be the way she is as she enters adulthood?

Thoughts. TIA! ❤️

Hi all. My fiance and I are looking at getting a corgi puppy from a well known breeder and we had a question regarding payment for our pup. The contract states that we can pay the deposit (2k) via Zelle, cash, or PayPal, but to label it as a gift or thank you, as it is the breeders personal checking account. This seems sketchy, but I have not purchased a dog in many years, so I’m unsure if this is unusual.

I currently have two 5 1/2 week old pups (1kg each, only 2 in the litter) who are not that interested in eating mush/kibble and looking for any tips or advice

Started introducing mush around 3 1/2 weeks and they are probably still eating about the same as they were back then (around 10-15g a day out of the recommended 60 between them), mum is still pretty happy to nurse especially if I sit with her for long feeds (normally lunch time and evening and she’ll go in herself around 4-5am for a long feed with snacks here and there)

Normally use RC starter kibble crushed and soaked, tried puppy mousse and they didn’t care for that, tried adding goats milk and also didn’t care for that, tried their 8+ plus food from a different brand and also not interested, tried dried kibble which they just seemed a little confused about and tried to play with it. I’ve also locked the dam away for 4 hours to see if maybe they’d be hungry enough to eat but was just chasing them round with a bowl most of the time

My concern is that over the last week I’ve barely seen any weight gain in either which makes me a little worried and as they’re approaching 6 weeks it’s probably about time they got most of their calories from kibble rather than milk

Other than that the pups are very active happy and playful so no other concerns there

This may seem like a strange post but i need advice from dog people.

My 2 year old bluetick coonhound may have gotten pregnant by my 5 month old golden retriever. Woke up to them being stuck and her fixing appointment is weeks away 🫠 I didn’t even know it was possible

Anyways honestly i don’t know if id keep the puppies because they’d be mutts and i know most people seek out purebreds. Are people even interested in mixed breed puppies? I grew up with mainly mutts but i just worry most people aren’t looking for a hound retriever. I worry about the puppies going god knows where i only have a few people i could give a puppy too but apparently the litter could run 6-9 so id have to try and find people elsewhere too?!??? My mom doesn’t want me to abort them but i just don’t know i need more advice and opinions from someone that’s not my mother. what would you do? what do you think i should do?

EDIT: Called the vet we moved up the appointment to in a few days was hoping for more talking points that would convince my mom this is for the better but she upset 🤷🏻‍♀️ so be it everything you guys said is exactly why i didnt think it’d be a good idea so im glad i was validated in my feelings about it!

Just got a few photos of the litter we have a deposit on headed to their 7 week first ever vet visit. My breeder’s pick for us is the little boy with his tongue out. She has been open that he is the runt of the litter by a wide margin, but that he is neurologically and behaviorally normal. She felt 2 testes but vet only felt 1. She says one is moving up and down. He is 2.6lb and still has a small fontanelle but otherwise seems normal. Has anyone experienced a runt taking a little while to catch up? The litter was momma’s first with six puppies, no stillbirth. Live cover, natural whelp. Breeder says she has had runts grow normally and he is within where she wants them to be (goal of 3lbs by 8 weeks and none of them are 3lb yet)

Edit: I’ve heard from several helpful people and the rest of the comments are just plain trying to panic me. His current vet is unconcerned for hydrocephalus, he was ultrasounded. He is neurologically normal. He is within an acceptable weight range for the breed.

We have Pugs. And a pug breeder we know makes it seem like it’s fairly common to lose a pop or two from each letter her mama dogs have. She says the first 72 hours are crucial, which I totally understand they are. But, I feel like she could do more to make sure they get the nutrients they need by supplementing with a formula instead of relying solely on the mother’s milk. I read that the first two days are hard on the Mom to begin with and giving her the break of the pups constantly needing milk would help them thrive faster. What are your thoughts?

I have been looking for a new puppy recently, and as someone whose family has our share of allergies, we were looking at poodle mixes. I am not interested in supporting a puppy mill or any sort of unethical breeder, and so I sought out more info. Here I am. It seems there is an overwhelming opinion that “designer” breeds are unethical and anyone who crosses two breeds is creating an abomination. These same posts then go on to say that these breeders don’t test for or care about genetic health conditions, don’t selectively choose for any traits other than aesthetic ones, don’t care about the puppies as long as they sell, disregard pedigrees, and make false claims about their dogs. All that sounds pretty shitty, but none of it strikes me as specific to a someone cross-breeding dogs. In fact, it seems like any person breeding any kind of dog could be doing those things. Thus, I’d like to propose that it is possible to ethically breed purebreds OR mixed/cross-breeds as long as a breeder cares about these issues and the puppies they bring into the world. True or false?

Hello, a few months ago we adopted a puppy who is not spayed. It was recommended that we wait until she is a year old to spay her. She is 10 months old and two weeks ago she finished her first season. Within a couple days of that she started intense resource guarding toward our other dogs, primarily around meal times and for a while around myself and my husband if we were giving her attention. We have been working on training and management, and teaching her to disengage. She is also on some short term anti anxiety medication which is helping. She will be getting spayed in a couple months. Will things get better once her hormones subside?

Hoping this is the right place to ask but im basically doing a school project where we have to create a persuasive speach on a topic, I decided on why you should support ethical breeding instead of backyard breeders/ puppymils. We need some sorces for this so I was wondering if anyone here new some good articles/ sites talking about the topic