The breed is an elkhound. The litter consisted of a 2 females and a male, I was going to purchase the male. The only one available now is the runt.I am buying a puppy from a breeder %26amp; the 1 I picked out died from heart worms, any advice on buying the runt?
My advice is don't buy it. If the one had heart worms there is a good chance this one does too. Please, please before buying a dog from a breeder make sure the breeder is a responsible breeder, not a BYB.
This from e-how:
Once you have decided on the breed you are looking for, visit the internet and find the NATIONAL BREED CLUB for your breed. Review all the information about the breed and find the web pages or phone contacts of breeders that are listed there. National breed clubs almost always have certain standards and ethics quides for any breeders which are listed on their pages.
Step2Prepare a questionnaire of questions you want to ask the breeder. This is a good one:
What health guarantees do you have?
Can you give me a vet reference?
Can I visit your kennel and if so, when?
How long have you been breeding?
Do you enter your own dogs in AKC events?
Can you send me a sample copy of your contract?
Do you sell your litters to pet stores or brokers?
(there is NO responsible breeder that will sell to a broker or a pet store, since it is too difficult to follow through on who is getting your puppy!!)
The LAST question should be ';how much do your puppies cost?'; but it is of course an important question
Step3Do make plans to visit the kennel and while there check the following things:
Are the dogs healthy and happy?
Does the kennel owner know each one by name?
Do the dogs have places to run outside their pens?
Are the pens clean and roomy?
(even if the home is a mess or in an uproar and not very neat, the kennels should be clean and all dogs should have food and fresh water available)
Is the whelping area in the house?
(puppies should be raised INSIDE a home for at least the first four weeks in order to get all the necessary social and physical attention needed in the first few weeks)
Do the sire and the dam act friendly and sociable?
(sometimes the STUD dog may not be available, the female may have been shipped elsewhere for breeding)I am buying a puppy from a breeder %26amp; the 1 I picked out died from heart worms, any advice on buying the runt?
That sounds very fishy! How old are the pups? If they are younger than 6 months old, then the puppy did NOT die from heartworms.
If the mother was infected with heartworms, it could pass on to the puppies but the worms cannot reach maturity and could not be the cause of death. Either way, the pup died, the breeder seems to not be telling the truth here or has neglected basic care that led to the death and you don't want what could possibly be a sick runt.
Do NOT purchase a puppy from these people! Continue researching other elkhound breeders. Make sure the puppy comes with some sort of health guarantee and make sure to take it to the vet for a complete exam. Best of luck to you!!
**the complete life cycle of a heartworm takes 6 months. Puppies should be started on preventative at 8 weeks of age, not 6 months! If you do not have a pup on preventative by the time they are 6 months or older, a test has to be done prior to giving them the heartworm pill. If a dog has heartworms and is given the preventative, it can cause a serious reaction that can KILL the dog. Please, talk with your vet about heartworms and the intestinal worms that most puppies have: roundworms, whipworms, hookworms. All four of these common parasites would be treated for monthly by the heartworm pill. Tapeworms are common as well but are transmitted by fleas and are not treated by the heartworm pill. Not everyone is correct here. Please get the advice of a veterinarian. Good luck!
WHAT!!!
The puppy died of heartworms?????????
Not likely
You don't even test a pup for heartworms until after it is 3 months old. Most don't start a pup on heartworm prevention until after it is 6 months old. (provided it tested negitive at 3 months)
Pups are not born with heartworms, it takes 3 + months for heartworms to mature.
So wrong in so many ways, me thinks you need to find a different breeder
edit
Heartworm CAN NOT be passed from dog to dog. A mosquito must bite an infected dog, then the mosquito must ';incubate'; the larva for two weeks, and then bite another dog.
The whole litter is infected by them and apparently really badly if one of them's already dead.
That breeder obviously isn't taking proper care of his dogs if he didn't have his ***** checked for heart worms before he bred from her. You should report him to the RSPCA and the Kennel Club. Also post his name on here, then people know not to buy from him.
I would NOT suggest getting from this breeder.
The ';problem'; [unless the dog was over 3 months of age, it wasn't heartworms] could have been avoided with an early check on the dogs, as well as an over-all checkup.
I do hope you researched plenty before deciding on the breed.
How old was the pup that died from heart worms? Did a vet give heart worms as the cause of death? Unusual for a very young pup to die of heart worms. Pup could have died of distemper or garidia and the breeder just doesn't want to tell you. I would definately pass on this breeders dogs.
If there were only 3 thats not too good, average is like 6-8. I'd maybe look elsewhere. My dog was the runt and is now kind of big for her age lol she was fine, but if one died, thats not too good. Sorry but I'd move onwards.
I wouldn't reccomend buying it, I'd call animal police on the ***** actually. If one already died from heartworms, why buy the dog if it may die too?
Do not buy from this breeder, he let the puppy die of heart worms which could be avoided if they were properly taken care of. Do some more research and find a better breeder.
dont buy any more from that breeder dont get them from any breeder they come frrom puppy mills.if the other one died dont buy anymore from this guy until u have proof from a vet saying he is complaetly healthy.good luck
Do not buy from this breeder.
Wait awhile and research a new breeder.
If this dog died the others could be sick too.
sorry about this
I wouldnt buy from him at all, heartworms can be passed from dog to dog and he apparently isnt taking good care of his dogs. 3 is a very small litter for an elkhound.id look elsewhere.
I'd run FAST. Anyone who breeds dogs that die from heart worms is not someone you want to get a dog from. Go to your local animal shelter and adopt a homeless dog.
a pup dieing should be a red flag that the breeders neglecting the animals do not buy a pup from that breeder.
since the one you had picked out died, why would you want to take a chance on the runt? run away from this ';breeder'; sounds like her dogs are in lousy shape!
TAKE IT TO THE VET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!鈥?its probably going to have heartworms sometime or another.
Do not purchase any dog from this breeder. If one puppy had heartworms the others will too.
Don't buy any dogs from that breeder go to a animal shelter to get a dog.
I have always gone for the runt in a litter because they are really the smart ones of the litter and real fighters for life.
They also are easier to train. That is just my opinion.
