Bloody hate backyard breeders

[TPO]

A friend bought a German shepherd during the first lockdown (breaking all travel restrictions to view it and then collect later).

She asked my opinion and I told her what a bad idea I thought it was. She then told me the name of the seller/breeder as was relatively close to me. She is well known in the horse circuit and a bargepole is too close. Lots of stories of being dodgy. I told my friend this and strongly advised not to buy a dog from her. Apparently he was too cute to say no to ?

Now they have a dog with separation anxiety after having adults and kids at home 24/7 (currently resolved with new lockdown) and it has hip dysplasia. Didnt see that coming...

Apparently the surgery will be 10k so they are stressing because insurance only covers 3k. She was told hes not that bad and fine just now so surgery on hold. I didnt ask any details or say anything beyond it being a shame for the dog. Had to choke all my "I told you so" down ?

I'm no dog expert but I've picked up enough over the years being around people who are and know enough to spot a dodgy breeder from a good one.

Puppy Farmers will never go out of business because there will also be people who know better, dont heed advice and fall for "its cute". I dont know how you fix stupid.

I also know someone with a jackuahua and it appears to be vet issues on legs. My nana was a chihuahua breeder and why youd ever want to cross that out to a JR is beyond me!

 

[Shady]

Bless him TM. He's a dear little chap and yes I agree completely with the poor breeding nowadays. It's the same in the cat world when looks became more important than health and character.

I have no idea if this is something you can look into for dogs but the vets had about given up on one of our horses who kept getting renal colic which was absolutely awful. I went on line and searched for anything that would stop the stones forming and apple cider vinegar kept coming up so I bought the unpasturised one with the ' mother' in it and gave 50ml a day as directed . That was about a year ago and iv'e not had a problem since. His wee is also completely different too.
Might be worth a look into as my vets were not only amazed it worked but had never heard of it as a treatment at all. I now know for a fact that they have taken my success with it on board and recommended it to another horse owner.

 

[deb_l222]

Hadn’t thought of chappie, he’s a fussy git plus the constant dry food clogs him up a bit. I’ve tried soaking the dry food but he doesn’t eat it, but somehow he’s still on the larger side despite small portions and no treats ??‍ He’s lost a fair bit of weight since I’ve had him but he’s still carrying a bit more than I’d like on his dodgy legs.
He’s on the specific struvite management at the mo, costs me nearly as much to feed as the greyhound ??‍ But hasn’t had any stones or problems since I’ve had him

When I first got Willow, she went on Autarkey to match what everyone else was eating but she soon had persistent UTIs and was constantly smelling 'fishy' around her lady bits. Few trips to the vets and antibiotics didn't clear things up so we eventually sent off a urine sample and there were struvite crystals. Vet said, start on the Chappie, so I did and she's not had an infection since. I have no idea what's in (or not in) Chappie that stops crystals forming but it does work and is significantly cheaper that prescription food. The tinned stuff is also very tasty to most dogs and it's low fat

 

[Clodagh]

When I first got Willow, she went on Autarkey to match what everyone else was eating but she soon had persistent UTIs and was constantly smelling 'fishy' around her lady bits. Few trips to the vets and antibiotics didn't clear things up so we eventually sent off a urine sample and there were struvite crystals. Vet said, start on the Chappie, so I did and she's not had an infection since. I have no idea what's in (or not in) Chappie that stops crystals forming but it does work and is significantly cheaper that prescription food. The tinned stuff is also very tasty to most dogs and it's low fat

Interesting - Tawny had a fishy whiffy rear end the other day but I assumed anal glands. She must be missing the vet, she hasn't seen him for a while.

 

[misst]

My old neighbour had a JRT x Chi and it looked very similar - very very yappy, terrier like temprement with no recall and quite snappy. She got it from Dogs Trust and it needed to go to an adult only home as had snapped at the new baby... It developed a prolapsed disc and was paralysed but had surgery and made a great recovery. It was prone to weight issues and it's body was too big for it's head and legs. Whilst it lives with a shitzu it is a bully and not nice with other dogs.
He seemed to have the worst of both breeds with poor hind legs and dreadful front leg conformation on a rectangular heavy body. His owner adored him but has dementia and he and his equally difficult shitzu brother are up for rehoming - it is sad as she adored them both and managed their problems well until she became unable to do it. I am hoping Battersea will be able to rehome them but wonder how difficult it will be. If they end up in the wrong homes they will end up being PTS...

 

[TwyfordM]

My old neighbour had a JRT x Chi and it looked very similar - very very yappy, terrier like temprement with no recall and quite snappy. She got it from Dogs Trust and it needed to go to an adult only home as had snapped at the new baby... It developed a prolapsed disc and was paralysed but had surgery and made a great recovery. It was prone to weight issues and it's body was too big for it's head and legs. Whilst it lives with a shitzu it is a bully and not nice with other dogs.
He seemed to have the worst of both breeds with poor hind legs and dreadful front leg conformation on a rectangular heavy body. His owner adored him but has dementia and he and his equally difficult shitzu brother are up for rehoming - it is sad as she adored them both and managed their problems well until she became unable to do it. I am hoping Battersea will be able to rehome them but wonder how difficult it will be. If they end up in the wrong homes they will end up being PTS...

Pips very similar sadly, recall is non existent until he’s ready to come back (the greyhound recall is far better insanely) he’s really snappy over toys and food, reactive at other dogs and has really bad reactions to cats (person Nan got him from allowed cat to “teach him manners” as a puppy ? he’s never got over that and reacts with fear aggression no matter how much we’ve tried)
Ive tried working on most of it, not really got far. My greyhound puts him in his place if he’s being OTT though which he responds better to.
Thing is he’s the sweetest little dog, really does try to please but realistically he needs a job but his body doesn’t allow it. So he’s always mentally understimulated. If you threw the ball for him all day, he would chase it all day. The energy levels are insane.

We know how to avoid issues arising, but if you rehomed him there’s a fair chance he’d end up going for a kid.

 

[TwyfordM]

Ironically, he loves my little sister though. Shares her bed and goes to her first when she’s calm for a cuddle. But she knows not to touch him if he’s wound up.

 

[misst]

He is the exact same build as Charlie. Charlie loved sitting with M his old owner but is not very nice with many other people. He is only about 6 or 7 so young to be PTS but I do wonder if this wouldn't be best for both of the dogs - the shitzu has skin issues and is 12+ years old. Unfortunately it is not my decision to make, because I would definitely put that one to sleep for his own sake and to secure his future as again, he is "cute" but was a rehome and has bitten a few times in the past. They are going to Battersea soon, which, from research seems to be the most hopeful choice as I've been told they research the dogs temprement more than Dogs Trust or RSPCA. I dread someone just seeing them and wanting them because they look cute.

 

[TwyfordM]

He is the exact same build as Charlie. Charlie loved sitting with M his old owner but is not very nice with many other people. He is only about 6 or 7 so young to be PTS but I do wonder if this wouldn't be best for both of the dogs - the shitzu has skin issues and is 12+ years old. Unfortunately it is not my decision to make, because I would definitely put that one to sleep for his own sake and to secure his future as again, he is "cute" but was a rehome and has bitten a few times in the past. They are going to Battersea soon, which, from research seems to be the most hopeful choice as I've been told they research the dogs temprement more than Dogs Trust or RSPCA. I dread someone just seeing them and wanting them because they look cute.

Awful for the dogs, I agreed when we decided to get a companion dog for Nan, that whatever happened, I’d take him on if she passed away before him, he used to come to mine when she was away three dads a week for dialysis in the end and longer periods when she got hospitalised so the change over was gradual. I think if he ended up in rescue, he would have either been ok up until rehomed then returned or the tons of issues being upfront, would have put people off taking him on.
I think he’s around 8 now. So watching out for potentially problems getting worse.

 

[scats]

Just a musing about some cross breeds. When I was looking for another little dog, I had my heart set on a Shih Tzu, but I had come across many during grooming with issues due to being brachycephalic. I ended up getting a Shih Tzu x JR and she is a wonderful dog. The JR has given her a bit of nose length, but she still has that lovely Shih Tzu face. She doesn’t have the issues that many brachy dogs have. It’s a lovely cross.

I groom a few pugs and frenchies and it breaks my heart to see them struggling to breathe. One constantly vomits and heaves due to the stress of trying to catch it’s breath,mit’s extremely distressing. Unpopular opinion perhaps, but I think in some cases we need to inject some crosses into these breeds.

Obviously that’s not supporting back yard breeders, but just a general musing.

 

[TwyfordM]

Just a musing about some cross breeds. When I was looking for another little dog, I had my heart set on a Shih Tzu, but I had come across many during grooming with issues due to being brachycephalic. I ended up getting a Shih Tzu x JR and she is a wonderful dog. The JR has given her a bit of nose length, but she still has that lovely Shih Tzu face. She doesn’t have the issues that many brachy dogs have. It’s a lovely cross.

I groom a few pugs and frenchies and it breaks my heart to see them struggling to breathe. One constantly vomits and heaves due to the stress of trying to catch it’s breath,mit’s extremely distressing. Unpopular opinion perhaps, but I think in some cases we need to inject some crosses into these breeds.

Obviously that’s not supporting back yard breeders, but just a general musing.

Oh definitely, i really like pugs personalities but I wouldn’t touch one with a barge pole because of how bad their breathing issues are now. The gene pools been so narrowed on these breeds too because of trying to breed that look
Pip has the typical chihuahua collapsing windpipe, which thankfully has improved a fair bit with him loosing some weight. But it’s bloody scary when it happens. He’s very much got the chihuahua face, big eyes/skull but tiny narrow nose and jaw.

Only happens when he’s wound up, and you can calm him down and get him breathing normally after a few minutes but it used to happen on every walk. Or even at the mention of a walk/picking up lead etc. If I put Lucy’s lead on first he would freak out thinking I was going to leave him behind so now I have to put his on first to prevent the panic attacks ?

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Pips very similar sadly, recall is non existent until he’s ready to come back (the greyhound recall is far better insanely) he’s really snappy over toys and food, reactive at other dogs and has really bad reactions to cats (person Nan got him from allowed cat to “teach him manners” as a puppy ? he’s never got over that and reacts with fear aggression no matter how much we’ve tried)
Ive tried working on most of it, not really got far. My greyhound puts him in his place if he’s being OTT though which he responds better to.
Thing is he’s the sweetest little dog, really does try to please but realistically he needs a job but his body doesn’t allow it. So he’s always mentally understimulated. If you threw the ball for him all day, he would chase it all day. The energy levels are insane.

We know how to avoid issues arising, but if you rehomed him there’s a fair chance he’d end up going for a kid.

If his brain needs more work than his body can cope with doing, do you have any brain training toys? Although, if he's not that interested in his dry food, he might not be motivated enough to see them as treats, but perhaps if you decide to try another food maybe there's also a dry food option.

Anyhow, I've recommended Nina Ottosson brain training toys before on HHO. Just noticed that it says on her homepage that so many shops now sells them in different countries, that they don't sell directly to private customers anymore, but her homepage still have good explanations, and the toys are divided into Level 1 Easy https://www.nina-ottosson.com/products/level-1-easy-beginners/, Level 2 Medium https://www.nina-ottosson.com/products/level-2-medium-suit-all-dogs/, and Level 3 Advanced https://www.nina-ottosson.com/products/level-3-advance-active-smart-dogs/.

There's videos on her homepage, but here is one from YouTube of a dog that have several of her toys:

 

[TwyfordM]

If his brain needs more work than his body can cope with doing, do you have any brain training toys? Although, if he's not that interested in his dry food, he might not be motivated enough to see them as treats, but perhaps if you decide to try another food maybe there's also a dry food option.

Anyhow, I've recommended Nina Ottosson brain training toys before on HHO. Just noticed that it says on her homepage that so many shops now sells them in different countries, that they don't sell directly to private customers anymore, but her homepage still have good explanations, and the toys are divided into Level 1 Easy https://www.nina-ottosson.com/products/level-1-easy-beginners/, Level 2 Medium https://www.nina-ottosson.com/products/level-2-medium-suit-all-dogs/, and Level 3 Advanced https://www.nina-ottosson.com/products/level-3-advance-active-smart-dogs/.

There's videos on her homepage, but here is one from YouTube of a dog that have several of her toys:

Thanks I’ll have a look into them ? i would need to work out some food to motivate him though as he wouldn’t bother for his dry food. I’ve been trying to get him to do tricks that don’t put too much pressure on legs. We roll over and commando crawl now ? he has also taught himself how to open the baby gates if they’re not locked properly ??

I had a video come up on memories of me teaching him sit and paw when he was about 18months old and you can see the beginning of leg issues even at that age

 

[TwyfordM]

This photo always breaks my heart too, this was a year back not long after Nan passed away. My aunt had a cushion made for my mum with Nans cardigan, pip immediately recognised it and just curled up on it ?
He’s ok now, after a couple of weeks he stopped doing it, he’s stopped trying to pull in at the gate to Nans place that was over the road from us too, but it took a while.
They allowed us to sneak him into the hospital and care home a couple of times too, which he showed absolutely perfect behaviour. He was the perfect little companion for Nan, absolutely adored her so owe him to make sure he has a good life now

 

[FinnishLapphund]

View attachment 64112

This photo always breaks my heart too, this was a year back not long after Nan passed away. My aunt had a cushion made for my mum with Nans cardigan, pip immediately recognised it and just curled up on it ?
He’s ok now, after a couple of weeks he stopped doing it, he’s stopped trying to pull in at the gate to Nans place that was over the road from us too, but it took a while.
They allowed us to sneak him into the hospital and care home a couple of times too, which he showed absolutely perfect behaviour. He was the perfect little companion for Nan, absolutely adored her so owe him to make sure he has a good life now

That is both so sweet, and heartbreaking at the same time.

 

[DressageCob]

View attachment 64112

This photo always breaks my heart too, this was a year back not long after Nan passed away. My aunt had a cushion made for my mum with Nans cardigan, pip immediately recognised it and just curled up on it ?
He’s ok now, after a couple of weeks he stopped doing it, he’s stopped trying to pull in at the gate to Nans place that was over the road from us too, but it took a while.
They allowed us to sneak him into the hospital and care home a couple of times too, which he showed absolutely perfect behaviour. He was the perfect little companion for Nan, absolutely adored her so owe him to make sure he has a good life now

That's a beautiful photo. Bless him.

 

[Lynnfigaro]

View attachment 64112

This photo always breaks my heart too, this was a year back not long after Nan passed away. My aunt had a cushion made for my mum with Nans cardigan, pip immediately recognised it and just curled up on it ?
He’s ok now, after a couple of weeks he stopped doing it, he’s stopped trying to pull in at the gate to Nans place that was over the road from us too, but it took a while.
They allowed us to sneak him into the hospital and care home a couple of times too, which he showed absolutely perfect behaviour. He was the perfect little companion for Nan, absolutely adored her so owe him to make sure he has a good life now

What a wee soul.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

But a girl at work was horrified when her bitch was impregnated by her brother, she was sure, being siblings, they wouldn’t fancy each other ?

It never fails to astound me on the springer group I’m part of, people regularly post about getting a bitch and a dog from the same litter. What the hell do they think will happen when the bitch has her first season??

 

[splashgirl45]

well they wont breed as they are brother and sister.....

 

[Clodagh]

well they wont breed as they are brother and sister.....

Well, like, obviously ?

 

[P3LH]

well they wont breed as they are brother and sister.....

What annoys me is, it really isn’t difficult to keep them apart.
My house is relatively tiny, I don’t have ample rooms to hide madam in. She’s just come out of heat, she lived in the kitchen (small) behind a stair gate and had playtime’s in the garden. The boys were banned from going beyond the living room door, and they know the score. One did howl this time for a night or two, I slept on the sofa as he didn’t do it when I was there. It wore off very quickly when he learned that howling wasn’t going to get her, all it got was me instead doing my sternest ‘enough’ - not quite the same end product!!!

 

[paddy555]

It never fails to astound me on the springer group I’m part of, people regularly post about getting a bitch and a dog from the same litter. What the hell do they think will happen when the bitch has her first season??

Nooky!!!!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

It’s just so frustrating isn’t it (I’ve never met a nice doodle either!) the pug crosses are terrible too. He has the chihuahua collapsing windpipe too although it only happens if he gets too wound up ??‍

My friend breeds Griffin Bruxellos (probably spelt wrong) for pet homes and her dogs are the healthiest little dogs with the nicest temperaments. I just wish I’d known her before Nan got the pipsqueak as they are the perfect little lapdog, but relatively unknown over here.

My grandma had one years ago. It was a horrible little dog but may have been the product of its former training, (vet asked her to take it on after the owner died).

 

[Clodagh]

What annoys me is, it really isn’t difficult to keep them apart.
My house is relatively tiny, I don’t have ample rooms to hide madam in. She’s just come out of heat, she lived in the kitchen (small) behind a stair gate and had playtime’s in the garden. The boys were banned from going beyond the living room door, and they know the score. One did howl this time for a night or two, I slept on the sofa as he didn’t do it when I was there. It wore off very quickly when he learned that howling wasn’t going to get her, all it got was me instead doing my sternest ‘enough’ - not quite the same end product!!!

We used to keep entires together and no unwanted pregnancies either, it isn't rocket science.

 

[yhanni]

Equally horrible is the fad for 'pocket' dogs which seem to be just stunted, deformed runts being sold for ridiculous amounts of money. Somebody near me was selling 'pocket' bulldogs for £10k each!! I also saw a photo of a 'pocket' mastiff yesterday which made me very sad. Poor, poor dog

 

[BBP]

Equally horrible is the fad for 'pocket' dogs which seem to be just stunted, deformed runts being sold for ridiculous amounts of money. Somebody near me was selling 'pocket' bulldogs for £10k each!! I also saw a photo of a 'pocket' mastiff yesterday which made me very sad. Poor, poor dog

I was just looking this up and saw 2 x 4 month old pocket bullies for sale, at a discounted price of £4K. From a litter of 12. That’s £48k for the litter if they all sold for the same. I can’t help but wonder what state the bitch must be in having a litter of 12 at that size. And I’m guessing it won’t be her only litter.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Probably AI and cesarean, so 'covering their costs' and adding a profit. Or they've thrown a couple of litters together, seems pretty large.

 

[P3LH]

Equally horrible is the fad for 'pocket' dogs which seem to be just stunted, deformed runts being sold for ridiculous amounts of money. Somebody near me was selling 'pocket' bulldogs for £10k each!! I also saw a photo of a 'pocket' mastiff yesterday which made me very sad. Poor, poor dog

We had a Yorkie with the rough collies prior to corgi Sherman tank coming. He wasn’t an intentional acquisition - I had lost my old terrier bitch and was narrowing down a small dog breed to fill her boots. A friends mum had rescued a yorkie via an independent rescue who took dogs in from all manner of backgrounds. She’d been one of a number of yorkies taken from appalling conditions in a BYB/PF set up. Cut a long story short we acquired a 15 week old yorkie pup from the same batch.

He was put down aged 4 years 7 months as had serious neurological issues including but not limited too encephalitis. From six months on he had what was initially thought to be seizures but latterly discovered they were not, and encephalitis was diagnosed. They were awful, these episodes. He would go rigid and lose all movement, stagger like he was drunk, fall, fall backwards - and all the time wide eyed and trying to get to me from wherever he was. In the end he had an episode and six days on was still not right, couldn’t move his head and neck properly and was just out of sorts. Vet agreed brain damage, and I decided it was now kinder to let him go.

In addition to this he had serious behavioural issues. He would attack the other dogs for no reason at all. He was vicious when groomed (makes sense with his health issues). He had the dog versions of almost panic attacks if taken out of the house so no amount of work and positive training ever got him to enjoy a walk - in the end I stopped trying after 18 months. He would hair pull when stressed. He would almost binge eat and then vomit, this was something that came and went in fads. He often messed himself in fear over what ‘normal’ dogs wouldn’t have cared over.

I would say he spent probably about 60% of his short life IN the vets for treatment or tests.

He was lovely and sweet but SUCH hard work to live with. A great character but my god, life was difficult owning him. His quality of life, looking back, was always so poor.

It broke my heart to let him go, no matter how hard work it all was, especially so young. The key thing for me was when the vet said ‘what is scary - is that had he not been rescued with the rest of them, he’s the sort of puppy the internet is full of’

I repeat that line to every potential puppy owner I know and meet

 

[Kay Burton]

Equally horrible is the fad for 'pocket' dogs which seem to be just stunted, deformed runts being sold for ridiculous amounts of money. Somebody near me was selling 'pocket' bulldogs for £10k each!! I also saw a photo of a 'pocket' mastiff yesterday which made me very sad. Poor, poor dog

I don’t understand why animals are bullied, some kind of mutants are taken out. What dogs, what cats. They brought out Munchkin - the poor cats have a problem with the musculoskeletal system. Likewise with various strange dogs. I am for normal animals, not for dwarf dogs and other perversions.

 

[TwyfordM]

We had a Yorkie with the rough collies prior to corgi Sherman tank coming. He wasn’t an intentional acquisition - I had lost my old terrier bitch and was narrowing down a small dog breed to fill her boots. A friends mum had rescued a yorkie via an independent rescue who took dogs in from all manner of backgrounds. She’d been one of a number of yorkies taken from appalling conditions in a BYB/PF set up. Cut a long story short we acquired a 15 week old yorkie pup from the same batch.

He was put down aged 4 years 7 months as had serious neurological issues including but not limited too encephalitis. From six months on he had what was initially thought to be seizures but latterly discovered they were not, and encephalitis was diagnosed. They were awful, these episodes. He would go rigid and lose all movement, stagger like he was drunk, fall, fall backwards - and all the time wide eyed and trying to get to me from wherever he was. In the end he had an episode and six days on was still not right, couldn’t move his head and neck properly and was just out of sorts. Vet agreed brain damage, and I decided it was now kinder to let him go.

In addition to this he had serious behavioural issues. He would attack the other dogs for no reason at all. He was vicious when groomed (makes sense with his health issues). He had the dog versions of almost panic attacks if taken out of the house so no amount of work and positive training ever got him to enjoy a walk - in the end I stopped trying after 18 months. He would hair pull when stressed. He would almost binge eat and then vomit, this was something that came and went in fads. He often messed himself in fear over what ‘normal’ dogs wouldn’t have cared over.

I would say he spent probably about 60% of his short life IN the vets for treatment or tests.

He was lovely and sweet but SUCH hard work to live with. A great character but my god, life was difficult owning him. His quality of life, looking back, was always so poor.

It broke my heart to let him go, no matter how hard work it all was, especially so young. The key thing for me was when the vet said ‘what is scary - is that had he not been rescued with the rest of them, he’s the sort of puppy the internet is full of’

I repeat that line to every potential puppy owner I know and meet

So sad ? Pip has fits/seizures occasionally. Mainly if he gets too wound up. But it’s horrible to see because they come on fairly slowly and he usually starts making his way towards you then eyes sort of glaze over and he goes stiff, jaw snaps shut too. Usually after about 30 seconds of rubbing his legs to try and relax muscles the tension goes completely and he’s back to normal if a bit quiet for a while.
I figure he must feel them coming on and head towards us because he wants help