From: repass@austin.ibm.com (Jim Repass)
Subject: Re: puppy mills
Originator: repass@futserv.austin.ibm.com
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 20:50:10 GMT
Organization: IBM Corporation, Advanced Workstation Division


In article <16B537440.CBARNES@tamvm1.tamu.edu>, CBARNES@tamvm1.tamu.edu (Chris Barnes) writes:
> In article <C0I99s.H9w@austin.ibm.com>
>    repass@austin.ibm.com (Jim Repass) writes:
>  
> >> "Oh.  Do you guarantee against hip displaysia until the dog is 2?"
> >> 	"No. The guarantee is 1 year."
> >> "But Orthopedic Foundation for Animals won't certify a dog is free of hd
> >>  until it is at least 2 years old.  You can't tell if a dog is okay at 1
> >
> >As a responsible Newfoundland breeder I only guarantee puppies to be free
> >from crippling hip displaysia for 1 year. Crippling means that the dog can't
> >function. The OFA certification at 2 years is NOT part of the guarantee.
> >The dog can fail the OFA and still be a happy, functioning animal. Of course,
> >we don't breed dogs that don't get their OFA. To my knowledge, no one
> >guarantees their puppies to be FREE from hip displaysia.
>  
>  
> I DO.  And everyone that I associate with that breeds does.  I think
> you need to redefine what you think is a "responsible" breeder.  I
> sure wouldn't buy a puppy from you with that kind of garantee.

Maybe I am out of date but I don't think so. In Newfoundlands hip displaysia
is a common problem. And since OFA has only been screening for a relatively
few years, it is not possible to check back more than a few generations. Now,
I have bred an OFA certified bitch who had OFA certified parents to a dog with
similar certificates and got dogs that did not pass the OFA screening. In fact,
we kept one of them. He is now 5 and 1/2 and did not OFA when we had him tested
at 2. There are NO signs of any problems. He has his CD but we are not going
any farther because of the POTENTIAL of problems with jumping. He also is NOT
going to be used to breed. However, he is doing draft work and water work and
he is a therapy dog at a head injury hospital. When we sell puppies, we make
the potential buyers aware of the problems that may arise from owning a Newf
and clearly spell out our guarantee. We have had no one turn down one of our
puppies because of our guarantee. We may have had some decide to not buy
because they hadn't understood how much of a problem it is to care for a
150 lb. hair drooler that only lives to an average of 8-10 years though.

Now back to my point. Is displaysia in Retrievers rare? Or is it a problem
that won't let them function? Different breeds apparently handle Displaysia
(and guarantees) differently.

Yes, I've replaced puppies under my guarantee except for one case where the
owner didn't want to part with the dog and elected to have hip surgery. In this
case, we refunded their money. And I have NOT had anyone ask about replacing
their dog after the guarantee period.

>  
>  
>       -----------------------------------------------------
> Chris Barnes            |   President - Bryan/College Station
> cbarnes@tamvm1.tamu.edu |         Retriever Club.
> (409) 846-3273 (home)   |   "Dedicated to the betterment of
> (409) 845-4437 (work)   |               the retrieving breeds"
-- 
Thanks,       Jim Repass  | Internal - jim@repass.austin.ibm.com
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