Chewy

bethh

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Hey All,

I haven't had an opportunity to update everyone. Chewy seemed to be getting worse. He saw a cardiologist and was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. His breathing had gotten worse and we found out he had congestive heart failure. She doesn't give him a very good prognosis. Thats all the bad news. But there is good news. He's now on heart medications and is like a new pup. He's energetic and playful. However long he has he will have a great life.

I contacted the breeder and let her know what we found out and that the cardiologist recommends that these dogs not be bred again. Hopefully they won't breed them again.
 

Southern by choice

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:( So sorry to hear this. I am glad you are committed to caring for him. It is good the breeder know,perhaps some genetic testing will be in their future.
 

Baymule

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I am so sorry that Chewy has this diagnosis. I admire you for continuing to take care of him and let him live out his life surrounded by your love for him. :hugs
 

bethh

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:( So sorry to hear this. I am glad you are committed to caring for him. It is good the breeder know,perhaps some genetic testing will be in their future.
Thanks. We will do everything that we can for him.
 

bethh

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I am so sorry that Chewy has this diagnosis. I admire you for continuing to take care of him and let him live out his life surrounded by your love for him. :hugs

We are too. I knew it wasn't going to be good before we he was seen. He'd started coughing. He'd get winded coming up the stairs. I knew it was severe. I'm glad that his meds are making him more comfortable.
 

bethh

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I'll try and take a better picture of him tomorrow.
IMG_0066.JPG
 

Wehner Homestead

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He’s gorgeous! I’m glad that you are giving him a chance for the time that he has. Give him a bear hug from me!
 

Ridgetop

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I wish I had seen this posting earlier. I am so sorry that you had to go through this. I am glad that you contacted the breeder to let them know about the puppy's heart condition. Here are my 2 cents worth and it may not be very popular. I am sorry in advance if it offends anyone but this is my opinion without any emotional attachment. Maybe it will help someone else who has this problem in future.

Did you have a contract on the puppy? Did it have a clause about getting him checked out? You did not say whether or not you had a sales contract. Good breeders stand behind their puppies and always have contracts. If you did, and if there was a health clause in the contract, since you had him checked promptly and the heart defect was discovered almost immediately, the breeder should refund the price or offer you another puppy from a future litter (not a repeat breeding of this one). Usually the breeder will take the puppy back before replacing him or want to see proof that he has been euthanized. In this case, you are keeping the puppy and have him on meds. These meds will run into a lot of money over his lifetime. His lifespan may be shorter than normal. His heart condition may precipitate other physical problems as he ages. He may not be able to act as an aggressive LGD against predators or may have a heart attack while on guardian duty. These are all things to take into consideration BEFORE deciding to keep him. However I see that you have had him since January so that advice is too late. However, hopefully you did receive your money back from the breeder, or at least a promise of money back with proof of neutering.

When you buy a working dog, livestock guardian, herding, hunting, etc. you are buying a certain amount of years of expected use. The dog is not just a pet, but a working member of your operation. Good LGDs are not cheap to buy, cost a great deal to feed, and provide vet care, etc. for. In addition, we come to love them and their eventual loss is painful. In this instance, assuming the contract provided for it, I would have returned the puppy and found another puppy immediately before becoming too emotionally invested. Since you decided to keep the puppy anyway, I hope the breeder offered to return at least half your money since she could not guarantee that the dog could even perform as a working LGD with a severe heart condition.

I can't fault you for deciding to keep the puppy and spend the money on medication. Often we make decisions with our hearts instead of our commonsense. You know that you are letting yourself in for possible heartache down the road. We have spent a lot of money on various surgeries for our animals over the years, including expensive medications even though we knew the outcome was poor. We did it because they were members of the family, and because they had earned that care with their service and devotion. You have a good heart, and hopefully the medication will give Chewy a happy life for as long as he has.
 

bethh

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I wish I had seen this posting earlier. I am so sorry that you had to go through this. I am glad that you contacted the breeder to let them know about the puppy's heart condition. Here are my 2 cents worth and it may not be very popular. I am sorry in advance if it offends anyone but this is my opinion without any emotional attachment. Maybe it will help someone else who has this problem in future.

Did you have a contract on the puppy? Did it have a clause about getting him checked out? You did not say whether or not you had a sales contract. Good breeders stand behind their puppies and always have contracts. If you did, and if there was a health clause in the contract, since you had him checked promptly and the heart defect was discovered almost immediately, the breeder should refund the price or offer you another puppy from a future litter (not a repeat breeding of this one). Usually the breeder will take the puppy back before replacing him or want to see proof that he has been euthanized. In this case, you are keeping the puppy and have him on meds. These meds will run into a lot of money over his lifetime. His lifespan may be shorter than normal. His heart condition may precipitate other physical problems as he ages. He may not be able to act as an aggressive LGD against predators or may have a heart attack while on guardian duty. These are all things to take into consideration BEFORE deciding to keep him. However I see that you have had him since January so that advice is too late. However, hopefully you did receive your money back from the breeder, or at least a promise of money back with proof of neutering.

When you buy a working dog, livestock guardian, herding, hunting, etc. you are buying a certain amount of years of expected use. The dog is not just a pet, but a working member of your operation. Good LGDs are not cheap to buy, cost a great deal to feed, and provide vet care, etc. for. In addition, we come to love them and their eventual loss is painful. In this instance, assuming the contract provided for it, I would have returned the puppy and found another puppy immediately before becoming too emotionally invested. Since you decided to keep the puppy anyway, I hope the breeder offered to return at least half your money since she could not guarantee that the dog could even perform as a working LGD with a severe heart condition.

I can't fault you for deciding to keep the puppy and spend the money on medication. Often we make decisions with our hearts instead of our commonsense. You know that you are letting yourself in for possible heartache down the road. We have spent a lot of money on various surgeries for our animals over the years, including expensive medications even though we knew the outcome was poor. We did it because they were members of the family, and because they had earned that care with their service and devotion. You have a good heart, and hopefully the medication will give Chewy a happy life for as long as he has.

Thanks @Ridgetop,

I didn't ask for a contract. Lesson learned. I didn't ask for nor did they offer any sort of compensation for his health issue. My husband and I decided in the beginning before we knew the extent if his condition that we would take care of him to the best of our ability. We could have probably asked to return him for a refund but didn't feel he would get the care that he deserved. These people seemed very nice but don't think they would have gotten him the medical attention. This is an assumption. It does put us in a difficult position because I don't know if he will be able to partner with Gracie the way we would like him to.

We will see how things progress at this point.
 

Ridgetop

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This whole experience has been very unfortunate and sad for you, but all is not lost. Chewy seems to be doing ok on his medications and has become an active, happy puppy. I suggest you keep him on his meds and let him partner with Gracie. She will train him and in the beginning will also guard him while he is a puppy. Depending on the amount of physical activity he has to do (property flat or hilly, does it have straight sight lines, number of animals to be protected, do you bring the flock in the barn or up near the house at night, etc.) he may do just fine. He is a livestock guardian dog and wants to work. It is ok to let him work at this job. The probability may be that he will have a shorter lifespan, but he will be happy doing his job of guarding livestock. If it gets too much for him, you will notice and can have the vet change his meds or whatever needs t be done. In the meantime, you can enjoy Chewy, Gracie has a helper, and he will have a good life. You will get a contract next time. It will work out, and you know you have done all you can for him.

Good luck to you and Chewy.
 

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