Kennel Guarantee: Displaysia

[Jmnhunter]

I was wondering if it is worthwhile having my vet check my dog of any signs of hip displaysia before the 2 year guarantee is up, coming this Nov?

[leechlake]

I did it with my lab I have now because she was pretty spendy and it was part of the procedure you had to follow, so you spend the cash find out everything is cool and then your happy you got the good news makes paying feel better. I'd suggest doing it.

[Jmnhunter]

hey Leech, how long does it take the vet and about how much?

thanks!

[GSP4ME]

Depending on where you are you may have a vet in your area that will do the PENN HIP evaluation and you can get the official results then. It varies on if the have to relax the dog or not to get them to hold still. You cant do the OFA certification until two years old which is why most kennels do a two year guarantee. Just call a couple of your local vets and ask about price, nothing wrong with doing that

[LABS4ME]

Take your dog to Dr. Fran Smith in Burnsville. She has been on the board of OFA and can tell you without question what your dogs hips confirmation are. She will most probably most likely sedate the dog and take films... about 30-45 minutes... been a while since I've had to do them... over 10 years. I'd say $200-250 for the visit, films, and OFA paperwork. If you are never going to breed the dog and just want an idea of what they look like, most any vet can take a quick pic and tell you the structure of the hip... if you're there, you might as well get the elbows checked too... that should also be part of your guarnatee...

also a guarantee is only good if you plan on using it. IE: most require you to turn in the dog to get a future pup or your money back. You have to emotionally be able to do so or why even worry about the guarantee... Most people can not. I haven't seen your guarantee, so maybe it's not the case. I have looked over many a friend's guantees back in the day when dysplasia was quite common... they said they would never give up the dog to get a new pup and they weren't ever going to breed them, so in that case, what's the point? Go about your business and don't worry about it... if you can't 'use' the guarantee as written, why take on the expense of hip evaluations?

Personally I think 2 year guarntees are a joke. Your dog has to be a minimum of 24 months to even get an OFA rating. If you're going to give a guarantee, give the new puppy buyer enough time to get things done and certified. I've even seen many guarntees go to 5 plus years by breeders... I am going to extend mine out on future breedings to 5 years from 36 months now. I firmly believe good breedings will not have problems with dysplasia so adding 2 more years is no problem. I also have a clause written for the puppy owner to be able to keep the dog.

Good Luck!

Ken

[BLACKJACK]

On my new pup, reading the fine print on the health guarantee, it stated that the dog needed to be registered with the AKC, with the kennel name somewhere in the official AKC name. Seemed chinzy and a waste of money to me since my intention was to have her fixed the minute she was old enough, but spent the money ($20) to get a minimum AKC registration, just so the 'health guarantee' wasn't null and void.

Anybody else heard of this??

[nofishfisherman]

I know I had to register my vizsla but I don't recall it being tied to the health guarantee. Our breeder did ask that we include the mothers name and the breeders name in the registration name but I guess I didn't have an issue with it since its a name the only exists on file in the AKC office and on the breeding history that the breeder keeps.

I remember talking about the guarantee with the breeder when we signed all the paper work and she awknowldeged the difficulty in giving up a 2 year old dog that you bonded with. They said in the very rare event of their being an issue we'd work something out at that time and that they wouldn't expect us to give up the dog.

I agree if you are required to give up your dog in order to excercise the guarantee and you aren't able to part with your dog then I wouldn't even worry about the tests. If you are able to maybe get a partial or full refund and still keep the dog then the test might be worth while, or if you aren't emotionally attached to the dog and are able to give it up then it might be worht the money.

[Jmnhunter]

thanks for the responses, yeah thats just it, they told me i would have to bring the dog in; and theres no way in he|| i could or would do that. I suppose it could be a situation like nofisherman if I got ahold of them and if they would give me a discount for a future pup..

thanks

[duckbuster]

Ken pretty much nailed it. If you are "just" curious to see how your dog is coming along joint wise take him to your vet for a picture. Your vet will be able to give you a yea or nay on what they look like, for your peace of mind.

Blackjack, to your question, there are quite a few out there that want their kennel name tied to the register name to uphold the guarantee. I will never do it again, like you I think it is talk. Word of mouth is always your best advertisement. Meaning, my dogs will always be registered BUT never will they have a kennel name tied to their register name!!

[cavalierowner]

... Personally I think 2 year guarntees are a joke. Your dog has to be a minimum of 24 months to even get an OFA rating. If you're going to give a guarantee, give the new puppy buyer enough time to get things done and certified. I've even seen many guarntees go to 5 plus years by breeders... I am going to extend mine out on future breedings to 5 years from 36 months now. I firmly believe good breedings will not have problems with dysplasia so adding 2 more years is no problem. I also have a clause written for the puppy owner to be able to keep the dog.

Good Luck!

Ken

I agree, but I personally think ANY guarantee (not just 2 or 3 or 5) that requires an owner to return the dog is a joke. Heck, it might as well be a 50 year guarantee!! That's a ploy the BYB's (Back Yard Breeders)and brokers for the puppy mills use because they know that the chances of anyone returning their dog is slim to none. Ken, we have the same clause as you do for the dog owner to keep their dog if they wish. That's small part of the difference between a reputable breeder and a BYB or broker for a mill.

If the OP's contract states that he has to return to dog to collect on the guarantee, then I would agree with some others to forget checking for dysplasia unless the dog starts showing signs of a problem.

[FCspringer]

OFA will also do a prelim. But yes your going to pay. A good vet will as said have a fairly good idea. I know of one in wst cen MN that does a great job for 90 bucks. I would do it. And personally as the breeder, sure I would want my vet to look the dog over but, I would also want you to have the dog if you would like, with no papers and a spay/neuter agreement.Plus a full refund. But it would have to be a actual case of hip dyp. Not just a poor or low score. Thankfully I have not had to have a family go through that yet.