I woke up to a blog topic this morning. As I opened my eyes I thought about my dishwasher; the one that was supposed to be fixed twice in the last couple of weeks. The first guy hadn't fixed anything so another guy had to come out a week later. Just two weeks later the dishwasher was having the same issue; it was still not fixed. So I called Sears to have them come out yet again. Of course my warranty just expired and the guy on the phone said "no, we do not warranty work done under warranty." "What?" "Even if it is the same problem that YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO FIX WHEN IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY?" "That's right."
Then there was the plumber guy who unclogged my kitchen drain; it is an ongoing issue. As they were wrapping up and writing out my bill I asked "how long is the warranty on this?" "No warranty," the guy exclaimed. "What? you don't warranty anything?" Nope. So I asked "if this clogs tomorrow, it's just too bad for me?" "Yes," he said unless I buy a warranty. I was shocked, there was nothing to do if this guy didn't do his work and simply took my money. So being that we are in the holiday season I bought the stupid 90 day warranty that would at least get me through the holidays. I woke up thinking about all this and then thought about dog warranties.
What sort of warranty or guarantee do you get with a dog? First let me say that in life there are no guarantees so even if a dog comes with a great one, it is still not a guarantee of perfection. My Luke came with a great guarantee, all of his relatives were fully health tested and I have a book of certificates to prove it. But alas he is epileptic and suffers from seizures. Perhaps in his lines somewhere one of his relatives was also epileptic; but we will never know that. What we know is that all of the relatives who were included in my package of photo copied certificates were free of several genetic diseases and hip issues.
But if a dog comes with a health guarantee; what does that really mean. What it usually means is that if your dog shows any of the certified diseases or health issues and is proven by a Veterinarian then the dog will be replaced by another. So you turn over the dog that you have fallen deeply in love with for another one who hopefully is not a dud. Hmmmmmmm. Not likely right? I have yet to meet anyone who's dog was suffering from a hip disorder or any other genetic defect that handed over their dog for a replacement.
It goes without saying that I am talking about dogs who come from a breeder. Many people who breed dogs do no sort of health testing. They have a look at their dog and figure "healthy." It is the first thing that I ask people when they are planning to breed their dog "do you have all the health tests done?" Often the answer is "no, but she is really healthy." But how do they know that she is not carrying a disease that is hidden? How do they know that she does not have Hip Dysplasia? But that's just the female, what about the male that this person uses? They may just find a male of the same species to use and care nothing about any health issues. Looks good, must be healthy.
There is much more to breeding dogs than the actual act itself. The very first thing is health tests. Why on earth would you breed a dog that you have no real idea of health on? By choosing not to do health test you are risking a very sad life for many families and those puppies as well. I don't know how many puppies I've met who are stricken with health issues that then leave a new family dogless and grief stricken. It's not right, it's not fair and there is no need for it. Sure things can happen even to the best of breeders, it's called life. But if you do all the right tests and try to breed the best and healthy dogs that you can then you will vastly reduce the chance of health issues arising.
I know breeders who turn a blind eye to certain health issues. They have a dog that they have put all their hopes and dreams in. Once they discover a problem, they cannot turn off the future that they had set out for this dog. But they MUST, they need to pull the plug so to speak. STOP the cycle. If more people pulled dogs from breeding because of health or temperament issues there would be less dogs but also less sick or damaged dogs. Less is sometimes a much better thing. Fewer better dogs would be a great thing.
So when you are looking for a puppy from a breeder; the first thing you want to ask and be given proof of is health testing. You want to see that the breeder cares about the puppies that they will bringing into this world. A breeder who does not do health testing is simply scrimping where there should be no cutting corners. They may say that their dog is healthy but they cannot know that unless they do testing. When a breeder does find an issue within their lines they should pull a dog out and look at any related lines to that dog before breeding.
No you probably will not return a puppy that is hit by a genetic defect but if you buy from a breeder who is trying to give you the best and healthiest puppy that they can; you may not have to ever deal with that issue. A warranty or guarantee is by no way a guarantee, but at least you know that your breeder cares to do what is right for you and their puppies.