12/02/2023
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Why you shouldn't buy that puppy
Today’s the day. You’re picking up your new puppy. A couple months ago you found an ad for German Shepherd puppies for sale, you went and picked out your puppy, you’ve been gathering all the things you’ll need for him, and you’ve been impatiently waiting for the day you get to bring him home. You anxiously make that two hour drive, smiling from ear to ear and thinking about all the adorable puppy snuggles you’re about to have. Those first few puppy months will be difficult, but you’ll make it through. With lots of training and daily exercise, you'll turn him into the best behaved boy, and you’ll be very proud of both yourself and your dog. You’ll end up spending the next 7 years with your best friend. Making incredible memories, going on awesome adventures. Until that one dreaded day. You wake up in the morning and you notice your dog seemed to fall when he woke up. He’s limping a bit on his back leg, but after a few minutes he’s back to normal. It seems like his leg was asleep, maybe he slept on it weird, you tell yourself. Until it happens again, only this time his leg doesn’t return to normal, and you notice it's happening with both of his legs. He starts to drag them a bit as he tries to walk, he seems wobbly, and has difficulty getting up from sitting or laying down. You immediately make a vet appointment. You’re hoping it’s nothing, or that maybe it’s something that can be fixed with surgery. After all, your dog is only 7 years old. The vet comes in after running tests and tells you that your dog has Degenerative Myelopathy. First signs of the disease generally begin between the ages of 7-12. You have no idea what that means, but the vet tells you that it is a genetic progressive incurable disease of the spinal cord, it will not only paralyze your dog, but it will eventually make it’s way up to his front legs and neck, and inevitably lead to death. Your dog is given 6 months to three years to live. If he does make it three years, he will need constant care. He will develop urinary and f***l incontinence, and he will never have the quality of life he once had. They recommend euthanasia.
This all happened because some irresponsible backyard breeder decided to breed their dogs without doing proper health testing. Ethical, responsible breeders would have tested both parents for the gene prior to breeding, to ensure their puppies came out healthy. Backyard breeders only breed for money, and they do not do any necessary testing. The gene SOD1 can be responsible for the development of this disease. A DM DNA test can show whether the dog is clear of the gene, is a carrier of the gene, or has two genes. No dogs that are both carriers of the gene should ever be bred. If the dog has two genes, they are at risk of developing DM, but this does not mean they will 100% develop the disease, it just makes their chances of developing it much greater. This is one, amongst many genetic diseases, that can be tested for and prevented in litters. It is one of MANY reasons why people should boycott backyard breeders, and it is also one of MANY reasons why pet professionals have opinions about backyard breeders. No one deserves to lose their pet in this way. No one deserves to watch their pet suffer from something that could have been prevented.
So remember friends, adopt a dog from your local shelter, or if you wish to purchase a puppy, please do adequate research to ensure they are ethical breeders that do proper health testing. Regardless of what some may believe, there are many breeders who breed for both quality and health, they do it because they are passionate about their breed of choice, and many of them spend A TON of money on their dogs, leading to very little, if any profit, from the sale of the litter. Dogs bred from responsible breeders will rarely ever end up in a shelter, because homes are carefully screened and questioned prior to taking home a puppy. They also have a clause in their contract that prohibits new owners from breeding their dogs. In addition to that, reputable breeders will always take one of their puppies back if the owners can no longer care for them, even if already well into adulthood, because to them their produced puppies are family, not just dogs.
PLEASE adopt OR shop responsibly, because supporting backyard breeders also supports the abundance of unwanted dogs that end up in shelters, and you as the purchaser are part of the problem.
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