For the last 40+ years, we have been in the breeding and raising of puppies, we have been able to live and learn many situations that have been the building block of the way we manage our Puppy sales, Contracts, and Guarantees, I hope I can shed some light into many questions and doubts of what really constitutes a True Contract and guarantees that provide the buyer ease and fairness state of mind and as well it protects the breeder-Seller when it comes to being
a Fair Act for both Buyer and Seller.
I will share some stories of situations we have run into and withhold names for Respect to our Southernwind Family, these stories are examples of the backbone of the reason of what our contract and guarantees establish.
We all know that Puppies are living creatures and many things can happen unexpectedly, the home change, the stress, new family environment, new food change, traveling, Contact with other dogs, visits to the Vet, in fact, the list is quite long, but all of these new changes and challenges may trigger situations we may have never expected.
Let's start by basics, Puppies Sire and Dam are always meticulously selected with specific traits, strong health histories, certifications of hips and elbows and DM clearances, good temperaments not only on the parents but we check in the ancestors before that so we can have a solid background to build upon. Puppies are raised in a controlled environment, where hygiene and cleanliness is the priority, Our puppies are watched 24/7 during the first two weeks and checked upon to watch their growth and development. they are dewormed at 2 weeks for three consecutive days, and this is repeated every 2 weeks for over the 8 weeks period they stay in our homes before they get their Health certificates and go to their new homes. They get their first vaccines at 6 weeks and then at 8 weeks when the Vet comes to do the health Certificates. The Vet examines for everything possible, Stool samples, heart rates, Lungs, skin conditions, joints, testicles (males) umbilical hernias, weight and releases the Health Clearances according to what they have examined. If there is a doubt on the stools we go the extra mile and have them do a stool culture to be certain everything is fine and there is no bacteria that didn't show up in the stool.
In fact, the puppies are released with a complete Health Certificate! But..what happens then? we sit down and offer a long list of indications and take our time explaining the proper way to raise the puppy, starting from basic puppy feeding, housebreaking, water, training, bonding, exercise, structured training, we offer by email a long list of important articles that we expect the owner to read and abide by it, we explain the situation and importance of a crate, the importance of not having the puppy playing in slippery floors, the consequences this may bring, the importance of not having toys that they can chew and swallow causing obstructions, keeping the puppy under control so they do not chew electric cables, shoes and toys that may cause great injuries even death! Basically, we try our best to cover every corner of the puppy's life from A to Z to help in the correct raising and development of the puppy.
But situations happen, the puppy gets the "runs" due to stress, change of foods, something he ate, or even the Giardia or coccidia test that came up negative, shows up to be positive under these changes, and this does happen. In previous blogs, we have written about these, Parasites, Coccidia, and Giardia. And given the complete explanation of why these may show up.! Why do we offer a 72-hour Veterinarian examination from your Vet? Because we want you to be certain that the puppy was released healthy as the Health Certificate stated, why not more time? Yes many people say this is not fair, they should have more time, and I know it may seem such a short time, but if we allow over 72 hours, puppies can run the risk of getting a contagious disease, and then the breeder will be blamed for, if the puppy eats something and gets a bad inflammation-causing terrible upset stomach conditions, then the breeder gets blamed for something he had no control over, in the past we have had a family calling us two weeks later and telling us we had sold them a sick puppy and that the puppy was vomiting and was very weak and was claiming it was on us.. I remember telling this lady, please stop yelling at me and run with your puppy to the Vet, she must have eaten something is causing an obstruction and needs to be immediately attended by a Vet, Urgently, she screamed and said that no way in the earth this puppy had been left out of her sight and that she swears by her life that the puppy had not eaten anything and it was my fault I had given her an unhealthy puppy???? Long Story Short, Yess indeed the puppy had eaten an Air conditioner insulating tube and some foams and totally obstructed the puppy, the puppy almost died, then she calls me to ask me forgiveness and to excuse me, I told her I did not care about what she said or about what she accused me of I just want to know your puppy is safe and is fine, this is all that matters to me! This is just one story of MANY MANY stories of puppy owners who ride the story that the breeder has to be blamed for everything that happens to the puppy! Puppies with weak rears.. due to growing stages, slippery floors, lack of exercise, bad nutrition etc, Puppies with Growing Pains, it happens, and it's not the breeder's fault. Puppies are living creatures and yes they can be prone to develop many conditions as it can happen with our babies and kids, sometimes I would say I wish I had a Magic Wand and could find the solution for every situation, but it's not like that!
We support our puppies, our breeding program, every breeder does, and they try their best, but not all conditions can be blamed upon a "Bad Breeding" some dogs do develop some conditions like some babies and children do. Believe it , we try our best to bring a 4 paw-bundle of joy into your home. We want him to last a long life and be your partner in your life! That is our true intention, Dogs for a Purpose ..a Mission in life!
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