[ SHOWGSD-L ] Frustrated - Long
- From: <cnnpmm2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:21:15 -0400
Kim and I sold a 14 week old lovely puppy to an equally lovely family. It
appeared to be a match made in heaven.... Stay at home mom. Dad has a stable,
very high paying job. Beautiful home. Fenced yard. Prior experience owning
GSD's. Good references.
Fast forward 2 months... We get a frantic call from the dad telling us that he
took the pup to be neutered and the vet postponed the surgery because she fears
the pup may have a serious liver or kidney problem. The vet told them this
probably runs in the lines. Especially seeing how the puppy is a GSD. Mom
and Dad are freaking out.
We asked to see the puppy's complete medical records, including all lab tests
and results. Going over the test results, I noticed only *one* abnormality...
The puppy's BUN(Blood Urea Nitrogen) was *slightly* elevated. That's it. I
told the dad that a high protein diet, mild dehydration or stress can cause a
slight increase in the BUN. What often happens to pups/dogs at the vet's?
They become stressed and slightly dehydrated. Plus the pup is on a high
protein diet.
The dad did tell the vet what I said. The vet told the dad that the pup's
urine specific gravity was low, meaning his urine is too dilute. This can be
one of the first indicators that all may not be well with the kidneys. When I
went back and looked at the pup's specific gravity value, I found it to be in
the *normal* range. His urine was not too dilute!
The vet asked the owners to bring the pup back in a week and repeat *all* the
tests. They did this and the BUN was normal as were all the other tests.
(Once again.) The pup was scheduled to be neutered in a week. However,
despite all the lab values being normal, the vet told the owners that the
puppy, because he is a GSD, may still be developing kidney/liver problems and
that he needed to be monitored.
Meanwhile, I studied the vet's notes and discovered a couple unusual(to me)
things... While the puppy was anesthetized, the vet recommended pulling the
puppy's remaining baby teeth, giving the puppy a Fluoride treatment and
x-raying his hips. Kim and I told the owners, in no uncertain terms, that the
puppy did not need his baby teeth pulled and that he certainly did not need a
Fluoride treatment. We also expressed our concerns about the puppy being under
anesthesia so long in order to do all these things. BTW, the puppy is a very
athletic, doesn't limp and has a very nice gait. However, the Vet felt that
his hips should be x-rayed ASAP, seeing how GSD's are prone to hip dysplasia.
The puppy was neutered, his baby teeth were pulled, the fluoride treatment
given and his hips were x-rayed. That night, Kim got another frantic call from
the dad... The vet told the owners that there was a 6% chance that the puppy
was going to develop hip dysplasia and that they really needed to watch him.
How the vet came up with the 6% chance of hip dysplasia beats me!
Kim and I asked to see a digital image of the hip x-ray. We appalled when we
looked at it! The positioning was horrendous! The OFA would have rejected the
film with only a glance.
Anyhow, we're worried about the pup's future well being. This vet has made the
owners extremely fearful that something awful is going to befall this puppy
simply because he's a GSD. Seeing how the owners are now so worried that the
puppy is going to develop kidney/liver disease or hip dysplasia, we told them
that we would like to take the puppy back and give them a full refund. They
don't want to return the puppy, so we gave them the option of going to a highly
recommend vet, one who knows GSD's, instead. We're not sure what's going to
happen as the owners are believing whatever their vet tells them and that Kim
and I, as breeders, are just trying to cover our butts.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Paulette McGuirt, GSDCA Member
Wellborn-Allemande German Shepherds
Qui Me Amat, Amat et Canem Meam
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