[aabbaDE]

I wanted to share with you an experience that I had a few years back. Drew wanted a Boxer so I got the local paper out called this guy who lived in BFE and drove for two hours to see this pup.

When we arrived the smell would have knocked you down, in his back yard was I bet 200 dogs most boxers all living in tiny little runs, my heart sank as he told me of the different breeds he had, then he hands me this cute little puppy. My heart broke for him and I paid this back yard breeder 250.00 for the little guy thinking I was doing this puppy a huge favor and saving him from such horrid conditions.

I did ask questions like age and was told he was 9 weeks and the guy even gave him his shots before I left. Two days after I got the little guy home we took him to the Vet and the vet said there was no way that he was 9 weeks. 4 weeks was more like it and they wanted to see him back in a few weeks to re-start his shots because they were not sure what the breeder had given and they did not want to do it again so soon, but three nights later the pup woke me vomiting and god awful diarrhea.

I sat in the floor holding him until morning then rushed him back to the Vets, he had Parvo (spelling) He spent a little over a week there and pulled through at the cost of over 2,000. Now I have this healthy little puppy only to learn that he has heart problems due to over breeding at least that is what the Vet said.

We named the little guy Brodee and for the first 5 months or so he was great. I at the time was raising my grandchildren ages 2, 3 and 5 and Brodee had always been really good with them. UNTIL one Friday morning I took the kids out to play and my two year old grandson was sitting in the grass pushing his little car and Brodee walks over and just kind of pushed him and I tell Brodee no.

Brodee walks away as though he is going to play with the other children and then suddenly turns and is looking my grandson in the face growling and showing teeth. Thank goodness I was right there. I put Brodee in his run and the next day when I let him out he pinned me growling. So back to the Vet we went, I thought he was going to rip the Vet apart, she suggested that I allow one of her friends to look at him who was a behavioral therapist. Turns out the poor fellow was not wired right and guess where that all started? In the back yard of the breeders house when he thought he would throw two dogs together to make a fast buck.

I had to have Brodee put down. I could have tried to find him a home but even if I had found one where whoever took him was aware of his issues I could still have not slept at night not knowing if that person could not handle it and gave him away or a thousand other possibilities that could have taken place.

My point is if you think you are saving a pup by buying it from a BYB you could be more part of the problem then the solution. I gave this jerk 250.00 and that allowed him to feed his over bred dogs only to reproduce more unstable dogs. I did call the breeder and I more or less was told "You bought him, he is your problem."

As long as there are uneducated people like I was at the time wanting a pup so bad that they will buy from anyone or just buy the pup because we think we are saving it, then there will always be BYB. But if we say we are only going to get pups from reputable breeds then the money flow stops for the BYB thus so does their supply.

The sad part is this, I have seen too many times people who claim they are saving a pup by BUYING it from an uneducated breeder, then a few weeks later they have them posted for re-homing going to god knows who and will be used for god knows what if they live long enough. If you paid for a pup you are not doing a rescue you are buying a pup. When you re-home not knowing the temperament of the dog you could be responsible for the next news headlines that only makes it harder on our breed and those that love and care for our breed. So please stop and think before feeling sorry for that cute little puppy.....

Thanks for reading I just felt I needed to share....Merry Christmas all

[WeestDype]

That's very very sad.

[jeraveike]

Thank you for posting that.

[aabbaDE]

Thank you for posting that. Your welcome Michele.....We make mistakes and with any luck we learn from them and I try to share so others do not do the same. I would like to think that if Brodee's story kept one person from buying from a BYB then his life had purpose and all that money I spent on him went to a good cause.

[Grizli]

That's a sad story, I think it's hard for a lot of people to keep their emotions in check when they see dogs in horrible situations, but you're right as long as it's profitable BYB's will keep overbreeding their dogs. Ironically I was just driving home from the park about an hour ago and what did I see attatched to a stop sign? A big cardboard sign advertising Boxer puppies for sale with a phone number.

[QvhhbjLy]

That is a great post, CK. Definitely needed to be shared, and I'm happy you did.

[7UENf0w7]

Thanks for your post, and I am terribly sorry for your loss.

[aabbaDE]

Thanks guys I just felt the need to share.

[drislerfottor]

Great post CK, thanks for sharing.

[somasideff]

Thank you for sharing that. Your experience is such a powerful example of why not to buy from BYBs even despite having a heart in the right place and thinking that one is "saving" a dog from a situation like that. At least Brodee was with you and you knew and cared enough to provide for him in all the right ways up until the very end.

[Guloqkcm]

how heartbreaking

I know it's hard but realize that now you are on the other side of the never-ending circle of BYB and problem pups (behavioral and physical) and can educate people from your horrible and unfortunate experience.

We see cases like this every day at the clinic...it's that continuous issue of "buyer beware".....but it still sucks because it's the pups that pay the ultimate price for the breeders ignorance and greed.

Thanks for sharing this story on here, hopefully it will open other people's eyes to this terrible problem.

[Guloqkcm]

oh and PS, if you DO decide to ever get another boxer (they really are great dogs when bred properly....clowns of the dog world!).....do know that they are the #1 dog breed prone to Cancer, along with Flat-coated Retrievers. And Heart disease (mainly Aortic stenosis/sub-aortic stenosis and cardiomyopathy)are also very common in the boxer breed.

A good breeder will know it is nearly impossible to breed those conditions completely out of the boxer line....but will still strive for perfection and should be screening their dogs....along with owning a halter monitor for checking their breeding dogs for heart issues, and have a good relationship with a canine cardiologist.

[aabbaDE]

What bothers me most is not the money that we lost, it is the fact that there are many Brodee's out there and there are people that have no clue why the dog suddenly starts showing aggression and they re-home him. I guess most of the time sooner or later the dog finds himself at a shelter and is put down, but what about those that just get re-homed and end up hurting someone or possibly killing a child? These are the ones I worry about.

Worse yet what about the Brodee's that get breed to produce more unsound dogs. I would like to say if you want to do a rescue by all means do it but please make sure you are ready for anything that may come along even if it means you may have to one day have the dog put down but above all this if you do a rescue with the intent to re-home make sure the dog is fixed and if at all possible seen a behaviorist.

Sadly these poor pups can not help the way they are if it is a genetic problem and those problem do not just go away.

[aabbaDE]

oh and PS, if you DO decide to ever get another boxer (they really are great dogs when bred properly....clowns of the dog world!).....do know that they are the #1 dog breed prone to Cancer, along with Flat-coated Retrievers. And Heart disease (mainly Aortic stenosis/sub-aortic stenosis and cardiomyopathy)are also very common in the boxer breed.

A good breeder will know it is nearly impossible to breed those conditions completely out of the boxer line....but will still strive for perfection and should be screening their dogs....along with owning a halter monitor for checking their breeding dogs for heart issues, and have a good relationship with a canine cardiologist. I love Boxer's but we now have 3 APBT so that is all we can handle at the moment. But you are right they are awesome dogs, Brodee always had a way to make me laugh, he was so silly We really miss him but we know he is in a much better place.

[somamasoso]

Run free Brodee. I'm sorry your breeder didn't care enough to do the best for his dogs, but I'm glad your mum cared enough to do what was best.

[aabbaDE]

Thank you Zoe.....

[Crilosajsamq]

Let me get this right. A five month old dog pinned you to the ground?
No one said anything about pinning me to the ground. He pinned me against the run and bit me. Brodee was right at a year when we had him put down. We worked with him of some suggestions that the behavioral therapist gave us and nothing was working. This was one of the hardest things me and my family ever had to do.

You should like, write a book. I am not sure what your problem is with me, but every since a thread here with another poster you have had nothing to say to me unless it is rude. I will inform you that I and that poster have worked out our differences and I have offered to help her with anything she needs since we live in the same town. Now with that said if you have a problem with me take it up with me in PM or in our forum. I do not have a problem with you at all and will always show you the upmost respect because you are a Mod here on this forum.

[Crilosajsamq]

We started having problems out of Brodee at around five months. The day he pinned and bite me he was around five months, but I had a water bowl in one hand and a food bowl in the other and when he jummped me I stumbled back against the run and I got a nasty bite.

If I were to make it a story I could think of a lot worse things....But my whole point of sharing was to help others not to make the same mistake I made in thinking you are doing a pup a favor by BUYING him from a BYB. I will say that not all pups from BYB have problem but you are taking a chance when you do buy form them. That was my point nothing more nothing less.

[Hftqdxpm]

Thanks for posting. I just made that same mistake with the puppy I just bought. Although the parents were well taken care of and good tempered I have no idea what her bloodl ine ect is.

If I had read this first i would have thought before buying this pup. She was also 4 weeksold.

trish

[trilochana.nejman]

oh my thats so sad!! i cant stand back yard breeders