Would you do it? What if you got money back from the breeder (specifically, breeder put money away from purchase price and reimbursed you for part or all of the testing)? What if it was required by contract?
If I ever breed (that's a pretty big "if" at this point), I would require hips/elbows and eyes at least once after the puppy CERF on any breed. I'm still very intrigued by PennHIP and want to incorporate that into a program, but I'm not sure where. It is expensive, and has to be done by a certified vet, and the dog has to be completely sedated.
Anyway, would you do it (given a reasonable time-frame), or would that discourage you from buying from a specified breeder?
Neither of my current dogs were required to have anything done by contract. It was all for my own knowledge and to provide data.
3 comments:
I think health testing pets is a great idea in terms of the breeder being able to really keep track of what is going on with their lines.
Now, if my "pet" was really a performance dog... I would have little issue with paying for health testing (prob up to $600 out of pocket) as long as I didn't have tight time constraints, and it was more I could it when I was ready thing….
If the dog was really only a pet, than I would prob drop my out of pocket expense down to $300 and again with the tight time constraints.
The downside is that if the breeder just “tacked on” the cost of testing, and the price of the puppy was therefore really high, I’m not sure I’d go for that either…. So it’s a little bit of a tough call.
Another thing that may help, is to maybe want less health testing… like maybe taking a report from a regular vet instead of sending things into OFA for the “official grading.”
In the perfect world, every dog would have all health testing avail, and reviewed by all the top authorities on that test…. In the real world that just WAY too expensive. I think doing the “proper” health testing for breeding stock and doing only the really important tests and skipping the official OFA grade is fine. It at least lets you follow the major health concerns for all dogs in your lines.
I'm not sure. Right now my finances are very limited and I feel like I just don't have the money and don't entirely know what benefits I would get out of it.
Now Vito's breeder does list health testing in their contract for all show dogs and even pet dogs. However she did not include it in Vito's contract since I talked to her about my financial constraints.
I think I would be more likely to do so if A)I knew the specific benefits to my non-breeding dog. Would there actually be a difference in whether I would train this dog for agility? And B)I would be more likely to do so if I did pay the money upfront to the breeder and get it back after testing. Kind've like breeders who give owners back money for completing obedience training.
But another big factor for me would be the breed of my dog. I don't know that much at all about hip testing, but from what I understand there's a huge difference in how much a score can tell you based upon if you have the typical lab, golden, or a different structured breed like a corgi.
http://blacksheepcardigans.com/ruff/?p=1033
Chrissy-I agree about out of pocket expenses for a dog that will be just a pet. Like I posted, you can get a cheaper submission fee if there are three or more sent in together, and like YOU said, I'm sure a vet would be willing to do a clinic. More $$, more clients, win-win I bet! That said, are you required to do anything with Wash (when you get the little buggar).
Larua-The Como's are just awesome, aren't they? :-) And you've hit it on the head about breeds being different. A friend has said for a long time that she could never own a dog that isn't "normal shaped" because "normal shaped dogs are easier, more predictable and have, very arguably, 'better' average strucutral health" and I agree with her on that. It IS easier to predict and score taller, more proportionate dogs. That in no way means I think other dogs shouldn't exist! I love the link you posted, and I've read as well as thought similar things many times.
If I were to ever have a super competitive dog, there's no doubt I would have it health tested. I would need to know, before allowing/encouraging the dog to do such physical demanding work.
Genetics is interesting... that's why I love it!
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