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We've made the decision to add to our family sometime in the next six months, and are heavily considering a purebred Lab. We've owned two purebred (Pointer and GS Pointer) dogs in the past, and currently have two mutts. Both pointers were rescued as young adults and were obviously bred as hunting dogs and dropped off for being gun shy.
I thought it was relatively normal in 20+ years of dog ownership to have never had a vet bill over the $500 range. Teeth cleaning, glucosamine, arthritis diagnosis, and both pointers died of cancer complications but were very healthy until the last six months of their lives. We've never dealt with hip dysplasia or bloat or anything like that (aka no unforeseen expensive surgeries).
After reading one of the threads talking about whether or not owners had pet health insurance, it seemed like (on this board at least) that 1-2k surgeries and other health problems were not nearly as rare as I thought. I have a few questions- first off, have we just been genuinely lucky? And if so, can any of that be attributed to purebred versus mixed breed dogs?
When looking into lab breeders (Southeast US) I've come across SO many in our state alone that have met my initial requirements- OFA, CERF, PRA, Brucellosis and are active in the local breed club and/or local kennel clubs with initially good references and a 24 month+ health guarantee. I'm not really sure where to go from here- we're not interested in conformation or working, and are really just looking for a healthy dog that knows basic commands and will be able to go on short hikes and the beaches around here.
What are the benefits of aquiring a new dog through a breeder versus waiting for a puppy to be up for adoption in one of the surrounding rescues? I initially was only considering health tested dogs from a breeder to minimize the chances of serious health issues, but when I consider our experience with rescued purebreds its been much better than our neighbors that bought a lab from a breeder in state with all the above testing- and at 24 months she has serious elbow issues and will likely require replacement surgery in the next year.
Sorry this is so long, I'm just really wondering if we've happened to be incredibly lucky with the health of our dogs, or if this is something that might be less of a worry than I originally thought. If a breeder is the better route, how do I begin to choose one from all the ones available (This might be easier in a less common breed, but there are SO many lines, ect.)
I thought it was relatively normal in 20+ years of dog ownership to have never had a vet bill over the $500 range. Teeth cleaning, glucosamine, arthritis diagnosis, and both pointers died of cancer complications but were very healthy until the last six months of their lives. We've never dealt with hip dysplasia or bloat or anything like that (aka no unforeseen expensive surgeries).
After reading one of the threads talking about whether or not owners had pet health insurance, it seemed like (on this board at least) that 1-2k surgeries and other health problems were not nearly as rare as I thought. I have a few questions- first off, have we just been genuinely lucky? And if so, can any of that be attributed to purebred versus mixed breed dogs?
When looking into lab breeders (Southeast US) I've come across SO many in our state alone that have met my initial requirements- OFA, CERF, PRA, Brucellosis and are active in the local breed club and/or local kennel clubs with initially good references and a 24 month+ health guarantee. I'm not really sure where to go from here- we're not interested in conformation or working, and are really just looking for a healthy dog that knows basic commands and will be able to go on short hikes and the beaches around here.
What are the benefits of aquiring a new dog through a breeder versus waiting for a puppy to be up for adoption in one of the surrounding rescues? I initially was only considering health tested dogs from a breeder to minimize the chances of serious health issues, but when I consider our experience with rescued purebreds its been much better than our neighbors that bought a lab from a breeder in state with all the above testing- and at 24 months she has serious elbow issues and will likely require replacement surgery in the next year.
Sorry this is so long, I'm just really wondering if we've happened to be incredibly lucky with the health of our dogs, or if this is something that might be less of a worry than I originally thought. If a breeder is the better route, how do I begin to choose one from all the ones available (This might be easier in a less common breed, but there are SO many lines, ect.)