Because I have been in the dog business for over 27 years, people often ask me what they should look for when buying a puppy. They want “the bottom line”. Many buyers don’t want to spend a lot of time researching the breed. They tell me “I just want to get a puppy.” I’ve compiled this book listing 50 popular breeds, important health information and specific health concerns to ask breeders about in an attempt to give puppy buyers “the bottom line”. So, whether you’re looking for “just a pet for the kids”, or a puppy to show and breed, you need to know what to look for. Before you buy your puppy, this book will acquaint you with the latest methods for health screening. Concerned breeders are able to use the latest DNA and other state-of-the-art testing to breed the healthiest puppies possible. I will show you how to take advantage of the health screening that caring breeders do for their breeding/showing stock that can often get you a “pet” for half price. Although you have visions of a cute healthy puppy, you need to watch for certain things in order to end up with a nice family dog who can live a long healthy life.

In 1979, as I searched for a Golden Retriever puppy for my 6 year old son, Zach, I didn’t realize the importance of health screening. I was beginning a divorce, my children were young and we were on a limited budget. With the pain of divorce, my kids (and I) needed the healing of a snuggly Golden puppy. I was in a hurry. I didn’t need a puppy with fancy bloodlines to breed or show. I just needed a companion to sleep on my son’s bed every night, and to help my kids feel secure, and I needed it now. I found an ad in the newspaper from a first-litter breeder (no health testing, no contract, no guarantee). We picked out the one who ran all the way across the back yard to my son and took her home that day. Zach named her “Sally Wonder Sunshine Girl”. She was adorable, healthy and everything we had been looking for - for almost a year. When Sally was 11 months old, she began to limp and favor her rear legs. I dreaded taking her to the vet. Her hip x-rays showed severe dysplasia (malformation of the hip joint on both sides) and surgery was not an option. We ended her pain by putting her to sleep. Our hearts were broken! Zach said, “How can I ever be happy now that Sally died?” SO YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE BONDING – YOUR KIDS WILL ALSO HAVE THEIR HEARTS WRAPPED AROUND THIS LITTLE PUPPY YOU ARE SEEKING.

I called her breeder from the newspaper ad “Too bad, no guarantee, no refund”. I could have lived with losing the purchase price, but my kids suffered. I learned from our experience and contacted a long-time Golden breeder, Mrs. Enloe, and we were added to her waiting list. Mrs. Enloe offered health guarantees and her puppies’ ancestors had been x-rayed for normal hips. We bought our Sally II “Goldenloe Sally Centipede”, who became a wonderful family member and lived a long and healthy life.

In 1982, I wasn’t aware of problems with patellar luxation (kneecaps slipping out of position). We bought Daisy, a Toy Poodle, for Bridger, my 7 year old daughter. Before Daisy turned one year old, she sometimes yelped when she jumped off the couch or Bridger’s bed. Surgery can repair slipping kneecaps but the cost in 2005 is $600 per kneecap. Now, a puppy buyer can have a 6-8 week old puppy checked for patellar luxation before purchase which will prevent this kind of expense.

Fortunately for dogs, health screening is becoming widespread. Experienced breeders educate novice breeders and so on. I wasn’t aware of testing for eye problems until Mary Ann Deines, the breeder of Lady’s I’m a Natural Man (“Charlie”), my Bullmastiff, picked him up one day to take Charlie and his littermates to Colorado State University for eye exams. I later became aware of Golden Retriever breeders testing for von Willebrand disease and thyroid testing. I used that knowledge to establish a national Mastiff registry for von Willebrand disease in 1988. I established a national thyroid registry for Mastiffs in 1991.

Painful lessons learned: from then on, if I owned a dog, I tested it for potential health concerns. Before I bred to a dog, I tested it. If I produced a litter of puppies, I tested them all before they were sold. However, most breeders then did not test for things such as eye problems. So when I bought Mastiff puppies from other breeders, I had to build my lines from non-tested dogs, test them myself and cut defective dogs from my breeding program, sometimes taking financial losses. In 1985, I bought Trapper, an 8 week old puppy with a gorgeous head from out-of-state top winning champion show lines for $1,200. The week he arrived, I had his eyes examined by a canine ophthalmologist. At the start of Trapper’s CERF (Canine Eye Registration Foundation) eye exam, I heard the doctor tell his assistant “Get the camera”. This was not good! There was an eye problem that deserved pictures. This puppy had a (non-life threatening) hereditary eye problem that would not give him trouble, but indicated he should not be bred. This was certainly a moment of truth for me. Since few people were doing eye exams, I could have ignored Trapper’s eye problem, kept it a secret and bred him. But I couldn’t have faced myself in the mirror. In good conscience, I neutered Trapper and sold him to a pet home (quickly reducing his value from $1,200 to $600). Unfortunately, his top winning champion lines had not been eye tested so that his outstanding head could have been passed down to future generations. Today, prospective puppy buyers have the benefit of buying puppies that have had their eyes tested by 8 weeks old. Also, they also have the benefit of generations of eye testing.

Disappointing and painful experiences such as these might lead you to ask, “How widespread is genetic disease in purebred dogs? John C. Cargill’s review of 1987 AKC registrations revealed that eighty-six percent of the 2.4 million puppies eligible to be registered that year were from breeds with serious genetic defects. Through breeding that stresses looks over health, some breeds have degenerated into veritable blockbusters of hereditary illness. Veterinary geneticist W. Jean Dodds notes that by 1986-87 fully seventy percent of all Doberman Pinschers who were tested for von Willebrand’s disease tested abnormal. Two years earlier sixty-three percent had, and a decade before that fifty-five percent of the breed tested abnormal for the disease. Dr. Dodds has also reported that a third of all the country’s hemophiliac dogs are German Shepherds.”1

Some people attempt to avoid what they perceive to be “purebred” problems by buying mixed breed puppies. Unfortunately, you aren’t necessarily going to avoid health problems by getting a mixed breed. They still have the genes from both of their respective breeds. Puppy buyers today need to know there are advantages to buying purebred dogs. At least with a purebred puppy, you can benefit from the health testing that many breeders are using to produce healthier dogs. Health screening can detect a health problem before it is passed on to the next generation.

So, what can a puppy buyer do?