We have been advised by our vets that the general public should not be allowed inside our home and that puppies should not be picked up by new owners until they are 8 weeks of age at which time they have had their first puppy vaccination and some immunity has built up against infectious diseases and illnesses. There is a real danger that diseases can migrate into our home and puppies that are not yet vaccinated will be susceptible to these viruses and bacteria.
At first I
did not understand the no visiting policy that many breeders had, they
did not allow people into their homes or to their kennels, I thought
maybe they were hiding something. However, after having my own breeding
program, I knew exactly why they had this policy in place. I truly
appreciate a breeder that is careful with visitors around their kennel
and their puppies. You will find that many breeders, ones that truly
care, will have some kind of visitation policy. All reputable breeders
make it a priority to protect their dogs and puppies.
In the best
interest of our puppies and adult Boxers, we are very careful about
preventing the transmission of diseases to them. We take every
precaution that we can to make sure that our puppies are not exposed to
any kinds of disease that you may carry on your shoes or even on your
hands. These diseases can be picked up and carried on your shoes for
days, anywhere a dog has been, parks, pet stores, rest stops, parking
lots, anywhere. Therefore as a precaution no one is allowed to touch or
handle or visit while unvaccinated puppies are on the premises.
We
loved people coming and meeting the puppies and the parents however it
is very risky and exposes them to infectious diseases and putts the
already bought puppies at risk; we do not allow visitors in our home,
no exceptions. Our home is where current litters and future litters will
be housed and we do not want anything carried in to the puppies or
premises. If you are interested in one of our puppies, we will
provide photos and videos on our website and email you photos and
information on puppies. When you reserve a puppy with us , we send out
photos and information by email each week so families can watch their
puppies grow! At 8 weeks of age, you may take them home with you. You
are more than welcome to pick up your puppy but I will meet you outside
the house with the puppy. You can also see the mom and dad but at a distance you are not allowed to
go and pet on them. Because they also live in the house with the puppies and I
don't want them to carry anything into the puppies.
if you are picking up your puppy please stop somewhere and use the restroom before coming because you will not be able to use my house bathroom and please bring hand sanitizer and I will provide shoe booties for you to put on when you step out of the car.
Also
we do not allow any other dogs or animals around our dogs/puppies.
PLEASE leave your other animals at home, as they will not be allowed out
of your vehicle, another precaution for our dogs and puppies.
Think of how you would feel for me to call you and tell you that your puppy is
sick or has died from the results of me allowing visitors in my home and they
have carried in some kind of infectious diseases in to your puppy. That would be
very devastating not only to you but to me to. My puppies are like my kid's, I
love them just as much. I’ve never had to make a call like that and hope I never
will. Puppies are like newborn babies, until all shots are complete; they are
susceptible to many different diseases and illnesses.
Below is information on one devastating puppy virus; one that can be carried in easily if one isn’t very careful.
Parvo-
(parvovirus), Canine Parvovirus, commonly referred to as parvo, is a
very serious viral disease in dogs. The most common form of Parvo is
intestinal and most commonly seen today. It causes extreme damage to the
lining of the digestive tract. Parvo likes to grow in rapidly dividing
cells and the intestinal lining has the biggest concentration of rapidly
dividing cells in a puppy’s body. The virus attacks and destroys
certain portions of the intestinal tract. Even with this form of Parvo,
heart muscle damage may also occur.
Symptoms: Loss of appetite, Vomiting, Lethargy, High Fever, Diarrhea, often bloody, Foul smelling, liquid yellow stool.
Parvovirus
causes severe life-threatening illness, through dehydration, acid-base
imbalance, infection and shock. If you suspect your pet may be infected,
it is an emergency and you should contact your veterinarian
immediately. Parvo is carried by dogs. Adult dogs may be infected
carriers and not show signs. Dogs with the typical symptoms and diarrhea
shed the virus perhaps for as long as 7 days after the symptoms have
ended. Generally, it takes 3 to 10 days from the time of exposure for
symptoms to appear and for your dog or pup to test positive. The onset
of clinical signs is usually sudden, within 12 hours, or even less. The
Parvovirus is particularly long-lived in the environment, lasting
anywhere from 1 to 7 months, or even a year. Due to the large amounts of
virus particles shed in the feces of an infected dog and the ability of
the virus to survive, complete eradication of the virus is often
impossible.
Parvo may be brought home to your pup on shoes, hands,
and even your vehicle tires. Even if your dog or pup does not leave your
yard, they may get this disease if precautions aren’t taken.
STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT PARVO CAN STAY IN THE STOOL OF ‘PARVO SURVIVORS’ FOR UP TO 6 MONTHS, WITH THE PUPPY/DOG SHOWING NO SIGNS OF PARVO.
****Taking precautions should never stop here; you need and should do the same when your puppy is home and until all vaccines are completed.
In order to protect your (reserved) puppy and our own dogs, we must enforce this visitor's policy.
Thank you for understanding our protective policy.
Manda Friley
Manda's Boxers
MY EXPERIENCE WITH A BAD BREEDER AND PARVO!!
Three
years ago I bought a puppy from Colleen E Stewart (STEWART'S KENNEL) At
first she seemed like a good breeder and told me he would go to the vet
for vaccinations and he cannot leave her until he is 8 weeks old. I put
down a $400 deposit but then she called me before he was 4 weeks old
and demanded the
remaining balance. I thought that was odd since I
was going to pick him up at her home. Two days after sending the
remaining balance I received a health contract. That is when I started
getting worried and red flags went up. Then before he was 6 weeks old
she called me to come and pick him up because she was going on vacation.
Then I said 'okay- has he been to the vets yet to have
his
vaccinations'. Then she starts stuttering 'no, I give the puppies there
vaccinations'. I was so mad at this point and I told her 'so you pretty
much lied to me!!' You told me that the puppies go to the vets to get
there vaccinations. Then she told me that she never said that. Then I
told her' but I made sure before I put a deposit down on a puppy'. So
then she tells me if I wanted him to go to the veterinarians and git his
vaccinations I would have to pay for it myself. So I did and I sent her
the money because I wanted him to be checked out by a veterinarian
before picking him up. A couple days later she calls me and tells me
that he has gone to the vets and got a exam and his shots. So I went to
pick him up and I get there and they bring him outside to me and my
heart just dropped because he was so small, he didn't even look like a
six week old puppy. He was so skinny and sickly looking, but there was
nothing I could do because of what the contract stated and she already
had my money. So we took him home and
right away I took him to the
vet. They did some tests him and the tests showed anemia and Coccidia.
The vet said coccidia was common in puppies and easy to treat. The vet
told me he probably didn't have parvo because he was so young, so he
didn't do the parvo tests. So I took him home and later that night he
started
to vomiting and had water diarrhea and wouldn't eat or
drink. So I had to call my veterinarian late at night and have him meet
me at his office. Thank god he does emergency calls. He then did a parvo
test and it was positive. I didn't even have him for 24 hours. So I
called Colleen from the vets office to let her know the puppy had full
blown parvo. Then she argued that it was coccidia not parvo. So I let
her speak to my veterinarian and she still wanted to argue with him. So
she tells me to bring
him back to her. The veterinarian told her that he would
not
even make the 6 to 7 Hour Drive back to her. And she still wanted to
argue. I told her he needed treatment right away and so didn't the
veterinarian if he was going to survive this and I'm not going let him
died because of her ignorance. So she hangs up on me. I tried to call
her back but she would not answer. so I told my vet to do everything he
could do to save him. He was at the vet for four days and all seemed
fine but then he had a relapse and then he was
so sick that he could
not even move, he was lifeless. The veterinarian called me to come and
say my goodbyes just in case he did die. But they were still doing
everything they could to save him. Almost all of his veins in his body
collapsed but the veins in his throat so that is where they had to put
the IV'S. Three days later I go in for one of my females to have a
C-section and I hear a him barking and I look at my veterinarian and ask
him is that my puppy barking and
he says no I have three other
puppies back there that have parvo to. Then I look at him and said 'no
that sounds like a boxer bark' and then he tells his son to go check.
His son comes back and says yes it is your puppy. And all my
veterinarian
could say is wow I did not think he was going to make it at all. So my
veterinarian
calls me two days later and let me know I Am able to take him home but I
have to quarantine him for six months due to me having other puppies
and dogs. So I try to call Colleen to let her know that he survived and
what she's going to do to make it right with me. She never answered so I
tried to send her a message and I got nothing. So after several
attempts to contact her I finally gave up and took her to court and won
my case. she was supposed to reimburse me for the vet cost but I never
received it. I am not the only one she did this to almost all of his
siblings that went to new homes got sick died from Parvo. And they did
not get reimbursed neither. She was supposed to shut down her kennel but
then I got calls from other people that has bought her dogs and they
said
that she was up and running with another Kennel name. Now after
talking to her veterinarian and the other people she sold puppies to.
She knew that he was sick and had Parvo, that is why she wanted me to
come and get him early. Her own
veterinarian told me she was pretty
much a puppy Mill and had many different breeds of dogs. See her
veterinarian was able to give me information due to the fact that she
put the bill for my puppy in my name. I'm hoping by putting my story on
my website that I make people aware of the dangers of Diseases/Parvo in
puppies and irresponsible/bad breeders.
