Would you do it?

[cali]

for me it depends, it would likley be a deterent for me, unless, as Happys case, a parnets came down with something later. when Happys sire came up blind in one eye, the breeder asked that we all have our dogs CERF'd , as it was unknown if the blindness was hereditary. that is a case in which I would make an exeption, but while I can afford my dogs and their care, the cost of all that testing is high, and there is not a chance I could afford it on a dog I never intend to breed.

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

It wouldn't be a deterrent for me. Health testing would definitely help the breeder immensely whether I bought a pet quality dog, or a show/breeding quality dog. They need to know what's in their lines. That being said, I would probably expect some sort of rebate just because it is extremely expensive. That's just me though. Most people I know have a problem paying what is asked for from most breeders for a dog, let alone having to pay extra for health testing, so it would definitely be a deterrent for them.

That being said, if you had an awesome family/person wanting a dog and they said no to the health clearances, I wouldn't let that turn you away from letting them have a puppy.

[mike001]

I wouldn't say it would be a deterrent exactly but I think to most people purchasing just a pet it would be. The other option is to ask to stay in touch with your puppy buyers and have them send updates on the pup. Most buyers would be glad to do this, and I'm sure a buyer who ran into a health problem with one of your pups would contact you for sure.

[wolfsoul]

That being said, I would probably expect some sort of rebate just because it is extremely expensive.

I think about that too...CERF testing is only $40 and I would be willing to pay for the certfification myself. Maybe if I charge say $200 less at the time of purchase if they sign a contract saying they will CERF twice? Even though I can see charging less as being less effective, I would prefer that to rebating later on.

[K9soul]

Thanks for explaining all of that Jordan. Putting myself in the place of the average person buying a dog for the main purpose of a pet, I think if it were explained to me and maybe a bit off the initial purchase price etc. I'd probably agree with it.

[WELOVESPUPPIES]

I think about that too...CERF testing is only $40 and I would be willing to pay for the certfification myself. Maybe if I charge say $200 less at the time of purchase if they sign a contract saying they will CERF twice? Even though I can see charging less as being less effective, I would prefer that to rebating later on.

I am someone who will probably never breed regardless of what type of dog I have. Of course I still want a happy healthy companion that I can hope to spend years of quality time with. Unless you were able to work with me I would probably look elsewhere as I would see it has an extra expense(we all know dogs come up with plenty of extra expenses on their own ) Plus I also may be concerned as to whether you already suspect your dogs are carriers and that I may be purchasing a pup with this problem.

I can also see your concerns in regards to breeding a dog and finding out later they were passing some horrible gene and their pups were ending up with difficulties later in life and having maybe already been bred themselves passing it on again. But the only problem with that is if you breed your dog now, and say you do it once a year with an average litter of 5 and it takes the first litter to show signs of having this gene 4-5 years, how has that helped the linage of your dogs? By that point, you are already talking about approximately 20-25 pups you have sold that may have it and some of those pups themselves may have already been used as a breeder and passed it on to even more pups.

That is a very hard decision, it shows that your are a concerned breeder but it will most likely deter several GOOD homes that just want a pet. I guess if I had to be you and made the decision to make it mandatory I would get it in writting and be willing to help with the costs and have copies of medical record for the parents to show that at this point have shown negative. But even getting it in writing there is no guarantee that people are going to follow through, if they move or you move most likely you will no longer be in touch or for some reason that person gets rid of the dog before it has even been tested, the second owner is not going to want to abid by an agreement that the two of you made. And as someone else above said...most people that have purchased a pup from you that run across a serious problem will be contacting you, at least I know that I would. Good luck in whatever you decide to do. Talk to other breeders to see if they have tried doing this and if it affected the selling of the pups--couldn't hurt to ask. Also talk to your vet get suggestions from them on how to handle it because you want to be a responsible reputable breeder but don't want to push away good loving homes in the process.