
Originally Posted by
barry581
I don't want to make any of this sound harder than it is, as getting a puppy should be a fun and exciting time. In addition to seeing the info about health clearances on the breeders website, I'd highly recommend asking to see the actual clearance paperwork, and/or looking it up on the OFA website.
I guess I'm a little more paranoid than the average puppy buyer. I've lost two young dogs over the years, one had a brain tumor and I lost her at just under 2 years old. There are no health clearances for this, and at the time health testing was still rather new (1985). I lost another young dog to an undetected hearth issue when he died in his sleep at 20 months old. Both parents had ALL appropriate clearances that were recommended at that time (2014). I also knew many of the dogs in his lines going back on 5-6 generations on the bitches side. This pup was named Bruce, and his story may still be on this board if you search.
Despite the best due diligence things can still go wrong, but I feel it's best to stack the deck in your favor. I also been very lucky over the years in having dealt with very good breeders who do their best to do it right. It's very expensive to do all of these clearances, but good breeders aren't in it for the money, the main goal is healthy, happy pups with great temperaments!