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Q: What's the problem with pure bred dogs?
I've had 4 friends pay 2,000rmb+ for pure bred dogs that have lived less than 2 weeks. My Chinese friend had me watch his pure bred puppy for a night while he moved. The little guy just cried and had constant mucus coming out of his nose. I bought my dog (a mutt) for 100 rmb. He's over a year old and healthy and happy. What's the problem?
11 years 30 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
A pure bread dog in China? Do you think it really is, and not being inbred?
From my very limited understanding of the issue (I'm not really a pet person), purebred anything anywhere is kinda terrible, as it is, by definition, limiting the animal's gene pool, which results in it being less healthy, and overall...a bit mentally retarded (think Cletus the Slack-jaw Yokel, but with dogs). Like I said, limited understanding...
Check this out: http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/feeling-guilty-about-your-purebred-dog/
TedDBayer:
not true if a person knows what he is breeding with, the problem is people that think they can just breed to of the same breed for money. the purpose of breeding a pedigreed animal is to breed the best. Inbreeding is not neccessaily a bad thing, even in people, just not to close of inbreeding. sometimes you inbreed to set type and then out cross to get a desired result.
Puppies don't have full immune systems. Did the puppy have any vacinations?. Probably not. Pure bred is not a problem, not even poor care, animals are susceptible to all sorts of virus and diseases, some no matter what age can't fight them. That pup was sick, did it ever see a doctor? Probably not.
I raised pure bred cats, actually the term is pedigreed, I had troubles with strep G infections. The vaccinations dogs and cats get are mostly for respiratory conditions.
Most dogs here are not treated for worms and other parasites (that costs money and so long as the dogs are healthy when thye are sold, the seller frankly doesn't care if they die in a month or two) Before buying any puppy, look at their stool with a magnifying glass for worms and blood. If either are present find another dog. My father was a veterinarian and I learned quite a bit hanging around his clinic when I was a kid. And what Ted pointed out about the undeveloped immune system, only complicates matters
The term, One Week Puppy sadly applies to lots of dogs sold in China. The seller is maximizing the profit by not spending money on any kind of medical checks. Some of the things that can kill a puppy will take days from infection until symptoms show.
If buying a dog in China, ask to have a vet check it before giving any money for it. If it is a 2000+RMB puppy, paying 100 for a vet checkup is cheap. Factor in that some vets suck and will just look at the dog and conclude it is a dog.
To survive in China a puppy needs de-worming, rabies shots, and shots for canine distemper. (there is one more, I forget, a proper vet will have a 3 in 1 shot that has rabies, distemper and the forgotten one, in one shot)
The shots needs to be maintained as to prescribed by the manufacturer of the vaccine.
On the bottle for the vaccines is a little sticker (barcode) that has the type and date of manufacturing. Our vet fills out a small booklet, signs and stamps it and sticks the sticker in. This is our dogs proof that he has the shots, as rabies shots are mandatory here.
The big problem in China is that people try to sell the dogs far too early, before they've been properly weaned by their mother. Most animals get their immune protection from their mother's milk. In China, people will buy small baby animals because they are "tai ke ai le!", so the smaller and babier the animal, the easier it is to sell.
Also, many shops that sell dogs also double as grooming/boarding places, and sometimes as a make-shift "hospital". So, tiny, baby dogs with under-developed immune systems in a place where there is often high traffic of other dogs(many that have never had shots, as people in China don't want to pay for anything extra) and often god-awful conditions = sick dog.
Scandinavian:
Rule of thumb. A puppy must be 8 weeks old before taken away from it's mother. In some cases add a couple of weeks. (I think for the smallest breeds)
TedDBayer:
12 weeks is better, but many even at home let critters go to young, like at 3 or 4 weeks because they are starting to eat and pups and kittens eat like piranas
Scandinavian:
Actually you're right Ted, the 8 weeks I remember from the retrievers we had when I was a kid, but now that I think of it, current dog we actually got at week 10, but the breeder had said week 12 from the start. A vet was involved in determining when they could be let go.
TedDBayer:
I raised pedigreed cats. mothers are not finished with their young even at 12 weeks, but after that critters grow fast, the pup/kitten stage is very short. People like baby animals, easier to bond with. Many breeders keep for 16 weeks. When critters are taken too young they can become neurotic/ needy/shy. They are taken from their mother and caregiver, home, every thing they know.
