Whether to pay a deposit for a pup at only 10 days old?

[Hi From NZ]

Hi everyone!

The litter that was due is here and I was thrilled to be invited to view the babies at 10 days, their eyes just open and looking like a giant brown and white wiggly creature with 28 legs (it was a litter of 7!)

There is one girl that has the 'socks' I so dearly want, all of the others have only a small amount of white across the toes and don't have the look I'm after. I indicated to the breeder she would be my pick, and was told I could secure her with a deposit, which would be non refundable.

This is the breeders' first litter and I have found them to be friendly and fairly knowledgable, but I have a hesitation about paying a sum for a pup that is not yet able to be health checked. I have been reading from this thread and this in particular:

"Holter, Echo/Doppler, thyroid and hip results" Eek!! So many!!

Of course I would want to ensure the wee girl has passed these tests before I agree to take her home. Any suggestions on how I could diplomatically insist on this when offering a deposit? When I spoke to them I asked in general conversation whether the vet report (presumably all the checks listed above) would be in hard copy for the owner (me) to see, and that was met with some surprise - is it not usual for this to happen?

I'm just trying to naviagate through this process without there being any misunderstanding or potential ill-will. I'm a first time pure-bred owner and she's a first time breeder so I get the feeling neither of us are really confident in this! I'd appreciate a step-by-step of what I do versus what she does, if anyone can help explain what I should reasonably expect and have expected of me? It's the only pup in the litter I'm interested in, so I don't want to let the opportunity go by if I can help it!

Thanks in advance, boxer people!

[gmacleod]

I think you misunderstand about health screening

None of those tests are to be done on the puppy. They are for the PARENTS of the puppy, and needed to be done prior to the breeding taking place. The purpose is to ensure that they don't carry genetic diseases that they are likely to pass on to offspring.

There is no point in doing them on the puppy, because the results are at best inconclusive, and at worst meaningless, before the dog is (for most tests) a minimum of 24 months old.

Soo - prior to putting down a deposit, what you really need to be asking your breeder is for the results of the parents tests (BOTH parents). Since you say your mentioning it in respect of the puppies was 'met with some surprise' - rather than an explanation that it was the parents tests you should be intersted in - I'm not confident that the breeder you're talking to actually has any idea of what they're doing. In any case, I'd certainly recommend checking. And if they've done none of those things, it's worth taking a pass on the litter, letting the breeder know WHY you're passing (so they might rethink for the future), and looking for someone else who takes the health of the breed and their responsibilities to do their best to produce healthy animals a bit more seriously. There ARE breeders in NZ who screen their breeding stock (though you may find there is more concentration on aortic/sub-aortic stenosis than on cardiomyopathy).

Just in case anyone tries to tell you that "those diseases don't exist in NZ" - it isn't true They certainly do. Same goes if they try to tell you that there aren't facilities for testing - there are.

[Hi From NZ]

Thank you for your response, it's very timely too as I am going to meet the dad today! ) And I'll stay in dialogue with the owners of the mum too, of course. Thanks for putting me straight on what is what! This is nothing like adopting a dog from the SPCA or pound, is it?!! Crikey!!