Testing for heritage diseases
What breeders can do?
We're on a mission to change the way immoral breeders get away with unjust practices. The way resellers buy puppies in bulk from third world countries as cheap as possible and ask you ''the customer.'' Top tier prices for the same puppy they buy dirty cheap. I'm talking about dealers in animals who see the Pomeranian majestic dog as an accessory. Something they can misuse for their own benefit and luxury lifestyle.
Everything starts with ''The breeder'' A good reputable breeder who loves their animals will in my opinion never work with a reseller. Simply because the nurturing of one single Pomeranian puppy is such a devotion and passion to them. They will never sell in bulk for cheap prices and still be able to make profit. This can only be done by people who simply have cash on their mind and no ethics. Treating puppies like stock and products with little love or devotion noticeable. You can guess that tests, vaccinations and keeping the breed as healthy as possible is by these type of breeders not done accordingly. For one simple reason really? It costs money
Money the seed of all evil and the thing we all can't exist without. Of course everyone needs it but greed is so much stronger than the heart of some people unfortunately. Often breeders who simply are in it for the money make these so called ''mistakes'' for one reason: Profit.
Not vaccinating accordingly and importing puppies way too young so they create more place for breeding in an even more rapid paste. Also a Pomeranian experiences heat twice a year while it's the best for the health and recovery of the body of the female to have a year of rest in between litters and in most European countries this is required so by law.
In Russia however and third world countries there aren't such animal welfare laws in place. More then 650.000 stray dogs are without a home in Russia and crimes against dogs and cats still go severely unpunished by law. It's no wonder when a relationship between mankind and animals is so deeply disturbed and woven within the culture almost like China that animal cruelty and puppyfarms go hand in hand over there. We see beautiful pictures on instagram of gorgeous dogs with beautiful fur and a healthy look. What happens behind that camera is often of a whole different nature. Something we can't even believe exists without witnessing it ourselves. Yet we stimulate it, buy a dog from an online image and order it like a home delivered meal. We only realize how wrong it is. After we are the victim ourselves. When we don't get that image. That beautiful puppy that we wanted so badly and didn't have the patience to wait for from a reputable breeder. We demand it now and we want it whenever we please it.
But it turns out the fairytale didn't exist and in the best case you are scammed and never received a puppy. In the worst case a hopeless creature with all kinds of health issues arrives on your doorstep. Exhausted from a 4 day trip in a cramped van with at least 10 other puppies in it. It doesn't look that beautiful when you know all these facts and yet people make the choice to buy and import every single day.
So what can breeders do? Guide potential costumers away from the Russian and third country breeders. Point out the risks and clearly state that a Pomeranian has lots of health issues that should be tested before breeding with breeding animals. Enforce potential buyers to join clubs and get informed accordingly about toy breeds. I know in this modern day and age we live in everyone is responsible for their own choices but if we who love this royal breed so incredibly much make just a little effort to inform those who simply didn't dive into it. It could make a big difference.
Also a good breeder in my opinion tests on the most common diseases that could be inherent from the parent animals. Although this doesn't give a warranty on these illnesses occurring the chances do get slimmer and more calculated.
Which testing should a reputable breeder do:
Dna testing to proof a puppy is purebred
Patellar Luxation report from an orthopedic specialist of the breeding animals
Chiari malformation and syringomyelia an MRI Scan investigated by a neurological expert to determine breeding animals are free from this neurological condition. *
* Mainly in Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Germany and UK cm/sm testing is already done by reputable breeders. Some good breeders in different countries still aren't informed correctly by their own spitz clubs or don't have a neurological expert in this field available yet. Therefore I can not say that all breeders who don't test regarding this serious illness are per se ''Bad'' I would still consider buying from a breeder who tests or else I would definitely have to visit the breeder multiple times and see all other testing is done correctly.
Other things that are very important and good breeders will do whatever they can to keep this from occurring in their breeding are:
An open fontanel (soft spots in the skull)
trachea collaps (a form of tracheal obstruction caused by flaccidity and flattening of the cartilaginous rings which support the trachea)
What we can do?
We want to live in a world where animal cruelty doesn't exist right? Well this all starts with the choices we make ourselves. If we keep on buying puppies from puppy mills and horrific resellers who only think about their wallet, it will never stop!
If we put aside our selfish wishes to having a puppy in our time frame. Which sometimes means that we have to wait.
Waiting a year for a healthy well bred dog you can welcome into your family shouldn't be an issue. Also there are Pomeranian's in shelters waiting to get adopted by loving people. So please think carefully before buying a puppy if you shouldn't check to adopt an animal first.
Contact a breeder who is connected to a spitz club in your country or attends shows. Who does all the according testing and only sells with a contract. Don't be afraid to ask questions. A reputable breeder will be happy you ask them and ready to answer the best to their knowledge. After all a breeder should be passionate about the breeding process and show you around with pride for the dogs owned. Also a good breeder will ask you many questions to see if you're a fit person to buy a dog of this breed.
Make sure you meet the breeding animals of the puppy you visit. The mother should be in a good condition as should the father. See how the dogs are kept and if they appear enthusiastic. The interaction between mother and puppy should be good and no sign of aggression noticeable.
The weight of a puppy is very important if a puppy is under 800 grams at 10 weeks of age it can be an indication something is wrong with the puppy. The breeder should keep the puppy longer in that case and see if the weight will improve over the coarse of two weeks.
Make sure a puppy always gets the right vaccinations and deworming treatment and that the guidelines are followed. If a breeder doesn't want to vaccinate yet make sure a trustworthy titter test has been done instead. In most countries the first vaccination of toy breeds is between 6 and 8 weeks of age depending on the country. This vaccination should include:
Distemper
Parvovirus
Adenovirus
Parainfluenza, Bordetella
The next vaccination should be between 9 to 12 weeks depending on the country. Vaccination should include
Distemper
Parvovirus
Adenovirus
Parainfluenza, Bordetella
Leptospirosis
Most reputable Pomeranian breeders will not let the puppies go before they have an age of at least 10 weeks. The reason for this is because of the size and fragility of the puppies. If a breeder hasn't done the second vaccination make sure you do it in time yourself. However this can only occur when you live in the same country as the breeder. If this isn't the case the breeder is required by law to give all the necessary core vaccinations and to wait until at least 15 weeks before a puppy can be brought to another country.
Even if you pick up the puppy yourself without a valid rabies vaccination this is against the law and prohibited by EU regulations. Doing so might result in your puppy being placed in custody of the government to make sure anti bodies of rabies are found. This will take anywhere from a week to 21 days and if the test can't be carried out correctly this might end in putting down the puppy. To ensure no risk is being taken in contracting the rabies disease in their country. Be aware all the costs of these tests and keeping your puppy in their lab facilities are going directly to you. Since it's ''You'' who broke the law doing so and creating a rabies risk this way.
The third vaccination should be given between 12 and 16 weeks depending on your country and of course the date of the previous vaccination. A booster for leptospirosis should be given 4 weeks after the first vaccination. Also if your puppy is traveling from: (for example Germany to Holland). A rabies vaccination is required at the earliest of 12 weeks of age and a 21 waiting day period starting from the day after the vaccination date.
I endorse buyers of puppies to titter test your puppy at the age of 16 weeks. Not only will you get a good indication of the immune levels against the three main core vaccinations but also an extra check up is much appreciated for toy breeds like the Pomeranian. My own vet recommends doing this so I stand behind this great protocol. Since sometimes vaccinating too early has the opposite effect and your puppy might not be protected accordingly.
If a breeder tells you about testing on heritage diseases always make sure you see the test results. Also if your buying a FCI Pedigree Pomeranian make sure the dogs are being bred according to FCI Standars you can read about them over here:
https://www.fci.be/en/Breeding-42.html
Many breeders have a FCI logo on their website but if you want to make sure your breeder is really a FCI member please make sure to search for his kennel name in the data bank over here:
https://www.fci.be/en/affixes/
If you have taken all these steps correctly, you have done all you could possibly do to buy a healthy bred Pomeranian puppy. Congratulations you took responsibility for a beautiful living creature who is now a beloved member of your family.
If a health issue still occurs in this case it's simply bad luck. The breeder can't be held accountable but should try their best to help. If your puppy gets sick within the first year of buying and you have a contract which indicates that the breeder is responsible for illnesses occurring within the first 12 month period. You should contact the breeder as soon as possible and try to resolve the issue.
Also please be smart and invest about 50 euros a month for a good pet insurance. It might come in very handy someday and you will regret not having done it when some costs of surgeries can approach thousands of euros at once. Also save some money yourself for things that aren't covered by insurance like patella luxation. Since this is so common in toy breeds count on maybe someday having to do this surgery and research a good orthopedic or specialist vet and make a expenses report just in case. A good preparation is everything.