Lazy Day Doodles review: unethical behaviour of a dog breeder 4

October 2015. I contacted this business about puppies they had available for sale. During contact with this breeder I asked questions relating to the condition and health of the puppies. I stressed that a healthy puppy was what was important to me (in response to questions from the breeder about what gender I wanted and/or what I wanted the puppy to look like). At some point the breeder communicated that the puppy had been given the traditional 6 week shots and also something for coccidia and giardia. The impression given was that these conditions were treated prophylactic measure like all the other shots. The breeder told me how much to feed the puppy and gave me a bag of food (colored puppy chow). We fed the puppy as directed but the puppy appeared to be voraciously hungry. We increased his feed to find his satiation point but he always seemed hungry. The first week we had him he ate a sock (this is a tiny little puppy! Thank goodness my daughter saw him eat it.). We rushed him to our vet (an emergency visit was required). The vet was able to treat our puppy and he eventually threw up the sock (such a relief). On examination our vet said the puppy had a bloated stomach but was ribby - a sign that he was probably wormy. She asked about his health history. I told her that the puppy had been given meds for coccidia and giardia in addition to the normal 6 week puppy shots. The vet was concerned about the coccidia and giardia treatment. I explained that I understood the breeder just did this as a prophylactic measure. My vet was skeptical and said that she would never treat a dog for these conditions unless they had the condition. The vet told me she wanted me to collect a stool sample and bring it in for evaluation. I contacted the breeder and asked again if the puppy had either coccidia and/or giardia because my vet was concerned. She said, again, that she did this preventatively not because my puppy had either of the diseases. The vet wanted to evaluate a stool sample anyway. Upon examination she found hook worm (which is not found in our area) and coccidia (which is not common in our area, either) and required treatment; and that it might require multiple rounds of treatment because these conditions are sometimes difficult. She said that humans can contract hookworm so we should be very careful about our daughter's contact with his feces (I.e. she was not to pick anything up from the yard, etc.). She also advised we needed to be careful with other animals having access to any of the feces of our puppy. Reading up on coccidia online I learned it is advisable to contact the breeder to let the breeder know. I contacted the breeder to let her know the diagnosis and to suggest she may want to contact the other folks who had purchased puppies from her ($1200 / puppy) to let them know (there were, from what I understood, 3 litters of puppies that overlapped at her facility - a total of at least 30 puppies). I also told her I was disappointed because I had told her a healthy dog was my top priority. Instead of acting on the information the breeder responded that I was being rude and nasty, that our puppy did not contract the diseases at her facility and asserted he must have gotten it at our house. She suggested that we could return the puppy if we were unhappy. We have 3 cats and another dog - none of which have ever had worms or any other parasitic diseases. But, none-the-less, being responsible I contacted our vet to ask about the possibility our new puppy had picked up the parasites since he had come home because, if so, we definitely wanted to isolate the source and have our other animals checked. Our vet assured us that our puppy had not contracted the disease since returning home with us. . . these are not conditions common to our location, the condition of the puppy (being so ribby and bloated) would not have developed so quickly, and, she said, the fact that the breeder had treated the puppy for these conditions was indicative that she had a problem at her facility. The breeder continued to assert that she was not at fault and demanded the name and number of my vet so she "could ask her some questions". I declined to provide that information but did ask if she would provide me with the name and phone number of her vet so I could ask him or her some questions about her operation and health of her puppies. She declined to provide that information. It is likely I might not have purchased this puppy had I known it was ill (if you pay $1100 for a dog you expect it to be healthy!) but if I had purchased it knowing its condition at least I could have and would have taken him straight to the vet for evaluation and proper treatment. From what I read, coccidia can be quite serious for puppies so I am stunned the breeder would not notify other new owners to let them know at least that their puppy was at risk. This breeder did not have proper health testing done on the parents of the puppies (no hip or eye checks, etc.). She said the mother went into heat before she was old enough to complete the testing (which I have since learned is not a good sign). She cannot and has not provide papers on the parents even though I have asked. Of course we do not want to return our puppy! He was loved immediately and once a part of the family is a part of the family. I am hugely disappointed, however, in the standards of this facility and, since the breeder will not, to warn other potential purchasers.