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Date Posted: 19:32:22 06/12/11 Sun
Author: Joe
Subject: Need Some Help!

So, this is going to be a long post and I'm not a regular on this board, but I know there are a lot of people who really care about this breed and I'm hoping I can get some help and guidance.

We put down our boerboel of 8 years in January and were looking to replace him soon after. I was referred to a very well known breeder and after several phone conversations with him felt very comfortable buying a dog from him. He was even kind enough to offer me a lower price on the dog because of who referred me and what we had just gone through. While we would gladly have paid full price for a good dog, I thought it was a kind gesture.

We received the new pup at about 4 months of age and he was very thin when we picked him up at the airport. The first thing our vet said was that he seemed way to thin. The pup also had loose stools from day 1 and was diagnosed with roundworms. We treated for the worms, but the loose stools continued. After nearly $1,000 in vet bills they were never able to determine what was causing the chronic diarrhea and the breeder recommended we put the dog down and said he would replace the pup. It was really hard to do, but the dog was sick and we felt it was the right decision.

Because of our concerns with what happened with this pup, I flew out to meet the breeder and see his dogs before we went through this again. I was impressed with his dogs and he seemed very helpful. We selected a pup, and I left trusting him and comfortable with my decision (again).

As it came closer to the time to receive the pup, I had several conversations with the breeder and made it clear that if he didn't feel this was the right pup for us, we would wait for a pup from his next litter. Well, about this time the breeder stopped taking my calls and pretty much stopped communicating with me. I finally received an email letting me know that he was going to send the pup I had selected and what flight he would be on. I continued to try to contact the breeder via phone and email to make sure this was the right dog for us, but still no response.

We received the pup a little over a month ago and noticed within the first couple of days the pup had loose stools...back to the vet to find out this time it was giardia. Unfortunately that was the least of our problems. The dog was also VERY timid and easily spooked. He was aloof and actually ran from us when we went near him for about 2 weeks. On top of this, we noticed the pups front legs were crooked and his paws turned out.

I continued to try to reach the breeder but he will not take my calls, return my voice messages, or reply to emails. I'm not sure what to do at this point, but we have serious concerns about this pup and the person who should be helping me is not.

We have been working really hard to socialize this pup and in some ways he is getting better, but he is still very shy around strangers and will try to run into his crate when someone comes to the house. We walk once or twice a day to help with socialization but this seems to be causing him stress as he has diarrhea while we are walking (even if he just had a bowel movement before we left for the walk).

He is a little over 4 months now and it seems he should be getting past puppy insecurities, and I'm really worried that I have a dog with a temperament we may not be able to fix. The last thing we need is a fearful male boerboel that we have to worry about becoming aggressive.

I am hoping that some of you have been through similar situations and may be able to provide some guidance since I can't get our breeder to help.

I have no ulterior motives here...that's why I haven't mentioned the breeder by name. I love these dogs and just want a good healthy family dog. If any of you have some suggestions or thoughts on how we can help this dog, I would be really grateful.

Thanks,

Joe

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