Hello, Let me clarify my question. I have came across so many ads for puppies lately that do not have their first shots. In my state it is not the law that a pup has to have its shots before leaving a facility. My question is because I have another dog and a little girl to think about would it be prudent to just ignore the ads where the pups do not have shots? My thoughts are yes but I wanted your opinions. We would bring the puppy to the vet as soon as we could, but I am wondering if getting a puppy like this would be a bad idea knowing the puppy does not have shots. Thanks for your thoughts and clarification.
I have been giving my own shots for years. Most US states are ok with giving your own puppy shots but want a vet to do rabies so they can get the money for the yearly tag. With parvo so prevalent in the US I would not get a puppy without proof that they've had puppy shots appropriate for the age of the pup. You shouldn't even allow a pup to go outside before it has had at least 3 shots in the series of 4. Again because of parvo. I have seen parvo twice in adult dogs when it's supposed to be a puppy disease, so I wouldn't bring in a pup that has not been vaccinated.
I'm not sure WHY these pups don't have shots. I would highly recommend steering clear. I know some people into "natural rearing" but that doesn't sound like the case at all. Seems like your seeing ads for a bunch of bad breeders who are not concerned with the welfare of their puppies.
@Bulldogs4Life Tell me about it! Its horrible. Its so convoluted too. Basically in Maine, where I live, they have a law about how old the pup has to be before it leaves its mother (56 days), they have a law that a dog has to be healthy for a certain amount of time after purchase, ( I think its 1 year), but they DON'T have a law about shots. I wonder what would happen if one of those puppies got parvo within 1 year of purchase...would the purchaser be liable or the seller. Doesn't make any sense to me.
There is no law like that over here, You would need to prove a failure, or misconduct, by the breeder, most likely, in court. I would be very interested to know how this works in the US. For example:- what would happen if a young puppy had been over exercised, or had not fed according to the breeder's recommendation, and then developed a skeletal defect? What if it had been over disciplined by the purchaser, and developed fear aggression? This seems like a legal minefield, I would love to know how often do these cases succeed.
It probably depends on the judge and case. I've seen some cases where the breeder was liable one sold a mix as a pure bred, the other sold a pup with giarardia. You have to show that the breeder was actually at fault. Wow a year! Is that for anything or genetic disease? That doesn't make sense since even a vaccinated dog could get an infectious disease or other health ailment at no fault of the breeder.
Any puppy that don't have any shots in my eyes will be from a puppy farm/mill or BYB not from a KC/AKC registered breeder.
Kennel Club registration is not a guarantee of quality or that the breeder is reputable the KC unfortunately still accept registrations from puppy farmers and commercial dog breeders. None of my puppies had their vaccination when I brought them home (from reputable breeders) and I always had resident dog/s , Some breeders don't give the first inoculation in that different vets use different vaccines & schedules, if you live a fair way from the breeder, your vet may use a different type of vaccine/schedule
I stay clear. With the parvo, most likely it would fall on you since, they would see it as they advertised no shot and you should have got them before exposing the pup to the world where he got it.
None of my two had their first vaccinations before I picked them up at 8 weeks. They were given at 10 and 12 weeks by my own vet.
I couldn't agree more. It is the same with AKC commercial breeders register with them and bybs most certainly do. You can find plenty byb ads with AKC registration.
Neither of my two mutts had had any shots or been wormed when I brought them home. Little One came from a home on the Moshav having been born outside where her dam and a sibling from a previous litter lived - they had a old outhouse where the dogs slept but their yard was unfenced. Neither bitch had ever had shots and the people who owned them never did know which bitch was the dam as they both produced at the same time. They were not BYBs - they just did not believe in spaying - I have no idea what happened to the other puppies and I think I would prefer not to know but unfortunately this is a very "throwaway" society as far as dogs go. Pereg came from a shelter run by a voluntary organisation. Her dam had been a street dog and was fostered until her puppies were weaned - then they went to the shelter for adoption. Both were about 6 weeks old at the time and my Vet first wormed them and then gave them the shots when they were old enough and the LA Vet gave their rabies shot also when old enough.
The rules for FCI/MEOE (Hungarian Kennel Club) registered dogs is very strict over here. Puppies normally go to their new owners at 8 or 9 weeks old and will already had their first vaccinations and been microchipped by the breeders vet, Their medical record is either given to the new owner or sent by the breeder's vet to the owner's vet. The second vaccinations are normally given at 12 weeks old and by law all puppies have to have their Rabies vaccination by the age of 16 weeks and yearly thereafter Failure to do so can result in a heavy fine and the dog being placed in quarantine for 3 weeks. With pedigree breeds ... for example, Shar-Pei which can suffer inherited diseases such as FSF, should the dog develop the disease, the vet is obliged to report the fact to the country's equivalent of DEFRA who will order the breeder to remove the parents from their breeding programme. Personally I'm all in favour of such stringent rules. Yearly vaccination of dogs and other domesticated animals combined with an EU programme for the vaccination of wildlife, such as foxes has cut the incidence of Rabies in Hungary dramatically. And as a Shar-Pei owner, although its not an absolute guarantee my girl will be totally healthy at least I know the chances of her developing a serious inherited health problem are less with an Hungarian bred dog.
I'm really leaning heavily toward getting a dog or pup from a local shelter. It just makes sense to me. They will have age-appropriate vaccines and such. I also will feel good about giving an animal a home that needs one. We adopted a cat from a shelter and I have never met a more grateful animal in my life. She still continues to be thoroughly affectionate to this day. Personally, I would rather get a pup that has had at least it's first vaccinations and wormings done. That is my preference as I do have other animals in my home. Though my animals are fully vaccinated and the risk would be on the pup, I could not knowingly bring an undervaccinated animal into my house.
My pup didn't have any vaccinations when I got him at 11 weeks I prefer to have them done by my own vet. I had my Labrador at the time she was 7 and only had her puppy shots as I don't do boosters any way. I've got two rescues here ones 8 and ones 7 I don't know if they had vaccinations before I had them proberly not, as for worming I don't do that either unless it needs doing, I do worm counts once a year never had to worm them yet.
It is a big risk to take a puppy without shots. Especially if you have a little kid. My parents did just that. I was 6 year old and they bought me a dog without vaccination. I got attached to her very fast, but unfortunately she got sick with parvo. Vets couldn't save her and I was heartbroken for a long time, even if parents were in a hurry to get me another dog as soon as possible after quarantine time for parvo. Don't do this for you own kid, look for a really good breeder, who cares for his pups.
