Accessing a puppy's past health record

[Jay Keith]

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Is it usual to be given a copy of a puppy's veterinary record by the breeder, along with its pedigree certificate, etc.?
If not, would it usually be available on request?

 

[Tinytom]

All depends how old the pup is ...usually they have only gone to the vet for 1st vaccination and microchip......

 

[excuseme]

Depending on the age it may only be a microchip certificate and pedigree papers, some breeders will have a health check done for each puppy before it leaves home and produce a signed certificate from their vet.

Some vets will not advise vaccinating as early as 8 weeks, a few weeks longer may be advised for 1st vaccination owing to the puppy still having maternal antibodies protection inherited from it's mother. Beware of over vaccination
Interference by maternal antibodies is regarded as a major cause of vaccination failure on young dogs
Some puppies inherited antibodies can react against the newly introduced vaccine and render the early vaccination inactive.

 

[Hemlock]

Vets speak to vets, so if you can find out who the breeder's vet is, s/he may forward the details to your own vet at no charge to you, if the breeder doesn't have the information. However, breed/pedigree details can only be supplied by the breeder, though you may be able to access that information from whichever organisation the pups and parents are registered at.

 

[Jay Keith]

Vets speak to vets, so if you can find out who the breeder's vet is, s/he may forward the details to your own vet at no charge to you...

Thanks for that.
We bought a pup from a breeder who told us that their vet passed the pup as fit. Our vet discovered a heart murmur. The pup dropped dead a few months later. We've been told that the manner of its death was consistent with a heart problem. We'd have liked a post mortem examination but obtaining one proved impractical.
We do know who the breeder's vet is, so we asked our vet if they could obtain the pup's record. They said that they couldn't, because that information belonged to the person who paid for it: the breeder. We emailed the breeder and asked for a copy of the records but, despite having been happy to communicate with us up to this point, they haven't responded, which makes us wonder whether the vet really did miss the murmur or the breeder lied. In an attempt to discover the truth, I'm trying to find out what right, if any, we have to that information.

 

[excuseme]

Our present vet will perform a basic puppy check and provide a signed certificate with any relevant conditions mentioned . We pay for this.
Our last litter almost 2 years ago had a puppy who had a grade 3 / 4 heart murmur, she was 7.5 weeks of age. We could not sell her like this, so decided to keep her. She had regular checks over the next few months (all foc) but no change, no better and no worse. He could not estimate her life expectancy saying she could live a few months, a few years or even a normal full life.
Our vet advised to us to treat her as any normal puppy, and on his advice this is what we have done. She will soon be 2 years of age, we have kept her condition "lean" and fit, she joins in with all of the others. She has now done a few days of beating this season, working full days as any normal Cocker, she ends her working days with still good energy. She, as the others has a shower, Equafleece coat to aid drying and extra warmth and then a raw dinner. She and all of the other girls that have been working with us settle down and have a good sleepy evening and nights sleep.

Our vet says that we will know when her time has come and to give him a call when we feel the need. He will do whatever is appropriate for her at the time, and will support us with our decisions.
At the moment she is still a happy and energetic Cocker Spaniel, we would do nothing to stop her enjoying herself.

 

[Jay Keith]

Our last litter almost 2 years ago had a puppy who had a grade 3 / 4 heart murmur... She will soon be 2 years of age...

We were told that our pup's murmur was a grade two out of five and that it may well disappear or would, at least, be treatable with medication or surgery. Sadly, none of those options turned out to be in his future.

 

[Jay Keith]

Thanks for the responses.
As no one is able to answer my question, I'll be renewing my enquiries in the New Year. I suppose my next places to try will be the Royal Veterinary College or, perhaps, the Kennel Club.
Happy Newtonmass to you and your best friends.

 

[JudyN]

Good luck, and I hope you find some closure to help with your sadness. Happy Christmas to and yours xx