# Health Testing & Vaccines



## NewtoHavaneseLove (Feb 16, 2019)

I am speaking with a breeder who says that they do not post health testing online, but have the reports upon request. They also state that they do not give vaccines until 9 weeks based on Dr. Jean Dodd's protocol for vaccination in dogs. 

I have read the thread that speaks to questions to ask. However I do not see many recommendations of reputable breeders. Are those two items considered "red flag" enough to keep looking? Or have folks experienced the same and had success? How do I know what an accurate health testing looks like?


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Nope. In comparison to the actual cost to get those tests done, the fee to post them to OFA is pocket change. As far as I'm concerned, there is no reason to not submit the results (or not submit hip rads to get said results) unless they are less than desirable. Any vet can tell you whether radiographs look good or not, but OFA submission is the way to get unbiased opinions by board orthopedists on an animal's hips. If they are submitted to get that opinion and the opinion is that they are not dysplastic, they will be reported. Only way to not have the result reported is for that result to be abnormal. A handful of people choose to test through PennHip instead, but those results are also able to be posted on OFA (and the cost to get them done is even greater, so again, why not cough up the fee).

I would never buy a puppy from a breeder that didn't have CHIC numbers for all breeding dogs and didn't only breed to other CHIC dogs, no questions asked. Havanese are very unique for toy breeds in that the majority of breeders fully health test their dogs and place heavy importance upon those tests. I have no issues with a limited vaccine protocol, though, and you will find that mant members here actually follow Dr Dodds' protocol themselves.


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## NewtoHavaneseLove (Feb 16, 2019)

Thank you!!!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I agree completely with what Sophie wrote. There is absolutely NO reason to test but not submit to OFA... and far too easy to fake reports shown to an unsuspecting puppy owner. I would not fall for that.


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## NewtoHavaneseLove (Feb 16, 2019)

So far the update is they send puppies home at 8wks without vaccines and there's no health guarantee. Also, I confirmed there's no testing on the web. It's probably best that I keep looking. 

Thanks for the info!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

NewtoHavaneseLove said:


> So far the update is they send puppies home at 8wks without vaccines and there's no health guarantee. Also, I confirmed there's no testing on the web. It's probably best that I keep looking.
> 
> Thanks for the info!


Absolutely. That doesn't sound right. Most of the Havanese breeders I know wait until after the first vaccines at 9 weeks to send their puppies home. Occasionally they will send a puppy home at 8 weeks to a very knowledgable home, where they are SURE that the person will handle vaccines appropriately.

And while health guarantees vary tremendously from breeder to breeder, at VERY least, IMO, a contract should cover life-threatening congenital defects and the new owner should be able to have the puppy checked by their own vet at home. Puppies are flesh and blood and "things happen", even with the very best breeders, doing their very best to produce healthy puppies. But a new puppy should not be left holding the bag with a puppy sent home with a heart defect or a liver shunt. Typically, a breeder will cover up to the purchase price of the puppy toward medical expenses OR will take the puppy back and refund the purchaser's money. But your rights should be explicitly spelled out in the contract.


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