French Bulldog One Year Health Guarantee
Most puppies that are purebred or a designer puppy and will get a guarantee from a breeder or a pet store. The sales pitch to stores selling puppies from puppy mills is that there is no worry “This puppy will come with a health guarantee.” If anything was wrong with the puppy you could return that puppy for a “full refund” after bonding with the puppy and even though the Pet Stores mark up the puppies 2 to 3 times the value of the puppy, at times their French Bulldog Puppies in stores are $6,000 to$8,000 dollars for an average puppy , however, they feel the guarantee is worth the higher cost because they can get their money back. Most breeders do not give money back guarantees because once the puppy is adopted, anything could happen to the puppy and it can not just be readopted, with the same guarantee to the next buyer. For some, offering the health guarantee is a “get out of jail free card” because of the “catch.” The catch being that the person who purchased the puppy had to return the puppy/dog in order to get their replacement. Of course, the vast majority of people will have fallen in love with the puppy by then and will not give them up for any amount of money. Pet stores and breeders hope this happens so less will replace a sick puppy.
Some people will see that a “health guarantee” is offered and say “oh-that means this is a reputable seller/breeder.” The presence of a health guarantee certainly does not ensure that the puppy was well bred or that the breeder is ethical. Beware of Puppy Mills!A lot of puppy mills especially here in my state, Ohio, will sell puppies knowing they have serious health issues and will not refund the money or give a replacement. At times blaming the new owner of neglect or that they were aware of defects or infections before the adoption. They also will deceive the family that they are getting a good deal on a certain color and that the health issue is no big deal. In one incident a family called me and told me they bought a lilac puppy for CHEAP because the puppy had no teeth and had an infection in his ears, this is a breeder in Ohio that does not disclose they are a puppy mill but a large family of high quality FRENCHIES , NOT!!!. Please do not support these puppy mills make sure you ask questions, see where the puppy is raised and don’t go by cute pictures or expensive dogs on an ad or website. Look for red flags such as how many dogs these breeders breed per year. How many litters they have at one time. How do the puppies socialize daily, play, and are you able to see where they are raised. If you are adopting a puppy and having it shipped you can become more confident by seeing what the breeder ask of you before allowing the adoption/ purchase to take place. Ethical breeders will be very cautious on their new families and will not allow all their puppies to be sold to breeders if the price is right without thoroughly examing the potential breeder is worthy of one of their puppies. If you are an ethical breeder and looking for a good breeding guarantee and you are willing to put effort in our application process please click here to be forwarded to the Czar’s breeder application form.
One year guarantee covers genetic defects such as eye disorders that will cause the puppy to go blind,
It also depends on the “fine print” of the health guarantee if you are dealing with a breeder that is reputable. Nevertheless, a “health guarantee” is a standard practice among dog breeding, selling and purchasing. People purchasing a puppy should have an ability to have a choice in guarantees, 48hr only (not a good idea), 1 year, or 2 year guarantee and understand its significance and its value before leaving with your new canine baby.
When researching breeders and trying to purchase a healthy puppy, the buyer should be most concerned about finding someone who is health testing their dogs, knows their lines and who can speak intelligently about the risks associated with the breed. They should look for a breeder that is scrutinizing any issues that their breed or particular family of dogs is at risk for and articulate measures they take to limit the risk of problems. The key is looking for a breeder who is looking for the common and the uncommon health and genetic risks and doing what they can to eliminate the chance for problems related to these in their puppies. The goal as a buyer is a healthy puppy, not getting their money back or replacement, when or if the puppy is not healthy.
Could a breeder actually “guarantee health” as the term “health guarantee” implies? I have also thought a great deal about what a “health guarantee” should cover and what the term “health guarantee” should actually imply. As a professional service trainer and breeder for over 24 years, genetic health researcher on my own breeding sires and dams, I know very well that there is no guarantee of good health. Many human couples have no family history of a problem and do everything in their power to be certain that their baby is healthy: from taking prenatal vitamins, to eating organic to meditation to ensure that their stress levels are low and yet their children still have a risk for genetic disease. Based on the population structure of purebred dogs, this is especially true for dogs of specific breeds that have an increased risks for certain conditions and a decreased risk for others.
I have personally found that new buyers often do not want to discuss at great length what occurs if something turns out to be wrong with their puppy. I am not certain if this is because they don’t want to think about it, if they just do not think that anything will happen or if they are just too busy with their excitement about their new puppy. It is advisable to discuss these things before the buyer comes to pick up their new puppy, this is the reason I have placed an entire section on this site about real problems that affect the French Bulldog breed. Health issues and contracts are the last thing people want to think about when they are holding their bouncing hairy bundle of puppy breath. I imagine that disreputable breeders count on people being too caught up to read the fine print.
So what should health guarantees entail? There are two aspects of the health guarantee. The first is that the breeder is actually selling a puppy that is currently healthy. My vet will do a health test and certification if leaving the state. If the puppy has not been reserved yet, an informal check will be done. This way I can sell my puppies to be health checked and feel more confident in the guarantee from the beginning of the conversation with a new puppy buyer. Most breeders/sellers offer a guarantee that the puppy is healthy and free of serious infectious disease and require that the buyer take the puppy to their own veterinarian to be examined within a specified amount of time (most commonly from 48 hours). This is for the protection of both the buyer and the breeder. The buyer should take their puppy to their veterinarian and make certain everything checks out. No lethargy, loss of appetite, fever, breathing problems and that the appropriate vaccinations have been given for the puppy’s age and have the opportunity to return the puppy if they have any disease that could be fatal to the puppy such as Parvo. A new owner in love with a new sweet puppy may find it extremely difficult to return a puppy with Parvo or Distemper but it could allow them to leave the vet expenses to the breeder and give the responsibility back to the breeder as it should be. That is why I will give at least two if not three vaccinations to each puppy before going home. I also do not let people come to my nursery that have not already selected a puppy and placed a deposit. This ensures a healthier puppy because the risk has been minimized to outside diseases French Bulldog puppies can acquire before being fully vaccinated.
The initial vet exam is protection for the breeder, it is necessary to document the puppy’s health, this is to ensure that the buyer does not take poor care of the puppy, create health issues and then try to get their money back or replacement for a puppy who is sick due to poor care provided by the new owner.
The second aspect of the “health guarantee” is that the breeder/seller is to “guarantee” the puppy against health, congenital and/or genetic defects for some amount of time. This aspect of a health guarantee is far more complex again for both the potential buyer and the responsible breeder/seller. This second aspect of the health guarantee could offer a guarantee against the development of any health and/or genetic defects for anything from a 1-year to a 5-year guarantee.
Again, the best guarantee is a puppy from healthy and health tested parents. As we hope we have made clear, Czar Frenchies, we are all about the breeding of the healthiest French Bulldogs possible. We are committed to providing testing and education about the things that breeders can do in reaching their goals of producing healthy puppies. A key aspect of a responsible health guarantee is that the breeder can speak intelligently about the health and genetic risks for the puppy related to their breed and their particular family of dogs. The best breeder will give full disclosure of any health issues some of their breeding dogs may have had or could have. Any breeder saying “we have not had any problems” is an indicator they are more than likely hiding something they are not willing to disclose.
Some experienced breeders will be able to provide health information parent lineage such as grandparents and other siblings to your puppy. If they do not have any information such as age, health, are they still producing, are they retired? If they did retire how long did they breed for? One year or 7 years? The longer a stud breeds can be a classic indication this was a healthy strong stud because of the number of puppies with no health issues. Many will guarantee the dog for a period of time against the development of genetic disease or the presence of congenital defects. This guarantee may be against specific debilitating issues or defects that compromise the health and happiness of the dog or things create extensive medical bills. It is wise for the buyer to have done their research and know what health issues are a concern based on the breed they are purchasing and discuss these issues with the breeders they are potentially interested in purchasing a puppy from. Buyers should not take the term “heath guarantee” at face value but understand what a specific guarantee covers and what consideration will be given should issues occur. Also the trust you have of the person or kennel giving you the guarantee. Many breeders are really nice and offer lots of assurance until you call them with a problem.
Our Guarantee to You:
Czar’s guarantee gives the new family a replacement puppy if something should arise. If you have had your new puppy for over a few months we will not automatically force you to give the puppy back. We will let you make that decision. A family can keep their puppy and still get a replacement. There are circumstances where we will ask for the puppy back if it’s in the best interest of the puppy. ( This has only happened twice in 20 years). We have rarely selected a person or persons that we do not feel could care for our puppies in a responsible manner, but unfortunately it does happen! This is another reason for the application process.
We have had very few families ever need to use their guarantee, but it has happened in the past and may be utilized in the future. We guarantee all our puppies, unless you are adopting a rescue we have no known information about.
We will do everything we can to work with you and help support you. When you adopt a puppy from Czar you become part of our extended family. We select the best families by asking for an application first and selecting from the applicants the best choice for a particular puppy. This creates the best possible outcome for the family and the breeder combined.
In 24 years, in our breeding program we have only had to utilize the guarantee a few times, to be expected since raising puppies has its unknowns, even when we test the parents and give the best possible outcomes through nutrition, higher quality and health testing practices.
Do your best to be honest in the application process, some families complete the application saying they want a pet then change their minds at transfer. Whatever you put on the application is what you will or will not be approved for in the end. So stay true to your intentions and we will respect that.
