Problems at the 7 Week Check Up

This page will discuss how we handle problems we discover at the 7 week check up. Most importantly, if there is a health problem with your puppy at the 7 week check up, you will be notified ASAP. We do these checkups between 6 weeks 5 days and 7 weeks 1 day if possible. If the problem is something that could have long term implications, you can forego your puppy. In this case, you’d get a complete refund. I will discuss below the problems that could be discovered at the exam and how we handle problems at the 7 week check up.

Undescended Testicles

The most common potential problem that our 7 week check up reveals is undescended testicles. However, at 7 weeks, undescended testicles don’t mean much. Well over half of our male puppies do not have both testicles descended at the 7 week check up. Since we have been breeding, we have had only 4 puppies whose testicles never descended. In addition, we’ve had litters with as many as 7 male puppies where not even one puppy had both testicles down at the 7 week check up. All of them had both testicles down by 10 weeks. It is purely a developmental issue. The vast majority of puppies from our lines have testicles that descend between 8 and 10 weeks of age. We’ve had a few with testicles that came down much later. One was almost 6 months.

A Small Refund

In the event that your puppy’s testicles don’t descend at all, nothing needs to be done until he is neutered at over one year of age. At that time, the testicle will be taken care of.

We have checked with both of the vet practices that we use as to the additional cost of this minor procedure. One practice charges an additional $50 for the neuter when there is an undescended testicle. The other charges just under $100. I have talked to other breeders to see what their vets charge and these charges are fairly consistent across most of the country. We will refund $150 to more than cover what most vets charge. If your vet should insist on neutering early because of an increased possibility of testicular cancer, please read these links where you will see that studies have shown that these risks are very small for young dogs. The benefits of late neutering far outweigh this small risk of testicular cancer. We recommend neutering these dogs just over a year. Here are the links: http://www.caninesports.com/uploads/1/5/3/1/15319800/spay_neuter_considerations_2013.pdf and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/43317

Potential Problem at the 7 Week Check up: Heart Murmur

A less common problem that we have had is a heart murmur. We have sent home 3 puppies with benign heart murmurs (grade 1). All 3 of them outgrew it by 4-12 months. We have never had a puppy with a true heart problem. However, benign heart murmurs are fairly common in Golden Retriever puppies. These murmurs are caused by the sections of the heart growing at different rates.

When vets hear a grade 1 murmur in a young puppy, waiting is usually the first recommendation as long as the puppy is playing and acting normally. We have never had a murmur that was more than a grade 1.

If your puppy should have a murmur, even if it is only a grade 1, we give you the option of forfeiting the puppy and getting a full refund. We will keep the puppy and train him until he outgrows the murmur and then sell him to someone else as a trained puppy. If you take the puppy and then the murmur becomes something serious, the terms of our contract apply. There is no discount when you take the puppy. All parents have hearts tested. There are no heart problems in our lines. The chances of there being a significant heart issue is small.

Problems at the 7 Week Check Up: Full Disclosure

There is a broad range of health problems that COULD happen. Any health problem that we are aware of will be made known to families getting our puppies. With significant issues, it is the owners choice as to how they want to proceed.

We are aware that many people fly in to get our puppies and that flights have sometimes been reserved. We do all we possibly can to provide a healthy puppy to families at the time that they plan on picking up their puppy.

Occasionally Things Happen That Are Out of Our Control

Again, we do all that we can to keep our puppies healthy. However, with anything living, no one can totally control all the possibilities.

If there should be a problem found before puppy selection of any significance, it will be the last person on our list for that particular gender who would be given a refund and forfeit getting a puppy.

See our page on Raising Puppies for information on how we raise them and keep them healthy.