I hope that writing this will save someone else the heartbreak of buying a puppy with hereditary issues. I bought a puppy from Ozark Autumn in July. At first I was impressed, very sweet puppy and the owner was a veterinarian. I did have a red flag in my head when they sent the dog home with antibiotics just in case she got a urinary tract infection, but I wrote it off because I thought they were being nice.
This is a long story, so if you don’t get through all of it then please just remember this point. This breeder does not stand by their contract, they are a backyard breeder disguising themselves as long standing breeders who are showing and owned by a veterinarian. The vet uses her power to influence the vets you use to fix the hereditary issues she is causing, so I would have been better off finding a responsible breeder who stands by their contracts.
Four days after I brought my girl home, and I am trying to potty break her, she got her first UTI. A week later, two days off of the antibiotics, she got another one and was put on antibiotics for two weeks. The breeder also mailed me Clavamox to clear up the infection, but after six weeks of antibiotics she had another UTI in 48 hours. She was started on more antibiotics, which she became resistant to, and then a different one. After a month on the last antibiotic and getting another UTI, my vet recommended I go to Kansas State University (KSU) to get a diagnosis since he didn’t know how to permanently cure the issue.
I had been contacting the breeder, per our contract, and kept her informed of everything. They admitted to me several times that they had does that were incontinent and people had to return the puppies. Once she found out she was going for an ultrasound, she found a vet she recommended at Kansas State and an article she wrote on supplements curing E Coli UTIs. My vet called the KSU State vet, and she indicated there were no supplements that would cure this issue after four months of UTIs. I took my dog to KSU where she was diagnosed with a hooded vulva and they indicated she needed surgery to correct the issue. Keep in mind that hooded vulvas also can cause urinary incontinence, so that is probably the issue the poor other owners had to deal with who returned their puppies.
I found a local vet who was experienced at this surgery and who my vet recommended, so I scheduled the surgery. I also informed the breeder of the surgery and asked for some kind of reimbursement, since the KSU vet indicated this was a hereditary issue. Melissa Smith called the KSU vet to try to convince her that her diagnosis was incorrect. Then, on the day of my dog’s surgery she sent an e-mail to my vet and the one performing the surgery urging them to not do the surgery, and then bullied them by also sending a copy of my contract. The vet who was going to do the surgery didn’t want to get involved in a lawsuit or deal with this breeder, so the surgery was cancelled.
I was LIVID and told Melissa Smith that she wasn’t paying the bills and she didn’t get to tell my vets if they could treat my dog. In the e-mail she insisted I wait, which I did for 10 days until my dog showed more signs of a UTI and I immediately scheduled surgery. I informed both vets that they were not to provide information to this breeder, that she was not to be spoken with at all regarding the health of my dog. My dog had the surgery a week ago and is doing well, and I have even noticed it is visible that her vulva is smaller and not swollen (KSU indicated it was red and irritated). She is happy and will hopefully now be free of painful UTIs. I informed the breeder and sent her a copy of my bill, and she just ignores me. The health of the puppy was not important to her, but not admitting she has hereditary issues certainly was her utmost concern.
IF you got a dog from Ozark Autumn and they are healthy, then you should consider yourself very lucky. I spent $1500 on the dog, and now I have spent over $1725 in veterinary bills in the five months since I have owned her.
Ozark Autumn Dobermans Reviews
I hope that writing this will save someone else the heartbreak of buying a puppy with hereditary issues. I bought a puppy from Ozark Autumn in July. At first I was impressed, very sweet puppy and the owner was a veterinarian. I did have a red flag in my head when they sent the dog home with antibiotics just in case she got a urinary tract infection, but I wrote it off because I thought they were being nice.
This is a long story, so if you don’t get through all of it then please just remember this point. This breeder does not stand by their contract, they are a backyard breeder disguising themselves as long standing breeders who are showing and owned by a veterinarian. The vet uses her power to influence the vets you use to fix the hereditary issues she is causing, so I would have been better off finding a responsible breeder who stands by their contracts.
Four days after I brought my girl home, and I am trying to potty break her, she got her first UTI. A week later, two days off of the antibiotics, she got another one and was put on antibiotics for two weeks. The breeder also mailed me Clavamox to clear up the infection, but after six weeks of antibiotics she had another UTI in 48 hours. She was started on more antibiotics, which she became resistant to, and then a different one. After a month on the last antibiotic and getting another UTI, my vet recommended I go to Kansas State University (KSU) to get a diagnosis since he didn’t know how to permanently cure the issue.
I had been contacting the breeder, per our contract, and kept her informed of everything. They admitted to me several times that they had does that were incontinent and people had to return the puppies. Once she found out she was going for an ultrasound, she found a vet she recommended at Kansas State and an article she wrote on supplements curing E Coli UTIs. My vet called the KSU State vet, and she indicated there were no supplements that would cure this issue after four months of UTIs. I took my dog to KSU where she was diagnosed with a hooded vulva and they indicated she needed surgery to correct the issue. Keep in mind that hooded vulvas also can cause urinary incontinence, so that is probably the issue the poor other owners had to deal with who returned their puppies.
I found a local vet who was experienced at this surgery and who my vet recommended, so I scheduled the surgery. I also informed the breeder of the surgery and asked for some kind of reimbursement, since the KSU vet indicated this was a hereditary issue. Melissa Smith called the KSU vet to try to convince her that her diagnosis was incorrect. Then, on the day of my dog’s surgery she sent an e-mail to my vet and the one performing the surgery urging them to not do the surgery, and then bullied them by also sending a copy of my contract. The vet who was going to do the surgery didn’t want to get involved in a lawsuit or deal with this breeder, so the surgery was cancelled.
I was LIVID and told Melissa Smith that she wasn’t paying the bills and she didn’t get to tell my vets if they could treat my dog. In the e-mail she insisted I wait, which I did for 10 days until my dog showed more signs of a UTI and I immediately scheduled surgery. I informed both vets that they were not to provide information to this breeder, that she was not to be spoken with at all regarding the health of my dog. My dog had the surgery a week ago and is doing well, and I have even noticed it is visible that her vulva is smaller and not swollen (KSU indicated it was red and irritated). She is happy and will hopefully now be free of painful UTIs. I informed the breeder and sent her a copy of my bill, and she just ignores me. The health of the puppy was not important to her, but not admitting she has hereditary issues certainly was her utmost concern.
IF you got a dog from Ozark Autumn and they are healthy, then you should consider yourself very lucky. I spent $1500 on the dog, and now I have spent over $1725 in veterinary bills in the five months since I have owned her.