# Hereditary Health Issues



## Gatsby2015 (Oct 26, 2015)

I'm posting this information to help folks make an informative decision when choosing a breeder. Our dog, Gatsby, is from Teal's Vizslas. Sire is Teal's Milo SR42982801 and dam is Teal's Cal's Lil Cali 2 SR51285802. Born 6/16/15.

He has leg deformities that became apparent as he grew. We took him to a specialized vet and this was his diagnosis:

"Retained cartilage cores multiple metaphyseal areas, both front legs. The dog is noticeably small for its breed and age. Mild carpal varus, bilaterally. The distal radius is enlarged bilaterally. Radiographs revealed radiolucent areas in the metaphyseal area of the distal radius and ulna, in the proximalradius, and proximal humerus. The distal metaphyseal growth plate of the ulna appears closed and that of the radius not as wide as expected at this age." He wrote, "There is no effective surgical treatment. The dog does not appear to be in any pain at this time and is compensating well despite the skeletal abnormalities."

We contacted the breeder for information and we've had little to no response. We asked for a partial refund to help with the medical bills and they have not responded. I've since learned of three other people with puppies with similar leg deformities from the same blood lines. 

There are others who have had good experiences with this breeder. My intent is only to share my experience and to help others in their choice of breeder.


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## Rbka (Apr 21, 2014)

Thank you so much for sharing!!
Our dogs are from Braemar's Rose Vizslas near Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Not sure if they'd share any of the Teal's lines. Our older boy, Nico, has no sign of this (nor do any of the other dogs we know from our breeder), but I've noticed that our second pup Sam has funny looking front legs and I have been wondering if he'll have a "deformity" of this nature. I know I had seen something about it on the forums before but couldn't remember what it was called. If nothing else, you've saved us vet bills in going in to get a diagnosis! I think the main thing is that as long as he's not showing any signs of pain and can keep up well enough with his big brother we won't worry about it


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## b4ruby (Sep 3, 2016)

I'm so sorry. Thankfully he is not in pain.


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## Gatsby2015 (Oct 26, 2015)

Hi,
I'm sorry to hear Sam has leg problems too. Thankfully there doesn't seem to be any pain associated with the deformity. Best wishes to you!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Thank you Gatsby for posting the information. I know we have had other forum members, have a problem with Teal's.


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## Rbka (Apr 21, 2014)

Gatsby2015 said:


> Hi,
> I'm sorry to hear Sam has leg problems too. Thankfully there doesn't seem to be any pain associated with the deformity. Best wishes to you!



Thank you! I've noticed it's not as pronounced as it was before, I tried to take a photo but it doesn't really show anymore. Before his upper-legs were bowed outward, his lower legs had abnormally large bones, and his toes were out-turned, but as he's growing it seems to be getting less noticeable. Perhaps this is a good sign!

All the best for you and Gatsby


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## MariM (Mar 28, 2018)

I can’t believe what I’m seeing! My Vizsla was born 6/16/15 as well and we got him from Teal Vizsla. He has already had a leg corrective surgery on his back right leg. That was about $5,000. We honestly thought it was just bad luck but reading more about the breeder, it makes me angry bc they’re selling these puppies with so many issues. We fell in love with him so there’s nothing more to do other than have him get the surgery so he’s not in pain. Today, I took him to the vet again because I noticed some limping and the conclusion was that he now has mild hip displacia. At this point, from what I’ve read, there’s no point on contacting the breeder but again, this is so upsetting. We have puppies from the same litter with all sorts of issues. Who knows how much this surgery will cost but definitely no way around it. We love our guy so much, we’re willing to do anything. I hope yours doesn’t end up having more issues though. So crazy to find someone that has a puppy from the same litter ours is!


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

I am very sorry to see these posts, and just hope this breeder will stand up to the issue. 
Out of curiosity, have any of you contacted your local AKC (vizsla section) of recommendation before choosing a breeder? Also have you provided feedback to them? In our area that process and monitoring seems to work well.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I know they have sold 3 pups with dwarfism, and 2 with hip dysplasia.
Possibly more, but those are the ones I have personal knowledge of.
Out of the 5 dogs, only one owner was able to get part of the purchase price refunded. That only happened after they threaten to take them to court. 

Two of the dogs with dwarfism, didn't appear to be in any pain. The third was rehomed, and I don't have any information on her after the rehome. Her previous owners do not want their name to be associated with her. Two of the pups with dwarfism are from different litters, but same parents. The 3rd is a full sibling to Teals Milo.

One of the dogs with hip dysplasia, had to have hip replacement surgery on both hips. I don't know if corrective measures were ever taken on the second one.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Sorry you're going through this @MariM. 

Gabica, a quick google search now shows that Teal's website it down and they have a poor, (though not poor enough) rating with BBB. Hopefully they're not currently breeding, but I've seen other breeders, including one in Texas, list Teal dogs on their sites.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Yep, they seem to be. My point / question about contacting local AKC is the following: when we were looking for a pup in South Texas, we contacted the local AKC vizsla section and gave them couple of breeder`s names we were looking at. They came back with the list they do recommend and they do not and even got us in contact with breeders of merit from their list they knew are about to breed. From there we did our own selection, but i am glad we listened to their recommendations, in our case they proved to be very valid. 
Our first meet and greet (lol, starting with an interview including whether we will allow our pup on the couch, hehe) was over 3 hours, they let us see all of their dogs in their homes after they felt that we may be the right ones for the precious vizsla breed, got us in contact with other of their puppy owners, invited us for weekly meetings once the puppies were 4 weeks old and we committed to requested precautions like disinfecting ourselves before touching them. They gave us a long list of ok and non-ok toys, treats, food, materials to read, you name it. During our almost 5 months of wait time we would just read, research, puppy test our home on four legs and gave feedback to them how it went during our weekly meetings.
Bende is now 25 months old and we are still in daily (no exaggeration) contact with our breeder, exchanging photos, videos, stories, new learnings, recommendations, studies etc. He is a sweet, friendly, balanced, bubbly, but easy to live with young boy, easily trainable, having several well deserved titles and is just generally a joy as they should be.
I am not sure whether AKC is that thorough in other areas too, but for us, we could have not asked for any better service.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Was it the AKC that you contacted, or a Vizsla club breeder referral? 
Texas has two Vizsla clubs that cover our state, and each has a breeder referral.
I've always just considered the AKC more of a registry.


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

Our Ruby's dad came from Teal's. It was about 8 years ago, though, so perhaps before they started having issues? Her dad, along with her, have no genetic or otherwise health problems, thank goodness! Ruby's dad, despite coming from Teal's, had parents from Onpoint and Rebel Rouser.

I'm sure occasionally unforeseen genetic issues pop up, but it's unfortunate that Teal's continued to breed with these dogs after knowing of the genetic issues. :-( 
As someone else mentioned, it looks like their website is no longer active, so hopefully they've halted breeding operations.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

I am pretty sure that we first contacted AKC. They have then put us in contact at some point with the vizsla club, you are right, just not sure about how the exact order was exactly. The point being that we went to a central `body` hoping to get a responsible recommendation. It has worked for us perfectly.
In my home country (Hungary) we would have done the same, it is just Hungary being much smaller it is easier to track breeders than here.


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## Anida (Jun 10, 2016)

AKC has some requirements around it. http://www.akc.org/products-services/breeder-programs/akc-breeder-of-merit-program/ Not 100% what health test etc. are required, but it looks like it has a pretty decent list of requirements.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Recall that any owner of a bitch that whelps is technically and legally a "Breeder". Unfortunately, that doesn't at all guarantee quality or ethics. Sadly, the result are living creatures with life long health issues, many which can be avoided by careful breeding practices.

Stories like these remind that consumers always need to beware, and do due diligence and take the time to research breeders..it's really a life long commitment to and with another soul, and it's worth the extra effort, made easier by the net and places like this.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I know a couple of breeders have posted, that AKC does not proof the their ads for puppies. 
That any breeder could list themselves as being a breeder if merit, and list health clearances, and club involvement. It's not always true.
So you would still need to verify, any information posted on the AKC Market place.
OFA has a website, that makes checking health clearances very easy.
You can also send the area vizsla club a email, to see if the breeder is active with them. AKC also has a place online to search for breeders of merit.
Even with all that said, I would still ask the breeder referrals list from a Vizsla club.


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## Gatsby2015 (Oct 26, 2015)

Hi MariM, I'm so sorry you're going through this. If we're in the same location, I'd love to have our pups meet. Feel free to private message me. I wish you all the best.


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## Deviled Crab (Sep 14, 2019)

Hi...I know this is very late and might not be seen, but I wanted to throw my 2 cents in. My wife and I purchased a puppy from Teal's Vizslas in early 2012. I can't tell you how many thousands of dollars we have spent at the vet, but our poor boy Ruger has had a very rough go of it. He has autoimmune issues that are hereditary. He's had demadex twice, been sick so many times I've lost count, developed SARDS and has been blind for two years, doesn't have Cushing's disease but is constantly starving, and now keeps getting sick every two weeks to the point we think he is going to die; the vet has no idea what is causing it. I tried contacting Ron Teal multiple times over the years but he never responded. I'm so sorry for everyone that has had a bad experience with these people...I guess they were finally run out of business? 

If anyone sees this and has similar experiences...please share. 

Thanks,

Calvin


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I'm so sorry for your family, and Ruger.
The Teals have hurt a lot of family's.
I have no idea if they stopped breeding, or have just changed the name of their kennel.


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## riley455 (Aug 27, 2011)

texasred said:


> I know a couple of breeders have posts, that AKC does not proof the their ads for puppies.
> That any breeder could list themselves as being a breeder if merit, and list health clearances, and club involvement. It's not always true.
> So you would still need to verify, any information posted on the AKC Market place.
> OFA has a website, that makes checking health clearances very easy.
> ...


Agree with this 100%. I always tell puppy buyers to always verify health test results with OFA website. And even the dog pedigree to check at least at vizsla data base. I remember a few years ago a post in FB where a vizsla pedigree showing famous breeding lines but the serial number were of a different breed. So be careful out there.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

riley455 said:


> Agree with this 100%. I always tell puppy buyers to always verify health test results with OFA website. And even the dog pedigree to check at least at vizsla data base. I remember a few years ago a post in FB where a vizsla pedigree showing famous breeding lines but the serial number were of a different breed. So be careful out there.


I've even seen the wrong breed listed as a pedigree. 
And if the dog with health clearances was not microchipped. Who's to say what dog, was at the vet getting tested.
Scammers keep coming up with ways to look legitimate.


I've been to places, to help rescue.
If 20 dogs are in the same kennel, males, and females. Who really knows what dog, is the stud of what puppies. And that can happen for generations. Then your AKC pedigree is worthless, and so is the OFA health certificate on the parents. Your paperwork is only as good as your breeder, and sometimes the breeder before them.


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## Gatsby2015 (Oct 26, 2015)

Hi Calvin, I'm so sorry for you and your pup.


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## nmstarr (May 13, 2020)

Hi all - Just looking through this thread since we are thinking about getting another V. We purchased our V from the Teal’s and she was also born 6/16/15. She is healthy and happy as can be. I am so sad to hear that one of her litter mates has not had the same life. Recommendations on breeders?


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