# New puppy with potential health issue



## Stasha (Jan 28, 2021)

Hi all,

We planned to get a vizsla dog for a while, read all there is to read, selected a highly recommended reputable breeder, visited his home back in October and met his dogs before putting our names on the list - basically checked all the boxes as per literature and advice. Finally our turn came up and we will be picking up our puppy in 3 days (beyond excited). Due to covid regulations we haven't had a chance to visit the litter, but our breeder has been updating us with photos and videos nearly every day since the pups were born. Despite the dam and the sire having been checked and bread from before (with different pairings I believe), there were some problems with the litter. We know that one of the pups died within the first 24hrs and he had a very low body mass (I know this happens randomly). They experienced a post-birth infection, but that cleared soon after. Another pup had a slow start learning to walk, but looks totally up to speed with the rest of them now. They are almost 8 weeks old and seem joyful, have healthy appetites and look adorable. 

Recently our breeder told us about a health issue that one of the littermates (not ours) is experiencing that got us worried. The symptoms point to a bad case of Juvinile Cellulitis and the pup is currently on a high dose of steroids and antibiotics - he has eye swelling and scabs on his eye lids and muzzle and looks swallen around the neck, otherwise appears happy and playful. On the photos we noticed that some of the other pups have one or two tiny scabs on their muzzle as well and as far as we are aware they have been looked at by the vet during their vaccinations and do not appear to need treatment. We will be second to select a puppy and have a choice between three boys. We don't want our choice to be influenced by the tiny scab that could be nothing (or something that could need some treatment) and are going with an open mind. We do not intend to breed from the dog nor show him - he will be purely for company, hiking and family fun. 

I didn't find a lot on this disease in this forum - it seems to be a rare condition, but as first time vizsla owners we are looking for some advice on the best course of action and some reassurance from anyone who experienced a similar situation.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

No one here can answer this question for you, unfortunately. Sucks you are facing this dilemma when it should be a really exciting time.

My advice is to trust your instincts. Try to get some kind of reassurance for moving forward. This could mean taking the puppy to a vet of your choosing before purchasing it and getting a second opinion on the situation.

If you want to share more in private, you can direct message me and I can try to help.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I didn't recognize the diagnosis at first. In layman's terms it's called puppy strangles.
I'm a member of a breeders page. It's not that I breed, I just like to read through their posts, and comments.
I have heard it is a immune-mediated disease. It's not contagious to the rest of the litter.


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## Stasha (Jan 28, 2021)

texasred said:


> I didn't recognize the diagnosis at first. In layman's terms it's called puppy strangles.
> I'm a member of a breeders page. It's not that I breed, I just like to read through their posts, and comments.
> I have heard it is a immune-mediated disease. It's not contagious to the rest of the litter.


Thanks for the reply. I know it's not contageous, but I read that it can be something that affects multiple littermates and can surface in the first 4 months. Since we saw some pimple-like scabs on others we wondered if it is something they could be developing as well.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

That is very true.
If you already have a trusted vet, I would ask them their thoughts on the subject.


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## Stasha (Jan 28, 2021)

Just an update if anyone is reading this in the future and going through the same thing. We listened to our guts and got our vizsla boy Atom as planned. It took a bit of foreward planning in terms of committing to a vet - we ended up changing the vet we first planned to go with as they had no experience with the condition and chose one that was confidently aware of what it is and seemed knowledgeable. Our puppy is turning 4 months tomorrow and neither him nor nobody else from the litter was affected by the same illness. Unfortunately the ill puppy didn't make it. We were shown all medical records and our vets were sent a copy just in case.


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

Congratulations and wishing you many V-full years. Yours was not a situation that I would want to be in but you managed it. Also thumbs-up to the breeder - it sounds like he/she did the responsible thing at every step. Maybe you could tell his/her name.


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