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My Rottweiler Puppy Elbow Dysplasia Story

Redwood's Krest's Basra AKC# WS41855004

 

Last year, we finally decided that we were ready to have a new Rottweiler puppy. 6 years had passed since I lost a 14 year old female Rottweiler with no major health problem, so I really did not have any knowledge what to look for or avoid (I went strictly by visual appearance). I thought I would be protected by going to a professional breeder and paying top dollar. I thought that the breeder would have made certain that the puppies he sold were bred free of dysplasia (at least to the extent that its line was relatively free of the disease) and to assure I would get an otherwise healthy puppy.

After some searching (in retrospect bad searching), we ended up with someone who seemed to be a very nice guy, Joeri Goedertier from Redwood Krest Rottweilers, a Rottweiler breeder in Battleground, Washington (websites are www.redwoodkrest.com and www.redwoodkrestk9.com ). He was extremely attentive and gave me confidence that I was using the right breeder. Only now do I understand just how bad a mistake relying on this breeder was. (Yes, after paying the $500 deposit and also on receiving the puppy, I noticed some hiccups and red flags with the breeder Joeri and on receiving the puppy, but at this point we were in love and didn’t have the heart to return our adorable puppy). fleas and scars on puppy will disappear, but later, I will find out how big a fool I was. 

At 5 and 1/2 months, I noticed lameness. The puppy started limping on her front legs. At first, there was a little limping on both the left and right legs. I called the breeder Joeri to report this and to receive some instructions. I still didn’t think this was a disease. It took him a few days to get back to me, saying it must be only growing pains and that it should go away soon. 

But the limping persisted, so I visited a local veterinarian. The veterinarian told me it could be many things, such as Pano (Panosteitis) or Elbow Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD) and not necessarily FCP, so, he said, “let’s give the puppy rest and pain medication and wait, hoping it will go away”. In retrospect this was terrible advice accept of supporting the vet income, because it resulted in allowing more time for the bone deformity to progress, and my puppy having more wear inside the joint, which will boost the arthritis in the elbows.

Allowing my puppy to rest--only helped to hide the problem and to generate more vet income. After some two or three weeks of rest, the puppy did not limp; I was happy and we gradually increased her activity. Then, all of a sudden, the limping returned with a vengeance--more severe than ever. The limping was extremely severe, but only on the right leg. It was only later that I found out why and I will explain with more information on the Treatment page (a bone fragment came loose in to the joint).

Cutting this story short. I took my puppy to an orthopedic specialist. My puppy was diagnosed with “bilateral medial coronoid disease with fragmentation of the coronoid processes” (meaning, severe bilateral elbow dysplasia (ED) with FCP). Before my puppy was a year old, we ended up with a bilateral elbow surgery (elbow arthroscopy) at a cost (including tests) of around $4500 and no refund from the breeder of the $3000 original puppy purchase price. He did offer a second puppy later in the future (sure, if I will ever have the desire of owning a new dog from this breeder), but I was very sure I didn’t want to fall in love with a second sick dog coming from a rough kennel (remember the fleas and scars).

I have since found, through a relatively simple search, that my puppy’s sire and dam are both carriers of the disease. Either the breeder didn’t care or he didn’t do the research. Or maybe he just knew that by the time the disease was discovered we would be so in love with the dog that we would never complain and he would be able to make a bit more money by selling the likely defective puppies whose disease would not manifest for many years. I just don’t know.

The more I have learned about Rottweilers with elbow dysplasia (ED), the more amazed, upset, and stunned I am by how ignorant I was and by the actions of the breeder at every stage. ("How To Choose Your Rottweiler Breeder") This article is describing almost word for word what happened to us and many others with Rottweiler breeders.

 

Researching Your Rottweiler’s Lineage at the OFA site may sometime give you some indication for ED:

Warning! Absent of OFA test record, is bad record! The open OFA database is not showing most of the sick dogs!

Below are the results of a search into the lineage of my puppy:

 

My puppy -  # WS41855004 - Redwood's Krest's Basra –  OFA record Registration: WS41855004

AKC record WS41855004

(See copy of registration below showing the parents)

Check the grandmothers from both sides: (They both rated with degenerative joint diseases)

Father - M - Sire - REDWOOD KREST'S IFONLE  OFA record Registration:  WS26459401 (AKC)

Mother - F - Dam - REDWOOD KREST'S PERLA   OFA record Registration: WS29125704 (AKC)  

IFONLE  (Father) and PERLA  (Mother) had the same Sire, FIGO VOM GROSSEN TAL, which has no elbow screening done, with very weak records on Offspring, Full Siblings, Half Siblings(Sire) or Half Siblings(Dam).

Most likely the grandmothers on both sides, FIENX and AHAVA  which both had high rate of cases with elbow joint disease, increases the rate and continue the contamination of the next generation. 

See all siblings of my puppy’s paternal grandmother: REDWOOD KREST'S FIENX   OFA record Registration: WR07120208 (AKC)

And who knows how many more sick dogs were produced without being recorded by the OFA. 

This kind of breeding is just asking for this disease to occur. It can be a classic textbook case study of bad breeding choices. If you check just my puppy’s parents, they seem to be clean--but if you go back in history, you can see that both parents had a bilateral ED history on the female side (yes, my puppy is a female too).  By the way, some people say that 70% plus of the genetics will most likely come through the female. In addition, we shouldn't forget the unrecorded sick dogs.  

Of course, this slipshod breeding practice does not help to improve the breed by reducing the incidence of such disease. We should remember the conflict of interest between profit and greed, on the one hand, and the goal (if any) of improving the quality of the breed and breeding healthy, happy puppies.

So you see, paying $3000 for a puppy does not mean the breeder will do all in his power to deliver you a healthy puppy or even take some responsibility if the puppy turns out to have problems.

So what should you do before getting a puppy to reduce the chance for ED and other disabilities, such as hip dysplasia, as well as heart or eye problems?  Keep reading , check the Conclusion page to see why it is not that simple. 

 

 

My puppy siblings are:
AKC Dog Number: WS41855001
Dog Name: Redwood Krest's Ben

AKC Dog Number: WS41855002
Dog Name: Redwood Krest's Bravo

AKC Dog Number: WS41855003
Dog Name: Redwood Krest's Buster

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