Fecal testing

You don't know how much it upsets me to hear breeders say "All puppies have worms, parasites, coccidia and giardia" so its normal. Now I have two responses for this.. If you are buying a puppy under $700 then Hey, you get what you get because really there's no way this type of breeder could ever afford to take proper care of a dog and properly vet it. Most of these breeders generally don't vet their adults much less their puppies. They let the parents raise them usually outdoors/ sometimes indoors but either way they will have worms, parasites and all the goodies that come with them. If you choose to go this route then please be smart enough to quarantine the puppy (in a crate in the garage or an area not available to your other animals or kids) until you take it to the vet with a poop sample. You need to do a "Laboratory run fecal sample" I will explain more in a minute...

My second response is .. Or if you buy a dog for $1000-4000 depending on the breed. There is NO excuse for any breeder at this point to NOT do their job. But guess what if people buy and don't complain then they will do whatever they want to do and make great money doing it. No matter how many puppies I have the mama is separated by 6 weeks and at this point I need an isolated fresh poop sample. I take the sample to my veterinarian and she then sends it to the laboratory to have a full panel run on it. This is so important.

There are two types of fecal tests: A float test and a Laboratory Fecal test.

The float test takes a spec and usually done under a microscope in the vets office and they say Positive or Negative and its done. This is highly inaccurate because if one egg is missed your dog will be misdiagnosed and they cannot see coccidian and giardia in a float test. A laboratory fecal takes 24 to 48hrs and they take the full sample and test it. If your parents are properly vetted and the puppies are properly vetted then they should be free of all worms, parasites, coccidia and giardia BEFORE they go home at 8 weeks. If the test comes up positive at 6 weeks then that's fine the Breeder should be the one to pay for the meds, treat and make sure they are fine before they go home. But like I tell everyone.. YOU the buyer are the ones who allow breeders to get away with this ... Take the time, ask questions and make sure you are getting a Healthy puppy. Once your dog is a year old you should annually fecal test your dog to prevent health issues. Dogs can pick up many things from grass, dirt and wild animals/birds so testing annually is important.

Laboratory Fecal Results