Goldendoodle owners who play the blame game

Goldendoodle owners who play the blame gameWhy do some Goldendoodle owners play the blame game over the internet when they fail to not follow proper protocol with their breeder and something occurs with their purchased pet? A Goldendoodle customer contacted me last night saying that her Goldendoodle had a seizure earlier that day and when I started to ask her questions, she immediately became nasty and said "We've had problems with this doodle since the day we bought him!".

Funny. This was the first time I had even heard from this customer, yet alone receive any documentation from a veterinarian much less her signature upon the purchase contract that we provide to every customer. She purchased her Goldendoodle from me 8 months ago and the doodle was four months of age when she purchased him. I still have two doodles from that particular litter who have been in perfect health. So far, we've not had any negative responses regarding "health issues" from anyone else who purchased from that same litter. When she made the comment that she had been having "health" issues with her Goldendoodle from the first day she purchased him, I then asked her why was I just now hearing about a problem? If she had been having problems from "day one" as she claimed, why was she just now telling me about it after eight months has passed? She got angry and began playing the blame game and when she would not answer my questions, I hung up the telephone. She then called back and my husband answered the phone and she told him she was going to tell everyone on as many websites as possible what a bad breeder I was.

I find it completely absurd that someone would purchase a Goldendoodle...or any pet for that matter....have issues they felt had a 'genetic' factor involved and fail to contact the breeder immediately and then go all over the internet to smear their name posting one sided stories just to gain public sympathy. I found one comment that this customer wrote, claiming that I was NOT sympathetic and that I did not show any empathy towards their doodle's plight.

Below is a portion of her comment: "Dee had NO Empathy at all and only got defensive about it not being her fault (which we did not call about fault). She didn't care at all what the vet said and keep in mind this puppy came from her dogs. We are heartbroken because his condition does not look good yet she simply hung up on me tonight. I am in disbelief. I have never bothered them about the many digestive problems Teddy has had since we got him at 4 months old or the hip problems he has but with the neurological problems I wanted to get her guidance and instead I got her yelling and hanging up on me. She has added to our pain. I would NEVER allow someone I care ab out to purchase a dog from them. EVER. Think twice about it !"

I found her comment baffling because she posted this as a one sided story. This customer fails to mention quite a few things. The first thing she failed to mention is the fact that she never once contacted me regarding any "digestive" or "hip" problems. Her Goldendoodle has a seizure and now all of a sudden he's had numerous OTHER health issues since "day one" ?? This is like going and ordering a huge steak dinner....eating almost all of it and then getting the waitress to bring the manager over so you can tell him or her how disgusting the food was and that you want him or her to do something about it. I've added to their pain? How is this? I fail to see how I have added to her or her family's pain. She claims she called to obtain "guidance" from me as a breeder and that I yelled at her and hung up on her? This isn't what transpired nor did I yell at her at all. I began asking her questions when she told me that her Goldendoodle had a seizure.

I wanted to know what led up to the seizure or what had transpired with her Goldendoodle prior to the seizure. What flea preventatives was she using? I've warned even on my website for people not to use topical flea preventatives on their Goldendoodle because it can cause seizures with this hybrid. She immediately said to me that she was "warning" me about the seizure because her vet told her that seizures were genetic. That's interesting especially given the fact that we've never had a Goldendoodle have a seizure while in our possession and we've never had a single Poodle or Golden Retriever have a seizure except for one time when my vet came out to our home and gave one of my Golden Retrievers a rabies vaccine and she immediately had a seizure from the vaccine and puffed up like a chow chow!! Within less than five minutes of the vaccine. This was NOT genetic. This was caused by something.I tried to ask her questions and instead of answering my questions, I was accused of not being sympathetic and she is the one who got nasty over the telephone of which caused me to hang up the phone. I am not sure what reaction she thought I was suppose to have as a breeder. Start crying?? Start saying, "Oh my god, you poor thing!" I don't know. As a breeder for thirteen years, I have to stay rational and ask questions if I am going to attempt to get to the bottom of an issue and what may have caused the issue. I don't know what she expected me to say or do but if we are both irrational, nothing will be accomplished. I asked her why didn't she call me in the very beginning if her Goldendoodle was having all of these problems and why am I just now hearing about them?

The customer then said, "Well what was I suppose to do..bring him back?" Uh...yeah. If this Goldendoodle began having problems from the first day they bought it....that is exactly what they were suppose to do! Call me and bring it back for an exchange! Not wait eight months down the road and then bombard me with multiple supposed issues that I was never aware of. This customer has failed to submit veterinarian documents. If her Goldendoodle had hip issues, she failed as a buyer to provide me with hip x-rays and other veterinarian documentation. This customer failed to submit DNA to the company to prove whether or not her doodle's issues are genetically related and not customer/owner neglect or environmentally caused related. So now this customer wants to rant and tell everyone what a "bad", "uncaring" breeder that I am and gain internet sympathy even though she is completely negligent in following proper procedures based upon the contractual sale. She has never provided us with her required signature upon the sales contract; she has not complied in sending us proof of altering as well as proof of veterinarian incidents. She has never called me one time to mention she was having any issues with her Goldendoodle and she has failed, as a buyer, to abide by the contractual purchase agreement.

Now she wants to play the blame game over the internet.If a person makes a contractual purchase and they fail to abide by the contract or fail to follow the breeders' protocol of letting them know when an incident occurs that the buyer feels has a genetic factor involved, why is it suddenly the breeder's fault and why is the breeder suddenly the bad guy or girl? It completely boggles my mind that a customer would play the blame game over the internet especially given the fact the customer is in the wrong by not following proper procedure and protocol. It is further mind boggling given the fact the customer hasn't done any testing whatsoever to even show a genetic link or component to whatever issues are affecting their canine. They just automatically assume their dogs' problems are genetically related. Her comment originally to me and even in her internet complaint was the fact she said, "Keep in mind that this puppy came from her dogs". And??? So the puppy came from my dogs...and what's the point? We still have this customers' brother and sister who have remained in complete good health. There are other siblings out there whose owners have not mentioned a single problem. The same two parent dogs have had offspring before and we've never heard of a single incident from past customers who bought a puppy from the same two parents. Neither parent dog has ever had health problems...so I fail to see the point in the comment that was made by this customer.I find it completely interesting that people like this particular customer play the internet blame game to gain sympathy from complete strangers and only share one side of the story. She wants to make ME look like an ass and warn people about buying a Goldendoodle from me when she has completely failed to prove that her doodle's issues are my fault or the dogs' parents' genetic fault. She's failed to tell the story in its entirety, removing herself from any fault or blame. If she had wanted me, as a breeder, to assist her, she would have contacted me when her Goldendoodle had the first supposed issue and would have provided me with as much information as possible which would have included providing me with as much veterinarian info/history, etc..as possible. This customer didn't call me to gain my "guidance" or assistance. This customer called to play the blame game.

*About the author: Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World has been writing extensively about the Goldendoodle hybrid since 1999. More can be obtained on her website at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com