Meet Poli :)

[Ylaartim]

I had a post before where I said that we're looking for a black female chow chow, well guess what? WE HAVE HER ALREADY!

We named her Poli because our male cream's name is Apollo. we want something similar but her official name's Carra. Haha.

We were supposed to get a blue chow but my boyfriend really wanted a black chow. The breeder wanted to keep her but eventually decided to sell her as well that's why she's the last one remaining from the litter.

We make it a habit to visit the kennel. We've seen her dam and sire, both owned by the breeder. Her dad is a Philippine Champion. But at first we're not impressed on how she looked like. She still doesn't have that fullness in her coat and I find her small. She's not your typical bear-looking chow. The one who's fat, big and has that snub face, but what made her stand out is her built! She has like this square looking body, her stance looks like of an English Bulldog! Can't explain it! Lol. She's probably the smallest chow I've ever seen, she looks like a Pomeranian to me and our 2y.o. Persian Cat is bigger than her! But her paws are big which I find cute.

Ohh the joy of having chows at home! its like I have living stuffed toys! Haha.

BTW, Cam Atis, I bought her from Joy Joy Arellano. Poli's the daughter of Ph Ch Hodgehead of La Mendoza. Cassie and Poli are related!

Here are some pics of her!

[Cam Atis]

Oh I am soo green with envy!
Wish i can have a second chow but I dont think it is the proper time yet.
Your Poli will surely be a looker. I would have loved a blue chow but black is pretty too. She is quite young. Still with her breeder?

[reddog]

What a cutie! Love the "budda belly" pic

[Ylaartim]

@ Cam Atis, she's with me already, we got her just this morning. would you believe me if I tell you she's more than 2 mos now? Haha. She's small. ) that's why we can't leave Apollo alone with her. I hope we can make her look better. No offense to her breeder tho

@ Reddog, Hahaha. I love that "buddha belly"! I still have to get her checked as why her belly's huge. Lol.

[Victory]

@ Reddog, Hahaha. I love that "buddha belly"! I still have to get her checked as why her belly's huge. Lol.

I'm betting that she has worms severly. She doesn't look healthy at all, her coat is dull, her body size is too small for her age and too out of proportion. Take a look at Sirol's puppie pictures at that age, 8 weeks and you'll see a vast difference. Take her to your vet asap.

[Cam Atis]

They also said the same thing about Cassie having worms here based on her photo. but it turns out it is due to the feeding habit of the breeder. Giving the puppies the 4 rations a day in just two sitting. One at 5am and second at 5pm. I do not approve of such so I quickly reverted Cassie to divided rations a day (4x but same amount of the daily ration).

I learned one advantage of such practice (feeding pups as early as 7 weeks 2xaday) is they can hold their stool a lot longer and it benefited Cassie and Me when we had to travel home and we clocked in almost 10 hours in transit. So while i was having my suspicion as to the wisdom of such, I was also silently saying thank you to the breeder because Cassie had only 1 poop on the way home. She was fasted at that!

Anyway, just deworm her on schedule and it'll be fine.

[Fozzbear]

I have to say that she looks ill to me - lovely as she is. I'd get her checked over by a vet ASAP as Victory says.
Hopefully she is fine but best to be sure.

[Ylaartim]

We also have hunches that her deworming may be out of date. We took her to the vet this afternoon, and all of our guesses were right. She does have worms. But the vet said that we shouldn't be worried. The vet dewormed her right away! We asked why her coat was dull unlike our Apollo who has a very nice coat and we found out she has dandruff caused by fleas that's why her coat won't bloom. Yikes! So the vet sprayed Frontline on her. Nonetheless, the vet told us that she's healthy. She's not underweight either, surprisingly.

I was furious upon learning this and immediately called the breeder. I asked him why he told us that she' healthy but have those parasites living inside of her. I trusted his guarantee because he's one of the most reputable breeder in our country. The vet explained to us that one factor why Poli have such is the density of the dogs living in the kennel. There are many factors as why she may have those parasites. But she assured us that Poli will be perfectly healthy as long as we give her the vitamins and proper care. The doctor told us too that when her worms, fleas, and flakes are gone, she will start to grow to her full potential.

We were supposed to return Poli back. Anyone would want the quality they paid for. But when I look into her eyes, she's like saying "please don't return me. They can't take good care of me. Have me instead." She's like begging to stay with us, her eyes were teary. Now I'm more than honored to have her. It'll be like an extreme make-over challenge!

She have all the vitamins she needs. And we'll have her regularly checked. Also, my vet and I agreed that we'll repeat all her vaccines, everything back to square one just to be sure. I'll update you guys on our journey!

I hope you'll like her and find her beautiful as I do

[Ylaartim]

This just in!

Poli pooped worms! So I guess the deworming's taking effect! I think it's a good thing!

Yaaaay for Poli!

[Auddymay]

Glad you got her looked at and treated. Returning her after putting money in her via the vet makes no sense, I would send that great breeder a copy of the treatment bill and ask that he cover the internal and external parasite treatments. She looks sweet, and I would not worry about her size. I have Lily at 34 pounds and Dillon at 75 pounds. You would not know it to look at them, but Lily is the top dog around here, and big D takes great comfort to be around her. I think they make an awesome looking pair.

[Cam Atis]

Ugghh! Worms in the faeces? That is really not good! You must complain something and Auddymay is right. The breeder must cover your expenses! If he won't I guess it is your moral responsibility to post a feedback on the breeder's Sulit.com account about your experience with Poli.
If I am you, I'd return Poli to him until Poli is well cured before you bring her back home.
I am so sorry about that one.
Ask your vet if it is also important to give Apollo frontline spray as a sort of preventative measure. We dot want him catching dandruff and fleas.
Aly you are still young. Now you must learn that not everything they (seller) tell you is true. Part of growing up is learning thru experience. Anyway, just take care of Poli and she'll bloom into a pretty chow.
I dont have any problems with Cassie as the breeder have pledged that he will return the reservation money to me when we met if I decided Cassie is not up to my expectations and as he puts it also, he doesnt want any of his dog go to homes half wanted. Such are what to look for in a breeder. Dont listen to sweet talk. Feel.

[Sarahloo]

It would be insane to return her to a breeder who let her get into such a state. That would probably prove fatal for little Poli.

She has a pretty face, but she does not look healthy at all. I hope she'll gain some strength soon. You need to get her the best food money can buy!
I doubt she's two months old. Probably just another one of the breeders lies. She should be with her mother, poor baby.

[Victory]

I certainly wouldn't return her to the breeder to be made healthy. I'd keep her, follow the vet's instructions to the letter, make sure my other chow was protected against fleas, and keep her in a place where the floors and her bedding can be washed with flea soap. Not on carpeting that can't come up, because it could easily be infested with the fleas and then it's a pain to get rid of them.

I thought she might be a bit younger than 8 weeks, myself, but didn't say anything, but Saraloo could be very right. Also I went and looked at the pictures of my Dreamdancer when he was 8weeks old and he's a bit bigger than your little one, and he's not a very big boy now, only 40lbs or so.

[Ylaartim]

Our dilemma is that we want to return Poli because we want the quality we paid for but at the same time we want to take care of her ourselves 'cause we know we'll do better. As you can see, the kennel won't be able to take good care of her andher condition might worsen. I know some of you will understand where I'm coming from.

I know we can take good care of Poli. We faithfully follow all the vet's instructions, she's on medication, and we started providing her with the best dog food there is. I noticed that her belly is not that big anymore compared to when we got her so I'm assuming the deworming's taking effect. As to her age, I double checked her papers and she's not 3mos. She's just 2mos. I'm sorry for that. Got carried away! Was too excited.

I had a talk with the breeder before I posted this and we agreed on something. He'll do something about Poli's condition and I'm quite satisfied but I won't expect too much.

I'll hold on to my little girl because I know she won't disappoint us.

[Sarahloo]

May I ask how much you paid for her? That would really help me understand what you are talking abut when you say, "we want the quality we paid for". A "quality" chow puppy will cost you about $ 2000. Did you pay that much?

[Ylaartim]

May I ask how much you paid for her? That would really help me understand what you are talking abut when you say, "we want the quality we paid for". A "quality" chow puppy will cost you about $ 2000. Did you pay that much?

Sarahloo, in our country having a quality or a show worthy pup starts at $500. Is that the "quality" you're reffering to? what I meant about the "quality" was free from any sickness or whatsover I hope you do get my point.

[Rory's Dad]

I agree with the others that returning Poli is not a good idea for the dog. I would recommend continuing on your vets recommendations and your care. Not sure how much recourse you have with the breeder where you are, but would definitely looks at that. Vet bills and meds at a minimum. Refund of your purchase fee should be discussed. And I agree with Cam, post negative feedback anywhere the breeder advertises. I think Poli is lucky that you care enough to make him better, and have at least some resources to get him the proper care. Not everyone who deals with the breeder will be in the same category. And with any luck, it can prevent future puppies from having to deal with those conditions.

As an added thought, are there any regulatory folks who oversee this kennel? Might be worth a call.

[Fozzbear]

Poor Poli; I'm so glad that you are looking after her. I'm sure that she will be transformed and be a gorgeous chow.
It is such a shame that there are dishonest breeders out there - as I also discovered to my and my Fozzchops' cost. But I wouldnt part with Fozz for the world and I'm so happy that she is with me and not someone who might have ignored her health problems.

[Ylaartim]

The breeder's been VERY disappointing actually. I've learned so many things about him. I had a talk with 2 breeders here in our country who, well, I can say way better and responisble breeders than this amazing guy. They've had the same comment about him. First they told me that it won't sound so right coming from them as they may look like they're bashing his kennel. The breeder is known to be a puppy miller and a lot more but I won't go into details. In short, he have a bad reputation in the chow world. I was quite shocked upon knowing this as I thought all the while he's a reputable one since he have a champion chow and he seems to have a lot of customers patronizing him. Well, unfortunately I'm not his only victim. He's disgracing himself. He should be ashamed. But its good to know that there are still many really reputable and responsible breeders out there. I hope this'll be the last time I'll be encountering this kind of breeder.

We will report this breeder to the Philippine Canine Club, Inc in hope to bring justice to what happened and we'll se what they can do about it!

On the other hand, Poli starts to look better now. I will post her recent pics soon!