Tractor Supply pet clinic experiences?

[lrrifleman]

Normally, I frequent a Vet that my family has dealt with since the early 1960s for pet health matters. However, fixed finances and a recently rescued puppy necessitated visiting a TSC clinic.

Honestly, little is known about the puppy, other than that it was found by a hunter in WVA, and brought it home with him. When the hunter's girlfriend said no, the puppy needed a home. That was about a month and a half ago. The puppy weighed about 5 pounds, and was small. I guesstimated that she was about 6 to 8 weeks old at the most. She looks like either a beagle or perhaps a coonhound. We have had her for about 7 weeks.

The clinic vet is suggesting that the puppy is a beagle -dachshund mix, and about a year old. She stands about 13", and weighs about 22 pounds. She looks like a beagle coonhound mix.

I realize that estimating breed and age can be a shot in the dark, but this sounds a bit beyond reasonable. However, I also believe that the suggestions of the vet don't take facts into consideration.

Has anyone else had a comparable experience?

 

[Watchdog]

Normally, I frequent a Vet that my family has dealt with since the early 1960s for pet health matters. However, fixed finances and a recently rescued puppy necessitated visiting a TSC clinic.

Honestly, little is known about the puppy, other than that it was found by a hunter in WVA, and brought it home with him. When the hunter's girlfriend said no, the puppy needed a home. That was about a month and a half ago. The puppy weighed about 5 pounds, and was small. I guesstimated that she was about 6 to 8 weeks old at the most. She looks like either a beagle or perhaps a coonhound. We have had her for about 7 weeks.

The clinic vet is suggesting that the puppy is a beagle -dachshund mix, and about a year old. She stands about 13", and weighs about 22 pounds. She looks like a beagle coonhound mix.

I realize that estimating breed and age can be a shot in the dark, but this sounds a bit beyond reasonable. However, I also believe that the suggestions of the vet don't take facts into consideration.

Has anyone else had a comparable experience?

I believe a little more information is needed. There seems to be a big disparity between your estimation of the puppy's age and the vet's.

When you say "13 inches high", is that at the shoulder or from head to floor?

And any vet should be able to do better than say the pup weighs "about" 22 pounds. No reason not to sit the dog on the scales and get the weight.

Most vets usually look at teeth to make a good guess at age. If the puppy was only 8 weeks old (your guess) when you got her, and that was a month-and-a-half ago, she'd be around 14-15 weeks old now, which means she'd still have most or all of her baby teeth. If she's a year old, she's got some, perhaps all, of her adult teeth in, but chances are, she's still teething. If she's still chewing on anything and everything, she's still teething.

But vets are usually pretty good about guessing age. Then again, sometimes they're way off, as was the case with two adult male Rottweilers I rescued years ago.

As to breed...that's anyone's guess. Some photos might help. Does she have a tail or has her tail been docked? Sometimes a tail is a dead giveaway as to breed. Ditto for coloring and markings. Does she still have her dewclaws?

And kudos to you for giving the little girl a home!

 

[Muley Gil]

Can you post pictures of the little one? I love beagles and beagle mixes.

 

[gman51]

Getting WalMart parking lot dogs the breed could be anything. I got a female that was supposed to be a chiuaua/ dachshund mix. I see some dachshund in her but who knows what else.
I took her to a non profit vet to have her spayed because my regular vet wanted 2 or 3 times more $$. Spay and rabbi shot was $95 versus $250 to $300 at regular vet.
Anyway the vet asked what breed she was and she said she could see maybe some dachshund in her. But the paperwork listed her as a terrier. She weighs 19.3 lbs. at just over 1 year old.

 

[rwsmith]

Well, he sure is cute!

Since he's been eating well for a while, he probably isn't underweight and it's growing pretty good so it seems like it was a regular puppy and has done most of his growing under your ownership.

I love Mutts. I had a desire one time to find the best Mutts I could and breed a superior Mutt in intelligence and temperament just as a pet without any work or sporting in mind, since most dogs don't have to work for a living now.

 

[swsig]

Tractor Supply has pet clinics? Does this mean you can now go to Petco and get some disk harrow parts for your John Deere?

 

[Grip_Maker's_Wife]

Congratulations on your new dog! It is especially great that you have rescued the poor little guy. Beagle and Coonhound would have a great nose and be a good hunting dog! Beagles are extremely loyal and loving so I am sure you have a great dog there.

An experienced vet will be able to tell a puppy from an adult dog. They examine the teeth and it is pretty easy to tell. Dogs will have most of their adult teeth by six months. They get back molars by eight months. They also look at the body ratios of paw size to leg size, ear size to the head, fur texture, but these are not as solid as looking at their teeth, especially when dealing with mixed breeds. When a dog is an adult, it is harder to tell exact age but they can get a good idea within a year or two, again from their teeth. Older dogs will have more tarter and wear.

If your dog was only 5 lbs 2 months ago then it is growing really fast as young puppies should. Dogs do most of their growing in the first six months then slow down but continue to grow some more in the next six months. If your dog is still growing rapidly that is a big clue it is still young. Maybe you want to start a weekly weight chart to see how fast he is still growing. 22 lbs is a good size for a small beagle though. They range from about 20-35 lbs. A Coonhound will be double that.

I hope the clinic there gave your pup his first vaccinations. They are so important, especially PARVO which is nasty, deadly and highly contagious. After the shots, he will need up to six weeks of avoiding parks and public areas until his immune system can respond and build up immunity from the vaccinations. You probably already know that but not everyone does, and vets don't always educate, so just throwing it out there.

Wishing you the best with your new bundle of joy.

 

[Muley Gil]

Tractor Supply has pet clinics? Does this mean you can now go to Petco and get some disk harrow parts for your John Deere?

My two local TSCs have small animal trade days and obedience classes for dogs.

 

[Ballistic147]

The teeth will be a dead giveaway. They start loosing their puppy teeth somewhere between 4 to 6 months. If the canines are needle sharp then it's still the puppy teeth. If all the puppy teeth are already gone then it's just a guess. With the amount of growth you've seen in only a couple months I would guess you're closer to being right than clinic vet.

I recently took in a stray dog that wandered up at work. He was guestimated at 1 1/2 to 2 years old which I would have to agree with. He also came with a case of heartworms that are really expensive to get rid of and are also deadly if left untreated so I highly recommend a heartworm preventative. I know the dog I have has some boxer in him but have no clue as to what else. You can have a DNA test done which is pretty accurate at identifying all the breeds in your dog and it's not overly expensive if you're really that curious but I'm content with just knowing he's a mutt.

 

[Watchdog]

I recently took in a stray dog that wandered up at work. He was guestimated at 1 1/2 to 2 years old which I would have to agree with. He also came with a case of heartworms that are really expensive to get rid of and are also deadly if left untreated so I highly recommend a heartworm preventative.

Absolutely, heartworm preventative is a must. Years and years ago, I rescued two male Rottweilers from a bad home. They were brothers and both were neglected and abused. They both tested positive for heartworm. Each dog cost me $1500 for the cure, not to mention post-treatment care and the super size crates I bought for each one. I figured I spent about $4K on them all told...and that was at "years ago" prices. What a lot of people don't know, if you don't give them proper care during the cure (which can take two or three weeks), the cure can kill them. The cure is arsenic-based, injected into the dog's bloodstream to kill the heartworm larvae. Dogs have to be kept fairly quiet and inactive during the treatment period. It isn't an overnight fix. You do not want to go through this with your dog.

It was worth it to me, though, as I found them a together-forever home with an ex-LEO from Michigan whose K-9 partner had been a Rottweiler. They were older than the vet guessed, but both lived happy lives for a few more years. I had never seen two intact male Rottweilers get along so well together before. They knew they were brothers, and there was no animosity between them, no dominance issues at all.

 

[lrrifleman]

Update!

I took the pup to the Vet that my family has been working with since the early 1960s. Gretl was determined to be a Beagle - Dachshund mix, with the Beagle being dominant. She was also determined to be between 4 and 6 months old, with only one adult tooth in evidence.

The young lady holding Gretl is my 11year old daughter.

 

[Watchdog]

Glad you got some valid information on your new puppy. Hope all of you have many happy years together.

Love the photo!!