Judy Mueller in the Washington area is a bad breeder! - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

Gixxer · 03-14-2010, 03:43 AM

Here is part of my story- just want to warn others of what this lady has done and is capable of. Also, stay away from her vet- William Briskey.

When we bought Gixxer the breeder we got him from, Judy Mueller said that she would let us use her vet, William Briskey to crop his ears. She explained to us that she is a vet tech and is able to assist on the surgeries so she could get us a good deal. She also said she takes many of the doberman puppies she sells to this vet for ear croppings and that they go very well. Since we are new to Dobes and ear cropping, we decided to go that route instead of choosing a vet at random that we knew nothing about, and since it seemed past surgeries had gone very well.

He is 18 weeks old today, and got his ears cropped 10 days ago. The vet we took him to was 2 hours away. Judy assured us she would help with all the after care.

The day I took him to get the surgery, the Judy had apparently hurt her shoulder so she could not assist with the cropping.

The moment I picked him up I knew something did not seem right. It appeared that the posts in the ears were sticks about a quarter inch round and about 5 inches long. The tape used to wrap the sticks was already coming off. At first I wasn't sure if they were actual sticks, or if they were some sort of surgical sticks specifically designed for ear crops. On the drive home I noticed his ears were being pulled down by the weight of the sticks. About a half hour before we made it home he had managed to scratch one of his ears very badly and was bleeding everywhere. As you can imagine he was in considerable pain at this point.

When I got home, I took him out of the car and he immediately shook his head. As soon as he did that he started wailing out in pain like I have never heard a dog cry before. Right away we put him back in the car and started rushing to our local vet who does not do ear cropping, but was eager to help get him out of pain.

When I had originally set up the crop with the breeder I had asked her about getting some pain meds for us to take home for him, but she said that there would be very mild pain and he wouldn't need any. The breeder told me that he was a spoiled puppy and that was the reason he was acting like he was in pain, and that she didn't think he really was in pain. She proceeded to say if it had been one of her farm dogs, that they would have taken to the crop better because they weren't so spoiled.

Once we got him to our local vet, they noticed that the sticks in his ears were in fact not surgical sticks, but sticks from a tree branch. At that point I called the vet that had done the surgery to see why there were tree branch sticks stuck in my dogs ears, as this seemed to be the main reason for the pain. He said that he usually uses tampons to post the ears, but he was out of them so he went into his back yard and found some sticks to use. Finding this very odd I then called the breeder to explain to her what was happening. She said she was the one who usually posted and wrapped the ears after surgery, and since she wasn't there that the vet may have not done it very well.

The local vet we were now at gave him pain medicine right away and had to sedate him again to unwrap his ears and get the sticks out. Upon doing so they noticed the sticks were shoved way down in his ear canal without any sort of padding for comfort. They also were very shocked that I was not sent home with any pain medicine or antibiotics for him. They said they had never seen anything quite like it and that it looked very poorly done. Since he was in so much pain, they decided to take the posts out and put his ears on top of his head and then wrap his head with an ace bandage.

Three days later, after him being in what seemed to be very severe pain, I took him back down to the breeder to re-bandage his ears. The breeder sedated him because his ears were still far to tender to be touched.

That evening he woke up, shook his head and one of his ears popped out. He started crying out in pain again and it was obvious he was hurting very badly.

The next morning I rushed him back to our local vet who had to sedate him again to re-bandage the ears. At that point they noticed one of the ears was infected and puss was running down his neck causing an infection on his neck. They also noticed the gauze that was used by the breeder the previous night to wrap the ear was the wrong kind of gauze and was sticking to his healing ears. They ended up having to pull the gauze off of his ears and upon doing so some of the scabbing came with it.

For the next two days he seemed to be doing a little bit better, but it was noticeable he was still not feeling well because he was not eating or drinking normally nor would he move very much. He also was constantly whining in pain.

I took him again to our local vet, because at this point I did not trust Judy to properly bandage the ears without causing more problems. They were able to take the bandages off and then let his ears breath.

It has now been three days since the last vet visit and I am taking him down to the breeder tomorrow who is going to help take the stitches out and post his ears.

The worst part of this whole ordeal is the pain that he was in this entire time. I feel that this crop was done very poorly, and if his ears had been properly wrapped and propped it would have alleviated much of the pain he experienced. I'm also concerned with the fact that we weren't sent home with any sort of pain medicine when the crop first happened.

To say the least this has been a horrendous experience and I haven't even gotten into everything that has happened. So be warned- don't go to her or her vet!

-Britt

InSearchOf · 03-14-2010, 04:57 AM

Thank you for (re)posting this story.

Please don't take the puppy back to the "breeder" tomorrow to have his stitches taken out! I'm sure your own vet can do it. There are videos posted here that can help you post the ears yourself. Why would you trust that person anywhere near your baby, after this ordeal?

StarlaineK9 · 03-14-2010, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gixxer

Here is part of my story- just want to warn others of what this lady has done and is capable of. Also, stay away from her vet- William Briskey.

When we bought Gixxer the breeder we got him from, Judy Mueller said that she would let us use her vet, William Briskey to crop his ears. She explained to us that she is a vet tech and is able to assist on the surgeries so she could get us a good deal. She also said she takes many of the doberman puppies she sells to this vet for ear croppings and that they go very well. Since we are new to Dobes and ear cropping, we decided to go that route instead of choosing a vet at random that we knew nothing about, and since it seemed past surgeries had gone very well.

He is 18 weeks old today, and got his ears cropped 10 days ago. The vet we took him to was 2 hours away. Judy assured us she would help with all the after care.

The day I took him to get the surgery, the Judy had apparently hurt her shoulder so she could not assist with the cropping.

The moment I picked him up I knew something did not seem right. It appeared that the posts in the ears were sticks about a quarter inch round and about 5 inches long. The tape used to wrap the sticks was already coming off. At first I wasn't sure if they were actual sticks, or if they were some sort of surgical sticks specifically designed for ear crops. On the drive home I noticed his ears were being pulled down by the weight of the sticks. About a half hour before we made it home he had managed to scratch one of his ears very badly and was bleeding everywhere. As you can imagine he was in considerable pain at this point.

When I got home, I took him out of the car and he immediately shook his head. As soon as he did that he started wailing out in pain like I have never heard a dog cry before. Right away we put him back in the car and started rushing to our local vet who does not do ear cropping, but was eager to help get him out of pain.

When I had originally set up the crop with the breeder I had asked her about getting some pain meds for us to take home for him, but she said that there would be very mild pain and he wouldn't need any. The breeder told me that he was a spoiled puppy and that was the reason he was acting like he was in pain, and that she didn't think he really was in pain. She proceeded to say if it had been one of her farm dogs, that they would have taken to the crop better because they weren't so spoiled.

Once we got him to our local vet, they noticed that the sticks in his ears were in fact not surgical sticks, but sticks from a tree branch. At that point I called the vet that had done the surgery to see why there were tree branch sticks stuck in my dogs ears, as this seemed to be the main reason for the pain. He said that he usually uses tampons to post the ears, but he was out of them so he went into his back yard and found some sticks to use. Finding this very odd I then called the breeder to explain to her what was happening. She said she was the one who usually posted and wrapped the ears after surgery, and since she wasn't there that the vet may have not done it very well.

The local vet we were now at gave him pain medicine right away and had to sedate him again to unwrap his ears and get the sticks out. Upon doing so they noticed the sticks were shoved way down in his ear canal without any sort of padding for comfort. They also were very shocked that I was not sent home with any pain medicine or antibiotics for him. They said they had never seen anything quite like it and that it looked very poorly done. Since he was in so much pain, they decided to take the posts out and put his ears on top of his head and then wrap his head with an ace bandage.

Three days later, after him being in what seemed to be very severe pain, I took him back down to the breeder to re-bandage his ears. The breeder sedated him because his ears were still far to tender to be touched.

That evening he woke up, shook his head and one of his ears popped out. He started crying out in pain again and it was obvious he was hurting very badly.

The next morning I rushed him back to our local vet who had to sedate him again to re-bandage the ears. At that point they noticed one of the ears was infected and puss was running down his neck causing an infection on his neck. They also noticed the gauze that was used by the breeder the previous night to wrap the ear was the wrong kind of gauze and was sticking to his healing ears. They ended up having to pull the gauze off of his ears and upon doing so some of the scabbing came with it.

For the next two days he seemed to be doing a little bit better, but it was noticeable he was still not feeling well because he was not eating or drinking normally nor would he move very much. He also was constantly whining in pain.

I took him again to our local vet, because at this point I did not trust Judy to properly bandage the ears without causing more problems. They were able to take the bandages off and then let his ears breath.

It has now been three days since the last vet visit and I am taking him down to the breeder tomorrow who is going to help take the stitches out and post his ears.

The worst part of this whole ordeal is the pain that he was in this entire time. I feel that this crop was done very poorly, and if his ears had been properly wrapped and propped it would have alleviated much of the pain he experienced. I'm also concerned with the fact that we weren't sent home with any sort of pain medicine when the crop first happened.

To say the least this has been a horrendous experience and I haven't even gotten into everything that has happened. So be warned- don't go to her or her vet!

-Britt

You are taking him back to that woman????? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

stardstdob · 03-14-2010, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StarlaineK9

You are taking him back to that woman????? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I have to agree with Elaine here, why would you do that after everything that has happened?

If your vet is not comfortable with posting practices I am certain we can put you in touch with someone much closer to you, who is very experienced with posting dobermans ears.

I thought I saw on your other thread that Elaine had offered to put you in touch with someone, I highly recommend that you take her up on that.

Sue

robinb · 03-14-2010, 10:18 AM

I agree with both Elaine and Sue. There are good people with experience that can and will help you.

Lexus · 03-14-2010, 10:22 AM

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Please do not take him back to that breeder!!! Your own vet can take stitches out, and Elaine can set you up with someone to help you post.

**Jenny** · 03-14-2010, 10:26 AM

Please for the sake of the puppy do not take him back to the "breeder" for any reason. Your local vet is more then capable of taking out stitches. Take Elaine up on her offer. This poor puppy has been thru enough.

I don't think it is legal for the breeder to sedate animals - that usually has to be done by a vet, not a vet tech. That right there would make me very uneasy.

Isys · 03-14-2010, 11:23 AM

I am sooo sorry for your experience and I hope your puppy's ears are healing well and getting better. While reading your thread, I can't believe that your puppy's ears were posted right after surgery without giving them a chance to heal up. I just can't imagine how painful it was for your puppy and I hope that this experience was not memorable for your puppy.

dobebug · 03-14-2010, 11:35 AM

I absolutely agree that you should not be taking your puppy back to the "breeder" for anything. If you are in Everett, WA you are within reasonable distance of a Dobe breeder who is (and has been a vet tech for years) who is in Granite Falls and who works for Frontier Vet. Kim Owen is knowledgeable and can help you with the ears. She's Ravensown Dobermans--either Elaine or I can tell you how to reach her.

I wouldn't let that woman or her vet touch any dog of mine again.

StarlaineK9 · 03-14-2010, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobebug

I absolutely agree that you should not be taking your puppy back to the "breeder" for anything. If you are in Everett, WA you are within reasonable distance of a Dobe breeder who is (and has been a vet tech for years) who is in Granite Falls and who works for Frontier Vet. Kim Owen is knowledgeable and can help you with the ears. She's Ravensown Dobermans--either Elaine or I can tell you how to reach her.

I wouldn't let that woman or her vet touch any dog of mine again.

These people have my private e mail and my phone number.....my intention was to do just that....get them to any number of people who can help.

Ball is in their court now....they have a resource, me. Now they just need to use it.

farstar · 03-14-2010, 02:05 PM

Quote:

The breeder sedated him because his ears were still far to tender to be touched.

Quote:

I don't think it is legal for the breeder to sedate animals - that usually has to be done by a vet, not a vet tech. That right there would make me very uneasy.

It is very illegal for a vet tech to sedate an animal, if they are not under direction from a vet.

Is it normal for a breeder to have sedatives at their home?

Retta · 03-14-2010, 02:34 PM

I would never let that woman touch your puppy again!!! She is not a very empathetic breeder that is for sure...
It isn't that hard to take stiches out, your vet can do that...
As far as posting.....look on line, there are articles all over the place....
Here is a simplified way to make pegs....get some regular tampons, pull them out to the ridge at the part where they come apart, but don't pull it apart, tape it around to hold there, pull the cotton out about half an inch, tape a piece of tape to hold it, tape down the string.....then back wrap the tampon (using zonas or curity clothe tape) startng at the top and spiral the tape (with the sticky side out) until the cotton part. Then tear yourself two pieces of tape about 8 inches (for each ear) then two pieces about 6 inches, then a longer strip for the brace........(the ears should be all healed first).
put the one tampon in the left ear and stick the longer piece of tape to the bottom of the tampon, not the ear, (cotton end down in the ear base)holding and pulling the ear gently up to keep it from forming pockets, then spiral tape snug, but not tight, clockwise until that piece is used, then take the shorter piece and finish to the tip of ear

Then do the right ear counter clockwise, (always in the direction of the little flap in the front of the ear) the same way...then put the long brace piece about halfway down the ears, not so tight that it pull the ears to close together you want the ears to be straight up! stick the brace to one peg then wrap once and go to the other ear, wrap once. Change every 4-5 days unless they pop out or have to be redone for some reason sooner...clean ears and keep dry...
make it comfortable for the puppy.....and he won't even notice they are there after a day or so...he may shake his head at first, but maybe you could distract him with a treat afterwards and praise him for being such a good boy...
You can also use 1/2 inch foam caulking....cut the caulking the length of the ear,cover with duct tape first, leaving about half inch without tape...then backwrap that with zonas tape... then do the same way as with tampons...
good luck.....and DON'T take him back to her!!
Or that vet that did the ears....sounds to me like he better go back to school for some reschooling.....any vet that would put a dirty unsanitary sharp tree branch in a little puppy's newly cropped ears is either a quack or illegally got his diploma and license on line....

**greenkouki** · 03-14-2010, 02:37 PM

I wouldn't take your puppy back to that goofy person. Check out the ear cropping and posting information HERE

Gixxer · 03-14-2010, 02:50 PM

I made a mistake! I didn't take out the part about taking him back to the breeder for stitches when trying to edit my post from the original. Stitches are already taken out and his ears have begun to be posted. Sorry bout that guys- don't worry, I won't be going back to her for anything! I just missed taking that part of the post out. That was from last week.

annolyn · 03-15-2010, 03:03 PM

Tree branches! Yikes! Poor little puppy. Definitely use your resources now, you are near some great Doberman people. When I got my pup I conctacted the local chapter of the DPCA and they put me in touch with a woman who has been involved in the breed for 30 years and could help me with posting. Cause I was clueless!
Best of luck to you and your little one!
And no... vet techs should not have sedatives laying around... the only one I can think that can be administered in pill form is acepromazine and that affects the heart!
I know there are some good breeders out there that ARE vet techs but for the most part, the ones I meet that say they are vet techs either aren't really and/or make terrible breeders.

dragonman · 03-18-2010, 11:04 PM

OMG! Poor baby. This is a very sad tale but not the first to come from this breeder.

Aseerus9 · 03-04-2011, 02:57 PM

I have been trying to contact this woman for a year now. My Mother bought a female from her and made a deal on her first litter to give Judy two puppies of her choice. My Mother had the Sire that Judy wanted the bloodine from. My Mother held up on her end of the deal and gave her the two puppies- Which in turn one died from the ear cropping experience. The reason I am posting is she has ignored our phone calls and refused to give my Mother the papers on the Female She got from the breeder- I have a Male from these two and he is wonderful but I need the papers so I can breed him. I just want to keep his bloodline going... Is there anything I can do? Can anyone help?

BoxMeIn21 · 03-04-2011, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aseerus9

I have been trying to contact this woman for a year now. My Mother bought a female from her and made a deal on her first litter to give Judy two puppies of her choice. My Mother had the Sire that Judy wanted the bloodine from. My Mother held up on her end of the deal and gave her the two puppies- Which in turn one died from the ear cropping experience. The reason I am posting is she has ignored our phone calls and refused to give my Mother the papers on the Female She got from the breeder- I have a Male from these two and he is wonderful but I need the papers so I can breed him. I just want to keep his bloodline going... Is there anything I can do? Can anyone help?

Yes, neuter your dog and don't keep the bloodline going - leave breeding to the people doing it to better the breed.

LindaH · 03-04-2011, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Is there anything I can do?

Yes, neuter your dog please. There are enough dobermans in rescues needing homes right now this minute.

Please don't add to the doberman overpopulation. Unless he has a superior bloodline, which he doesn't, and he himself is titled in conformation or working sports, he doesn't need to be bred.

I am sure he is a wonderful doberman and you love him, but most dobermans are wonderful given half a chance.

**sam&macksmom** · 03-04-2011, 03:16 PM

another vote for neuter.

Aseerus9 · 03-04-2011, 03:27 PM

Okay... I would completely agree with all of you except for the fact that His Sires bloodline has been in my family for 10 generations and I have the best Male. The female came from Canada and was not Muellers bloodline. She made the deal. I am not looking to breed pet quality animals to sell to people. I just want one pup from my dog. Any ideas?

StarlaineK9 · 03-04-2011, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aseerus9

I have been trying to contact this woman for a year now. My Mother bought a female from her and made a deal on her first litter to give Judy two puppies of her choice. My Mother had the Sire that Judy wanted the bloodine from. My Mother held up on her end of the deal and gave her the two puppies- Which in turn one died from the ear cropping experience. The reason I am posting is she has ignored our phone calls and refused to give my Mother the papers on the Female She got from the breeder- I have a Male from these two and he is wonderful but I need the papers so I can breed him. I just want to keep his bloodline going... Is there anything I can do? Can anyone help?

Who's "bloodline"? Judy Muellers? SHE HAS NO BLOODLINE. Her dogs are a random mix of pedigrees from whomever she can get a dog from. MANY are actually doberman rottweiler mixes.

This woman is a complete shyster and puppy miller and has been screwing the public for at least 30 years that I know of.

She will give you "papers"......if you bug her enough but I bet money they are just random and don't actually belong to the dog she says they do.

Do all of us in Washington a favor and neuter your dog.

KenyaARaineCD · 03-04-2011, 03:30 PM

Another vote for neuter. If you want another lovable, beautiful Doberman in your life, why not adopt a 6-year-old black female I know who lost her home when her owner's house burned down? He hasn't been able to find a rental that will allow a Doberman and time is running out for this girl.

Doberman rescues in this area are full-to-bursting and no foster homes are available. This lovely, loving, protective DoberGirl may soon end up dead because unethical breeders are flooding the market with more mediocre-quality Dobes than there are responsible homes for.

I thank you in advance on behalf of all homeless Dobermans for spaying and neutering your Dobes.

buster · 03-04-2011, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aseerus9

Okay... I would completely agree with all of you except for the fact that His Sires bloodline has been in my family for 10 generations and I have the best Male. The female came from Canada and was not Muellers bloodline. She made the deal. I am not looking to breed pet quality animals to sell to people. I just want one pup from my dog. Any ideas?

Neuter and try a new "bloodline". Some traditions are meant to be broken....

More than likely you'd get more than one puppy if you bred this guy. Then what would you do with the other puppies?

So many people on this forum have had dogs from different breeders (reputable breeders), rescues, etc. and have loved every single one of their dogs.

Don't support this woman, who has obviously screwed you and your family over along with other people! You don't want to support that, I'm sure.

Darkevs · 03-04-2011, 03:37 PM

neuter.

for dogs sake.