The breeder said he only noticed the cut on the pups rear leg while giving her a bath in advance of our visit. They are hobby breeders however the sire's owner is a fulltime professional breeder with a good reputation. The health screening was complete and quite comprehensive. I dont think the breeder is a bad person or a bad breeder necessarily - the cut on the leg should have been caught sooner - no doubt - but it's the growth on her leg that was my real concern. What is the frequency of hygroma and will it pass? (I will read the link when I finish writting this) Thanks for the information
Huh? What is a "professional breeder"?
I'm sorry, but I'm hearing even more red flags here--and no Doberman, much less a six month old puppy needs to be living in a concrete kennel--which is most likely the cause of her hygroma.
She should be inside with a family, learning how to be a good companion to humans and a great citizen of the world.
I hope you don't make any hasty decisions here--sounds like you may already be attached, and that is probably something this breeder is counting on.
Try to take a step back and really find out if this is a good decision. If you actually saw copies of all that health testing, I'll be highly surprised.
Seeing a vet for an annual exam and having shots up to date, etc, having the vet say "They seem really healthy" in no way, not at all, qualifies as pre-breeding health screening.
I wouldn't even be concerned about the cut--but instead about the fact that this poor pup clearly lives in a kennel, isn't thoroughly checked daily even, and needed, apparently, a bath, before coming inside.
Not trying to come down on ya like a ton o' bricks, but you did ask this board how all this seemed, and I see alarm signals that would make me do a ton more research.
If this person (or the sire's owner) has a website, folks here will be glad to help you assess what they can, from the information posted there, if you want to share that.