NAME: Chester AKA: Meat Face, Chet, Chetster DOB: December 4, 2004 BREED: Clumber Spaniel

Cost of Owning a Dog
Cryptorchidism – Undescended Testicles
Hip Dysplasia and Clumber Spaniels

Years ago, while at VCA All-Care Animal Referral Center (www.acarc.com) with our Great Dane mix, Goldie, we met a lovely woman with this beautiful dog – a Clumber Spaniel. We immediately started checking out the breed. The looks combined with the Clumber’s personality seem like a perfect fit for us sometime down the line.

After losing our lovely Linda Louise on December 17, 2004 we soon started thinking about filling the void in our lives. Remembering that Clumber we began researching and searching on the internet. Since the Clumber is not a very common breed there was not a lot to work with. We were lucky to come into contact with a woman that is active with the Clumber Spaniel Club of America (www.clumbers.org) and to have a great talk on the phone. She felt that we knew enough about the breed and was concerned that we find a responsible breeder – with that in mind she gave us the contact information of two people who she trusted. She was very careful to point out that many people waited months even years for a puppy because they are a rare breed. We immediately contacted them via e-mail. In our e-mail we explained who we were, why we wanted a Clumber, that we wanted a male and that we would be naming him Chester after a very dear friend that we lost to cancer on December 31, 2003. Within hours I received an e-mail from on of the breeders saying that they had a litter of 8 that were 3 weeks old. It was the first litter that they have had in three years. The sire of this litter was CH Woodsman Chestersun SH (senior hunter). He is the son by frozen semen of a long dead huge champion in the breed, Cypress-Woods Chesterfield (call name CHESTER). He was going to name the one male puppy with the brown left ear ‘Chester’s Ghost’ after his grandfather who also had a similar mark. This man was our angel and he had our new dog!!!!!

We were able to pick up our Chester on Sunday January 23, 2005. We flew to Arizona, picked up a rental car and met up with the breeder to pick up our little guy to drive him back to California. The airlines have a rule that puppies must be at least 8 weeks old to fly – even in the cabin as we would have done. Since he was not quite there yet we felt it best to drive him. Our lovely breeder met us not only with Chester, but a blanket with their scent, food for a few days, a bowl and treats! This made it easier not only for us but for our new guy.

Clumber Spaniels are a wonderful breed if you don’t mind shedding, drooling, snoring and the possibility of eye problems, ear infections, Hip Dysplasia etc. We are prepared to deal with any problem that may arise. We feel that our pets are part of the family and that we are responsible to provide for them. With this in mind we have been presented with our probable first challenge with Chester – Cryptorchidism – undescended testicles. Any and all health problems with our ‘kids’ are overviewed in MyDogWontEat.com including what the problem is, treatment options and the treatment we choose and why.

We are often asked how much we paid for our dogs. Our usual response is that it is not the initial cost of the dog but the long term care, especially if you pick on of the rarer breeds like an English Bulldog or a Clumber Spaniel. Make sure you have the disposable income to care for these kids. These dogs just plainly are built in such a way that can cause health issues – or as our favorite vet says ‘built with spare parts that don’t fit well together’. Most pet owners calculate the price of the food and add it to the cost of the dog and figure that they can afford it regardless of their budget. The reality is that very few people have any idea how much owning a dog really costs and grossly underestimate it.

The following is an excerpt for an article posted on www.PetEducation.com (Drs. Foster and Smith’s source for expert pet information) which we find very informative!

Why does it matter what it costs to own a dog? After all, we love our pets and we would not put a price on their health and happiness. The hard facts are that the cost of owning a dog is an extremely important consideration for a number of often overlooked reasons. The first concerns the purchase price of the dog. Many people balk at paying $500 to $1000 for a dog. They rationalize that they simply can not afford it and settle for a poorly bred $150 puppy instead. What a huge mistake. The breeder has no consideration for any existing problems that can be passed on to the puppies. The cost of a guaranteed healthy, well-bred $1000 puppy is a fraction of what it will cost to own that dog for 12 years. A poorly bred dog with bad hips, allergies, and a not so bright disposition will end up costing you thousands more in medical bills not to mention hours of frustration and disappointment. At the same time, if you are not going to pay for a high quality purebred, then do the animal kingdom a favor and go to the shelter and get a mixed breed puppy that will be healthier and smarter than a poorly bred 'purebred.'

The second reason that the cost of owning a dog is important is that it is a big investment. This dog is going to cost you a lot of money, not to mention a tremendous amount of time. If you are not fully prepared to pay for a dog's needs and willing to spend a significant portion of your free time with the animal, then by all means do not get a dog. There are thousands of dogs put to sleep every year because the owners no longer want them or can not afford them. On top of this, there are hundreds of thousands of dogs that live miserable lives devoid of exercise, interaction, socialization, and basic housing needs because people do not realize the time, commitment, or expense involved in owning and properly caring for a dog.

The third important reason to understand what owning a dog costs is that when you realize what owning a dog costs, you will take the ownership and your responsibility much more seriously. We would not dream in investing $10,000 on a car that we know nothing about, had no warranty, we had not driven, and was completely unsuitable for our use. Yet people do this more everyday and they get a puppy without researching its breed characteristics, medical history, and parental history. And worse yet are the people that get a dog on a whim or for a child without any concept of the dog's needs and requirements, let alone the financial costs that are going to be incurred.

The following description lists the basic cost of owning a dog in several different scenarios. They include the absolute least amount it will cost for the first year, the upper level of what it could cost for the first year, and what it will cost each year for the rest of the dog's life both low and high end. It also includes what it would actually cost a tight fisted miser like me, that hates to spend money and grew up a farm, to purchase and own a 50 pound dog that lived to be 14 years old. Realize that these are basic costs and I live in the rural Midwest. If you live in a large metropolitan area you may need to double the cost and if you live in one of the top five metropolitan areas you may need to triple the cost. In addition, there is no consideration given to many other extras that come up or any consideration to your time and the monetary amount placed on the value of your time. These are rough estimates, but do not kid yourself, they are real world prices.

These totals are pretty shocking aren't they? And remember, this is the cost for a 50-pound dog that lives in the Midwest. It is not uncommon to see some of these numbers double or triple in places like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Dallas. Now granted most people do not end up spending $40,000 on their dog, but some spend a whole lot more. A dog with hip dysplasia or severe allergies can have significantly higher veterinary expenses and I routinely see people who spend over $2,000 on a single veterinary problem. Chances are your costs will be similar to those I incur, but even with the minimum required care, it is still over $13,000.00.

What do we learn from all this? Well on the positive side we Americans love our dogs and are not afraid to spend money on them. But on the more important practical side we realize that there is no such thing as a 'free' puppy. With this huge investment it only makes sense that we are very careful about choosing a puppy. While I appreciate the benefits of a purebred breed, this highlights the importance of doing your research and getting a puppy that has parents with excellent hips, eyes, legs, disposition, and no history of skin allergies. Research the breeds and choose a breed that matches your lifestyle. Spending a $1000 on a puppy may be a shock at first but if it is healthy, intelligent and guaranteed free of defects, then it is worth every penny. Puppies that are bred for appearance and not structural soundness, intelligence, health, and disposition are a dime a dozen and will often end up costing you much more than the purchase price of a good puppy in health problems and often develop serious behavioral and disposition problems as well. Remember that hard to find breeds can cost $1000 and still be a medical nightmare. When I talk about a $1000 puppy it includes one that is free of all inherited problems including hips, eyes, skin, and legs. The parents and grandparents should be free of all medical problems and the breeder must show proof. The disposition and intelligence of both parents should also be excellent and they should be well trained. To get this kind of guarantee you are going to have to spend a lot of money and time, and in rare breeds, it will even be more, but it can be well worth it. You can pick up any Sunday paper and find a basket full of purebred puppies for $75 to $300 each. It would be very unlikely that these puppies' parents have certified hips, eyes, and elbows, or are free of allergies. The parents are often not well trained and usually the owners have never even seen the grandparents. You see these 'registered' dogs every day in vet clinics and they often have hip dysplasia, skin allergies, bone problems, behavior problems, and eye problems. When you see what it costs to own a dog you will see the importance and reason why good dogs cost a lot more. Once in a while an intelligent, healthy dog emerges from the $100 section of the paper, but as a rule, you get what you pay for and ignorance is expensive.

On the flip side of the thousand-dollar puppy is the puppy that ends up in the shelter and needs a home or 'else.' There are some real diamonds in the 'ruff' to be found at the local humane society. But here again, there are some disasters waiting to happen. Be smart when you choose a puppy. Remember that mixed breeds often have fewer health problems than purebreds. Choosing a mix that is a cross between two breeds you like is a great way to go. Make sure you have the dog checked by a veterinarian first thing, and do your research on the breeds before you start looking. Taking a puppy from a shelter is a great way to go, but remember that you have to really want the dog for all the right reasons, not because you feel sorry for him.

Remember we own dogs because we love dogs. The money should not ever stop us from caring for or taking in a puppy that needs a home, but we have to be aware of the cost and our commitment to the animal. The animal's needs have to come first! This is so important that it needs to be repeated, The animal's needs have to come first! Lack of funds is no excuse for not providing adequate care for an animal. If we can not meet the needs of the animal or we are not fully committed to providing the time, energy, and finances that our dog needs then we should not bring that animal into our home, period, no excuses. It just is not fair to them.

While at our family vet for some of Chester’s puppy shots our vet did a quick physical exam and noticed that neither of his testicles have begun to descend nor could he feel them in the abdomen.

At birth, the testicles of a puppy are still within his abdomen. As the animal develops, the testicles slowly 'descend' into the scrotum. In mammals, sperm development does not occur correctly at the high temperatures found within the body. The testicles are therefore held outside of the abdomen and within the scrotum to provide a cooler environment. The production of testosterone is usually not influenced by temperature.

Frequently, owners notice that the puppy they just purchased only has one or possibly no testicles within the scrotum. Although different dates are listed in some of the veterinary literature, both testicles are usually within the scrotum by the time the animal is six weeks of age and they should definitely be there by the time the puppy is eight to ten weeks of age. If one or both testicles are not present at that location by twelve weeks of age, they probably never will be and the animal is said to be suffering from cryptorchidism or 'retained testicles.' This is what has occurred with our Chester. This is a disorder that may be passed from generation to generation.

What are the symptoms?
These animals rarely show any abnormalities because of this condition. They have normal activity levels, growth, and behavior. Although fertility may be affected, they will usually show normal breeding behavior and frequently impregnate females, especially when one of the testicles has descended into the scrotum.

What are the risks?
Some researchers believe that dogs with cryptorchidism may have a higher incidence of other testicular diseases. Specifically, these would be cancer and torsion (the twisting of an organ)

What is the management?
Cryptorchid dogs should never be allowed to breed. This is a well-documented genetic trait, passed on to future generations. In addition, because of the potential for an increased incidence of torsion or cancer within the retained testicle, it is strongly recommended that all of these individuals be neutered. The surgery to remove a retained testicle is more involved than a routine neuter. The veterinarian must literally hunt for the testicle, which may be located anywhere from the area around the kidney in the abdomen to the muscle near the groin.

Since Chester will have his initial hip exam at 6 months of age which will require him to have anesthesia we will have him neutered at that time.

Canine hip dysplasia is a polygenic, multifactorial disease. It is an orthopedic condition that involves shallow hip sockets, and femoral heads that do not fit snugly into those sockets. In many breeds, hip dysplasia leads to crippling lamenesses and severe arthritic changes. These problems can occur in Clumber spaniels, although sometimes the heavier musculature of the Clumber seems to modify the clinical signs of the disease.

Hip dysplasia is an inherited problem that can be selected against. Proper nutrition and environmental conditions in which pups are raised can also help to minimize expression of the genetic defect. It is important that Clumber spaniels (and other large breed dogs) be raised on diets that do not overemphasize protein, fat and caloric levels. Slow, sustained growth is important, and has been demonstrated to help minimize development of bad hips.

What Is A Good Hip?
The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) has developed a set of guidelines intended to help serve as a guide for breeders interested in improving the hip health status of their dogs. In countries where close attention has been paid to intentionally trying to breed for improvement in hip scores, the incidence of dysplasia has gone down (Sweden, for example). In a breed as numerically limited as the Clumbers, it is not always possible to breed two OFA certified dogs for each mating. It IS possible to use OFA scores as part of a conscientious breeding program to try to improve the overall health and well-being of our breed.

OFA films are evaluated by three Board certified veterinary radiologists, and are scored on a number of areas. The depth of the acetabulae (hip sockets), the amount of apparent laxity present, the conformation and smoothness of the femoral head, and evidence of degenerative joint changes are some of the areas considered. A deep socket, smooth congruence of a well-rounded femoral head, and lack of any evidence of degenerative joint disease are considered signs of a good hip.

Is A Good Clumber Hip a Typical Good Hip?
There are breed variations in what a "normal" hip looks like. Many of the chondrodystrophic (dwarf) breeds, have significantly different hip conformation than "regular" breeds. These include Clumbers, Basset hounds and other short legged breeds. Most veterinarians are trained to evaluate hip films based on average breeds of dogs, such as retrievers, rottweilers, and shepherds.

Clumber spaniels typically have a significantly shallower acetabulum. This is not abnormal FOR THE BREED, but can frequently lead to misinterpretation of films by practicing veterinarians. This does not mean your vet doesn't know what s/he is doing - simply that they weren't trained to read films from less common breeds of dogs. We suggest that you have your Clumber checked by a Board Certified Veterinarian that specializes in Radiology or Orthopedics. Being in Southern California we are lucky to have VCA All-Care Animal Referral Center – who will be checking Chester’s hips when he is 6 months old.

Keep checking our site for updates on Chester!

back to top

Click here for more information about All-Care Animal Referral Center.

© copyright My Dog Won't Eat.com 2002. All rights reserved. Last updated 4/1/05. home