~Yorkie Died~

[koshergrl]

One of the reasons I actually prefer getting grown dogs when I am looking for a pet...they have already survived the puppy illnesses/hazards and have (usually) a healthy immunity going to most of the things that unexpectedly take young dogs off...

But every now and then a pup steals my heart...and I understand breeders and why they do it. But it's a high risk venture...for the breeders and for the buyers.

 

[Vel]

Dabs. Sorry to hear about your son's puppy. It's always hard to lose a pet and especially hard to lose one so unnecessarily. I know that your OP mentioned that the puppy had exams and shots, but sometimes, even with a fecal exam, worms can be missed. When a puppy is infected with worms, there are typically worms, larva or worm eggs present in the dog's blood stream, lungs, stomach and intestinal tract. Most dewormers only affect those present in the stomach and intestinal tract. A dewormer that killed those organisms in the bloodstream or lungs would be very toxic and dangerous to the pup. Because the worm life cycle is in different stages, it is usually necessary to treat your dog every two weeks for a total of three treatments to insure that the puppy is completely worm, larva and egg free. As to hookworm specifically, many of the OTC products are piperazine based and only treat roundworms.
As to your son's vet blaming the breeder, unless your son had only had the dog for a couple of weeks, then I think the vet is as culpable as the breeder.