Trust
Health, Vaccinations and My Vet
The exact protocol every puppy goes through, the clinic that does it, and a clear statement of what I don’t do.
Every puppy is examined by Bell Rock Veterinary Clinic in Sedona before it goes home, and travels with a written record of its vaccinations and worming. Every date on that record is a date in the clinic’s notes.
The protocol, in order
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| From 2 weeks | Every two weeks from two weeks old until ten weeks old |
| First vaccination | DHPP, covering distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza and parvovirus |
| At 10 weeks | DHPP booster and canine influenza |
| Before leaving | Every puppy is examined by Bell Rock Veterinary Clinic before it goes home |
| On collection | A written health record travels with the puppy |
| Optional | Microchip. Available for an additional fee |
| Within a week of arrival | Your own vet sees the puppy. This is what activates the health guarantee |
That last row matters and it’s the one people skip. The visit to your own vet within within one week of collection is a condition of the health guarantee in the sales policy, and it’s there for a practical reason as much as a contractual one: it puts a local veterinarian on the record from day one, so if something appears at four months you’ve somebody who has already seen the dog healthy.
My veterinarian
Bell Rock Veterinary Clinic, Sedona.
They give the shots, they do the pre-travel examination, and the dates on your health record are the dates in their notes. That is the whole of the arrangement and I name them because it is a fact rather than a claim.
If anything isn’t right at the pre-travel examination, the puppy doesn’t travel. You’re told what was found and given the choice, rather than sold a dog because a delivery was already booked.
What I don’t do
This section exists because the previous version of this kennel’s website claimed something that wasn’t true, and the correction matters more than the marketing.
I don’t screen the parents. I don’t certify them. There’s no hip or elbow scoring here, no formal genetic panel, and no certification of any kind. Any page anywhere that says otherwise about this kennel is wrong.
What actually happens is a general veterinary examination by a named clinic, plus daily observation from birth by me, and I know which puppy is eating well and which one is quiet today. That’s worth something real. It isn’t screening and I won’t describe it as screening.
If you want a certified program, they exist and you should buy from one. A great many kennels state it on a page and rather fewer can produce the document.
What this breed is actually prone to
Being honest about the absence of screening means being honest about what I’m not screening for. The American Bully’s real risks are skin and allergy problems first by a wide margin, then hips and elbows, then breathing difficulty in the shortest-muzzled dogs, then heat intolerance which is a consequence of the same thing.
None are universal, most are manageable, and the ones you influence most are the ones affected by weight and by exercise in the first eighteen months. The full guide, including what each costs to manage, and the four things that actually determine how long the dog lives.
Call the clinic first if you want
Examined by Bell Rock Veterinary Clinic before it travels. Ring me on (742) 306-3184.