Puppies with cleft palate ADVICE needed

Hi, We are waiting to get a miniature schnauzer puppy from a breeder. The parents are both healthy according to the Labokin genetic panel for the breed, but now 2 out of the 5 puppies had to be euthanized due to cleft palettes. Were wondering if we should still get one of the other puppies from this litter or keep on searching. Any advice from a vet would be great in terms of health of the other puppies in the same litter and what to ask the breeder to ensure a healthy puppy. Thanks!

Hello and thank-you for this question.  I'm not sure where in the world you are, but if you're from Britain you'll be familiar with the expression that you're opening an ethical 'can of worms,' i.e. the straight-forward sounding question is more complex and messy than it first appears. First of all, what were you hoping to do with your puppy?  If you were wanting to breed from them, then I would strongly recommend against it.  Cleft palette is inherited in schnauzers and therefore potentially be passed on to any offspring.  I would recommend getting any puppy from this litter neutered.  Although it is not your concern, I might also recommend to the breeder that they do not breed from the parents again - it may be worth asking permission to talk to their vets because if this has come up before with previous litters, it is safe to assume that the breeders knowingly risked breeding puppies with cleft palettes, that would require surgery or euthanasia (and if they don't want you to speak to their vets or don't authorise the vets to answer the question, there may be a good reason for this).  Furthermore, not every cleft palette is easily visible; can the vet completely rule out a cleft for your puppy and would extra imaging be required in order to do this? Not every cleft palette is a result of poor breeding; there may be nutritional reasons for it.  If this were the case however, there may also be other nutritional problems.   Providing that your puppy is not for breeding, has not been bred knowing that this was a risk and providing that the vet is happy that the puppy doesn't have a hidden cleft, other inherited disease and have received adequate nutrition, then purchasing a puppy may be a reasonable decision.

In absence of an in-depth chat, uncensored chat with their veterinary team, I think that in your position, I would probably decide to keep searching.