Hi shawni. I read your complaint on tammie chrisopher, owner of top dog bloodhounds. I also read her response, not only on this website but on another one as well. She stated that she had to put the mother of your puppy down due to being a carrier of demodectic mange.
I bought my puppy from her on june 17, 2009. A few weeks ago I noticed a few bald spots on his head and legs. I took him to the vet yesterday and turns out he has demodectic mange, which is hereditary. I spoke to tammie through email telling her I believe my puppy has this disease. She said "non of my dogs here have demodex nor have they ever produced puppes with this issue." she is obviously lying since I read her own words saying she put the mother of your puppy down due to this issue. She advised me to put my puppy down and that she would send me a replacement.
Being an animal lover, I would never agree to such a thing. I have become attached to this puppy and never would I want her to just ship me a replacement. My vet says it is treatable and in most dogs he says it has disappeard within about 4 weeks. Copper, my puppy, is being treated for this disease. I have involved my mother in the matter and she is dealing with tammie herself. We are trying to recieve payment for his vet bills. I'm not sure how successful this will be, but I know for sure she will be turned into the akc and also the aspca.
I just wanted to let you know that you are not the only one who has been cheated by tammie christopher. From my prospective, she is an awful person to think she can just send replacement puppies whenever she sees fit. She obviously is not very educated about this disease because according to my vet, most of the dogs he has treated, have overcome it within four treatments.
My opinion is, she knows what she is doing. Any akc registered dog is supposed to be genectically tested before they are bred. This is just a way for her to make money and leave us with sick puppies and enormous vet bills. I personally did not purchase my puppy to be a police dog, show dog, or any other type of service dog. I purchased him to be a pet, a part of my family, and I would never want to replace him. Tammie is an inhumane person and I hope one day she is stopped.
I also note, she did not let me come to her house. She told me it would be too hard to find and to meet her at the local mcdonalds. At the time, I was excited about getting my new puppy and did not think twice about it. Now, on the other hand, I realize this was probably a way for her to keep me from seeing his parents.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
People- a dog being registered with the AKC does not mean much! Mange is TOTALLY treatable and any vet will tell you that. You see rescue dogs all the time with severe cases of mange that have no hair left- and they recover with proper care and treatment. This woman is running a puppy mill and not a kennel if she would put a dog down for mange and then lie to you both about it! Have you reported her to the AKC, the ASPCA and any local Bloodhound kennel clubs or rescue groups? Report her! Don't let her continue to be an irresponsible dog breeder and don't let her sell anyone else a sick dog and then lie to them!
This woman needs to be stopped! Since posting my complaints, more people have come forward with this same problem! You are right Ressie, this is nothing more than a puppy mill with a license. Whoever is interested in helping to SHUT DOWN Top Dog Bloodhounds, please e-mail me at antioxydent@aol.com
Also see complaints on /link removed/
Top Dog Bloodhouds
Top Dog Baseji's
Tammie Christopher
all have complaints!
I agree with everyone, Tammie christophere is a dishonest person who cheats and takes advantage of people! Caution stay away from Top Dog bloodhounds- not the quality of dogs she claims. It is quite evident there is a pattern that Tammie is breeding defective dogs, She is rude/hateful (after she gets what she wants out of the deal of course) lies about registering litters, the list goes on! This woman has to be stopped!
Tammie Christopher (also known as Tammy Wade and several over alias names) is nothing more than a puppy mill. She has also been deported from the USA back to Canada for something to do with her dogs as well. She hauls her dogs to dog shows in an open horse trailer exposed to the elements and doesn't take the time to "pot" her dogs so they are sleeping, walking, in their own feces.
Tammie has also been reprimanded by the AKC on SEVERAL occasions to to the filthy conditions in which she houses her dogs.
If you want a good quality bloodhound with reputable breeders who stand behind theirdogs 100%, perform all the necessary health clearances and can show you these clearances in writing, then buy from an American Bloodhound Club member. Go to their website at www.bloodhounds.org. You can find a wealth of information on the breed as well as a list of reputable breeders and breeder referral links.
PLEASED be advised...this breeder is being inspected by the AKC for health issues & neglect. Several of her basenji's have tested positive for Fanconi Syndrome yet she continues to breed them. Please check the OFA website to verify this information.
This breeder goes by several names including Winkley, Christopher & Wade just to name a few. She breeds basenji's, bloodhounds, black and tan coonhounds, red bone coon hounds, Australian Shepherds and now Boykin spaniels.
This breeder has several complaints submitted to the Better Business Bureau & AKC.
If you are looking to add a purebred dog to your family please look to the parent club of your breed to find responsible breeders. Make sure the parents to your particular breed have gone through extensive health exams such as hip and elbow xrays, echocardiograms and any tests that might inflect your breed.
If you want to breed do it the correct way. Do your research before you buy a dog. Just because a breeder charges an astronomical amount DOES NOT mean they are quality dogs. Any responsible breeder belongs to their AKC breed parent club which is your first clue. Any dog being bred should at least be an AKC Champion but even then... not all AKC Champions should be bred. ALL dogs being considered for a breeding program should be tested for hip & elbow dysplasia and other breed specific ailments. ALL responsible breeders breed for two things...to better their breed and because the breeder desires a new addition to their family. If your looking to make money look else where because if done CORRECTLY NO MONEY will be made. If your looking for a pet PLEASE contact your breeds parent club and they will happily direct you to their breed rescues or visit your local shelters. If your not prepared to work hard by obtaining a dogs AKC Championship & doing the required health tests PLEASE leave the breeding up to others who will. Dogs are mans BEST friends not a commodity.
DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH TAMMIE FROM TOP DOG KENNEL IN ARKANSAS. I've heard too many bad stories about her dealings and if you saw her place, you'd gasp. How could you possibly take care of that many dogs. I feel so sorry for the dogs. She's only in it for the $$$$. She should be stopped.
For those of you who have commented about Tammie Winkley (aka- Seahorn, Fryman, Wade, Christopher). You are very correct in your opinions of her. She is an ex-felon as is her husband. She has been arrested for embezzlement, child endangerment, bogus checks, and food stamp fraud. If the law enforcements that she sells to knew this I am sure that they would never purchase a puppy from her. She has had 6 children. Only 2 live with her. 1 is grown and on his own, The other 3 she has lost custody to. She ask for payment to be made in cash or western union, or money gram so that she can defraud the IRS and the state of Arkansas. She does not report her income of these dogs. Did you notice on the websites that the contracts are in her husbands name not hers?
As for Winkleys Black and Tans she claims that her mother is the owner of these animals. Although her mother sees little of this income.
I have seen the conditions that these poor animals live in and it is horrid! They are in dirty kennals. The puppies are born in a "birthing house" that is nothing more that a metal building with stalls and kiddie pools for the moms to give birth in. These animals are bred as soon as they come in every time and when they no longer produce quality pups she gets rid of them and gets more. I agree that she needs to be stopped.
she sold another puppy with demodex manage. watch for any puppies from hounds ear gretta.
SEEMS THERES ALOT OF DISHONET POSTINGS AND BREEDER WARS GOING ON HERE.
I have to thankyou all for your honesty. I unfortunately did not read all of this prior to dealing with her. I sold her a pup and then let her have one of my champion girls for a pup in return. I will never see that puppy I am sure. I am filing a forgery claim with AKC on her and wish my name and kennel were never linked. Beware.
I too have had the misfortune of dealing with Tammie. Pre-payed for some semen to be shipped here to Australia over 12 months ago. Now i can get no response from Tammie, my import permit is also out of date now. Hopefully i have the opportunity to visit the USA one day, and i will be sure to pat her a visit.
I agree, this woman needs to be shut down. I too have had a run in with her. In August of 2009 I purchased a Bloodhound puppy from her. She is great until she gets your money and then you don’t hear from her and can’t get in touch with her. Anyway. When the pup finally arrived he was in very poor health and was terrified of people(so much for family raised). We took him to the vet the day he arrived for his exam. He walked like a 4-5 week old puppy still trying to find his feet rather than the 8 week old pup he was. He had bed sores on his front and back legs. He was underweight. He still had his puppy fuzz (his coat looked dry, brittle, and unhealthy). He also had bloody diarrhea, so the vet suspected he had parasites. Sure enough when we get the call back from the vet about the results from his fecal exam they said he had a very heavy case of Giardia. When I contacted Tammie about his poor health she responded “I don't guarantee against Giardia after 24 hours.” My vet told us that Giardia has a 2 week incubation period so he definitely had it before we got him to have it show up on his fecal exam the day we took him in and to be so sick from it. Tammie would not help out with vet bills and I never heard from her again about it. Then by 10 weeks old my pups front legs started to bow out from lack of proper muscle development early on. The vet said all we could do for it was to watch and wait. Luckily over time and with careful exercise they straightened out and are fine now. Unfortunately the trouble never stops with Tammie. My dog is almost 2 now and I had him DNA tested through AKC . About 2 months later I get a letter from AKC saying his DNA doesn’t match up and that his sire was in question and they had to do some research on it. So I waited another month and finally hear from AKC again. They confirmed that he was not sired by the dog she had him registered to and that his AKC registration is being put on hold while this is under investigation. I tried contacting Tammie about his registration issues and she will not respond at all. I wish I had never done business with her. I now have an unregistered dog that cost me $1, 200.00, plus $400.00 dollars to ship, I couldn't even begin to total the amount of his vet bills, and he will never even be able to be used for what I got him for. I had originally purchased him to train for Search And Rescue work. The dog I received from her will never be SAR material because he has temperament issues, among other issues, from bad genetics and the conditions he was raised in for his first 8 weeks of his life. I am VERY VERY disappointed with Tammie. Save yourself a lot of trouble, stress, and heartache and stay away from Top Dog Bloodhounds.
Our dog is the number two dog in the nation, I have been to her house in helped her with the dogs she has, I seen not a thing wrong with her dogs nor her puppies, She is the best at all the dog shows.So y'all can say whatever you wont to about her but i no what i no. And i thank that all of y'all are wrong about her y'all are just jealous of her and her work peace
have a nice day
FAITH & ASHLEY WINKLEY
Is Tammie your kin?
yes this is her daughter-in-law and her son we bought two wonderful dogs from her, a bloodhound and a red bone ours is a playful, lovable, and the best show dog you will ever see.I really don't thank you would no a good show dog if it turned around in bit you in the butt.Know I'm not just saying this cause shes my mother-in-law I'm saying this cause i no the truth in yall don't .
Faith and Ashley
Winkley
So your standards are as low as hers...? This is NOT about showing dogs...This is about being a good person that takes care of their dogs and stands behind their dogs if and when a problem does arise. Prove to me that she does her health clearances and I do not mean just taking them to the vet for an 'exam'...Who in their right mind needs over 50+ dogs much less can take care of over 50+ dogs properly...Physically and Mentally. Oh and by the way I know what a good show dog is and what it takes to have a good show dog and its not just the 'show dog' but rather who stands behind them...Top Dog is one of the Top 3 High Volume Bloodhound Breeders in the US...Quantity Quantity Quantity without QUALITY...People like this destroy breeds of dogs.
Bye Yall !
so all you can do is mouth behind a computer desk, Its a suprise how she takes of her dogs, There well tooken care of in thats all you need to no, But dont det upset cause you cant get your way throught.O, yeah she is very good peron that stands by her word, so peace out
faith winkley
I recently found this site and wanted to relay my experience with Tammy and TopDog Bloodhounds.
After losing two labs in the past year (one to cancer at 10yr and one to old age at 14yr), my husband and I spent several months researching dogs and trying to find the best pet for our family (that includes 2 year son, 14 year Chihuahua, and 4 nieces and nephews under 6 years old). We were leaning heavily toward bloodhounds and I found Tammy. We talked for several weeks while making the decision and I found her incredibly helpful with questions and information as to the pro and cons of the breed.
Thanksgiving weekend we made the 13 hour drive to TopDog because we wanted to pick out our next member of our family. Tammy gave no hesitation to us visiting her or her home to pick our puppy even on the holiday weekend. We got there and she was very welcoming and spend as much time as we needed to play with all the puppies, meet and interact with many of the adults to make sure we made the right decision (on a very cold windy day). While she has several dogs, we found all were well socialized, healthy and happy. While her kennels are nothing fancy, you can tell she puts all she has into her dogs.
We selected our puppy, and waited till next morning after neuter and vet check to take him home. We had him checked by our vet when we returned to town and he said that he was one of the best looking bloodhounds he had ever seen. Copper has been a wonderful part of our family but we felt something was missing for him. Even though we have the Chihuahua, he was much like a one dog household. My husband and I prayed about it and we were led back to Tammy. We were looking for an older puppy that we could bring into the family, that would be a good companion and already house trained (had enough with potty training both my son and Copper).
She had a 10 month old that she recently decided to sell. Again we had many conversations about the dog and she was patient and answered all our questions and provided much needed advice. We made the decision three weeks ago to add her to our family. As with Copper she was checked at our vet and is very healthy. While, it has taken Penny time to adjust to her new environment, she improves greatly every day. Copper and Penny are both much happier having a companion to play with and to occupy the sofa while the other has the love seat.
In summary, two months with Copper and three weeks with Penny I could not imagine my family without either of them, and I thank Tammy for helping to bring them into my life.
Tammie TopDog is to be avoided. She has used her dead father's name to register B%T's with the AKC, One thing is that she has about 50 adult dogs all producing puppies. All puppymills have that. Another thing is her dishonesty about her dogs heritage. She has misused the oldest bloodhound kennel in the world's name for years. She claim to have top winning bloodhounds, when in fact her bloodhounds has NEVER been in the top rankings.
She also lies when she tries to trick overseas breeders to sell to her.
Don't buy from her and don't sell to her.
As I just lost my black & tan, I was very excited to find a pup to possibly show but more importantly give a wonderful loving home to. I was interested in a show quality puppy and was advised not to "co-own" with strangers from people in the dog show industry (for lots of different reasons...though lots of different kennels have co-ownership clauses). Now I am very glad I avoided this and found another pup. My family fell in love with the cute puppy faces however there were some things that deterred us from completing the transaction: show quality pups require co-ownership from Winkley's kennel. AKC does not recognize one owner owning 80% of the dog, the other owning 20% of the dog. If one of the co-owners has issues with AKC, your dog will be disqualified.
At first I had assumed she was in the best interest in the puppies she created requiring co-ownership, but then I realized ONLY un-neutered/spayed dogs required co-ownership. Pet quality dogs did not & there seemed to be no concern or remorse if THOSE dogs ended up abandoned in a shelter some day.
Additionally, the terms of the contract seemed to be worded to her breeding advantages and moreso: very untrusting. It has come to my attention over the years: if a person does not trust you, they are probably not trustworthy. The dog world is a small place to get a bad reputation. The contract also indicated, I needed to have the registered name as the kennel name (customary) but in addition, SHE got to choose the dogs registered name. MY dog's registered name. She was imputing MY dogs registration information into the AKC computer system...seemed very fishy & now that I've found this string, I realize my hunch was correct. An un-neutered/spayed b&t pup of hers sells for $1200 which I am co-owners on, DON'T get to choose the registration name AND have contractual breeding obligations to other dogs she owns for the life of the dog or until it is fixed.
My invoice also included sales tax for Arkansas. I am not a resident of Arkansas. On the website it clearly states the kennels understanding of how sales tax works "Meet me on the border and you don't have to pay sales tax". So to charge me for sales tax seemed odd.
I contacted a more reputable breeder in the US, who sells black & tan pups for $1000 (un-fixed) from championship parents (which in this Arkansas case was not) and hall of fame dogs. $1200 for non-champion parents is quite high in relation.
She also made claims of "show quality vs pup quality" at 6 weeks of age. In my research with other reputable breeders & handlers, a lot can change in 6 weeks and such a claim is too soon to make.
I have no doubt we would have gotten a great little puppy from this person because what little puppy isn't a great addition to your family! I did not go thru with my transaction because instincts told me to back away so I can not say good or bad, regarding the quality of the dog or the entire business transaction. But please do your research before buying from any breeder! Know what price dogs go for! What standards your breed requires! Talk to a few different breeders & see who you like working with or communicating with. If you talk to a few people, it will be easier to weed out those whom you don't want to do business with.
I was looking for a puppy and found this woman, she seemed perfect. I was supposed to get my new pup at 8 weeks and have him flown to me in California. 2 weeks went by and still no pup due to the pup getting neutered and he had a umbilical hernia which I was fine with. She called saying his stitches ripped out and then he ha a hole in his tummy and couldn't fly due to possibly getting infection, I was still ok at this point until a week later she emailed saying he now had a cough as did all the puppies in the litter and he was on calcium pills for a BOWED leg because he must have been in a small cage w hard floors for the whole week to heal! Poor thing. At this point I was furious and asked for a refund, she offered to give me a different dog however this one (of course) was 300 extra dollars but he had a cold as well...I accepted and he SUPPOSEDLY got cleared of his cold by his vet and to fly to California 1 week later...I got him and took him straight to the vet the next day and found out he had severe kennel cough (she also said he was given bordetella) the kennel cough shot, there was no record of this in vet papers...2 days after being diagnosed he was in the after hours emergency room in a oxygen box hooked up to Ivs and medicine because he couldn't breathe due to severe pneumonia...1500 dollars in vet bills later I'm still taking him to the vet to make sure he has a full recovery, this all would have never happened of they would have treated him properly when his cold started as taken better care of the pups. Do not buy black and tan hounds from this woman.
Kerry make sure you report her to AKC, if she sold the puppy with AKC papers.
She was suspended when she sold it to you
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/dce7ca78#/dce7ca78/52
Beware of 'Shyla Christopher'...
http://www.puppyfind.com/l/?page=1&acct_id=628733&back=&sid=47ac1a9673b3eabde7ce47d4ac29e221
Boggles my mind that people keep buying from Top Dog...Really ?!
Nice google Johnny the village idiot.
My redbone coonhound had parvo, I wish I had researched better before I bought her. My vet saw her and said she seemed a bit lethargic and her abdomen was distended but her fecal came bavk negative for worms, Hours later I rushed her to the emergency vet. I caught the parvo before the telltale diarrhea and she did make it through.
Once I told Tammie she had parvo I have heard nothing back. It seems to me she cares nothing about her dogs once they are sold
My family is now complete because of our newest addition, Sherlock! Our family had been looking for a bloodhound and I just knew he was the one when I saw him! Sherlock joined our family just yesterday and I had nothing but a wonderful experience with Tammie at Topdog Bloodhound. I called Tammie to ask about brining home a puppy and we talked on the phone for awhile and Tammie was very polite. I then paid my $500 deposit via Paypals and Tammie told me to contact her if I had any questions. At the time the puppy was only 5 weeks so I was going to have to wait 3 weeks until the puppy could come home. I contacted Tammie via text several times over the 3 weeks. Tammie always answered my question very quickly. My questions ranged from puppy food, Nuvet vitamins (on her web site) and sometimes just wanted to know how he was doing.
We picked Sherlock up at the Airport yesterday morning and our Sherlock is perfect. I had a vet appoinment the same day and the vet said Sherlock was in perfect health. Despite what comments had been posted I followed my gut and got the puppy I knew was ours and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about our puppy and the experience I had with Tammie. I would suggest getting a puppy from Topdog to anyone who wanted to add a wonderful bloodhound to their family!
I agree with most of the things said about Tammie. My encounter with Tammie was in 2011. I had a black & tan coonhound male for sale. He was my first coonhound and a great show dog, he was a grand champion in UKC bench shows. He was still intact and had never been bred as I did not have any females to breed him to. I was selling him due the fact that I was about to have my first child and thought that I would not have time for him once the baby arrived. Tammie contacted me and wanted to purchase him, I sold him for $500 and she paid to have him shipped to her. I was told he was going to be shown in AKC and be part of her breeding stock. Come to find out none of her black and tans are shown in AKC. A few months later I saw my boy up for sale. I contact Tammie as I wanted him back if she was getting rid of him. She told me I was a lier and that the dog I sold her was sterile and could not be used for breeding. I wanted to buy him back, but she refused to sell him to me as she said I would just sell him to someone else as a breeding dog and he was not. I work at a vet clinic and asked the doctors I work with about reasons a dog would become sterile as he was only a little over a year old. It could be a number of things such as stress and a new environment. I asked if she had a semen sample tested and the answer was no, the only reason she thought he was sterile is that her ### did not get bred. My plans to buy him back had nothing to do with breeding, I was emotionaly attached to this dog as he was my first coonhound and my first show dog who just happened to make it to grand champion. Tammie said she was having him neutered and selling him as a pet, I still tried to purchase him back, but she would not sell him back to me. The last time I contacted her she told me he had already been sold and shipped over seas. To this day I regret selling this dog and I wish I would have done my research as to who I was selling him to. I now sell all my puppies and dogs with a return contract so they must come back to me no matter what. It was a hard lesson to learn, but I hope I can help someone else. I would love to find my boy again, but have lost hope that I will. If anyone knows where he might be I would still love to have him - his registered name was GRCH Lewi's Deluxe Duce.
I purchased a Blood Hound from Tammie in April 2013. She was really nice on the phone and was willing to meet me in Texas with the puppy so he didn't have to fly. We decided to have him flown in anyways. When I picked him up at the airport he was filthy, skittish, and smelt like dead animal. I assumed this was because he had been neutered the day before but I am starting to think that is just how she keeps her animals. He didn't have any heath problems and he really was a beautiful dog. I purchased him for my boyfriend and he absolutely loved him we named him Boone. Unfortunately we lived with a river in our back yard and one day in November Boone got ahold of a salmon. We quickly took it from him and he didn't show any symptoms of being sick till a week later. We took him to the vet who said it was highly unlikely that he had salmon poisoning and that we shouldn't worry. Boone started acting better and we decided to trust the vet. A few days later he was back to acting sick but his symptoms were much more pronounced, we were very worried. Then he ran off for an entire day and did not return home until late that night. I decided to take him back to the vet the next morning but when I woke up he had passed away in front of our bedroom door. I regret not taking him to the emergency vet that night instead, we could have saved his life if I had. My boyfriend was heartbroken for months after so I decided to get him another puppy from Tammie for valentines day. I wired her a $400 deposit, emailed her that I had sent it with a confirmation from my bank and waited for the litter to be born. She sent me pictures of the puppies and things were going well. A week later I asked for better pictures of the males so my boyfriend could pick one. She said that I had not sent her a deposit and was no longer getting second pick because of this. I sent her all the wire information and assured her the money had been wired into her account. She still insisted that it had never made it there and I would not be getting a puppy until I made the deposit. I called my bank and told them I wanted to retract the wire assuming it had made it into someone else's account. After what seemed like forever talking to multiple bankers on the phone I thought the issue was resolved. The bank was going to retract the wire and I could move on with getting a puppy. Turns out she had gotten the money after all and after confronting her she said she would return my money in a week. I no longer felt comfortable sending her any more money. I waited a week emailed her and got no response. I figured maybe she didn't have the money yet. Two weeks later I wrote her again and still no response. Luckily I had her number in my phone from my previous puppy purchase. I called her and man was I surprised! She was the rudest lady I have ever had the displeasure of speaking with. I asked her why she had not responded to my emails and when I could expect my money back? Thats when she really lost it and started borderline yelling at me. She said she had sent me multiple emails (###, I never got even one. I checked almost daily for her response) Also she told me she had no intention of returning my money and apparently that was the end of that! She claims to have a non refundable deposit I was unaware of (I would think this situation would be an exemption). I never signed any paperwork saying that I accepted this policy. So i said screw it I will just apply this deposit to getting a puppy from her. I went to check her site and boom its gone! I do not recommend dealing with this lady!
Now she is churning out some of the ugliest basenjis out there. How anyone could look at the pictures of her basenjis, badly bred, and just plain ugly and then buy a puppy is shocking. Still breeding a [censored] born in 2012. Very little testing. Brags about passing kennel inspection yet paperwork shows 40 dogs on premises with only 19 being akc. Single handedly ruining basenji breed. how many poorly bred puppies just this year?