Oh dear not good I will see if anybody on FB could help.

Dobe rescue was my first thought. 

What about his sires owner? 

If they can't help they may know someone looking for an oldie. 

What about his mothers breeder?

Otherwise if you can't have him in your house then it will be boarding kennels, at least this time of year they are unlikely to be full.

Boarding kennels for the short term?

> Dobe rescue was my first thought.  <br /><br />What about his sires owner?  <br /><br />If they can't help they may know someone looking for an oldie.  <br /><br />What about his mothers breeder?<br /><br />Otherwise if you can't have him in your house then it will be boarding kennels, at least this time of year they are unlikely to be full.

Have tried those and they are trying to help but no joy so far.

Boarding kennels isn't really an option. I don't have money to spare at the moment having just had the expense of an emergency c-section (£1500)......

Have you tried the oldies club as I think they help dogs of his age ?

Shared on FB as well for you.

Thanks LJS, I'll try them.

Boarding kennels isn't really an option. I don't have money to spare at the moment having just had the expense of an emergency c-section (£1500)......

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, it's not intended to (my tone of voice would not be!) but if you still are breeding, albeit different breed, surely you MUST have contingency plans in case as a dog could come back to you at any time? I always make sure to have a spare kennel outside myself, as you never know. I couldn't bring an adult male dog inside with my lot, hence the spare kennel in case of emergencies.

> Boarding kennels isn't really an option. I don't have money to spare at the moment having just had the expense of an emergency c-section (£1500)......

unfortunately this is one of the likely expenses a responsible ethical breeder can face at any time, it's what I would have to do if I had an entire male back if one of the girls was in season, as I have no real way to segregate effectively.

I had a 4 year old male back when his sister was days away from whelping, and had him here when the pups were born for several weeks, but otherwise if he hadn't fitted in boarding would have been the only (expensive option).

I think the only thing you can realistically do is have him home with you and see how it goes, and have kennels standing by if it doesn't work.

I was going to say what Marianne/Goldmali has said.  Surely part of being a responsible breeder is having things in place for when this happens? 

Oh dear! Could you manage him just for a few days while you find somewhere? I've sent my friend an email - she is looking for a dog, but is more drawn to gundogs. Still, you never know!!! How about a Facebook message - worded carefully and perhaps just shared among friends rather than the whole world, so you don't have to weed out the rubbish. :-)

I agree in some respects but sometimes circumstance such as the unexpected cost of the cc has caused an temporary cash flow situation and timing this time has played against the ability to have him back.

Not all people as well can have the ability to have an outside kennel as well.

I would realistically think that alot of people on this site would sometimes through circumstance get caught out as has happened in this situation and in Pedlees defense they are trying alot of avenues to get him sorted.

It goes back to the question about rescues as well at least some rescues will help in situations like this as nobody would say no it is your bed you lie in it , well perhaps some might but I would find that quite heartless .

I agree in some respects but sometimes circumstance such as the unexpected cost of the cc has caused an temporary cash flow situation and timing this time has played against the ability to have him back.

Not all people as well can have the ability to have an outside kennel as well.

But it all comes back to ALWAYS being prepared. You could end up with a c-section and a serious injury in another dog at the same time for instance -a dog could get run over, anything. Then what? If we want to breed, there is no option other than making absolutely certain you always are covered for the unexpected. Things have got such a habit of happening all at once. Totally non dog related, but as an example our van broke down and needed repairs costing nearly £2000 -just 3 months after we got it. We live in a rural area with no public transport and no way to get anywhere without a car or van. We thought okay, no problem, my stepson had a car, we have to borrow that. Then he crashed his car which was a total write off. So we went from two vehicles to NONE in a matter of days. Tried to hire a car, none available within the closet 30 miles! My husband had to get to work, we had entered LKA, my mum was arriving from Sweden and needed collecting from the airport etc etc. So we had to go out and buy the cheapest car we could find. Took a taxi to the nearest car dealer! TOTALLY unexpected expense, but also totally necessary. It was a month before the van was repaired. Things happen, when it's objects nobody gets hurt, but when it's animals, we must have plans so that we know what to do if everything goes wrong all at once. Whether it is savings, a credit card, a friendly vet who will let us run up a bill, or a spare kennel outside.

> But it all comes back to ALWAYS being prepared

The poor OP has not only recently moved house (and one can't always have control of the timing of moves)but has since had to contend with awful weather here in Norfolk - not exactly conducive to building kennels etc etc Please be a little more sympathetic !!

You can alway be prepared but like anything in life something comes up that throws those plans out the window and with all the will in the world not all eventualities and can be accommodated but it is the way you deal with those things and Pedlee I feel is trying their best to sort things out and doesn't need to be labelled a bad breeder at all , maybe unlucky or perhaps not as fully prepared as they thought they were.

We don't know about their current financial situation and don't really want to either but you can prepare a cash flow on expected out goings but again sometimes spanners can come along and sometimes a whole bag full which makes the cash flow forecast become a fairy tale !

That's an idea. Could you afford to buy a cheap shed and some 6 foot builders fencing to make a temporary kennel and run? Just put shed up temporary on soil?
I think you could get a shed for about 150
hope you get something sorted.
Lea :-)

> You can alway be prepared but like anything in life something comes up that throws those plans out the window

Exactly, and having been a member of CD a long time, I know there are many breeders here that have had all sorts of problems along the way that would be easy to criticise - but we don't because it is often a case of 'there but for the grace of God' ...................

>Exactly, and having been a member of CD a long time, I know there are many breeders here that have had all sorts of problems along the way that would be easy to criticise - but we don't because it is often a case of 'there but for the grace of God' ...................

Indeed. Pedlee is doing her best for this girl, and needs advice and help, not judging.

how about any on the rescues that use foster homes rather than kennels ?

> Indeed. Pedlee is doing her best for this girl, and needs advice and help, not judging.

exactly. It doesn't matter how many times people say she should have been prepared and reciting stories of how they coped with more extreme disasters it won't change anything. How about putting the time and energy spent on preaching into thinking about how best to help a fellow dog enthusiast who is having a bad time.

I live 300 miles away or I would offer my kennel until a home was sorted out. Does anyone else live nearer with the spare kennel we apparently all should have?

Thank you (to some of you anyway). I am sitting here crying my eyes out that I can't help this poor boy. If circumstanaces were different I would have him back like a shot, but at this immediate moment in time I can't. As others have pointed out I have just moved house, just had a litter following on from an expensive c-section and have now found myself in a situation beyond my control.

I paid initially to get him out of the stray kennel, gave the foster carer money to feed him and agreed to get him checked out by a vet at my expense and have now organised transport (at a cost of £160) to get him professionally transported from Luton to West Sussex where Dobermanns in Need will take him.

I think I've done everything a responsible breeder would do in the same situation. At least with D in N they won't pass him on and cause any more stress to the poor lad who I would think is now stressed beyond words....

The poor OP has not only recently moved house (and one can't always have control of the timing of moves

But you CAN control whether you mate a bitch or not.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing Marianne.....and I'm sorry I can't match up to your high standards, I can only do my best.

> But you CAN control whether you mate a bitch or not

........................................................... (there were lots of things I was going to say but I'm biting my tongue very hard :)  - biting my fingers actually )

>But you CAN control whether you mate a bitch or not.

Events can change after mating a bitch ... such as a waiting list of planned homes changing their minds ....

Now we really do need a like button

Well said, rather than wasting time preaching, spending the time to try and help this poor boy is much more appropriate.

Glad to hear that Dobermans In Need are taking him in.

Ive been watching this wishing i could do something to help. Im glad D in N have been able to take him for you ((hugs))

> or a spare kennel outside.

Does that mean you have one available at the moment? :)

> At least with D in N they won't pass him on

Good news :)  Is that in the short term or are things more settled now?

I will be signing him over to them. They'll keep me posted on his progress but I won't at the end of the day know exactly where he's gone. With the timescale of the foster carers needing him gone and every avenue exhausted I feel I've got no option. :(

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">With the timescale of the foster carers needing him gone and every avenue exhausted I feel I've got no option. <img alt=":-(" src="/images/default/sml_neg.png" class="sml" />

It's a responsible decision that has been made with the dog's best interest at heart. I actually think that you have been responsible - you could have washed your hands of him and left him to his fate but you didn't - you did all that you could to ensure he was safe and would be found the right home.

With all the best will in the world it's not always possible to rearrange lives and finances to cover the ideal outcome but IMHO you have stepped up to your responsibilities and done everything within your power to sort a difficult situation.

I'm sure they will do their best for him.

He is in safe hands now and glad it is all sorted.

Let me have the contact details of the rescue as I will send a little donation to them to thank them as it is breed rescues like this that are there for situations like this and for me they are wonderful people who invest so much time and effort for the love of their breed.

Events can change after mating a bitch ... such as a waiting list of planned homes changing their minds ....

Indeed -but how likely are you to suddenly decide to move house after having mated a bitch? If that was even a remote possibility then surely you wait.

Now clearly everything has been done for this dog and well done to the breeder -but I really do not think the above is how a responsible breeder acts.

And on that note I'm leaving this thread.

There's obviously no point in talking about this further and I'll only say something I'll regret.

Thanks to those who have offered me support, both here and in PM's, in what has been a truly awful time and logistical nightmare and I hope none of you will ever find yourselves in this situation (but then some of you won't anyway because every eventuality is planned for and covered, no matter what).

If the Moderators could close this thread I think that would be best now.

I think you're doing your best - and sorry for a distracted mind changing the poor lad's sex in my previous post - that won't help his stress levels! :-p

Do keep us updated on the boy, if the mods are closing the thread. :-)

> It goes back to the question about rescues as well at least some rescues will help in situations like this as nobody would say no it is your bed you lie in it , well perhaps some might but I would find that quite heartless .

Our breed rescue will help breeders, but they would be expected to reimburse any costs (kennelling, veterinarty costs and transport etc).

Great if you have the money then why would rescue help as you would do it all yourself if you could afford to pay.

Without the money what options would you have then as the rescue is therefore not an option if money is expected as that is just another form of kennelling rather than helping

Rescue will help in practical terms of housing the dog, and of course give time for the breeder to pay.

Think Brainless it is because we are a small numbered breed, as you say our rescue will help breeders who find themselves unable to cope but at the same time if they can cover the cost, even if that is not immediately, they should and will be asked to do so.

Anyone who can say their life has never run away with them leaving them in a position they did not expect are fortunate - most of us find that life's a bitch at times and in humanity and humility think there but for the grace of God go I, not my favorite appropriate saying in this situation I prefer the one that says those who do not make mistakes never make anything.

>Indeed -but how likely are you to suddenly decide to move house after having mated a bitch?

As it happened to me I can, hand on heart, say it's far from impossible. In fact we ended up moving house (no option about it - in some jobs you go when and where you're told) on the very day the litter was born. The first pup was born about 2 hours after we got in the new premises.

Exactly that is why life is not a set list of guaranteed set of events.

As to say you can plan financially to support your breeding programme is also impossible thing to guarantee . How many people can say they have a secure and life long income ? Very few lucky people.

People loose jobs, people fall pregnant accidently, people relationships break down people get notice on rented accommodation , the list could go on .

You can plan as much as you can but sometimes things are out of our control.

To be fair those of us who suggested that kennelling may be necessary short term, did also make other suggestions as to where temporary help may be found within the breed, be that breed rescue helping as a stop gap, the stud dog owner, even the breeder of the dam, if not bred by the OP.

It's not ideal, but at worst most of us could find someone to collect the dog, even if it meant we had to juggle it with our other dogs, keep it in another room in the house crated away from the other dogs and exercised separately.  Of course after a few days he may have got on fine with OP's other dogs (other than the bitch with pups).   A kennel in a suburban garden is not an option for many of us because of the risk of nuisance.

I have to commend the breeder for doing their best to sort the poor dog out, and I am glad that Dobe rescue were able to help out, and I am sure she will reimburse or make suitable donations to them as soon as she is able to, as she has been infinitely responsible in this situation.  She could easily have told the pound that the dog was not hers as he had been sold 8 years earlier.

Well peddle, it seems you can't do right for doing wrong, being  criticised  for not foreseeing this situation 9 yrs ago when you bred this boy.

Who would think that after 9 yrs , you by chance find a dog of yours in a rescue , do all you can to 1) find the owner 2) take him back and pay all fees 3) arrange foster homes, and worry  your self over his fate......

Maybe you should have just ignored his fate , and left him in rescue, then those who judge you, could realy have something to moan about!!!

I commend your persistence with this boy, and I for one would not be so callous to  kick you whilst you are down...

Well done!!!!!

I do actually wonder how much of my post a lot of you have actually read.

By the way some of you are responding you would think I'd just left this boy and taken no responsibility at all. If the original owner had contacted me (as was put in all my documentation when the pup was purchased) last year when they re-homed him without telling me after the marriage break up, things may have been different now. I kept in touch with them every birthday and Xmas making sure they had up to date details for me even if it wasn't reciprocated.

Because of my current location and recent move and the litter I contacted a friend in the local area to the dog to see if she could help. She did and it was her friend that offered to foster him. I paid to get him out of what is apparently and awful kennel and gave the foster carer money for his keep. I organised for him to visit my old vet, again at my expense and set about trying to find him a home. It's when the foster carer let me down, let him go to the 2nd carer who then also ran into problems, that the real problems arose.

After exploring every avenue and contact I have I finally managed to get in touch with the only organisation willing to help. I've organised professional transport to get him from the 2nd fosterer to Dobermanns in Need, who incidentally offered to go halves on the transport, but I've paid the lot.

I've had 4 days of hell, and yes, ultimately he IS my responsibility, and believe me I feel truly awful for having let him down. I just hope he finds the forever home he deserves and hasn't been to traumatised by the whole situation.

I really can't see how you "let him down " you were there to catch him.

Well done Pedlee
I have also been following this post and I feel you have done your best you were able for this boy. Lets remember he is not a pup but an 8 year old dog a lot can happen to a breeder in 8 years and  something of those things you can never plan or control.> We dont need to know your circumstances but you have done your vbest and it sounds like he is better now than with his previous owners
Even if you had taken him in until a home could be found there was no guarantee he would settle with your own dogs which could produce a worse situation.
Sounds like he is in safe hands now lets hope he has a good future ahead. 

I don't think anyone doubts that Pedlee has done their best for the boy, I think some were just pointing out that this is exactly what can happen to any decent breeder, and usually at the most inconvenient moment, adn it'susually out network of contacts within our breed that can help sort things out initially. 

I have had a 9 year old come back with a half hours notice as like with Pedlee the owner had not got back to me, but had homed the bitch with someonw who had a rescue bitch of the breed,

Unfortunately this bitch was not going to tolerate this rather greedy girl, and they had a fight and I was landed with an injured bitch at 9pm!.

> I've seen photo's but it looks more like something has been thrown at him and splattered

Just to come back to this point, I've had a look at his photos and I agree those marks look more like a 'splash' injury, although I guess you'll never know

On the theme of things one doesn't know I wonder if you could send a package of information to the new rescue place to be handed to his new owners:  do they do that?  I've rehomed rescue dogs in the past and I always wonder about the history before they came to us.  If I was his new owner I'd love to have at least some of the facts about his background and details of his parentage, or a few puppy pics, would be a good start...

Fingers crossed for a happy outcome for this chap

Yes DAB, I will provide as much information as I have (including the photo's/videos of him from birth to the time he left me - which I give all my puppy owners) and the rescue have asked for as much information as is available.

Hi Pedlee,
Do you have any idea what he is like with other dogs, I am thinking 2 GSD bitches?