Go smacked Jean.
Not that the dog could do it, I dabbled with working trials with some and know that,with the correct temperament, you can get a very good working boxer... It was seeing it in the paper...spit of her Mum too!

This topic is very apt for me at the moment ....we have 7 dogs which feels like our maximum but I have a bitch in season at the moment who is the last of my line and that I'm planning to mate ....hubby is adamant that we do not keep a pup if we go ahead with the mating but I know that if there is a good bitch pup in the litter I will want to keep her ...we are both at home all day, have no neighbours and our own field to run the dogs in so I can't see the problem with going ahead with my plans.

We've just bought a new pup in and that's the reason he's saying "no more" .......but surely one more will not hurt ? ....or am  I completely bonkers ???

Yvonne

sounds fine to me. Have you any oldies? you could argue that there will be space in a year or so anyway so why not keep a puppy now.

Yep our dogs ages are 13, 11, 9, 6, 4, 2 and 7 months .....so we will sadly be likely to lose some over the next few years ....I think he's just fed up with the disruption a new puppy brings ( we have renamed our latest Conan the Destroyer ! )

Yvonne

yes I would definitely keep a puppy in those circumstances. It will be hard work but if you promise it wont chew anything...
I suppose divorce is not an option?

You'll kick yourself if you don't Yvonne!

I had top brood in my breed but her ch son died of cancer, her Ch blen daughter had all boys, her tri daughter had all boys, all six of them....and I was left with the decision as to whether to mate her nearly six year old ch daughter for the last time....I agonised over this as I really have no room for another.
So many people want one of this mating that I could do it for that reason alone,but I breed for me and it didn't sit right.
Out of the blue my husband (who feels we have too many) said "you really MUSTN'T let that line die out...you'd be mad!
So it will be his fault :-)

I have 5 Dals and 1 small crossbreed. I have always said 6 Dals would probably be my maximum. Ages are 12, 8, 5, 2x 2,1/2 and one 6 month old. :-)

> Is there too much sterotyping with breeds ?

Definitely!  Most people I mention agility to think collie straight away, and are genuinely surprised when I tell them I've done it to various degrees with two dobes, dobe/dally, lab/collie (as people seem to think this cross will lean towards the lab side), and the best one by far Opi, who is a rott/GSD :-)  I'm hoping to do it with Raine too (lab/malinois) but time will tell as she's quite the stresshead.

Ironically, my actual collie can't do it thus far as she's too scared!

> my dream is Shelties as far as the eye can see and loads and loads of land for them to run on.

Oh me too, just substitute dobes and malis for shelties!

We've just bought a new pup in and that's the reason he's saying "no more" .......but surely one more will not hurt ? ....or am  I completely bonkers ???

No it's Trevor who is -you can't lose your line!! :)

> I think he's just fed up with the disruption a new puppy brings

It's another reason why a wait of 2 years between dogs works so well - you have time to forget just how hard a puppy really is, and their sensible 'semi adult' behaviour seduces you into thinking another youngster is a really great idea!!

No it's Trevor who is -you can't lose your line!!

that's what I think too, I would'nt mind Marianne, but we bought the last pup in for him as he wanted a Terv bitch from Mandy's lines .....I'm off to have my bitch Idexx tested this afternoon and if she's ready I'll take her to be mated .....I reckon  he'll  change his mind once the litter is here !!.

Yvonne

I bet he will Yvonne.

If it's the right puppy, it's never the wrong time lol

> I reckon  he'll  change his mind once the litter is here !!.

I fully appreciate that Yvonne and Trevor have no problems whatsoever with looking after another puppy etc :) BUT aren't we giving off the wrong impression to any chance readers ??? 'It doesn't matter about having a puppy even if the circumstances aren't right' - some of the 'encouragement' here could be taken the wrong way by people who don't know the individuals concerned :) .....I reckon  he'll  change his mind once the litter is here   If it's the right puppy, it's never the wrong time etc

Well let's just clarify then that Trevor is just as much into dogs that Yvonne is -a judge etc- so he's not your average long suffering husband that doesn't understand his wife's obsession with showing dogs. :)

I have 4 dogs at the moment, 3 Shetland Sheepdogs and 1 Chihuahua. I do hope to get a Mountain dog in the future.

> so he's not your average long suffering husband that doesn't understand his wife's obsession with showing dogs. .

You sound as though you know about that ?? :)

We know each other in real life, being in the same breed. Or did you mean the long suffering husband remark LOL? No, not mine at all as he shows as well -but I've heard it too many times. "My husband won't let me have another dog/cat/whatever". (Usually said when the wife only has one or maybe two to start with.) On my second date with my husband I told him that there was no way I'd ever let a husband of mine decide if I could have another dog or cat or not. :) Granted, we always discuss things, anything else would be wrong. But we hardly ever disagree on it. He's as nuts as I am. :) But I couldn't live with one of these partners that just make rules for the sake of it.

I have 3 soon to be 4 if nature does its job right this time.

I did work for a show kennel and she had 22 large curly haired breed in the house and when they had litters it was chaos. hence why we were employed to look after them. A mixture of males and females it was like a military operation every time they needed to be let out or fed. plus not the best trained dogs i have ever met, quite a challenge!!!

We've got 12 at the moment -2 X 13. 7 yrs 1x 12 yrs 1x11 yrs,1x10 yrs 1x 7yrs, 1x8yrs 1x6ys, 2x3 yrs,2 x 2 yrs.

All is well as long as the sun shines!

I do have to negotiate somewhat with mine, but he has always given in so far. He keeps telling people he has 'made me promise' not to have another for 5 years after the latest one (now 18 months old) but I was entirely in agreement, he didn't 'make me' do anything. I find Lottie very naughty even at 18 months and couldn't possibly cope with a new puppy until she has got rather calmer lol! She is very intelligent and quick to learn stuff when she wants to, but she's got a very stubborn streak! :-p (mind you I might change my mind if Tooolz suddenly offered me a puppy from that ch of hers....) :-D

> (mind you I might change my mind if Tooolz suddenly offered me a puppy from that ch of hers....)

Yes it's always worth being open to the possibility if something 'special' comes along.  I had a similar opportunity a few years ago - I felt the litter would be a bit special and that I'd really regret not having one.

Neither my husband or I really wanted to go from 2 dogs to 3 at that time but knew we'd make room for this dog if he looked promising when he arrived :)  My special opportunity will be 3 this year and we've never regretted having him for a second.  It was an excellent litter too so I'm keeping an open mind about more paws in the future if the breeder looks to be planning something I can't resist...

I don't wish to offend anyone but if you've got several dogs living indoors isn't it hard to keep the smells down ?  I have a friend who has 4 dogs, she lives in a lovely big house but the whiff when you walk in is really awful -  hard to describe what's it's like, not wee or poo smells, just the strongest of doggy smells mixed with unwashed dog bedding and damp towels !  I don't think she notices it herself and I wouldn't dream of mentioning it but it really is quite overpowering.....

No carpets downstairs then feeding a raw diet also helps keep the doggy smells at bay.

I also wash their beds at least once a week and also freshen up by airing or using fabric freshner.

My house doesn't smell at all doggy.

The breed makes a lot of difference, some breeds have very little odour.

hard to describe what's it's like, not wee or poo smells, just the strongest of doggy smells mixed with unwashed dog bedding and damp towels !

I dare say it will smell a bit here -but then other people will have houses that smell of cigarette smoke for instance, which to me would be a million times worse. The dog bedding gets washed at least once a week, often more, the small dogs gets bathed every week usually, we have no carpets, no fabric furniture, and the floors are mopped at least weekly. That's quite apart from vacuuming, dusting and wiping down on all surfaces (including furniture, windows, windowsills etc) every day without fail, of course.

My house smells mainly of dettol!  I have 3 in a 2 bed terrace.  I mop twice a day wash the dog beds at least once a week and tend to find I have more problems with my house mates ash trays!

> I don't wish to offend anyone but if you've got several dogs living indoors isn't it hard to keep the smells down

LOL, I only have ONE dog, but I find it hard to keep the smell down - it's the smell of his 'bottom burps'! They are absolute room clearers and are imediately noticable when one walks into my house (worse of late due to the food he's on - I must change him back to a less gas-producing one).

I'm a smoker myself but only ever smoke outdoors. I'd much rather have my house smell of dog farts or general doggy odour than ashtrays- yuk!. If people don't like the smell of my house, they are not obligated to enter :) 

And to be honest, the smell of even a stinky dog is nothing compared to if the cat has just done 'one' in her litter box

>The breed makes a lot of difference, some breeds have very little odour.

Definitely.

>If people don't like the smell of my house, they are not obligated to enter

:-)  :-)  :-)
I remember years ago when a so called friend called, and 5 of my dogs ran into the room while she was here.  The shock on her face!  She said Oh I couldn't put up with that!  I did refrain from saying, well I never asked you to.  The next time she called I could see her waiting to be invited in.  I stood at the doorstep listening to her drivel for 25 minutes before she realised that I wasn't asking her to enter.  :-)

I have to say that Chihuahua Long Coats don't  tend to smell.  Nor my Yorkies.  Nor Poodles when I had them.

Border Collies have a smell all their own.  I love burying my face in my BC's coat.  And I love the smell of wet Border Collie almost as much as I love Lancombe Climat!  :-)

Edited to add.  I once went to Hope Cove with my 2 Beardies, and found a pub that allowed dogs, so I went in for a meal.  The lady on the next table apologised for the smell of her Goldie lying under her table, as he had just been swimming.  :-)

I assured her that I tolerate wet dog a whole lot easier than I tolerate humans that stand close in the supermarket that don't appear to wash very often.  Now that is a smell I really could choke on.

Does my house smell of dogs ? ...well  sometimes I guess especially if they get wet ...but I have no carpets, washable surfaces, leather sofas and  tiled floors, I wash, dust and Hoover every day and also use the brilliant Lamp Berger

http://www.lampeberger.co.uk/ which I can thoroughly recommend for getting rid of nasty niffs !

And to be honest almost all our visitors are also fellow dog folk and used to being mugged by a pack of hairy hounds.

Just have to add that I did the mating ....( and Trevor is just as excited as I am at the prospect of early summer pups ! ) 

My house smells 'doggy' on occassion but it's only when I don't wash the bedding enough.  I'm really not a house-proud person!  I know what you mean about your BC smell, my GSD is the same.  I often bury my face in her fur and sniff :) She thinks I'm a right weirdo!!lol  My horrible spaniels smell terribly though.  Wet dog for hours!!
We also feed raw which makes a difference and we have only wooden floors/leather suite downstairs and we use air fresheners.  I think it helps that the windows and doors are usually open too.  Fresh air fortnight!lol

What I hate?  That people think they are allowed an opinion about the amount of animals I can own.  I hate when people ask how many dogs do I have now? Like I'm some sort of sideshow!!or circus!!  In fact, a horrible person recently asked me if I thought I lived in a zoo.

> I hate when people ask how many dogs do I have now?

As if it's any of their business.  Grrrr!