ClaireT

Congratulations on your 'babes'. :)

Get all the sleep you can NOW because with the light mornings and long evenings, those babies won't sleep for very long when they are up and about. Believe me, I've had almost 7 weeks of that!

Well Sharon ... I am not in the slightest bit insulted by what you say ... and I understand. But these are not KC registered puppies they are mongrels! And believe me the best intentioned of breeders make major mistakes otherwise rescues such as Matties or mine wouldn't be there picking up the pieces. All I was trying to say was I thought it unlikely Claire could take the pups back when they are 6-10 months (common time to get rid when they start chewing) and are nearly fully grown, therefore letting a rescue help would alleviate this issue for her. If she can cope and is happy turning down homes for these pups then all and good.

I know nobody was saying culling is easy as such ... if I had been in Claire's position I would have had the bitch neutered immediately to prevent pregnancy .... and some people would not agree with that. I was simply saying that for an inexperienced breeder and a person who loves their dogs ... although this might have been a correct solution it would probably have been impossible!! :)

Congratulations Claire! I've only just seen this thread and can't really add a great deal to all of the many comments you've had, except to say I agree strongly with one of the posters that warned not to give any of the pups to friends. A number of years ago, I bought a rescue dog from Battersea Dogs Home, and when I took her to my vet the next day he discovered she was pregnant! I was already in love with her and wouldn't consider returning her. She was a GSD X and had eight pups who by the time they were 10 weeks old were head and shoulders above her. As she had been a rescue dog, I was determined that I would do my utmost to prevent any of the pups ending up in Battersea. I spent many many hours grilling prospective owners, and reluctantly let one of the pups go to a friend of ours. I was worried right from the start that having such a large dog just wasn't right for them, and insisted that if for any reason things didn't work out they must give the dog back to me. Some months later I discovered they had given the pup to Battersea as they couldn't cope with him, and were too embarrassed to admit their mistake to me. I was totally heartbroken and never ever forgave them. Needless to say that was the end of our friendship.

Oh for gods sake, can we stop the snobbery, these pups are not MONGRELS, they are CROSSBREEDS, there is a difference, mongrels are pups of UNKNOWN parentage, in this case these pups come from two dogs of different, but pure pedigree breeds.
My Rough x Border collie bitch had an accidental affair a few years ago with the working Beardie on the farm, the puppies were lovely, I had no problem finding good homes for them ( all local and all country ) I advertised them at £60 each, sure I had some dodgy folk phoning up, but I could tell by the sound of them they were unsuitable, but the people who came along to see them were decent, and I was very happy with the homes they went to. I kept one of the pups and he is now a gorgeous looking collie dog, one of the best looking ones I have seen actually.
Its a shame the pups are all black, as this will make it hard to find them good homes, most people prefer to pick from a varied selection, but please don't be tempted to start selling them to anyone who calls if you are finding it hard. Will you use the money from the pups to have your dog neutered? I am sure you know that its for the best now!!
Best of luck with them, your household is going to be very hectic over the next 8 weeks!!

They might not even end up being all black? My GSD was all black when she was born as they all were but by 8 wks they each had a varied amount of tan so who knows?

Stacey x x x

If you advertise stating that a home check is required then this will tend to weed out those that just happen to want a cheap dog!

Hi,
First of all congratulations clare, I would issue one word of caution with home checking, people will often skip an ad when looking for a pup if it says home check, not because they have anything to hide but they feel they will not be good enough.

As a home checker, I have had people sweating with nerves and asking me if I want to see the bedrooms!! Others send days cleaning as if the Queen was coming, I have learnt to say on the phone that I am not looking at the house work, just to see they live where they say they live, and the garden is fenced, it iis also a good time to go through the puppy stages and what to expect, also vacs,worming etc....

Kim

Kim- I think that's an excellent idea- to home check- like you say you're not there to inspect the tidiness just to see if the garden's secure etc but I think it's also a good idea because then you could point out any potential hazards such as I used to have a corner where my Son kept all his toys- I bought a large wooden storage box instead so that my pup didn't get any of them- it would be nice especially for first time puppy owners to have things like this brought to their attention. One of my friends came over and said 'she'll have that and she'll have that, you could be doing with moving that etc'. I certainly wouldn't have minded a home check being done infact I'm quite disappointed that I didn't get one- the breeder could have seen how much effort I'd put into it all:) I wouldn't advertise the fact though merely drop it into conversation at a later stage:)

Stacey x x x

I have spent a lot of time lookingfor such a pup. I do NOT particularly like full breeds despite having powned 5 highly sort after pedigree dogs in my time. The best ones I have ever owned in terms of health and intelligence were my two cross breeds. One was a GSD collie one a lab spaniel. My full pedigree working bred bitch Died last year when her fully cross bred accidental puppies were 5. I couldn't keep up with demand for them!! And all to so called good homes.

Do you still have any of the pups? My Golden retriever boy is 11 now and we are actively looking for a GSD lab cross to replace him so he can bring him up as it were.

Please reply

dog slave!!