Yep they certainly are! They are the sweetest little things.
When ive had a tough day at work, the pups are the best thing in the world to take my mind off it and cheer me up.

Im currently looking up homemade puppy toys.  There are some great ideas on the net!

> Im currently looking up homemade puppy toys.

Pups can get great enjoyment out of things like pot noodle tubs, empty 2 litre coke bottles (slightly squashed and then the lid put back on), kitchen roll inner tube, old knotted socks etc. Of course this is supervised play, it's great to get them used to different feelings and noises but never leave the pups with this type of toy so they don't eat them.

Really pleased to hear the good news about the pup - what a relief for you, one gets so attached to them.

Hi Neal, congrats to you and your girlfriend for all your hard work with these puppies. I just wandered if you had started sorting out homes for your precious babies,  before you know it they'll be ready to leave and go to their new families.

Hi all,
I will be with them while we put out some toys for them, or my girlfriend will.  They do seem to like the Kitchen roll tubes, they also like plastic milk bottles.  We used one still in shape and one squashed in a bit.  It great to watch them play!

Biffsmum - Thanks :) !
I know I should start advertising them,  It is very difficult when you get so attached! I wish I could keep them all!
I was going to advertise on Gumtree.  Are there any sites which you would rather advertise on?  I know there are hundreds, but any you would say are better than others?

It's important to try and find homes as soon as possible, the longer before they go the better (many of us with planned litters have the puppies all spoken for before or soon after birth).  this gives you a chance to get to know the people who will have your puppies.

It is important to vet people well.

Try googling for puppy homing questionnaires which will help you ask the right questions, and read the answers people give.

I am glad you have some good news. I have been following your thread but have not added any advice as that given has been spot on. You are doing a great job with this litter- they have been lucky to have you. Hope you get great homes after all this

Annm172 - Thank you for posting and your kind words, I really appreciate it.  This is a great online communtity with owners and breeders that are exceptional!  After we find good homes for our little one's I will still be reading the theads and posting.

:)

About advertising neal.

It isn't so much where (I would try all the fee advertising available).  You have to word your advert in such a way as to discourage the wrong kind of enquiries.

It is the vetting that is important. 

From personal experience the vast majority of enquiries from local and free pages/site advertising will be unsuitable, but you will find some good people.  As a breeder with KC registered puppies I find the better enquiries come through the breed club, the kennel club and my won website.

Here are some sample questionnaires I found:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=puppy+questionaire&meta=&rlz=

Thanks Brainless! There are some really in depth questionaires on that link, they will certainly help to get the right people to take our little ones.

I dont want to see them go to just anyone, I dont know if it is the done thing, but I would really like them to go to a home where I might be able to visit in coulpe of months after we find a home for them, just to see how they are getting allong. 

Oh, and another thing I didnt mention before - The pups poo's have been very soft the last couple of days.  Ususlly they are quite firm.  Is this a sign that the new food I have for them isnt quiet right? Or could it be a bug?

We havnt given them a bath yet either, we have use unscented baby wipes.  They are getting a little smelly, I want to give them a bath but my girlfriend thinks its a bit risky in case them get a chill.

If I remember correctly your pups are short coated?  On a warm day by all means bath them and towel them dry thoroughly and let them in the sunshine, but beware too much breeze.

By all means make it clear that you wish to keep in touch with new owners, but after they are no longer yours you have no rights, this is why the vetting needs to be so thorough.

Just a thought, have you contacted the breed rescue for help.  In effect you have rescued these puppies, so they may help with advice, or even help home the pups?

You should also draw up a contract, this is important as I am assuming they have no papers and parents have no health tests?  this should state that the pups have been hand reared and you warrant that they are healthy at time of sale, but you do not know the parents health status.  It could be that one of them may have a hereditary health issue which could have been avoided/less likely if parents had been tested, and the new owners could take you to court.

As long as poos are not watery (no worse than Mr whippy icecream) I wouldn't worry too much.  What age are they now, it could be that they no longer need so much milk (can cause looseness) or they re just being too piggy.

I haven't had any advice to give as I've not been in that position, but wanted to chip in and congratulate you on all the hard work you've put in - I'm so glad the little one pulled through!

Thanks LucyDogs! I am so relived she is ok, she is happy and being very mischievous at the moment! :)

Brainless - They have medium coats, I think I will give them a bath as the downstairs of the house smells like a pet shop! Lol.

I'm not 100% as I haven't checked, but my girlfriend says the pups mother was KC registered, don't know if the dad is.  As for health issues, we can check, but I doubt there will be any paper work to prove one way or another.
I will adjust the milk and see if it makes a difference.  They always want more food! We are careful with the amount they eat so it may just be the milk.

Would it be inappropriate for me to put up a link on here with some pics of the little ones?

Hi Neal,

I was wandering if any of the charities like Hearing Dogs, Dogs for the Disabled etc might be interested in looking at this litter? When my Aunt had an accidental litter of 10 she donated 3 to Hearing Dogs who all passed to be assistance dogs.

I think these would be way to large for what hearing dogs generally want.  They want quite small and portable.

My Aunt's were Lab x pups. They were all placed with men, perhaps because they were bigger than the dogs that are usually trained.

worth a go, but Bordeaux x German Shepherd are likely to be rather large and probably heavy, might be a bit much for their needs.  Lab crosses would generally only be medium (depending on what the other part was).

Hi all,

Just an update.  The pups are doing great thanks to a lot of advice on this forum!

They are getting big. They are now 5 weeks old and we have got an advert locally for the pups and I will be posting some adverts online today. It depresses me just to think they will be gone in 3 weeks.

The pups are all very active and playful, but they seem to be fighting and being agressive with each other. The are a little older and we notice it a lot more now.  They start of playing then it turns into vicious sounding growling and snapping at each other. 
They are not agressive when we feed them, and they seem to get along fine when we put them in their pen, its just when they play.  Is this normal? 

Yes, that's absolutely normal puppy play, and vital for their development of canine manners. Sometimes it can sound as if they're trying to kill each other!

Hi all!!

Not sure if im allowed to do this, but I wanted to share with you, pictures of our pups!  This forum has helped us keep these littles ones alive so I thought I would share a few snaps  :)

Click on the URL below.  I have put the pics on Photobucket.com, you have to scroll down a little to see all the pics.

[Mod - photo link removed]

Looks as though you are doing a grand job, lovely pictures.

You can put a link in your profile, so if this is removed put it there.

Have you wormed them, this is very important, especially fi Mum wasn't wormed.

Just thought of it as doing mine for three days again.

Yes they are all wormed, we took them to the vet yesterday and weighed them again.  One of the girls is 2.7Kilos, the vet was shocked at how much they have grown since he saw them a week and a half ago.

We are very happy how they have progressed.

We have some online adverts for them so all is being done to find them good homes.

Keeping fingers well and truly crossed.

Hi all,

The pups are getting huge!! We had a neighbour over who wanted to see them, she has an Akita, her Akita is probably the biggest dog I have seen apart form Great Danes.  She said pups are about the size of her Akita at 6weeks.

They are all doing well, and love chewing on absolutly everything! lol

Just one issue though.  They are making my house smell really bad! We have given them a bath, but its when they wee and poo. The smell stays and lingers!
We took them out in the garden on Sunday in a large pen as it was warm, and to give the house a thorough clean. It smelled better for a few hours untill we had to bring them back in.

The vet says we are not to leave them outside overnight and would not reccommend leaving them outside full stop. They haven't had their 1st injection yet and we have been advised to do this no earlier than 8weeks.

We have use odour neutralizing spray and we constantly mop the kitchen floor (they sleep in the kitchen, as it is a tiled floor). It still smells!  Any ideas on how to get rid of the smell or to manage it better?

Thanks

Re teh house like a kennel part, unfortuantely that is the problem, adn why ti si bewst if they can spend daytime able to go outdoors to toilet.  It's bad enough from overnight!

You were on the wine early last night Brainless!!! :-)

No forgot to spell check and got distracted so ran out of edit time.  I get very dyslexic typing, my brain tells me that one hand is hitting the keys when it should but the other hand seems to be faster.

> Re teh house like a kennel part, unfortuantely that is the problem, adn why ti si bewst if they can spend daytime able to go outdoors to toilet. It's bad enough from overnight!

That should have been:

Re the house like a kennel part, unfortunately that is the problem, and why it is Best if they can spend daytime able to go outdoors to toilet. It's bad enough from overnight!

Lol we all knew what you meant x

Ahhh, So thats what you were saying! lol

No, I did get the jist of it ;)

I would like them to be outside but, the vet has said not to leave them outside at all as they have not had their 1st jab.  They are 6weeks now and the vet says not to get the jab until 8weeks.

I'm sorry but your vet seems to be  clueless regarding what puppies need if he thinks 6 week old pups should not go outside. 

How on earth does he think they will learn about their environment and the outside world.  I assume you have a private garden?

Do you think he means outside as in the outside world, and they can go out in your arms, the car etc.

Socialisation is vital for pups.

Few vets have much practical experience in breeding/rearing puppies.

Doesn't time fly!! Can't believe your pups are 6 weeks already.

How are you doing finding them their forever homes? In my breed the pups normally go to their new homes at 7-8 weeks old and the new owners have their jabs done.

Brainless - yes the vet said not to let them out in the garden! Did seem odd to me too! Lol

Biffsmum- still trying to find homes for them. We haven't got a huge response from our adverts.  I hope we do find good homes soon!
If I could i would keep them all!