Hi All, doesn't seem 2 minutes since my babies arrived, and they are due to go next weekend, I am really going to miss them so much, everyone keeps saying you will be glad of the peace and quiet but I wont :-( with the weather being dry and light nights I have been outside playing til gone nine with them every evening and I am going to be so depressed when they've gone :-(. I keep telling myself I should be pleased they are going to make their new owners very happy but I have got very attached and am going to find it very hard to let go. I 'm going to cry and make a fool of myself I know! I'm not normally this sentimental & I need to enjoy these last few days but can't. How does everyone else deal with it or am I just daft?
Angela

> How does everyone else deal with it or am I just daft?
>

I grizzle like a baby.  Perfectly normal if you care.  I am never glad to see them go.  The socialising and playing with my pups gives me more pleasure than I can say.

I have stood crying on the drive while people have been driving off!

am I just daft?

Nope, anworth, you certainly aren't. You've lived, breathed and perhaps even ocasionally slept these little ones for several weeks--why wouldn't you miss them terribly? If your new owners are at all what you want they will know straight away how hard it is for you. When I got my first Welshie I'd already travelled down to meet his breeder a couple of times and as excited as we were to take this small boy home with us when the time came, I was nearly crying for her. I brought a bottle of wine with me as a very small thank you for trusting me with her little star, and what made me really happy was that when we met up again three months later he knew her straight away and went completely mad! He's never forgotten her and I know he will recognise her again even though it will be nearly 18 months since he last saw her when we meet up.

Please don't think you're making a fool of yourself--these babies have had all the love you can give, and soon it will be someone else's turn to try to fill your shoes--that's how I feel with my boys, that my job is to continue to give him the same care and love their breeders did. I hope I've passed that test--nothing makes me happier :)

It's very mixed feelings.  You want them to have their very own families, and by the time they go they need that one to one that they simply can't get as a litter, but it is hard.

Even harder when you keep the last oen for longer.  I have one for another 4 weeks before she goes, adn that si going to be so hard to see ehr go at nealry 13 weeks, as she will ahve slotted into the routine as one of the gang now that she is the only pup here.

My babies are 4 weeks old today and it's my first major litter for many years. I am so exhausted with lack of sleep and watching that all are well after a c-section, but they are fabulous fun and growing so fast! Every day brings something to laugh at. Six are spoken for and two to go. You have so much ownership of them, and sending them off to hopefully good strangers is such an emotional pull.

As my man says, "Keep  your chins up!"

If you have found them the best homes possible, you will never be without your puppies.  In fact, I have one of my 'puppies' lying at my feet right now as they come back to stay while their owners go on holiday!  And I meet up for walks and get e-mails and photos regularly.  I'm like a nosy granny!
It is sad that you won't see them everyday but as I tell my kids when they are going, they need to start their lives with their own families to make them into the dog I wanted them to be!

grizzle like a baby.  Perfectly normal if you care.  I am never glad to see them go.  The socialising and playing with my pups gives me more pleasure than I can say.

I have stood crying on the drive while people have been driving off!

Same here! - I have been exactly the same when my puppies go,infact I cried when my OH's boss picked up the first puppy he had from me,I think it made him feel guilty taking the little chap as he kept saying you know he will be well looked after and will never want for anything and you will see him.Did'nt put him off having another one two years later and I still cried!!!

its normal and im always tearful when they leave.....BUT I know at the leaving age they really need more one-to-one time than I can give them and so I know its in their interest to be leaving.....and of course you will still have your pick of litter thats staying behind to give all your attention to :)

oh im soo pleased its not just me.with only having the 2 pups they seemed to have taken over my heart.the girl is staying but the little lad is off on 18th july.as it gets nearer im getting more upset.the new mummy has been coming every week for a cuddle and she is lovely.i know he will have a super home and i will see him reg but it sure wont be easy to hand him over

My 3 left almost 4 weeks ago...and I cried as each one disappeared...all that hard work, the sleepless nights etc...I felt like I had lost part of me!
Thankfully I still see 2 of them and the 3rd, I have just got some lovely photos of her, so I know they are all doing really well:)

I always have a weep when mine leave. But as has been said they need the one-one time by 8 weeks and are better of in individual homes.
Believe me it is easier at this age, Barbara I know what you mean having kept a pup till 14 weeks due to new owners holidays it is hard to then let them go. I have just gone through the heartbreak of letting my 17 month pup from the last litter go off to a new home. I had every intention of keeping her and once "Mine" my dogs never leave me. However Chablis had been pushing her Mother for top spot, Merlot was my unchallenged top dog and for 14 months had been quietly trying to make Chablis understand that she would not truck any take over bid. However the pup would not leave it alone, although excellent with other dogs/people etc.. even her Mum, when out, in the home she was a constant nusance to Merlot. The situation just got worse and worse untill it nearly came to bloodshed and we made the dissision to let her go. I have never made such a hard choice in my life and now 5 weeks later am still crying as I write this. On a good note though Chablis coped far better tham we did and is now hapily settled in her new home with a 19 month old Newfie  castrated male who loves to be her slave!!1 She has been spayed and is happily ruling the roost in her new home. Merlot is back to her happy laid back self and only now am I realising how much she had started to avoid our company if Chablis was in the room...I have my big girl back!!
Cuddle them and hug them and give them up..they will grow into  individual people when on a one on one relationship with thier new Mummies and Daddies.
And bawl your eyes out when they go, we all do it ; )
Aileen

"It's very mixed feelings.  You want them to have their very own families, and by the time they go they need that one to one that they simply can't get as a litter, but it is hard"

That is exactly how I feel, brainless.
My last litter went off to their new homes end of May and whilst sad I was also looking forward to some one to one time with the pup I kept.

Thanks all , you have made things a little easier, will have my baby girl here to concentrate on :-) but I am going to be a complete wreck on the weekend so will make sure all paperwork etc is filled out before they arrive or the ink will run.
I had these little milestones (eyes opening/weaning/playing with each other/eyetesting/first vet visit) and the next going to new homes has come around so (too) soon. Probably need to set some more for my girl, first vaccs/first walk/ringcraft & first shows :-).
Should have known I can come on here and speak to likeminded people. Thanks again :-) Angela x