I'm getting very emotional about my pups going to their new homes. All the owners are lovely, there is only one with a slight question mark in my mind about it being a forever home but felt I couldn't discriminate on their age when they had the knowledge, experience, time, patience and circumstance to care for a pup well. All the others are just the best and I know my pups will be loved and cared for well.

In anticipation of them going, obviously the owners have said they will keep in touch and let me know how the pups are settling in and will send photos but I know for a fact I am going to want to know, how the journey home went - was the pup upset or sick, how they settle in at their new homes, are they missing their Mum or me, how will they be each day, how the toilet training is going, etc. etc. and actually would like CCTV in their homes with 24 hour access so I can keep an eye on them! Joking here, but you get the gist. I have devoted 7 weeks so far to each and every one of them, loved and cared for them, and have ignored any other aspect of life apart from the puppies and I think I am going to feel lost!

How much can I expect the new owners to keep in touch with me (they all promise to without me even asking!)? If they don't let me know how they are doing, what is acceptable as to contacting them to ask after the pups? After all they are the new owners.

I promised to let my bitch's breeder know how my bitch was but never got round to it and she never contacted me. I can't imagine that as my puppies are my life right now.  I don't want to be a pest to the new owners but can't imagine not contacting them if they haven't contacted me at some stage. I think I need to know my pups have all settled in superbly, the owners are smitten and can't imagine life without them and everything. Then maybe I will relax and let go?

I text the lady I got my puppy from when we got home to tell her we had a good journey.  I also sent her a link to an online photo album I set up of her.  She thanked me for giving her puppy a lovely home but never replied to my photo link and I have never heard from her since I was a bit sad about that.  Maybe encourage them to have photobucket type albums - that way you have no need to be facebook friends or for them or you to be emailing etc for pics but you can see your babies growing up.  Photobucket is a great way of storing photos :D

> but felt I couldn't discriminate on their age

I don't see why not.  Chosing homes rather than simply selling to all comers is all about descriminating.

Why don't you set up a facebook page for the litter - keep it private & invite all the new puppy owners.  Then they can keep you up to date, show photos and also keep in contact with each other.  Also they can tell each other about training or showing events etc.

I managed to find out the names of 2 of the other owners in my dog's litter - but I'd like to have been able to share stuff with others.  If people aren't keen they needn't post or visit.

A facebook group is an idea, if the owners are on facebook. Stooge, I worded that badly; rephrased - I decided not to descriminate purely on their age given they ticked all other boxes and given my own experience.

Now why didn't I think of the CCTV :-) Eight of the nine puppies from my recent litter left last week and I have exactly the same predicament. Some people are naturally better at communication than others and it's hard to sit back and wait for new owners to get in touch. I think that I'll probably send a 'general' email next week asking how everyone's getting along and just remind them they can ring or email if they have any problems, along with a subtle hint about occasional news and photos. Having said that, there's only one family I haven't heard much from and hopefully that will be the same for you. You put your heart and soul into the planning and raising of a litter and it's so hard to let go, but you have to do just that, in the hope that the new owners will be so proud of their new addition they'll be happy to share their experiences with you.

So far as age of new owners is concerned, people's circumstances can change no matter what their age and it certainly wouldn't put me off letting someone have one of my puppies provided they ticked all the boxes otherwise.

I would love a communal site where i could see my dog's littermates growing up and talk to their owners(if they wanted to!).  I send pics to the breeder every six months as I don't want to get on her nerves , so it's lovely to hear that breeders do really want to know how their babies are getting on.  If i was one of your new owners i wouldn't mind a bit you asking how we were getting on, and i would appreciate the advice at the end of the phone or computer.  I say follow your heart and be nosy!

I added my pups breeder as a friend on Facebook, she could see all the antics the pup got up to, my love for her and my exasperation.  Through the breeder I have made friends with my pups older brother and when I tag the breeder in some photos other puppy mates will chat.  I have nothing to hide in that some days I said it was hard work but so worth it.  I do think if I was a breeder it would break my heart never to hear from my pups again :(

Some people keep in touch a lot, some people become friends, some people keep in touch once a year, some people never get in touch again after the first few days. I do ask everyone to let me know after a few days that all is well and that's never failed, but I do have some owners I've not heard from in years. You can't push such people because it can become very annoying. You need to let them know you are there for them and are interested, but can't demand it.  I know myself how annoying it was when I bought a puppy off somebody who then called virtually every week -always. It drove me nuts after a few months and you end up thinking they don't trust you and just check up on you. I send a newsletter out to all my puppy buyers every Christmas without fail, then everyone has heard from me at least once a year even if they don't get back to me. Those that do keep in touch I always reply to of course (most email, only a few phone). In other words, I let the buyers decide how much contact they want. I joined Facebook for the very reason to be able to see photos from buyers. I have a page on my website (well several, I tend to add a new one every other year as it becomes too full) of photos I have got from buyers and I know many check it out regularly, and they also check my page with news as that way they see how their dog's littermates/parents are doing at shows, obedience, agility, flyball and similar.

We have been fairly lucky with most of our puppy homes. Virtually all have kept in contact, fairly often to start with & then as time moves on, it is just a card at Christmas. We lost contact with a few which is odd but you cant make folk keep in touch. Normally once the dog has passed away it then ceases, depending on the owner/how well you know the owner.
More recently, as its been 7.5 years since our last litter....the 2 pups we bought(at separate times) then homed(with breeders consent) are quite different. One I am in regular email contact with & am friends with the teenage daughter on FB. The other seems to not be so forthcoming with updates...I am sure the dog is absolutely fine but it can be hard to explain to new owners, that we care even if the dog is not in our possesion. We do all the usual of 'contact us if any worries etc' but for these particular owners, I think the reason may be that their previous dog was a mongrel & they are not used to the breeder back up/concern we supply/offer. I personally dont like phoning as you are never really sure when is convenient to do so, so much prefer emails as they can be read/replied to at any time which is convenient.
My suggestion would be to emphasise to the new owners that update on that day or deffinately the next morning would be much appreciated. It is hard to explain & most concerning breeders will know exactly what we feel, when a pup goes to a new home. Its just trying to get this over to new owners is not always easy to convey...some get it, some dont.

It is difficult, they are so excited about getting the pup that they sometimes forget all about person who brought them into the world, had sleepless nights, fretted etc etc.
My first bitch I kept in touch with the breeders and 14 years down the line I speak to the surviving partner on a weekly basis, she is like my mum :)
My male came from a well known breeder who says hello at shows, didn't want the softy bits that I would have liked to share.

Re our first litter there were 7, I tried to keep in regular contact but 11 years down the line I hear from 1 and that's because they had one from our last litter as well.
Second litter there were 5, I kept one and have contact with 1 other.
Final litter ( different bitch) there were 4, I kept one and hear regularly from one other. I send birthday cards with a health questionnaire and Christmas cards, they will be 3 in May, 2 of them are sporadic in their contact but I know that "no news is good news" I would like to have more contact but it is difficult getting the balance right.

my pups breeder added me as a friend on facebook and we often chat on there and we chat on the phone. When i brought my pup home my breeder phoned me a few times over the first couple of weeks to ask how i was getting on with her and if i was having any problems and offered advice when i needed it, the family who had her sister were having a few dificultys with there pup so they wanted to know how mine was doing. If i rember right either i called them as soon as we got home with er or they called me that day, cant rember which. I keep her updated if something happens like how a show went or when my pup got sick i let them know straight away on the way home from the vets and they called me every day to see how she was getting on. Ive never minded them calling as i had planned to keep in contact and look at them as friends/extended family, we have even been back to visit since.

I had a litter of 4 six months ago, I kept one and am friends with the other 3 owners on fb, one of them was a friend beforehand so I hear from her mostly and are arranging a second meet up for next week. The other went abroad, I hear from them regularly and they will always email with questions or wanting advice and sent pictures and even sent me a video of the eldest child doing some trick training with him which was fab. The other, although I am friends with the owner on fb, I do have some concerns and it is not helped by his lack of reply to my phonecall or email, but its one of those times when I just have to accept that the pup is very much loved and cared for but they may not be doing things the way I would, so contact is very limited but I wont hassle, I would much rather just bite my tongue and know(hope) that if they did have a serious problem they would come to me.

When we got our first dog I tried to keep in touch with the Breeder, I sent her photos and wrote her a letter with what he had been up to during his first year. I never heard back and so didn't bother after that. When I got my first Malinois I assumed all breeders would be like my labs breeder but how wrong was I?! I have now had 3 dogs from the same breeder, I email her photos of them and let them know how they are getting on and share the dogs news with her on Facebook and we set up a blog so that she can see what they are up to when she wants to.

One thing I didn't encounter on was how many friends I'd make with owners of litter mates. (and just within the breed) I have made great friends with 3 owners who had a puppy from the same litter as us. So much so that we now usually plan to do the same agility shows, email and text at least once a week and camp together at shows. We are even 'godparents' to one!!!

I have kept in contact with all the breeders I have had puppies from over the last 20 or so years (except one) and have actually become very good friends with some of them too. Much depends on you and if you "click" with them. Certainly in my experience I have found them to be so helpful and supportive, especially when I started showing.

With my own litter we have a FB page and all the puppy owners keep in touch via that, they are able to support each other as they are all going through the same stages together.  They have discussed, feeding, toilet training, training classes and even dog friendly holidays. We have found this very useful and our puppy owners have also loved being able to see how the other puppies are progressing and have made new friends too.  I suppose as time goes on we probably wont have so much contact but for the time being it works well.

I can only speak from the perspective of a puppy-buyer but I fully intend to keep my pup's breeder well informed :) I consider it a bit of an obligation because I know how I'd feel in her situation. We are facebook friends and have been since I registered on the waiting list so we're both able to keep each other in the loop and she can also see how my dogs live and what my life is like - and going back two of three years as well for as long as the fb account has been active so this will be a great boon when the pup comes home as sometimes one forgets to email etc etc but being abe to pop everything on facebook in one move is just so handy.

I'd also like to add that for some puppy buyers, there may be a feeling of not wanting to annoy the breeder by being in touch TOO much. For instance, my breeder and I exchanged piles of emails and messages etc etc in the run up to the mating and birth and now that the pups are here and very young she sends me links to photos etc and gives quick updates but I imagine she is so run off her feet that I am trying to give her space and not be bothering her. That has made me think 'I hope they don't think I've lost interest' but since I'm replying to the photos etc I doubt it has. I just can imagine how much she has going on now with a big litter and don't want to be the annoying 'customer' who won't go away....as I could happily talk dogs and pups 24/7 :D

One of my dog's breeders I'm still friends with although I have now lost the dog. Another two we just exchange Christmas cards and newsletters and the occasional email. The fourth one we mostly text, though not as much as when I first brought her home at the end of last year. As for my puppy buyers, one we are very good friends with, they visit us or I visit them most years (they live in America) and I get pics and updates regularly. The other one we get Christmas cards and occasional updates and pics. Got one a couple of days ago actually, they must be on holiday in France with the dogs judging from what she said! :-)

I ring all the owners of all the pup's i've bred once a year to find out if everything is alright, they do not mind and they send photo's.
When a pup leaves here i ring up the next morning to find out how the pup has been, i do ask if it is alright and they all say yes its fine.

BenjiW, don't take this as a criticism of you please, but your own experience will remind you that even the best of intentions as a new puppy owner are not always easy to live up to when it comes to sending photos, emails etc to the breeder.

With my first dog I was in reasonably regular touch with his breeder for the first couple of years and used to take him to gundog training days  she organised--not a small commitment since it was a 200-280 mile round trip, depending on where they were held. He's going to be 5 in October and we are still in touch--I email her on his achievements (he's doing his silver award now) and she has been tremendously generous with her time, advice and support. She still sees him at least 3 or 4 times a year since he always comes to the club shows (NFC--he hates the ring).

My other two boys are in a different situation since they regularly see their breeders at champ shows. Both these people are extremely busy with judging appointments here and abroad, showing their own dogs and are very much involved in breeding litters here and abroad, so I tend to contact them only when the boys have done well at a show, or passing their bronze, etc. They are always pleased to hear about their successes and ready to give advice when asked, but I'm reluctant to bother them unless I need to.

I suppose it is a bit of a balancing act you want to be there for new owners but not too pushy.

I thought a Facebook group was a really good idea, as the owners keep their privacy and there is no need to be facebook friends when really we aren't friends when people might want to keep their profiles private so I created a group and emailed all ten owners and already today five of them have joined which is great. I'm really hoping more will too but at least this gives them the option and I don't have to wonder whether I am being too pushy by contacting them. I will also send Christmas cards etc. The only problem might be if one or two owners really want to keep in touch but don't use facebook.

I'm not a facebok fan, is it easy to start a group?  The main reason I am even on there is to keep in touch with puppy owners.

Yes it is really easy to create a group. On the left hand side of your news feed there is a list of any groups you belong to and underneath that list it says "create group" click on that and it takes you through a few very simple steps and you can invite people to your group, set the security settings and you can make any members admin so more techie type people can tweak things accordingly if you like. I've got at least 5 of my owners there now so I can see my pups grow up, I'm so looking forward to it.