I now have 4 weeks to wait for my pup.. and time is passing very slowly i must say!
Having been speaking to my breeder a lot, she has suggested that (if it works for me) she bring my pup down with her as she is going to southern counties - as that would save me a 8-10 hour round trip. My question is would other people be happy picking a pup from photographs and video clips, or would they go up and see them first?
I can go either before the show (and before they would have made their pick - as they will make pick on day before show!) or go up after the show and bring him home myself. I have choice of 2 boys after she has picked for herself and her breeding partner.
If i go up before the show i can go by train, and do it in a day... if i go up to bring him home with me i have to go by car and overnight (which is not a problem), but have a dilemma as to how to contain the puppy for a 5 hour journey as am going to have to leave the other half looking after cleo.
Any ideas would be really helpful... What would you do?

hello !
i would go and see and choose for yourself !!!!!! see the parents, litter mates etcetcetcetc !!!! see Megbel's post 'boxer pup' in searching (?)
It is so important that you visit and see the litter mates and parents so you can see more or less what to expect from your puppy, see where it has been brought up, socialised, check that you are happy with everything before commiting yourself ! please !
you could always buy a puppy crate for the car to contain your new friend !!

OK I'm only a novice owner. But you seem to have a good relationship with your breeder and you know her lines (and your breed).

How about doing your option of going up to see the pups and mum in the flesh before the show and as near to it as you can, then you will be able to relate to the pups better by photograph etc.

Then if you are completely happy with the choice you are left with allow the breeder to bring the pup to you. This way you will not be tired and Cleo won't have missed you so be over excited when you get back:D

But if you are not completely happy/comfortable with the choices you have been left go again yourself and bring back the pup.

Just MHO

Anita

Reefer, I think that you are right. Unless one jumps out of the pics and shouts "have me!" i will go up and have a squis before the show. It just seems so much more sensible to do it this way - what with the driving, and then having a lost and lonesome pup in a crate for anything up tp 7 hours (traffic really can be bad), to return to a very hyper cleo when i get back. Plus the breeder has company to bring him down with.
I already know that i am going to take one of these pups whatever - and i know the bitch and the dog as well as the ancestors. I already have a fancy for the hobbit (as i call him) - born smaller, and is lighter than the others so maybe no good for showing, or may catch up - small and perfectly formed :D
Just wondered if anyone thinks that they can "see" a pup clearly from a good many pictures? I do not need to go and see how he was raised or see mum, as i know and trust the breeder, who has also bred 3 champions - so whether the pups are good and healthy is not really an issue because i know that they are.

Just thought a visit would help the pictures turn into a 3D effect:D Also a nice day out:)

Dizzy and Mari should be along later and I know they've done it by photograph so they should be able to tell you:)

Anita

Saraw is my pic lady :D, without her there would be no Berry pics , lol Mari

If you know and trust the breeder, know the parents and other family members, save yourself the stress and let her bring him, and if the hobbit is still thre and you want him, have him, lol!

I AM DEFFINITELY losing the plot , why did I think this thread was about pics :O
I did not read all the posts untill now , had a nagging doubt and came back to them
I did all my business with Linda on the net and phone , she sent week by week pics of their progress, she sent me hour by hour accounts of their progress , she grilled me like a steak I grilled her likewise , in the end we agreed , I was good enough owner for her pup. we have become good friends , Berry is happy and content , and doing very nicely. I am not saying everyone would be as trustworthy as Linda , but most good breeders only want the best for their well bred and well raised and cared for puppies. so it is worth it in the end. I would be equally as careful if selling one of mine so I appreaciate the concern . Pics are a good guide , as to how they are growing , and if they are thriving , but if you are buying without viewing you must make sure you can trust the breeder, Mari

Mari
Thanks for the advice! I do very much trust my breeder and have been in contact with her for nearly 18 months, and about twice a week since the pups were born. WE have both been slowly roasted and i trust her completely! She si especially attached to this liter as the last litter from the same mating did not survive (much like cleo's) and we have been very honest with each other.
My main question was - could you pick a pup from pictures, and even your answer really says no - as linda picked her for you? I am not concerned about the health and happiness of the pups as i don't doubt any of them will not be, just the personalities are so important to me because of the "aggression" of my breed.
Thus (:D) i have definately decided to go up by train and (if she is still happy to) have her bring him down for me - so i shall definatly be at the southern counties show! Also, i have promised her my old computer (no use to me), so it willl kind of be an exchange of goods!!!!! ;)

Hi,
I had my first litter last year.
With all bar one of the pups, I delivered them all to their new homes.
The new families had all been to see the pups and their mum in
their home environment.
I felt a lot happier doing this and I am sure it was less stressful on the
pup. As they went on the car journey with their mum and litter mates.
I also got to see their new homes and families in their new home environment too.
I would see the pups & mother in their own home environment first and if the breeder is kind enough to offer to bring down when they are old enough I'd accept their offer.
I'd never be able to pick a puppy from photo's alone, as you get no idea of character or temperament. Also in photo's some pups look
a lot different, optical illusions etc.
Kind Regards
Kirstine

yep, that is what i am going to do - all sorted now! Am going up the friday before (1st) to have a play and to pick (breeder has said they will have made their choices by then) and then she said she is happy to bring him down to the show on monday. She is not actually showing that day, but coming with her friend who has westies, and a transit van with lots of cages in so he will be well looked after on the journey! I am now very excited as it means i will be going to see him in 3 weeks and 1 day, and he will be coming "home" only 3 days after that - bless he'll only be a lit'lun too (6 1/2 weeks!). Now got to start obssessing about how to introduce him to cleo and the psychotic moggy :D
Spoke again today (obviously) and was getting all excited on the phone - as i tend to do - and she said that even she was getting excited about me having him!

Yippeeee! How exciting!!!! You willl report back won't you???????

Need I ask:D

Anita

I think i might be! But not going up for another 3 weeks... Probably hear from me before then ;)
Get pics in about 10 days though...!

Hi Cleo

Glad that you've got it all sorted now with the little fella .... Can't remember if you have chosen a name for him or not ;)

Nickie and I will be at Southern Counties on Terrier day so we must meet up :D

I let my Breeder pick Douglas for me and I was very lucky as she didn't want a dog puppy and he turned out to be the one that I liked from the start and the pick of the litter :D So I think I was very lucky ......

Take care

Derryn

Dessie,
Course we shall meet up, silly not too really! :D

Can't say that i'll be getting the pick, but as the breeder herself said you never really know how they will turn out at only 6 weeks! So who knows... Also, i have been to see a few litters and pick always seems to be a cocky little so and so (in SBT - needed for the ring too) and i always end up taking a fancy to the quiet ones - so i am sure it will all work out perfectly in the end !

Do you know what time showing is due to start on the monday?

Alex

Oh and he is to be called Deisel, unless it's the little one - where hobbit will probably stick, but sound a bit silly! Otherwise i am desperately trying to stop my mum calling it something ridiculous - losing battle so far :D Pretty sure it'll all change the minute i have him though!

Cleo is back to her old self as well - and now very annoyed with me cos she can't go for a walk, she has her stiches out tomorrow evening (early, because she barely moved for 4 days!) and we can get back to normal...

Still not entirely sure whether she will let me have the pick of 2 or 3 - but was supposed to get pick... Am sure i will end up with the one i am supposed to have though ;) Firm believer in fate me, and everything else is perfect!

Just thought i'd check another query (see it's taking over my life and i'm worrying olready ;) ) but is a show the best place to have a pup? I ask because i'd like to hang around (meet up with a few people maybe ;)) and watch the staffies, but am concerned about having the puppy in that environment, as a lot of desieses are air born? Plus if i'm realistic i shall probably just want to bundle him into the car and take him home!
Any thoughts?

Oh and Raven and the hobbit ar ein the running for names now - everyday my mum texts me with a new one! Told her to wait and see...

Personally I'd take him and run. You won't be able to leave him in the car whilst you have a wander round, will be too hot then, and you won't be able to leave him in the unentered dogs tent (assuming they have one) as he'll be too young and won't have had his jabs.

You also won't be able to carry him around with you as unentered dogs aren't permitted in the show ground and again he won't have had his jabs.

Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear. :(

Fiona
x x x

What i was expecting really - no matter, Shall collect him and get mark to take him to the car for a bonding session while i peg it round looking at stuff - then jump in the car and home by lunch time: just in time to intriduce him to a hyper cleo monster! - oh what excitment i have ahead of me!!!

Have a talk to Dessie. She collected Douglas at Crufts so she'll be able to offer practical advice on how it can be done.

Fiona
x x x

OOhhhh, didn't know that, thought it was on the way back or something! Excellent idea, cheers Fiona

Cleo,
Just a thought...if he's still a puppy & quite small, get a nice comfy shoulderbag, put a towel or pad on the bottom, make sure he can breathe, & there you go. No one needs know about him... That's why I love small dogs :D Happens all of the time around here. My crew are just a tad too large to be this inconspicuous, but if he's under 10 pounds ....... (shrugged shoulder)

oh, he'll be tiny (only 6 weeks and 3 days old!), but was a bit concerned about air-borne diseases what with all the concerns about whether a lot of the dogs at shows are even vaccinated... Think i shall give him to mark to have a play with, and hopefully then be able to have a quick look at things without having the equivelent of a bored 13 year old tugging at my sleeves! Have to slowly ease him into the idea of the showing thing - before he knows whats hit him he'll be the one driving everywhere!

Who knows though, the hobbit could be a little maniac! Come to think of it they are all going to be... can't wait though :D

I like Anita's option... It sounds like a good commonsensical suggestion. :D

Me common sense now there's a first:D
Anita

Just to show, there's always hope for the hopeless ;) :D

Well I would like to see the set up really ,We have just been invited to see a litter
of bouvier this weekend in the hope we can purchase a male that is in norwich
so that's two trips if we are successfull but well worth the trouble .

the breeder said I can see all her 11 dogs smashing great.

Patricia, it's not a case of not taking the trouble to drive up there. With this litter i was always allowed pick after the breeder and she said that i could pick when i was due to take him home as that is (in my opinion) the only time to choose the dog you want cos at 4-5 weeks there really is nothing to tell them apart. I am definately going to have one as everything is right - and i waited on this mating last year but it was unsuccessful. I know a few of this breeders dogs through the show ring, and personally and i know the stud dog by picture, and talking to the stud dog owner a lot i know his temprament and some of his offspring.
Just today she suggested that she bring him down to southern counties with her because she is coming down to show anyway, and that it may be easier on me. I am now just wondering whether to take her up on the offer, as i want to know if it is really possible to pick the right dog for you througha picture. Though i suspect i shall probably take the train up there to have a peek, unless she doesn't take the hobbit, then i shall have him all the way!

hi,
i have just driven 450+ miles this weekend that took me 8+ hours just to visit a breeder with a view to get on a waiting list for a pup in perhaps 12-18 months. i would never ever take a pup without seeing the set up, where the pups where born and raised and to meet both parents if possible, regardless of how many champions they have bred. i dont beleive you can pick the right pup judging from pictures, you need to spend time with them to asses their personalties and see which one takes to you.
whilst looking for my last pup i visited a breeder 3 times at a round trip of 4 hours, to see pups that were all spoken for just to get a feel for a good breeder and good healthy pups.
kelly

Hi Scratchy!

I don't think anyone would argue with you or your approach but Cleopatra has experience of the set up and the parents of these puppies, she also know the breeder well too. Also, in reality, as the breeder is keeping a dog pup and passing second choice to her breeding partner, there will only be a choice of two pups left.

If I was you Cleo, and under these specific circumstances, I'd opt for the least stressful method of transport for the puppy, with a pre-visit by train for you so you can meet the little fellows first. Then ensure your breeder knows everything about you, what you have planned for your puppy and the kind of life his is to expect, then trust her to match you with the puppy which will suit you best.

Good luck anyway! Exciting isn't it? :)

Linda

YeS Zicosmum, it is soooooooooooo exciting , and time just seems to be dripping past i don't know what s happened to it :D The breeder already knows all about me and my designs on the pup(!) and has hinted that maybe she won't be taking a dog for herself afterall , i don't know all this indecision flying around ;) I do want to pick the pup for myself based mainly on character but i wanted to hear of others experience of picking their dogs through non-direct means. Thinking back on it i would have chosen cleo out of all the others just by picture - so maybe there is something in it! I will be going up there to choose for myself, just so i can see their 2 (3?) characters clearly. I think i shall go on the preceeding friday before the show, so that i can't sleep all weekend with excitement! If she brings the pup down for it me it also means that i get him 2 days earlier than i would if i was going there to pick him up - you know that that makes all the difference!

I know exactly what you mean! Pup's breeder is going on holiday shortly after pup is ready to be collected and I have moved heaven and earth to make sure I collect him before she goes, or I'll have to wait a whole 'nother week!!!!!

I'm visiting him and his brothers and sisters this weekend - can't wait - but then have an agonising two weeks after that before he comes home. We're flying up and driving him back the following day, it'll be a seven hour car trip for him but I'll have hubby with me so hope it won't be too traumatic. And I'll get to cuddle him for all that time as Jean has said its OK - and in fact preferable - to hold them in your lap for the first journey :D Any excuse for a cuddle!!!!

Keep us all posted won't you!

Linda

I remember when we (me mum and i) drove cleo home for the first time. I was all excited about having a cuddle away from the litter mates (even though she had fallen aslepp on my lap already) for the whole 3 hour drive home. She however had other ideas: slithered off my lap the minute we got into the car adn promptly fell asleep in the footwell for the entire journey!

Typical! I'm sure Pup will be equally uncooperative :D

Yes i do know all of this - again i shall say i do know the breeder, the set up and the bitch - i have seen the sire at shows also. Going to see this litter is not about WHETHER i shall have one of these pups, but a case of WHICH ONE. Also this is my second staff and i have spent the intervening 3 years studying the breed and meeting good breeders, and i do know the difference.
PLease, i am not ignorant of the way things are done when choosing a pup - i went to see 3 litters before i picked cleo, and that is why i have done so much work learning about pedigrees and this litter has 3 of the lines i admire most in both sides of the pedigree. I also took aver 4 hours at the breeder of cleo to choose her, so i KNOW. The drive to see my breeder (not that i am saying it is too far, because why would i have even looked up there) is a 600 mile round trip - and as i have said i do not need to go up there to decide if i am going to have one, just which one.

I think you already know which one:D

just praying she doesn't decide to keep the hobbit - shall have to practice lots of jedi mind tricks on her so that she'll let me have him :D. May be quite confusing though, cos if i get him i shall always think of him as the hobbit, but his name is going to be deisel - poor thing will end up with a identity crisis!

Alex - keep calm :D - people are only trying to help and perhaps don't read all of the posts etc and "know" you and your set up from past postings. Don't forget it would not be that unusual for someone to ask a similar question on here who had not done the homework etc ;)

My personal view is you seem to know which one you like and if you go see them will probably still make the same decision BUT there is nothing like getting that physical spark in the flesh (:D) Whenever I've picked a dog I've known on meeting the litter for the first time which is mine ;) They could be identical in all ways BUT one has that something that says he/she's the one.

Sounds like a good idea for a pre show visit and then let the breeder bring him down (less stressful for pup from the sounds of it)

Sara :)

<there is nothing like getting that physical spark in the flesh >

:D We are still talking puppies here aren't we?;)

Sorry everybody - just getting a wee bit frustrated there :D

Sara, Thank you. i guess i always knew that i would be going up there and i am quite excitd about it really - quite an adventure the M1! Though train seems a much better plan. I do want to see them in the flesh and have a play, but the later the better IMHO because with SBT it is quite important to be aware of personality before you fall in love! But i was also interested in in others opinions about picking through pictures, IF you know the set up, breeder, bitch etc etc. I know some breeders who will pick the pup for you: hence zero choice, at least the picking through the pics you get one you like the look of - cos basically if someone puts a pup into your hands your a gonna anyway!
I hope that this makes sense and is maybe clearer in my intentions than my previous posts ;)

:D

I think that I would like to see them and pick one out, and then let the breeder bring it down to you. Yesterday, I went to see the litter that I am having a puppy from, and although I wasn't allowed to choose one yet, I certainly have a very good idea of the puppy I want. I don't think you can choose from a photo you really need to see them. I think it's worth the journey, that's my opinion any way.

If it's any comfort to you, I too have set my heart on a particular puppy and I also have to hope she is still there when I return as there are three people picking before me. Isn't it a difficult time?

Good luck

Debbie