Hi all. Well I'm hoping to get another pup this summer (prob another cav as OH is not swaying on a yorkie .... yet!) and I'm in a bit of a dilema. We are off to Florida for a 2 wk break (returning to honeymoon destination to celebrate 4 yr and our 30th b days) and I'd rather wait until we return to pick up a pup. With our first girl the breeder kept her on for an extra 4 wks as we had a weekend in Prague and didn't want to get her and then unsettle her but the second one we picked up 2 days after phoning. I'd like to delay pick up if the pup is ready before we go as my parents are looking after the dogs  and it isn't fair to unsettle a new pup and i don't think my parents are ready for a little pup. I'd like to select a pup before we go but this may mean the breeder keeping the pup until we return. Would breeders be happy to do this?

If you explain to them that you have a holiday booked and would like to leave the puppy with them until you return most breeders will be quite happily keep it a bit longer. After all, you are thinking of the puppy first, which is what breeders like to hear. :)

If the puppy has a chance of a fantastic home, then Im sure any reputable breeder would be only more than happy to accomodate!

...Just to give a slightly different perspective on this, of course good homes are the priority for breeders, however, that said, peoplke that ask for puppies to stay on make life extremely difficult for the breeder, themselves and the dog.

Especially for 4 weeks as the poster said. This is a lifetime to a 8 week old puppy in terms of socialisation, settling in, having its innoculations and so on. Also, unless you breed its hard to explain how, when the pups go, its a breath of fresh air. You plan the litter for months, work like ballyho on it for 8 weeks, then maybe keep a puppy, maybe not. Maybe for a toy breed things are different but if you have kept a puppy yourself you want it to get into your routine. You want it to have its innoculations and start going out by a month after 8 weeks of age. You want to make it YOURS, and focus on you, not crash about with a litter sibling for 4 weeks. You want to get it cage trained and well on its way to housetraining and used to being with the older dogs, not nursemaiding a boarder. You don't necessarily want to have to keep the pup you keep in the puppy shed as the second pup needs company for a month or two weeks or whatever. Yes you can have the boarder pup it in as part of the household but thats very hard if you have kept a pup yourself, less so if not. Its a huge huge amount of work to keep a pup half the time again it has already been with the breeder, which seems like forever when you are living it, especially with a large litter ;-) Its a huger amount of work keeping two for that mad month after the litter when you could use a bit of peace and recouperation.

You need that pup home and with you from its young impressionable age, settling, having its jabs and learning about your routine.

For me, I won't keep a pup an extra month. Thankfully I have enough nice homes to not have to agree to this but I am always gentle and always point them in the direction of another litter which fits their timescale.

Alternatively, if they were only going away for a week about a month after the pups left, then i'd happily have the pup back for that week. Not ideal for us or it, but essential rather than boarding kennels.

Just another perspective.
Di

I have to say I totally agree with Di here.

Pups go to their new homes at 7 wks (for most breeds)...for a reason!  Because a breeder (MOST breeders) just cannot put all the effort into socialising a pup with all the many things s/he should meet before 12 wks.

Personally, even if a breeder told me they would keep a pup for me, I wouldn't want that arrangement as a puppy-buyer, for socialisation reasons.  Even if a breeder told me they would "socialise", I would be worried that their idea of thorough socialisation wouldn't be the same as mine.  I would look for a litter which would meet my timescale or I would wait longer after I returned from holiday for one. 

This is always the best idea IMO (we did it with our litter) but be prepared to pay a deposit if not one required anyway or a higher deposit, just so the breeder knows you are coming back.

Thats what i was hoping for really. I have no probs with paying a higher deposite if required I just hope we're considered suitable!! Thing is I'd really like a ruby cav and you don't come across many so if one comes up before the hols then great. Fingers crossed

Are you hoping to show this one mollymoto?  If so it's time to start making contact with the right breeders! :D

I'd like to but don't know where to start with the whole showing thing. All these questions like how do you know they're a reptible breeder (I wouldn't buy from the keenel we got Molly from as I feel, looking back, that her dogs were money makers really, and Freyas breeder was just a pet breeder whom adored her dogs)? Thinks I've managed to master, just about, the cav coat grooming so that wouldn't be to bad.

The thing to do is to contact the breed club and go to their Open/Champ shows, or any of the many general Champ shows that are now on most weekend through the summer.  Look at the dogs.  You'll never have seen so many Cavaliers in one place! ;)  To start with they'll all look the same to you but as you get your eye in, you'll see the differences!  Talk to the exhibitors.  Choose one whose dogs are consistently placed - not necessarily the top breeder.  Tell them that you'd like to learn about showing and ask to go on their waiting list.

The most important thing is don't be in a hurry and take your time.  This will bring you up to No3 and if you make a mistake, you'll have too many in the 'cuddle box' to buy another!

It's a new world that you're investigating and it's good to have someone who'll help you along the way. :)

Well I know what you mean about them looking the same. My 2 look different but when we went to crufts to see them this yr it was like a see of cavs. I'm going to start contacting some show owners about this and then look at getting on some lists. If i decide on definatley showing i may have a long wait for a ruby but it'd be worth it. :)

I once kept a pup for an extra 5 weeks due to the new owners being on a cruise, I knew he was going to a fantastic home and was going to be lavished with lots of love and he is sooooooo.... happy now. But I know a lot of breeders won't do it, for all the reasons wylanbriar has come up with, and most of my colleagues thought me completely mad!

It will depend on the breeder, after all there is all the extra hard work of socialising, training and the extra food and time is a lot to ask some people to do, when they can place their pup immediately with someone else.

I personally don't think I would do it again, 2 weeks would be my absolute max, as of course the pup bonds so closely with the breeder and the breeder more so to the pup when left with us for longer, it was very hard for me letting him go.

If it is a first time litter you may have more luck with a breeder, us old timers know the pitfalls of keeping a pup well passed 8 weeks.

I wish you luck as I know you will give a pup a great home. :-)

Hi,

If you find the right breeder shouldn't have any problems with any aspect of taking on an older puppy. I got my bitch puppy at 4 months old from the breeder as she was running on two bitch puppies with show potenial and basically she couldn't decide which one she wanted to keep.

Bearing in mind it was the breeders choice to run her on, she took the puppies to Ringcraft classes, house trained them, socialized them, took them down to the shops, played with them and did everything you would expect. She did a fantastic job of rearing her puppies and it really showed.

When I collected my little girl she settled in immediatley I have had no problems with her at all, she is a very happy, well balanced puppy who is a pleasure to own. So if you get the right breeder you should be ok.

Goodluck :)

P.S Love Cav's my first dog was a Cav called Claude and he was a lovely chap!

I think it might depend on the breed too.  In my breed it is quite normal to still ahve pups up to about 12 weeks if theyre has been a lot of one sex born for example as we have few litters and enquiries to match, so going for a litter where timing suits may not be an option for the new owner, or the breeder either.

I can't remeber a litter of mine where I ahve had all pups homed by 8 weeks, for one reason or another I have usually ahd a pup for extra time, due to homing arrangements, sometimes to do with export timings, sometimes owner travel arrangements, bu6t then my pups rarely go locally.

Thanks carrington. Ideally I would love to have the pup by 10 wks of age so I'd be looking for a pup that was ready at the start or during the holidays. Theres just so much to take into consideration and I wishes I'd booked the holiday for the start of the summer hols now but that was last summer and i didn't know about another dog by then. I'll keep you updated. :)

I have kept pups for planned holidays (expect to fuly pay for pup before you go), and have done it both ways.

Where the holiday allowed the people to take pup for a couple of weeks and bring her back to me while on holiday worked best, as pup had already gotten to know it's new owners and home, and coming back to me was no worry.

I also kept a pup until 16 weeks, and really it woudl ahve been better in my option for the pup to spend 6 weeks iwth it;s new family and then come back, but they diod live a much further distance from me.

I would also expect to pay the breeder for boarding after the pup is 12 weeks of age.

I would agree with letting the pup go with new owner at usual time for some of the reasons mentioned, in particular by Di. I have a puppy coming back after 4 weeks with the new owner, for a week, and we have agreed to stick to a similar routine to make this easier re timings. I would expect the puppy I have kept to be heading towards being house trained etc so am going to have to work hard to make sure neither slip back and I know I would have struggled to find time for the amount of socialisation required if I had kept puppy on for longer. It's only for a week and it will be half term so extra help around. Again personal choice but I think I would want my puppy anyway from 8 weeks as I wouldn't want to miss this stage of their development.

Hopefully I can pick a pup that is ready the week of the hols of during it so the breeeder isn't put out. I do have 2 wks holidays before and after the break so i could always arrange to take the pup for the 2wks is required and then board with the breeder afterwards. Decisions decisions. This is why I'm trying to get things sorted sooner rather than later. Thanks Brainless

I have contacted a breeder that we contacted in the past (didn't get pup as timing wasn't right). She would be willing to keep a pup if there was a suitable one whilst we had our holiday. Thanks for all the advice. I would rather get a pup when ready but if its 1 or 2 weeks later and the breeder is happy with this then thats great. Well now we'll have to cross our fingers and wait. :)

I personally am happy to keep one or two at most for another week or two -but longer would make it difficult exactly for socialisation reasons. The thing is, in my breed if people lose out on a litter they may have another year to wait until there is anmother one in the country, and it isn't always easy to find the ritght kind of buyer as they can never go as pets only so  it's in the breeders' best interest too to hold on to the good buyers. :)

Not quite the same situation, but similar with any numerically small breed which minecis to.

Sometimes a buyer can't choose the ideal time for a pup due to availability or lack thereof and smae for the breeder, sometimes there just aren't the prebooked homes.  bitch has more pups, a potential owner changes their mind, or you get more pups than you bargained for, or the wrong sex.

It isn't fair to take excessive orders for pups before they are born and hang on to reserve owners when you know you may be letting people down who may ahve a long wait to get another pup from another litter when you wasted their time.

I won't take more than 3 bookings for each sex, and any after that I say I will contact, if there are enough pups, or woudl they prefer to book with another breeder for a later litter but be higher up the list.