Freya's puppies have all gone to their new homes now, except for one.  Bertie wasn't breathing when he was born and stopped breathing several times in the hours that followed.  He was always very very skinny with his hips and shoulder blades being very visable.  Even after weaning he never put much 'meat' on and it is only now he is on raw that he is piling on the weight.  Physically he is tiny - half the size of his litter mates and facially looks as his litter mates did when they were 5 or 6 weeks old (Bertie is now 11 weeks old).  He is, however, a little demon, chasing the other dogs around and playing and eating well. 

The thing is, my husband now thinks that now he has put weight on we should contact someone on our reserve list and see if they want him.  Now even though the vet says Bertie is now fit and well, he doesn't think he will ever catch up in the height stakes, although I guess only time will tell.  Also, I am very attached to Bertie after all the care I have given him, all the trips to the vets, giving him his medicines, bottle feeding him etc.  Given that we have the other five dogs, including two five month olds (I know, I must need my head looking at!) do you think it is a good idea?  He fits into the household so well, and we love him to bits, but want to do whats best for him.  What would you do...?

Keep him ;) :D

Aw - gotta keep him!   Bertie - see, he's in with the woodwork now :P

Definitely keep him

I say KEEP HIM too, but you obviously have some doubts, hence the post ;)

  i dont know any history to this so dont jump down my throat but surely you would be keeping one anyway? why else breed?

Keep him

sorry gonna av to be different lol.
if it was me and i loved him as much as you then ide want to keep him,but with 5 dogs & 2 5mth olds (dogs/kids) to look after r you rearly gonna have the time to devote to him?
ide give some1 else the chance to enjoy him as they would be able to give him the 1 on 1 a pup needs,but at the end of the day its your decision thats just wat i think ide do :)

Surely this must be a rhetorical question :D my guess is you are simply looking for moral support on a decision already made :D :D

I have 9 dogs..... 2 are only 6months, 1 at 11 weeks and another little girl just 7 weeks.....

You got my vote....I say keep him :D :D :D

We can keep each other company in the padded cell *mine is already booked, but you can share ;)

After our one and only litter we had a pup with entropian.  Depite all assurances to my son that we wouldn't be keeping a pup, he's still here!

Keep him!

If you don't mind hard work, cus they get worse before better of course, then keep him.

Aww, keep him :)

Hi

You were not planning on keeping anything from this litter and if you were would it be a male? 

How would another adult dog fit into your life.

If you have a super home lined up I would let him go.You have to be practical and think ahead. if he will fit in and you would like another dog keep him.

But for his sake dont decide to keep him and then 6 months later decide it was the wrong thing to do and then rehome him. Not saying you will do this just meaning if you are going to rehome him do it when he is still young and will settle better.

Can I ask if the vet has given a clean bill of health? Is he expected to live a normal (hopefully long) life? If so I would pass him on to someone who could give him a loving home. Unless you love him so much that you couldn't be without him :D It's not an easy decision to make, but with 2 youngsters in the home already I don't think you could really give them each the individual attention they need (this coming from someone who kept 3 from the same litter once never again ;) )

That would be my reaction too. This little chap is so special he deserves to have a lot of individual attention rather than being a number in a group. :)

Personally if I had a super home lined up he'd be going that way where he can be spoilt rotten.   I had a bitch pup from my last litter who was half the size of her Sherman tank sized brother, she was nicknamed 'Babybird' because she was small & fragile.   To look at her now you'd never think she'd been like that and she is only a smidgeon smaller than my girls who are smack bang in the middle of the height standard.

Don't let your heart rule your head, you have 2 x 5 month olds already.

We can keep each other company in the padded cell *mine is already booked, but you can share 

Will try and give you a ring tomorrow to book the padded cells for all us crew in a couple of weeks time :rolleyes: :D :D

How are we going to cope Indigo will be in hogs heaven and Flo will be as well :D

Not sure about me and Mike :p  Ample supplies of wine will help I think ;) :D

Lucy
xx

If you have looked after FIVE other dogs, and a litter of
pups, plus saved Bertie. who, is fitting in with your family !!
I say KEEP him :-)
IMO

Donna

What breeds are your other 5 dogs, Louise?  Especially the 2 5 month olds?  Are they all Weimaraners?  If the 2 five month olds are Weimaraners, I'd say you're mad to have 2 the same age, let alone then consider keeping another one!!   In fact, whatever the breed of the 2 5 month olds, I don't see how you can keep an 11 wk old Weimaraner and still give all the training, space and time that they need.

IF you have a great home with people desperate to have him and give him lots of cuddles, and IF the vet thinks he should lead a relatively normal life for a normal length of time, I'd say let him go. Otherwise keep him! :-)

my mum has one pup that she really loves the look of him, and has not let him due to this feeling she has for him, we have all thought about the logistics of keeping a pup.
she has 3 other dogs- 2 fully mature, and one large breed whos 20 months old, we looked at the space,time and energy she would have for him and decided yes to keep him!
we have a slight doublt as to whether he will clash when growing up with the 20 month old- as they are both males and same breed and have their bits, but by the time the pup is 6 months old the adolescent will be over 2- so hopefully they will sort it out themselves.

what im saying is that mum doesnt have as many dogs or as many young dogs as yourself- if she did i dont think she'd even consider keeping another.

I know what you are going through. 

We had one little boy, born by C Section, who took a long time to get going.  He wouldn't latch on to the teat and in the end was hand fed up to two weeks when he finally got the hang of it.  He was smaller than the others and way behind in development.  We thought then that we would keep him although we were keeping a bitch anyway.  As he got older he started to catch up and go way beyond what the others were doing, he is stronger moves like a dream and it just the most beautiful little boy. 

We had been contacted by the the most amazing couple who had recently lost a puppy so were desperate to have another (no contagious illness involved).  They had been on my list for some time but saw the other pup and just felt they had to have him rather than wait.  Any way to cut a long story short.  We let our precious boy go to this lovely couple and he is so happy as are they.  They come to visit us and Spot comes too, although he has a new name now.  It was the right thing to do.  He is getting one to one and they are all very happy. 

Of course he fits in with the family, any pup would! I could keep them all. :-)

Personally now he is fit and well I would send him off to a much loved home, you have given him a great start now let someone else love and spoil him.

You obviously weren't planning on keeping one of the litter to start with, and already have a rather large pack, so don't change your mind now.  Remember there is always the possibility of a change in circumstances with one of the other pups new owners, you always need to make sure you have room for a returned pup maybe a few years down the line as the breeder you need to always keep this in mind.

Take joy in photo's and even visits of Bertie with a new family, you have done a wonderful job in raising him, let him go and bring joy to a loving home now.

I would say find him a super home too. you have done all you can for him, he's obviously loved, but think past puppyhood and see the grown version, over the next 12 years, and think of the plans you have to continue your line. It may be that in a couple of years or so you may want to keep a puppy back, your numbers will be rising and that will put a lot of commitments on your time, space and pocket. Had he not been small etc, he would be bouncing around in his own home now, I know you have grown close to him, but find him a loving pet home where they will def send you pics of him growing and maybe even allow visits. Your hands are full with two youngsters, another bouncy boy may cause more problems regarding training etc as he gets older and stronger minded, I'm sure you could cope as you know the breed so are not letting yourself in for a shock, but the hard work with 3 youngsters may make you feel you wished you had homed him at 11 weeks. Thats a natural reaction, not that you dont love and care for him. Keeping a boy was not in your plans when you bred the litter, so be kind to yourself and let him go. hes young enough to settle, eaiser now than later.