seven weeks ago my patterdale bitch had 8 puppies. i would like to keep one as company for her. Will keeping one of her puppies be company for her? and if so should I keep a dog or a bitch or doesnt it matter. Should I choose the most confident? is there an issue of keeping a less dominant puppy?

Looking forward to your replies

Roma

I would keep a dog if I was you I htink they mix better. IMHO.

I have a bitch and a dog and the love each other.

Pam

is the dog one of your bitches puppies? Do you know if they are more or less likely to get on if they are mother and 'son'

I would keep a dog and have him neutered. You will have to be very careful when she has her next season as its possible her could father puppies. Have him neutered just before her next but one season is due. If you dont think you can cope with this I would keep a bitch puppy from the middle of the pecking order, ie not the most dominant bitch.

I would keep a dog too. Don't know about having him neutered though, soonerhave the bitch speyed, may be more beneficial to her later.
Dawn.

Roma,

My bitch is 13 months and my dogs is 7 1/2 months form different litters. My bitch it the boss.

There is for and against spaying etc but if they are pets I would dress them both not just one.

Hope this helps

Pam

thank to for all your very helpful replies. It has helped me to decide to keep a dog and concider having them both spade.
Can you tell me more about the disadvantages of doing this. I know its a big operation for the bitch.

Hi Roma.
It is a VERY routine op for a bitch to be speyed as is the dog to be castrated. I have 3 entire males with no problems, I don't see the point in having them castrated, there are problems that can be attributed to un-neutered dogs in later life though, like prostate problems. Bitches however, can get numerous problems, all of which can kill them. Pyometra (womb infection) very quickly fatal if signs not noticed. Mammary tumors are fairly common, but more so in unspeyed bitches, these too can be bad news.
Dawn.

I have kept both dog & bitch pups from terriers, both seem to be fine, but then my line is a very placid one. my Uncle breed Patterdales, keeping both sexes, but find two females together a bit much at times.

I would personally never routinely spay a bitch, it is a major operation and not without long term side effects,which often vets either fail to tell you, or gloss over. It is also very expensive and a great money spinner for the vets. The risks and side effects of neutering a dog are far less, the surgery is more or less un-invasive and recovery is far quicker. Just my opinion.

sounds a bit like male and female humans!! I can see this is a thorny question.

Two of the dogs in the litter are the most dominant, growling at feed times (although they have a bowl of food each) and over toys and challenging thier Mum. She definantley lets them know she is the boss, but looks taken back at times! It is one of these dogs I would was thinking of keeping, is this sensible?