hello,please can anyone tell me how many puppies are to be produced for it to be classed as a litter................1 puppy 2 puppies and so on,
i say 1 puppy is not a litter and 2 or more is.........am i right?

Surely a litter is however many puppies the bitch produces in that pregnancy ?? :)

Daisy

Agree with Daisy, after all we can say things like "There was only one pup in the litter." :)

A litter is a litter no matter how many pups, be it 1 or 10!

thank you for your speedy response on this topic.
i also say if only 1 puppy is born then this is a litter,however when i use my stud dog i always say if only 1 pup born then they get a free return,as i believe it to be fair, and as long as the breeder gets at least 2 puppies then that would be classed as a litter in my eyes i.e 1 pup for the stud fee and atleast 1 puppy for the breeder,i say this out of the kindness of my heart!!
i am only asking what other breeders class as a litter as someone is trying to relent on pick of litter as only 2 puppies were produced.
if anyone can offer advise on this topic that would be fantastic

Where I'm at, we usually have a signed agreement in advance. The wording usually something like  "a litter of at least two pups, alive at eight weeks" This to avoid any disagreement over if a new mating for free, or not should be offered, also like you say, when the full studfee should be payed. HTH
Karen

Surely it should be born live. Anything can happen between birth and 8 weeks, what if the bitches owner is incompetant why should they deserve another freebie mating?
Becky

Sorry Becky, I don't know. This is the wording that has been used a long time, maybe just because " it always used to be like that". And of course everyone is free to draw up their own contract. Of course you are right, if the pups are looked after in an incompetent way, why should the stud dog owner loose out? Then there is always the risk of infections, and of course in our breed ridgelessness, or even worse, sinus. Pups with sinus are pts. over here, I know this varies.
Karen

....Seen as the bitch defines how many puppies are in a litter I would think the bitch owner would be on daft ground trying to complain about 2 pups being in a litter. Fustrated maybe, but can't go taking it out on anyone else or backing out of prearranged contracts!

Di

In my eyes, as long as the bitch produces a pup...that is a litter.

Me too

The owner of the stud I've used actually promised half the stud fee if there were only a small litter, but all of this is stuff that needs to be in writing before mating.

One pup is a litter in my eyes too!

hiya all.thank you for your replies,it seems to me that there is a lot of dodgy breeders out there who plan this sort of thing from day one-like the breeder i have been in contact with,does anyone know of a site where you can name and shame people like this!! i would not like for someone else to get stung like i have! all info much apprieciated.cheers deb

i agree entirely