Have you ever had puppies?

[Birker2020]

You’ve sold Lari? Did I miss a thread?

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I haven't. I tried to, as it was an option open to me (with full disclosure) in order to recoup some money to get another horse to ride, but I was heartbroken and miserable whilst he was away and really missed him. But he played up for the rider as he had me and then I believe he suffered an over reach again which meant he went lame on the hard and so as he wasn't saleable he came home again. He's with me at the moment until I reach a decision about where we are going next in terms of vet intervention. He looks quite good on the lunge at the moment and we are contemplating medicating the neck next. Then back to school, with strict four or five time a week riding by a sales livery guy on our yard to get him back to where I think he was before I bought him with a view to me getting on again in a lesson format.

We are thinking (vet/physio/me) that the constant work prior to his accident with me was the glue that kept him together and the enforced R&R made the glue come unstuck somewhat and highlighted problems that had been avoided with constant work. And the fact the vendor told me he needed regular work (like 5 times a week).

 

[Aru]

I breed. I also health test and screen homes to try and match puppies to the most suitable homes. I offer ongoing lifetime support and encourage puppy school,basic obedience training etc so they have the best chance end up with the a well behaved dog from the healthy happy puppy I sell them.
I also have a policy that I will take any of my pups back into my care at any point in their lives their owner cannot keep them. I still get pictures and updates from my puppies owners and we follow each other on facebook and instragram etc. I am also still in touch with the original breeders of my own dogs.
Responsible breeding is also needed if we want to continue to have responsibly bred and raised dogs who have a good start to live and are being bred for a purpose..even if that purpose is simply to be a adaptable sane and healthy family pets. It's just going to be pet is not a good enough reason to not try and produce the healthiest dogs and give them the best start in life possible.
Not everyone wants a rescue dog.
The dogs I want to live with are a set type of dog with predicable traits and I like to raise them from birth or a young age.

Pet overpopulation and rescue euthanisa stat's etc are not controlled by simply trying to stop all breeding imo or by legislation and having lots of hoops to jump through(commercial farms can learn to jump through the hoops if its profitable enough) . It's also imo controlled by managing it and educating the public into what they should be expecting from their breeders when they buy a dog and making all people in the chain more responsible for their choices.. I also approve of the likes of puppy lemon laws and basic care expections being placed on all breeders...but the buyers also have to start being held responsible for their role in the issue.
Remove the market and profit for puppy farming and it will reduce some of the poor breeding.

Controversially I am pro euthanisa for severe behavioural issues and aggression ESPECIALLY in a rescue situation.
I'd rather euthanise and open space to continue to be able to take surrenders and strays then keep the mentally unstable and dangerous dogs in kennels and end up euthanising others from lack of space.
The majority of people do not have the ability(or in many cases the desire)to handle severe behavioural issues.

I do think it's all down to exposure and education of the public though. Many people just don't think their lifetime commitment through when they take on a dog! A lot of people don't even do the basics in research of their breed let alone their breeder. It's trying to educate the public is what should be expected from a breeder and their own responsibility in the situation(you condemn the puppies mother into a lifetime of poor conditions when you buy a pup out of pity or to save it instead of reporting the poor conditions to welfare and tax revenue etc) eventually help with dog overpopulation. Between encouraging better breeding practices and making the puppy buyers more savvy so poor breeding isnt financially encouraged there's a better chance to see longterm change then simply banning all breeding imo.

 

[Moobli]

Good post Aru and all your points I’d agree with. I never understand the idea of “it’s just going to be a pet so …. ” … when being a pet dog in modern society is actually one of the hardest “jobs” a dog has to do.

 

[P3LH]

Parents did way back when, I can’t really remember. In living memory and as an adult, it’s the only thing I don’t remember having!

The plan this time was that I was always going to take a little from my Pembroke bitch. She was from the end of a line of very good corgis, of which no more will be bred. She turned out a great example of breed, albeit a headstrong and bossy madam. I wanted one back. Always the plan, sire’s picked out too. She’s booked in to be speyed next month now.

For me it was a mix of things:
The breed have quite big pups and are notorious for needing c-sections/emergency c-sections after passing the little ones first.
They are in demand but not, in my opinion, by the right type of owner.
She doesn’t like vet care/vet handling so should she need help, it wouldn’t be fun. Her natural temperament would not suit all owners, and she has needed consistent and very firm handling to prevent gremlin tendencies/in order to ensure she remains a civilised part of society. Her dam is quite similar, so I think any potential grand daughters would be. Therefore I’d worry about future homes.
I get worried when they’re sick, let alone anything else.
I’d worry about losing her.
I’d worry about losing pups.
I’d worry about the quality of homes.
Plus the big one, we ended up seeking a dog pup of same breed and similar breeding last autumn - so really, he’s taken the space of any pup we’d have bred to keep because I knew then that Id not end up taking one, as the risks are just too high.


Too many people take too many litters. Simple. Even when a bitch has a lot to offer I don’t think enough thought is always given to the new, living, dogs you are creating - and where do they go? How do you find the perfect homes and committed, knowledgeable owners?

I know id produce at least one in a litter (she’s one of four, the other three are very chill and mellow - like the sire) like my bitch. I can’t envision many homes from the current influx of ‘I want a corgi’ owners (who in the main treat a hard wired, stubborn, stock dog as a baby / lapdog) who would be suited for a pup/multiple pups like this. They’d be nightmares if mismanaged and as I said, I’d then worry what their lives would be like.

 

[P3LH]

I breed. I also health test and screen homes to try and match puppies to the most suitable homes. I offer ongoing lifetime support and encourage puppy school,basic obedience training etc so they have the best chance end up with the a well behaved dog from the healthy happy puppy I sell them.
I also have a policy that I will take any of my pups back into my care at any point in their lives their owner cannot keep them. I still get pictures and updates from my puppies owners and we follow each other on facebook and instragram etc. I am also still in touch with the original breeders of my own dogs.
Responsible breeding is also needed if we want to continue to have responsibly bred and raised dogs who have a good start to live and are being bred for a purpose..even if that purpose is simply to be a adaptable sane and healthy family pets. It's just going to be pet is not a good enough reason to not try and produce the healthiest dogs and give them the best start in life possible.
Not everyone wants a rescue dog.
The dogs I want to live with are a set type of dog with predicable traits and I like to raise them from birth or a young age.

Pet overpopulation and rescue euthanisa stat's etc are not controlled by simply trying to stop all breeding imo or by legislation and having lots of hoops to jump through(commercial farms can learn to jump through the hoops if its profitable enough) . It's also imo controlled by managing it and educating the public into what they should be expecting from their breeders when they buy a dog and making all people in the chain more responsible for their choices.. I also approve of the likes of puppy lemon laws and basic care expections being placed on all breeders...but the buyers also have to start being held responsible for their role in the issue.
Remove the market and profit for puppy farming and it will reduce some of the poor breeding.

Controversially I am pro euthanisa for severe behavioural issues and aggression ESPECIALLY in a rescue situation.
I'd rather euthanise and open space to continue to be able to take surrenders and strays then keep the mentally unstable and dangerous dogs in kennels and end up euthanising others from lack of space.
The majority of people do not have the ability(or in many cases the desire)to handle severe behavioural issues.

I do think it's all down to exposure and education of the public though. Many people just don't think their lifetime commitment through when they take on a dog! A lot of people don't even do the basics in research of their breed let alone their breeder. It's trying to educate the public is what should be expected from a breeder and their own responsibility in the situation(you condemn the puppies mother into a lifetime of poor conditions when you buy a pup out of pity or to save it instead of reporting the poor conditions to welfare and tax revenue etc) eventually help with dog overpopulation. Between encouraging better breeding practices and making the puppy buyers more savvy so poor breeding isnt financially encouraged there's a better chance to see longterm change then simply banning all breeding imo.

I’m glad it’s not just me - there are simply some dogs and some cases where euthanasia is the best, right and only thing to do. I have practised what I preached on one occasion with a dog too. Some dogs are a time bomb in society, for a variety of reasons.

 

[Snowfilly]

I’ve bred whippet and labs before now, all lovely, sound steady and useful pups with a waiting list (I chickened out and kept one of the lab pups once, he looked so like his dam I couldn’t let him go.)

I have no interest whatsoever in dealing with a rescue, and have had all of mine from pups from small scale breeders. One whippet was from a friend who worked them, who lived about 5 miles away but the rest have been lo distance buys.

I can see the parents, check the temperament and see the pup’s attitude as well as looking at health records - the labs have always been tested from here to next year, although the whippets health tests tended more towards ‘still working at X age.’

A rescue, even of a certain breed, has none of that so I’m not prepared to risk it. A dog is a huge investment and I want to do away with as many risks as possible - it doesn’t always work, I lost a whippet at 6 years old to a heart attack while running and another to cancer at 9 which may have been genetically linked as her dam died the same way, at only 8. But it’s a good starting point.

Plus I haven’t got the skills to handle or retrain a difficult dog. I have to select all mine for an easy attitude and do the best I can; I’d have no clue how to manage a reactive or aggressive dog. Little pups are easy, you’re starting from scratch so there’s nothing to undo.

 

[Clodagh]

Plus I haven’t got the skills to handle or retrain a difficult dog. I have to select all mine for an easy attitude and do the best I can; I’d have no clue how to manage a reactive or aggressive dog. Little pups are easy, you’re starting from scratch so there’s nothing to undo.

I agree with your whole post but this did resonate, I too couldn’t manage a dog that needed very special handling.

 

[MurphysMinder]

I can see the parents, check the temperament and see the pup’s attitude as well as looking at health records - the labs have always been tested from here to next year, although the whippets health tests tended more towards ‘still working at X age.’

A rescue, even of a certain breed, has none of that so I’m not prepared to risk it. A dog is a huge investment and I want to do away with as many risks as possible - it doesn’t always work, I lost a whippet at 6 years old to a heart attack while running and another to cancer at 9 which may have been genetically linked as her dam died the same way, at only 8. But it’s a good starting point.

Plus I haven’t got the skills to handle or retrain a difficult dog. I have to select all mine for an easy attitude and do the best I can; I’d have no clue how to manage a reactive or aggressive dog. Little pups are easy, you’re starting from scratch so there’s nothing to undo.[/QUOTE]


I agree with all of the above, I may at one point have had the skills and been happy to take on a challenging dog, but now I just don't want to go down that route.
Having lost my GSD unexpectedly in April I have always known I would have another shepherd, but was not actively looking yet. By chance I heard of a possible litter with lines I love , so have stepped up my interest . I have been able to research the lines, and health tests back to the 80s and could go further if I wished, you don't get that with a rescue and it is so important to me.

 

[CorvusCorax]

A watched a video of one of the brats doing their BH last night and felt slightly vindicated lol. That's three now, I will have to get my finger out.

 

[CrunchieBoi]

I've never even had a puppy much less multiple puppies. I think the you gest dog we've ever had was about 3 when we got him.

 

[druid]

Yep, several Springer spaniel litters and currently have our first Manchester Terrier litter cooking. All health tested, all proven in the field, all bitches have at minimum a field trial award before being considered for a litter. I have a FTCh fully health tested stud dog also, he does cover untested/partially tested bitches on ocasion. The Mannie I didn't really intend to breed but she has proven herself in the show ring and in dog sports - they're a vulnerable native breed and she has unusual imported blood lines as does the Int Multi Ch sire we used over her giving the lowest COI for any litter registered recently and avoiding all the lines implicated in renal problems in the breed.