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When do they go home??
- Thread starter rory
- Start date
Bruce H
Well-known member
They start going to their new homes next week at about 11 weeks old. Normally we like to wait til they are 12 weeks old, but this litter (and Star's litter, too) have done so well. For whatever the reason, these two litters have been the easiest and fastest to mature that we ever had. Anna's litter is a repeat breeding with a male we used last year; last years litter was also easy, but not as easy as this. I guess a little good luck is nice to have once in a while. When we first started out if it hadn't been for bad luck, we wouldn't have had any luck at all.
Let me tell you, it's going to be hard to let these go! Both Kris and I are really getting attached to them. I have a feeling it's going to be a little misty around here when they start going home. I have always said the day a puppy leaves is both a very happy (for the new owners) and a very sad day for us. But then it has always been hard to let the litters go; guess that's the difference between a small breeder like ourselves and a puppy mill where the puppies are nothing more than a product to be quickly moved out the door to make room for the next product. Can you tell I don't like puppy mills?!
Let me tell you, it's going to be hard to let these go! Both Kris and I are really getting attached to them. I have a feeling it's going to be a little misty around here when they start going home. I have always said the day a puppy leaves is both a very happy (for the new owners) and a very sad day for us. But then it has always been hard to let the litters go; guess that's the difference between a small breeder like ourselves and a puppy mill where the puppies are nothing more than a product to be quickly moved out the door to make room for the next product. Can you tell I don't like puppy mills?!
Moviedust
Well-known member
Bruce, do you think that having two litters at the same time helped the dogs mature faster? Having lots of other pups to compete with for mom, food, humans, etc. would probably propel the dog's forward in their development.
If this is true.... It MIGHT be worth considering trying to have two litters at the same time! In fact, maybe 3 or 4 together!! Just imagine! Dozens and dozens of pups all at once!!! :lol:
If this is true.... It MIGHT be worth considering trying to have two litters at the same time! In fact, maybe 3 or 4 together!! Just imagine! Dozens and dozens of pups all at once!!! :lol:
I'd imagine, going by Bruce's posts about these two litters, that this was about the maximum that could be managed, especially as these two were so trouble free! 
Remember there were supposed to be a few additional pups as well at the beginning, from the scans. I get the sense that Bruce and Kris were a bit relieved the litters turned out the size they are...
More seriously: Having more than two litters means likely means you need staff/family that help out (for good breeders), or else, you don't care too much about survival rates and therefore will let those die that are any trouble, and that's getting into backyard breeding territory. If you have to tube feed even ONE pup, that is round the clock care for the first couple of weeks and is exhausting. icon_yikes
Remember there were supposed to be a few additional pups as well at the beginning, from the scans. I get the sense that Bruce and Kris were a bit relieved the litters turned out the size they are... More seriously: Having more than two litters means likely means you need staff/family that help out (for good breeders), or else, you don't care too much about survival rates and therefore will let those die that are any trouble, and that's getting into backyard breeding territory. If you have to tube feed even ONE pup, that is round the clock care for the first couple of weeks and is exhausting. icon_yikes
Moviedust
Well-known member
I'm sorry, Karlin. You seem to have taken my post quite seriously when, in fact, I was joking. Sometimes my sarcasm can be quite dry; I should learn to stick to seriousness if I can not communicate humor more clearly!
You have no need to worry about me promoting mills.
You have no need to worry about me promoting mills.
Bruce H
Well-known member
Moviedust said:
You know, we have been trying to figure out if there is some kind of common denominator for the litters that have been easier. We thought for a while that it might be the frequency of breeding, but then Anna's litter was a back-to-back breeding; meaning she was bred and produced a litter on her previous heat also (and now gets a well-deserved year off). Maybe it's just that we are learning more about care during pregnancy without even realizing it.
Karlin: You have no idea how happy we were that the litters were not as large as the ultra-sound indicated. We were scared to death at the thought of that many pups at one time. We have had two litters in the past, but there has always been a few weeks between them and more normal numbers. If Anna and Star had had as many puppies as shown on the ultrasound, I really wonder how we would have managed; we had a couple friends who said they would help, so maybe it would still have been OK.
I have to say, it was nice to have two litters exactly the same age. It gave us the opportunity to have Star (who is a milk-producing machine!) help Anna for a while with the nursing once Anna's litter got their colostrum from her. It was interesting, too, to watch the two litters grow and mature side by side and compare the two; amazing how close in development they were.
:lol: 8) Likewise the response wasn't indicating a grin sufficently -- to separate out two halves to the response. I knew you weren't seriously advocating a huge crowd of puppies... :lol: which was the first half of the response; and I was just noting on a more serious note, why that many litters at once could be a nightmare! For some people it might seem a good idea! :shock:
I always find the puppy tolerance level interesting as well, as it does greatly vary in different people. I know lots of fosters and rescue people who really do not care to take in puppies... while others really love having a rescue litter. I prefer to avoid puppies but that is mainly as I am not well equipped to manage them. I think people sometimes forget that 6 puppies (or 12!!) means 6 or 12 times the wee and poops. That's a serious workload for breeders so I am in awe of the Bruces and Krises of the world who roll up their sleeves and tackle the dirty secrets of puppies as well as enjoy the fluffy cuteness!
Bruce H
Well-known member
Jen said:
They were all "spoken for" at about 2 or 3 weeks old if I remember correctly. However, we don't ask for a deposit til they are 4 to 5 weeks old and the puppy people have seen the puppy. So when we notified everyone that they could see their puppy, we had 2 people back out (for a couple reasons). We then contacted people on our list for future litters and the puppies were sold to them. We have been very lucky in that we have never had a problem placing puppies and have been able to be selective in who we sell to.