Just gave away a puppy (new owner did not pay)

[maggieandannie]

My shitz-zu had a beautiful litter, the puppies are shitz-zu schnauzer crosses. I have found all of them great homes, I did not advertise it was through friends and people through work. So I have a link to each and every pup!

I know a lovely lady from dog walking, and since my dog was pregnant she let me know her sister would love one.

I reserved a boy for her sister and when puppies were 4 weeks old she picked her little boy. Her sister asked was I charging and I said yes I am charging and would offer her sister a discount so pup would be £100.00; told me she would let her sister know.


Fast forward to yesterday she picked up her puppy and left me a present, a gorgeous box and inside of the box was a bottle of very expenisive gin/soda and a lemon and a card. I thought how nice what a lovely lady! I opened the card and there was no payment.

I want to send her sister a text, letting her know how grateful I am for the present (I did include a puppy pack for this lady, with blanket, teddy, vet details, groomer details, and a bottle of Prosecco), however I was charging.

Would I be unreasonable asking for my money, I feel embarrassed to have to ask her.

Please help

[WannaBe]

Thirteen weeks is far too late as crucial socialisation period is between eight-fourteen weeks. Police/guide dogs go to their homes at eight weeks...

[overslept]

WannaBe So long as the pups are raised indoors as part of a household by an ethical breeder is it ideal for them to stay longer. A good breeder will socialise the pups, and does not run the risk of making mistakes that a new inexperienced owner may make. I doubt there is any such thing as "too late" so long as the dogs are not raised in kennels.

[LightastheBreeze]

Some people don't want rescue dogs, My DM didn't, she wanted a little crossbreed similar to what the OP was selling, not from a rescue place.

Not everyone wants rescue dogs.

[Booboostoo]

overslept apologies but I have to strongly disagree with you. It is crucial for puppies to be with their mother up to at least 6 weeks, and crucial for socialisation that they are out and about seeing the world between 8 weeks and 14 weeks. Miss this window and you are likely to have problems with the dog down the line. It is, of course, possible for a breeder to do all the socialisation, but with a number of puppies in the litter it is an enormous amount of work and difficult to cover all circumstances the puppies may come across in their future families, from living with DCs to getting used to livestock, to riding on trains, to whatever really. I would not accept a puppy at 13 weeks, I would want it at 8 weeks and may just compromise at 10 with a breeder I knew and trusted 100%.

[overslept]

Booboostoo If a breeder is not prepared to ensure the pups interact correctly with livestock, meeting people, going in the car etc then they should not be breeding dogs quiet simply. It is an enormous amount of work, you are right.
Ironic how posters would say "I wouldn't take a puppy unless it was under 10 weeks old" yet we should all be encouraging people to take rescue dogs. It is that attitude of "it must be 8 weeks old" that leaves older puppies and adult dogs overlooked.

What do you propose happens if somebody reserves a puppy and at the last minute has to pull from the sale? The pup then has to be advertised and prospective owners vetted to ensure a suitable home which doesn't happen over night. So say this pup is now 13 weeks old, is he now too past it to ever be a safe dog family dog? What utter nonsense.

[WannaBe]

I don't believe that breeding can or should be regulated because 1, it is simply not possible to do so and 2, as MRSD said, what happens then to the cross/misbreeds that occur. The world would indeed be a poorer place if it was only full of perfect purebreeds.

You wouldn't be able to prevent cross breeding or mongrels because there would always be cases of dogs that got out and became mated with other dogs resulting in mongrel dogs. You couldn't make newtering compulsry because it would be impossible to regulate.

What needs to happen is education. Getting people to understand the pitfalls of buying a puppy off gumtree and agreeing to collect it at the services on the m4 or such, and the problems which occur as a result. A bit like used to happen with buying dogs from the local pet shop. Many puppies were bought from petshops who were sick etc and over the years the practice reduced signifficantly.

I wouldn't buy from a puppy farm but I wouldn't not take a puppy from a friend whose dog inadvertantly became pregnant. As a child all our dogs came from adverts in the paper, we saw the parents, saw all the other puppies, to all intents and purposes they were probably backyard breeders but all the puppies we had were fine without issues. Conversely I know plenty of people who have bought puppies from reputable breeders whose dogs have ended up with serious medical conditions. The reality is that there just are no guarantees when you take on a puppy, and for me the important point is that the dogs are kept in good conditions in terms of their welfare and socialised well etc, which puppy farmed dogs obviously are not.

I also think that the rescues need to do something about their rehoming policies, because the reality is that it isn't just the excess of dogs which mean that the rescues are full, but the draconian policies of the rescue centres themselves which mean that many dogs which could be in loving homes are instead sitting in kennels because the rescues won't rehome to people with children for instance.

And perhaps more controversially, rescues such as dogs trust who boast that they "never put a healthy dog down," while parading some poor dog on national television and talking about how it will never find a home because of how nervous/traumatised it is ought to perhaps rething that policy. If a dog is so terrified that it can never be rehomed and needs to spend the rest of its life in kennels then it's not a healthy dog really is it, and a life in kennels is not a good life for a dog. Put the poor thing out of its misery and then another dog who can be rehomed will have a space in that kennel, and the poor traumatised one won't be traumatised any more.

[TheWitTank]

I'm not suggesting we only breed 'pure' breeds. Owner of two scruffy lurchers here, one rescue! But I do think we need to curb this manic fashion breeding and look after dog/puppy welfare. I would bet my bottom dollar most of the gumtree level breeders haven't given a shit about their bitches health during pregnancy, nor ensured the health of the puppies after birth. They have bred together whatever makes a catchy name and sold it as a breed for hundreds rather than what it actually is -a cute mongrel. Nothing wrong with mongrels at all, other than not being able to stick £££ on the price to appeal to naive buyers.
Maybe education is the answer in this case, maybe the selling/advertising on sites need to be looked at.
I'm just so sick of people treating animals like accessories. I know so many owners who think walking their dog three times a week is acceptable, or get upset that their malmute is eating their house because it's bored out of its mind at being expected to be a lap dog. That's another thread entirely though, don't get me on my soapbox!

[mushypeasontoast]

For those looking for a rescue dog and have young children. We have our rescue from Many tears, dd was four when we found him.

I was checking the website a number of times a day to find a companion that we were right for.

We have been very happy with our dog and I think he is happy with us (currently curled up on the sofa next to me with his head on my lap and tail wagging). He is a lurcher cross who thinks hes a lap dog.

[Booboostoo]

overslept clearly there is no need to exaggerate. Just because I said that socialising an entire litter, every time one has a litter is too much work doesn't mean that a contentious breeder cannot socialise one puppy who happened to be left for a bit longer with the breeder as a one off.

As for rescue dogs I think these should only be rehomed after being professionally assessed and new owners should have a very realistic understanding of the difficulties they may face due to the dog's past. For families with DCs or young DCs the rescue dog must have a known history of having lived with a family or truly have a very good temperament as assessed over a period of time by an experienced foster carer. Otherwise a puppy may be a better option.

[Booboostoo]

"Conscientious" even!

[Lilmissconcerned]

Really annoys me when I walk my dog and randoms come chatting to me and bragging their dog is a spodle poochon etc... No it's a mongrel you paid too much for ... One day I'll end up saying this too !!

Stupid trend to cross breed then charge a fortune for it.

[VeganCow]

I think a mongrel nowadays means mum was a mongrel and dad was a mongrel.

Cross breed ie labradooodle, means mum was a pedigree and dad was a pedigree, just pedigrees of different breeds.

[bottleofbeer]

Neither of mine were rescue dogs. Not are they pedigree. If I'd not got my boy he would have ended up in a rescue (his original owners said they were moving and the new LL wouldn't accept pets, I suspect they just realised he was hard work) it just cut out the middle man. We neutered him asap. I should really have walked away from the man selling my second dog. None of them had any vaccinations, nor had they been wormed at all, she was riddled but I couldn't leave her there. She was vaxed, de-flead, wormed and chipped two days later and is recovering right now from being spayed on Monday - she's six months old now. Not rescuing doesn't always mean irresponsible owner.

[QuietTiger]

Lilmissconcerned - I got myself into trouble one day when a woman in the park proudly told me that her dog was a "pedigree cross" between a Jack Russell and a Shih tzu and said that she'd paid £550 for it.

My reply of "Well you got a "Jack Shit" for your money then"... didn't go down well!!

[MistressMia]

Well you got a "Jack Shit" for your money then

Quick of the mark and a clever and an appropriate response to an idiot suckered in by pseudo pedigree status.

[SuburbanRhonda]

Did you really say that, tiger, or just wish you had?

[QuietTiger]

I really said that. It was the straw that broke the camels back. I am known in RL as being very direct when I want to be regarding rescue/breeding etc - which a couple of respected MN doghouse posters who know me offline, will attest. (Scuttlebutter for one).

I'd had a rough day dealing with a number of idiots on the phone wanting to hand their cats into rescue for spurious reasons, as well as my neighbour telling me all about the money she had made from breeding labradoodles (at £850 a pup coz they're "pedigree" parents) from her labrador bitch in 3 consecutive seasons...

All I had done was take my collies for a walk at the local park so I could unwind, to be accosted by a dog walker with a yappy, froofy dog that insisted on trying to mount my collie bitch. I tried to be polite, tried to suggest neutering her dog, tried to make polite conversation and walk away. She asked me if my dogs were pedigree (they are, although they are ISDS registered instead of KC, because they are working sheep dogs) and then she told me about her "pedigree" dog and how she'd never ever have a rescue and went on to say how much she'd paid for it, like it was a badge of honour.

I snapped. I would do the same again. I think morons who pay shit loads of money for designer cross-breeds are complete idiots. I think that BYB producing them for cash should be shot.

I can't say that I would never buy a pedigree puppy, or that I would never breed - it would be hypocritical, because my collie bitch is currently going through health testing and hip scoring, so that I can consider breeding a litter from her because I want to keep her (phenomenal) working lines and cross them to another superb sheep dog that will complement her and hopefully produce an even better working dog than the one I already have.

The difference is to a BYB, their lineage has been researched, the health checks will be done and I have a list of GOOD potential working homes lined up for the pups even before she is bred. (IF she even has a litter).

[JoffreyBaratheon]

All I'd say is - if you want a crossbreed puppy bred by a backstreet breeder, just go to a local rescue. The week I got my staffy/JRT cross puppy (9 weeks) from a rescue, another crossbreed litter came in (GSD/collies) - they also had a single Patterdale/something cross. And I've heard in the few weeks since, other cross litters have gone in. These idiots are breeding entire litters they can't even sell. The excuse given by the woman who handed in my pup's litter at 8 weeks was her bitch had "escaped" when in season. But apprently, this was the bitch's second litter already...

At least if you go to a rescue for one of these overbred puppies, the rescue is benefiting. Seems to me no-one has to wait too long for a litter of crosses to come in to their local rescue. And you will pay £100 or less and for that get a pup with all its injections and that will be spayed/neutered, later...

[QuietTiger]

I don't dislike any dog - I just have a preference for the types I prefer. "Yappy Froofy dog" was used as a descriptor, in the same way I'd describe a badly behaved child creating chaos, as a "spoiled little madam".

I wouldn't choose to have a small fluffy yappy dog out of choice, in the same way many other people wouldn't choose to have have high energy active large dogs.

[ArcheryAnnie]

Oh, come on - of all the problems detailed on this thread, and the one you pick on to be completely offended by is a responsible dog owner calling a type of dog "yappy" and "froofy"? Some dogs are yappy, some are froofy, and it's fine to not want a dog that is either of those.