Newborn puppy been sold to friend

[Foxgloves123]

Aibu to ask her why she has just bought a puppy this young?! This is a friend on Facebook (a person I used to know well but now we just keep in touch occasionally). The puppy looks like it’s still blind and it’s absolutely tiny. Being held in pics by her toddler.

I believe it’s the law to not allow a puppy home until 8 weeks? Or at the very least 6 weeks if weaned from the mum. I don’t know the circumstances of why they have this puppy so young (I.e it is possible the mother dog may have died for all I know) but it seems they have obtained this puppy by a very irresponsible breeder?

I don’t want to be nosey but as a dog owner I did my research and would never have bought a puppy from a breeder who let it go so small

Hand rearing puppies is tricky and hard work . I know this as I am an accredited kennel club breeder . At the age this pup sounds it needs tube feeding . So a tube up the nose down into the stomach . It must be kept on a heat pad to maintain temperature. She will need to stimulate it to urinate and deficate as newborn pups can’t do this them selves . Socialisation is another problem . All in all she needs to take this pup to a vet to be cared for .

If it’s newborn it will need round the clock bottle feeding using specialist milk and bottles, I wouldn’t think it would be that easy to care for an unweaned puppy without input from a vet.

Surely you can ask her in a non-judgemental way? ‘Gosh, he’s tiny. How old is he?’ ‘1 week.’ ‘Oh that’s very young, what happened to his mother? How are you getting on with the bottle feeding, have you gotten puppy milk from the vet?’ Etc

If the breeder has sold a puppy that young they're obviously only in it for the money.

Reporting will lead back to the breeder and hopefully get them banned from keeping dogs.

If your friend had no idea that she can have a puppy that young then let a toddler hold it, she's probably not the best person to own a dog either. You'll be doing your friend a favour in the long run as dog attacks on kids seem to be more frequent, especially with inexperienced owners.

We need stricter laws regarding breeding and owning. If it stops one case of cruelty (intentional or not) or attack it would be worth it.

I agree this a good first approach. You might find out the true situation, then you can decide what to do next.

It might be fine and there is a reasonable explanation, but if not then you might help save a little animal.

It is worrying that so many ignorant people are still buying animals from crooks (not saying that this is the case here, but the crime is widespread).

I think I'd try a conversation something like this:

Comment on photo: oh he/she is so lovely and tiny! How old is he/she?
Her reply: x weeks (number lower than 8)
Me: oh that's so young, did the mother reject her/him or something? I thought they had to stay with mum until 8 weeks old, you must be feeding constantly! (Probably moving to private message for this, you don't want to make her embarrassed and defensive, if she has done something she shouldn't without knowing, that won'thelp the pup)

Once you know the story you can decide what to do.

OP, if you can find a (careful) way of asking your friend for a bit more info (without being judgemental) that would be good, either saying he's a lovely little thing, what breed is his Mum. It's not a direct question, but she might tell you more about Mum.

However, any doubt, report to RSPCA. If she has him for a genuine reason and they're happy she can look after him, all is good. If not, then you've done the right thing and they can care for him and make their own enquiries.

If it's on facebook for people to see, your friend will have no way of knowing it's you that's reported the case.

A friends bf bought her a tiny tiny kitten. As soon as i saw a pic of it I messaged her and said the kitten was so tiny, had something happened to the Mum. It hadn't - the bf had bought it off someone who obvs didnt know / care about it. Kitten was dead two weeks later.

Message your friend - just ask informally.

Just what I thought when I was sat in my car watching a young girl being dragged into the bushes by a burly looking bloke. Nothing worse than people who try to prevent harm by reporting concerning things. Absolute scum of the earth.

This

I'd "pretend" not to realise they pics are in her house and go along the lines of
Oh lovely puppy, how old? when do you get to bring it home?

If she confirms she has it now, then I'd ask how she's got it so young and ask other questions. I couldn't leave it and not say anything

please do NOT just ignore it. The person suggesting that is the same person who would ignore abuse of a person or child. Animals are no different.

Puppies should be with their mums as long as possible. No reputable breeder would do this, and even IF the mother had died, they would keep the litter together, or if it was rejected then they would seek another parental figure or raise the puppy themselves, they would NOT sell it. This is not okay, I imagine there is a lot more going on behind closed doors that is unacceptable, possibly even puppy farming.

please report. Call the RSPCA. This is not acceptable.

It is exactly the law that puppies can't leave the place they were born until eight weeks. I can't tell you how appalled I am. If she has paid for it, she is committing an offence too. Ignorance of the law has never been a valid defence.

Please at least try to find out where it came from. We've got the mum rescued from a situation like this. By 3 years old she'd had 3 litters, 2 c-sections, and lost all pups in her final litter, so they wanted rid of their business investment :(. She's a different dog now but she was in a bad way when we got her. That's the side you don't see.

Ignore the people telling you to keep your nose out of it, an animal is as defenceless as a child. Read Lucy’s Law and report it! There are too many scummy breeders profiting at the suffering of animals. We all have a duty to speak up for those who are defenceless.

I had a puppy early as the mother had killed on pup and tried to kill another. The mother's instincts were directing this, within 2 years all the pups had died of a kidney disease but we didn't know that at the time so the pups were removed from the mother to stop her killing them.

Probably unusual but it happens and it is alot of work looking after a pup that is only a week or two old.

I would be judgemental. I would tell them that they are irresponsible cunts and that I do not wish to ever speak to them again.

And a big fuck you to anyone on this thread who would not also do this.

Why do you think you might be unreasonable?

If the puppy is as young as it sounds from your description OP then you need to do something fast. Puppies that young need specialist care and if your friend is letting a toddler handle it then she probably hasn't got a clue and the puppy will go downhill fast. If you're going to do something it needs to be now. Today.

I understand it’s a tricky thing to get involved with this as it could blow your friendship up, @Foxgloves123. That said, the scenario you’ve described sounds about as serious as it gets in terms of welfare and unethical and illegal breeding practices. If you have knowledge, you should (morally speaking) pass it on to the authorities to investigate. If this puppy survives they are likely to have all manner of behavioural issues relating to early attachment and lack of maternal socialisation, as well as potential health concerns from digestive issues etc. Who knows how many times the ‘breeder’ has done this before? It’s a disaster waiting to happen however you look at it.

Unless you had particular qualifications, a reputable breeder would not have given you the puppy. Full stop.

Brilliant response @GCRich !! 👏

How can it not be dodgy unless DF also has the Mum? No reputable breeder would allow a new owner to take such a young pup, they’d hand rear themselves if someone has happened to Mum.

I would have to say something.

its odd she doesn’t understand - if she knew this was highly unsustainable she would be posting the explanation.

when I got my kitten she was only five weeks old. A friend found her alone on her farm. We think her mother had either abandoned her or died.

I felt I had to explain this to everyone incase they thought I was a monster.

my vet was amazing and the kitten is now a spoilt four year old.

The world was a different place back then. She had 5 little puppies, she couldn't cope with them all. Mine had a happy healthy life for over a year and then the kidney disease became apparent and despite treatment he died just before he was 2, I was broken hearted. The breeder kept the mother but never bred from her again.

You need to ask!

i have a friend who never had dogs before and bought a puppy believing it was 8 weeks old (and she didn’t know any different!). It got ill quickly and the vet said she was much much younger! Luckily it’s a happy and healthy dog now but I dread to think what could’ve happened