Puppy dilemma

[Flatbread]

Hello,

Our dog has given birth to 9 pups 12 days back (alert: cute puppy photos on my profile)

Ok, we know she should have been spayed and we will do so asap. But now we have eight puppies to find homes for.

I called up the dogs trust near Glasgow and they said they can rehome all of them, and I should not go down the gumtree ad route. They don't need photos of our pups or anything. She said they could be rehomed within a week of being in the dogs trust ( we will take them in at 7 to 8 weeks)

I have never had any interaction with the dogs trust before, although the lady I spoke with was lovely. Do any of you have any experience with this trust? My pups will find homes, won't they? Most are absolutely gorgeous to look at, but one is a bit grey and we call her Gracie. I worry about her, she is not beautiful, but she has the most darling, gentle nature, a real graceful, soft dog. But not sure how superficial people are when they go to get pups.

Any advice on rehoming is welcome. If we do go down the dogs trust route, we will be giving a donation, we will be so thankful if all the pups find good, loving homes.

Flatbread - the pups look gorgeous and I hope mum is doing well. You absolutely must not put them on gumtree etc. Dogstrust will pre vet potential owners and that will give you some peace of mind that they will be in a good home. The best thing you can do is to interact with them as much as you can so that they are ready to go their new home having been well socialised, used to household noises etc. I guess an alternative would be to go through breed rescue (can't tell what breed they are from the pic) who likewise will vet potential owners.

Yes, do go through Dogs Trust. I do commend you that you are prepared to consider this route and donating to them rather than trying to rehome yourself. People who buy puppies tell all sorts of lies to get you to let them have one and it is very difficult if you are inexperienced to pick out the best homes.

PS. come back in 4-5 weeks and tell us how 'cute' you think they are when they are all mobile and you are living with the stench of urine and poo in your home....

Thanks yes mum is doing great. She is getting truly pampered by dh and me, and is on a special diet which include copious quantities of her favourite foods such as roast chicken and sardines.

Our dog is a Pyrenees sheep dog. The dad is a lab/golden retriever mix. The pups are completely used to cuddles and it is really cute as they try to suckle on our earlobes and neck.

Do you know of anyone who got their pup from the dogs trust? Also, I am a bit worried about the pups being at the trust for a week or more, before they go to their families. Do you think it is reasonable to suggest that we keep the pups with us, and only give them to the trust the day they will be rehomed?

Midori we don't plan to sell them, just trying to find good homes.

Agree that this is the honeymoon period, when mum is taking care of her puppies. They are already trying to explore outside the whelping box. We found one sleeping with his head next to our dog's food bowl. In true lab fashion, he was so driven by the food smell, he somehow managed to climb over the barrier, crawl to the food bowl. And lay down and slept beside the bowl in great contentment.

I hope you're planning on making a large financial donation to the Dogs Trust to thank them for picking up the pieces of this mess.

The average cost to a rescue when they take in and rehome an unwanted dog or pup is £150. That's the minimum, assuming that the dog/pup has no health issues and that they are only short term stayers. That includes the cost to the rescue of vaccinating, a vet health check and neutering/spaying the pup as soon as it's possible to do so (because they know how many unwanted dogs there are which end up dead each week and how irresponsible it is to let their dogs breed and add to the problem). It also incudes flea treatment and a vet standard, prescription administered wormer.

Additionally it covers the cost of the dog's food, heating, light, cleaning products etc while he is in rescue, the wage of paid staff if they're like the Dogs Trust and lucky enough to have any. It covers vehicle provision, maintainance, tax and insurance so that the staff can carry out homechecks and vet trips and admin expenses, be those pens and paper or the price of broadband connection and the cost of any phone calls.

So yes Feesh, a donation from Flatbread to the Dogs Trust of £150 for each pup she wishes them to rehome would be about right.

NB, Flatbread, yes, your puppies will find homes via the DT and those homes will be vetted and followed up. The pups will, as stated above, be neutered, vaccinated, wormed and vet checked and the DT will take them back into its care if the rehomer can't or won't keep the dog. Your alternative is Gumtree where the rehomer could be abusive, is very highly likely to be a puppy farmer or may use your pups as bait for dogfighters. Under no circumstances whatsoever would any rescue/rescuer or any reputable breeder, vet or person involved in dog welfare advise you ever to sell or give away your pups through Gumtree, Preloved, Pets4Homes shop windows, the local press or any similar medium.

Korma, did you post just to give the op abuse? Yes its not ideal but its happened. Do you know for a fact that the op owns both dogs? Accidents happen and she has asked for advice rather than just putting them on gumtree etc. When a dog is re homed by dogs trust the new owner pays a donation to cover some of the costs. She is not off loading she is taking advice.

Flatbread, i would ask if they would do that (let you keep the puppies with you) until they have been found new homes. They might be happy to do this as it would cut costs for them.

YY to the Dogs Trust. They will do the job properly and your puppies stand the very best chance of finding good forever homes. Don't be tempted to go down any other route.

I really hope this doesn't turn into an OP bashing thread. It is clear she knows a mistake has been made and is taking a responsible and caring approach to sorting it out.

She already knows the dog need spayed and has said she is doing it as soon as. This might have been her first season and no vet i know will spay before then, it might not and it was an accident or she thought the season was over and all was ok either way its happened and she is doing the responsible thing.

Dog aid in Edinburgh very good , pups go to foster home not kennels. People then apply and welfare officer vist homes of prospective owners . Pups will be vaccinated and vet checked and chipped . After pups have gone to new homes , welfare officer visits after 2 week to check . At 6 months pups have to be neutered at dogs aid vet . They pay for all of this . Owners can call any time if there are any problems . Pups have to be returned to dog aid if owners can't keep . Small charity but very good .

i got my dog when he was a pup 13 weeks old from the glasgow dogs trust - they have a policy as well to have all dogs they rehome neutered/spayed at their cost
they done a house visit and we also had to attend a puppy class

would recommend giving them the pups

There is absolutely no doubt that the OP here has been very irresponsible, but she obviously knows that and it's too late to do anything about it now. The very fact she has even looked into homing via the Dog's Trust shows that she is trying to do her best for these puppies now that they exist, I really do think she deserves some credit for that. (although the most responsible thing to do would have been to get a 'birth control' injection after the mating and I say that for anyone reading who may not be aware this is an option, it is available up to 6 weeks post mating)

I assume the OP will learn from this and get her bitch spayed ASAP now.

OP, please do not try and rehome in any way, especially advertising for free or rehoming for free, these puppies. They could end up passed from pillar to post or as bait for fighting dogs or even worse. Even if they have to be kennelled for a week, the Dogs Trust will make sure they are well looked after.

Sluttybuttons it's perfectly possible and reasonable to have a bitch spayed before her first season and I know many vets who will do it, most of whom would advocate it if the alternative is to be unwanted backyard bred crossbreed pups born to a very young (or indeed any) bitch. There are slightly increased health risks associated with the early spaying of bitches but these are outweighed by the health risks, potential complications/need for a CS (and risk of death) caused by pregnancy, birth and labour, especially in an undeveloped bitch who is no more than a pup herself.

My vet will not spay before the first season. This was an accident, but we are a loving family, and some other families are going to get very healthy, well adjusted puppies. These puppies are getting good quality mum's milk and a supplement of goat's milk and egg yolk. They will hopefully have fewer problems in their old age because of the care and nutrition they are getting now.

From what I understood from dog trust, they have a waiting list for pups, and that they will be able to home the puppies within a week of them being ready for new families. She also said they charge £150 from the people who adopt, to cover the cost of vaccinations etc. So our donation will help other dogs find homes.

"No one is picking the pieces for us."

Yes rescue is picking up the pieces for you if it is to take these pups in. Believe me.

"We are perfectly capable of finding loving homes."

No. No, you are not. No average owner is. You are not capable of thoroughly vetting each home, carrying out follow ups, insisting on meeting all family members and all existing pets, seeing and checking mortgage or tenancy documents to ensure that the applicant is allowed a dog, probably not capable of paying or willing to pay for 9 full courses of innoculations and 9 x neuter or spaying operations and almost certainly not able to guarantee that you will take back any or all of those pups, no matter how old they are or what their health is and what the cost of caring or them will be (see Solo2's thread on her poorly Retriever for an example of this).

And that is why you are encouraged to and the pups over to someone who can and will do all these things. The Dogs Trust are a very good choice for this and have admirable policies, you have nothing to fear in handing over these pups to them.

My point really was, I am a pretty good judge of people and I can find good homes. The dog trust was suggested by a trainer, and I called them. Just wanted to know if any of you had used them when you got your dog and your experience with them.

Thanks very much to the poster who recommended a place in Edinburgh. I'll call them up next week and then decide

* Hand the pups over, not "and the pups over".

Christ! You're not even capable of preventing your bitch getting pregnant, let alone find homes for a litter of puppies!!!! FFS!!! No need for you to be rude to people who have pointed out your irresponsibilty.

For the record, I have 3 entire bitches and an entire dog in my home and have managed perfectly well to avoid any accidental litters.

"My point really was, I am a pretty good judge of people and I can find good homes."

That is nowhere near enough. Please see my post above.