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.

Fucking hell!!! Please to god do not tell me this poor bitch has had a litter on her first season?! I am not suprised so many people call for routine neutering if people can't look after their bitch properly for ONE season!!!

The dog is with the neighbour, naturally. They are his family. This was over winter when we were at our house in France, and people in rural France are very easy going about the pets, to say the least. In any case, their dog is very attached to us and spends most of his time with us anyway.

Yes, can find homes for the pups myself. Honestly, I don't care if people own or rent their homes or live in a palace or a hovel. I know that people who love their dogs will take care of them no matter how their circumstances change, and people who lack that grit will find any excuse to give up when things get tough. I base my decisions on my reading of people's character, not their circumstances, as those can change.

My neighbours are perfect examples of people who would be given a dog right away. Rich, stay at home mum, loads of fenced land. Their dog is well groomed, gets good food, but is very hungry for love and companionship. That is why he comes to our house all the time and would rather sleep outside our house rather than go back to the warm basement and luxury bed in his owner's home.

If that was my neighbour her dog would have 'escaped' while she was away, never to be seen again.

Please let Dogs Trust help and bear in mind that £150 per pup will not cover the cost of fleaing, worming, feeding, speying, microchipping and vaccinating the pups prior to re-homing them. They give out vouchers for speying in cases where the pups being rehomed will be too young and they follow up to ensure it's been done, afaik.

Midori, she is two years old. Just lay off please, ok? It is really none of your business.

If she is two years old why was she not done after her first season?

If we followed your battle cries that only breeders should plan for puppies, then there would only be weak pure breeds. Do you understand what you are advocating? If we never let our dogs mate, we would have either no dogs or only pure breeds, based on human criteria and selection. Which is actually not good for the continuation of the species.

Our puppies are healthy and already show signs of being very calm and well adjusted. This is due to the nature of both parents. I can just say that who ever gets them, will have a good companion. The future owners certainly will be happy that these puppies were born.

I actually think no dog should be bred from until shelters like Dogs Trust are empty. There are too many dogs and no where near enough good owners.

Good breeders are actually doing their utmost to wipe out in bred weaknesses by only breeding from healthy, health tested dogs, which is undermined by 'accidental' breeding. X-breeds are at risk from health problems too, it's just they get the added bonus of being at risk from the inherent problems of both breeds. Lucky them, eh?

A truly good dog owner would not advocate back yard breeding and as such wouldn't touch your pups with a bargepole unless they went to an organisation like Dogs Trust, so if you really want good homes for them you have no choice.

Gosh I see the dogshouse is deteriorating again into abuse being thrown around.

If you can't offer the OP some constructive advice in a polite manner then stay away.

Preaching in an aggressive manner will not help to change peoples opinions certainly they just make me think you are all a bunch of loonies!

Oh and I'm going to report this thread as well as it seems to be turning into a personal attack on the OP

Korma, my point is that I don't think my neighbour is a good owner. I certainly would not give her my pup, even if on paper she looks good.

Actually, this is the first time our dog has gone on heat. I guess different breeds have earlier or later development of their sexual cycle. My dog is certainly healthy and meets all the size, weight criteria of her age group.

Well, you all can wave your arms and go into a righteous frenzy, as if I have cloned Hitler and mussolini combined in a canine form. Seriously ott and very odd behaviour.

Ok, doing. I also think no humans should breed till all the foster homes and children needing adoption are taken care of

Right, my tuppenceworth, for what it's worth:

Dogs Trust v. v. v. good idea. You simply cannot just "know" who will make a good owner for a puppy- there need to be rigid checks, and even then, people can surprise you. Dogs trust will vet people and get the right homes for your pups. It would no doubt be helpful to them if you did the vaccinations/deworming etc before they go to the dogs trust, as this will save them much needed money

Your neighbour's actions towards their dog are appalling, and if that was my neighbour I would have called the SSPCA and had them prosecuted. I am shocked you would still think them "good" owners . People have been prosecuted for doing this sort of thing, its not ok.

Accidents will happen, but be aware that a cross of two pure-breeds will not necessarily be healthier- many cross breeds have the same problems as BOTH their parent breeds.

thekingfisher the OP asked if the Dogs' Trust was a reputable rescue to rehome her accidental litter. She was told yes. She was also told that the reason charities like the Dogs' Trust exist and are currently overstretched to bursting with unwanted dogs is because people like the OP don't neuter their pets, or take proper care of entire bitches while they're in season. I don't think that's an attack - I think it's a summary of facts.

My younger dog is from the Dog's Trust and I know quite a few people who've got a dog or pup from them. They're very good IME, they take very good care of the dogs in their care, and do a very good job of matching dogs to suitable homes. They'll also take one of their dogs back if necessary at any point in its life, in case any of the pups' new owners ever become unable to look after them.

I would definitely go to them or another reputable rescue instead of trying to rehome yourself. They have the experience and knowledge that you don't, however good a judge of character you may be, plus the resources to take back the pup or offer behavioural advice and support if need be in the future. I don't want to be rude or judgemental, but while taking in the neighbours' dog was kind and well-meant, the fact that you didn't know or weren't able to keep him separate from your bitch in season does suggest you're not particularly experienced in these matters.

I hope you do make them a generous donation. And get your bitch spayed ASAP!

OP, the Dogs Trust is a highly reputable national charity. They do thorough checks on anyone wishing to adopt a dog from one of their rehoming centres, and this includes a COMPULSORY half day session on care and welfare of the dog. Dogs in their care will be properly looked after, vaccinated, given appropriate flea, worming and other vet treatment, live in very nice accommodation, be regularly walked/have training sessions etc. They also do a huge amount with local authorities to help pay for neutering and spaying of dogs in pounds, support microchipping programmes, and have an extensive programme of education where they work with local schools to teach children about animal welfare issues. They also participate in and support a great deal of academic research into dog relinquishment, reasons for abandonment, improvement of welfare of kennel dogs etc - hugely important for the whole sector to drive up standards.

I do not work for them but as a rescue volunteer, I see a huge amount of the work they do, and in fact was with one of their staff only on Thursday. You should have no qualms at all about your pups being with them.

I cannot think of anything else to say about the situation that hasn't already been said, so I won't, other than to say that i hope when you do rehome these pups with DT, you give them a socking great donation to help their work in educating other dog owners about being responsible.

Lots of children can pick up defects from both parents. What is your point? Breeders are not gods. I personally would never buy a dog from a breeder.

If I am 'breeder' because my dog has pups. You are a 'breeder' too, b you have children. And you are very irresponsible for having had your children without first going to some so called experts, to breed out any possible genetical defects.

Jesus, you lot are crazy.

Yes but I think the OP is all to aware of all that.

Its the sanctimonious preachiness of some individual posters who clearly must just lie in wait for the situation like this to come up on MN.

There is no need to be aggressive and imo actually does their cause more harm than good irrespective of how many hours they spend rescuing etc etc.
Of course the OP has messed up - hopefully she will learn from it. She's certainly not in it for the money is she?

sorry that was in response to wildfig

I would never buy a dog.

Children are not dogs. Dogs are not people. They have no desire for bringing young into the world. They are very happy, once speyed, to have a puppyless future.

Thanks for your feedback on the dog trust.

I am a responsible dog owner. I take care of my dog, walk her, train her, love her, feed her home cooked food and she is happy. I find owners who feed prepared crappy dog food irresponsible and lazy, but I don't go around shouting at them

I resent the implication that I am irresponsible. If you think I am irresponsible for allowing puppies into the world when there are already other dogs around. Well, you are all irresponsible parents for having children, when theta are already lots of children who need care.

And if the dog trust is bursting to the seams with unwanted puppies, how come there is a waiting list and my pups would be homed right away?

I have to agree about breeding actually - at the very least it should be very very restricted, and not happening at all for breeds like Staffies where young healthy dogs are being killed in appalling numbers due to over-breeding and lack of good homes.

I don't think we have quite the same over-supply problem with humans, at least not in this country. Though I'd be quite happy to say that a lot of human breeding is irresponsible and done for the wrong reasons as well. I don't have any children, if you want to know, both my 'boys' are rescue dogs, which suits me fine!

"Yes, can find homes for the pups myself."

You just don't get it do you?

This isn't about being "a good judge of character". All that means is that you are putting your sense of self above the welfare of the very vulnerable animals which you have caused to be brought into this world and to whom you owe a huge amount of responsibility. People of good character get cancer, lose their incomes, divorce, lose their homes, get allergies and end up unable to keep what was once a cute puppy and is now a 7 year old 40 kilo mutt with issues. Selfish twats also have children and dump their dogs. There's a million reasons why people can't or won't keep their dogs and I must have heard them all. Some are even genuine, from people of good character, but that doesn't help the bloody dog, does it?

I repeat - will you pay for 9 x neutering/spaying, 9 x full set of vax, 9 x veterinary wormer, 9 x vet checks and be able to take back up to 9 dogs at any stage in their lives - ie in the next maybe 15, 18 years? Can you promise me that you'll be there to do that in 15 years time, that you won't have become ill, lost your home or income or be dead and that you can cope with, say, a 15 yo going blind, arthritic dog who needs daily meds?

Or is the best you can do go by your "good judge of character" talents and leave the dogs to their fate - ie another private rehome, a decent owner if they're lucky, a dog fighter or puppy farmer if they're not (remembering that you haven't ensured that the dog has been spayed), possibly passed from pillar to post or, alternatively, the vets needle because the owner can't find anyone to take the dog or the pound, where that vet's needle will come 7 days later. You think that then, when the pup is a dog and your oh so well chosen home goes tits up, that rescue will be able to offer an adult mongrel a place? Think again! Rescue struggles to find places for young dogs without issues, most are full to capacity (the reason why the DT can take your pups is because they cherry-pick, the hard-pressed rescues on the really tough side, taking in the older dogs that no-one else wants, are full to the brim).

Being a "good judge of character is no substitute for the experienced, professional LIFELONG guarantees to these dogs which the Dogs Trust, an organisation which, unlike the RSPCA, is respected even by the majority of the most hardened, choosy animal rights supporters, will* provide.

Bluntly, you've fucked up once, added to the huge unwanted dog problem and put your bitch's life at risk. Please don't compound that by letting arrogance and amateurism get in the way of ensuring the best possible rehoming and lifelong support package for her puppies. Let the professionals take them in and let them do what they do best.