What information should we provide, if any?

[Flatbread]

Hiya,

Our puppies will be going to the dogs trust for adoption. The things is, we won't get to meet the families who adopt them, so wanted to put together a small note for the new owners. This would contain the kind of general information I would have liked when I got my pup.

I am thinking of having:
A photo of the mum with pups (it is on my profile)
One of dad (I am sure I can find one if I rummage through my photo albums) and one of each puppy (e.g., like the one on my profile)

And then some text, e.g. - for one of the male puppies:

Samuel's mum is a Basque sheepdog. She is gentle, loving girl who loves a cuddle and a good ball game

His dad is a golden retriever/labrador mix. He is a happy, affectionate and very laid-back dog. His favourite activity is eating

Samuel was born on 26th February 2012 as part of a litter of nine. All the puppies have thrived and mum has given love and care to everyone

He is well-socialised and has been bought up in a home with lots of human contact and cuddles. He plays happily with his littermates. He has a high energy level and loves exploring, with his feet and mouth

Samuel eats well, without a fuss. He eats everything, including kibble, sardines and scrambled eggs. His favourite food is goats milk and chicken liver pate

What do you think? I am not sure if we should mention the names we have given to the pups, as people should feel free to rename them. But how else can we refer to each puppy?

PS - All the details on vaccination, de-worming etc. will be provided by the DT, along with a formal contract.

Flatbread, I think that's a lovely thing to do, and the new owners will really appreciate the photos of mum and dad and the information that you are providing. It will help them to see what the puppies will be like when they are grown up (and I am sure it will help them find a home quickly).

I think you might as well use the names because it's much nicer than saying 'puppy no1' etc. People will still feel free to give them new names (a lot of people rename rescue dogs, but not all).

Thanks Red

And I know what you mean about size. When we got our pup, it was anyone's guess how big she would be. We had no clue what a Basque sheepdog looked like, and it seems there are two types, one large and one medium size.

Luckily our girl is the medium variety, as we prefer not to have a large dog. That being said, we are keeping one of the puppies and he is quite big and fat. I suspect he is going to be a large dog like his dad.

That sounds lovely. at feeding puppies chicken liver pate though!

It's nice that you are keeping one of the pups. I just looked up what a Basque sheepdog is as I had no idea. They look like nice dogs.

Peeling, we used to make the pate ourselves till we found a Polish brand that has been a big hit! it is amazing how cheap chicken/ lamb liver is, I guess there must be very little demand for it. I am vegetarian, but dh loves lamb liver, he ate it often as a boy in Iceland.

Red, I found this video of a Basque sheepdog and it totally reminds me on mine. Our dog is smaller, but has the same desire to learn and please

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=jlz8uVYHH7A

Thanks for the link. What a lovely dog :)

How about telling them the need to get puppies neutered as soon as possible to avoid more dogs adding to the list of dogs needing homes. Puppies are cute and easy to rehome, look at overfill shelters etcand adult dogs less so

Kilmuir, DogsTrust provides a voucher that the owners can use to neuter their dogs for free. It will be up to the owners to use that when appropriate.

I don't think puppies in rescues take places from grown up dogs. At least in the DT I visited, there is a completely separate area for puppies so that they do not get any contamination from older dogs. Most of the puppy kennels were empty, as people prefer to sell their pups, rather than give them away.

I think the people who are looking for puppies tend to choose between a shelter and a breeder. But they want a pup, for whatever reason, not a grown dog.