Choosing a puppy

[tryingtogrowarosegarden]

Hello,

We have been in touch with a lovely breeder for over 1 year - her dog has just had 3 puppies (delayed because of coronavirus) one which we will buy. They are cavalier King Charles spaniels for reference - we were hoping for a Blenheim girl, mum has had 2, since we have been on waiting list for a while my DD's are lucky enough to get to chose which one they would like.

One was born at normal birthweight for cavalier and one is smaller (this one after 4 days is now at her expected birthweight, they have been feeding her during the night - I'm unsure if this is making sure she is placed and latching to mum or other)

My question is, is there any downside to buying the smaller one or questions to ask re smaller one?

Both mum and dad would have been health checked cleared before breeding, and dogs will be KC registered, I have no intention of breeding in future, she will be purely family pet.

TIA for your advice

I got the smaller one in my litter, her brother was much bigger and stockier. But she is average size now.

Cavaliers are the best by the way, my little lady and I are inseparable! So jealous you are getting a puppy, I want another one!

If your breeder is responsible she's probably the best one to ask as she'll be familiar with the specific pups. A good breeder will want the best home for their dogs and be honest.

She is an amazing breeder with lovely dogs, we have meet them several times, this will be our first family dog,

I feel slightly out of my depth with smaller pup because through lack of knowledge - I don't know what to ask, in terms of future, whether she will thrive or be a poorly dog,

I've got 3 lovely girls who are so excited and have been waiting an extremely long time for a puppy.

It seems like a no brainer to me. Just have the one that was born at a healthy weight.

I'd go for the healthy weight one to be honest it's a good indicator on overall health.

Agree, get the bigger one.

I think there is quite a lot to think about here.

Firstly, was the smaller puppy in the normal weight range for her breed? If yes, she is probably completely fine. Or was she more than 25% smaller than her sister - if she was, there might be an issue.

Secondly, how active is she? If she is fighting to get to the milk, has a really active sucking reflex, wriggling over and under her bugger siblings and developing at a normal rate (up on her legs when expected, for example - though you won't know that yet), once again she is probably fine.

Thirdly, is she seems healthy, I'd chat to the breeder about her temperament and that of her sister.

And fourthly, size as a tiny puppy doesn't necessarily indicate much. One of ours was the absolute hippo of the litter when first seen by us at just 3 weeks, but grew to the middle of the breed standard for size and just stopped.

I think having a long convo with the breeder is the first thing to do. Then meet the puppies. You may just get a feel for which one suits you, and might not be the one you expect.

@GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman thank you for the insights, you have given me to some these to think about,research and ask when I next speak to their breeder.

Thanks for reply's from everyone else too, it seems obvious to go for the bigger sister but I just want to be sure of all options and potential pitfalls before deciding for sure.

Hi again, so in the end we choose the bigger healthier puppy, and we were due to collect her this Friday.

However last week her eyes were swollen and breeder took her to vet she has been given antibiotic cream over weekend, today at her puppy health check - she doesn't have an infection, but breeder says vet has said her eyelid have grown faster than her, it may be that she catches up and it corrects itself or if not she can have surgery to correct at 6 months.

There is no pressure from breeder to take her still, or option to have her with price reduced ie cost of surgery (whether she haves it or not). However I'm pretty sure anything eye related in future would not be covered under any insurance we take out for her.

Would you still go ahead with puppy under these circumstances???

@tryingtogrowarosegarden

Hello,

We have been in touch with a lovely breeder for over 1 year - her dog has just had 3 puppies (delayed because of coronavirus) one which we will buy. They are cavalier King Charles spaniels for reference - we were hoping for a Blenheim girl, mum has had 2, since we have been on waiting list for a while my DD's are lucky enough to get to chose which one they would like.

One was born at normal birthweight for cavalier and one is smaller (this one after 4 days is now at her expected birthweight, they have been feeding her during the night - I'm unsure if this is making sure she is placed and latching to mum or other)

My question is, is there any downside to buying the smaller one or questions to ask re smaller one?

Both mum and dad would have been health checked cleared before breeding, and dogs will be KC registered, I have no intention of breeding in future, she will be purely family pet.

TIA for your advice

Did you actually see proof that mum and dad were health checked? I only ask because you say "would have been" in your first post.

Have you spoken to the vet yourself?

I haven't seen printed paper of health check, but was told the mum and dad Registered kennel names - and viewed their health test results online, we got to choose our puppy KC register name and last night found the clear health test for her.

I haven't spoken to vet, breeder said she would email me the clinical notes when she received them.

@tryingtogrowarosegarden

I haven't seen printed paper of health check, but was told the mum and dad Registered kennel names - and viewed their health test results online, we got to choose our puppy KC register name and last night found the clear health test for her.

I haven't spoken to vet, breeder said she would email me the clinical notes when she received them.

Personally I would ask to speak to the vet once I had seen the clinical notes, then make a decision from there.

Thank you, I spoke to the vet today and we have decided not to take puppy on, will keep looking for another.

Thank you for everyone's advice

That is heartbreaking OP. If you do decide on a pup in future then personally I wouldn’t go for a breed with such health problems.
Plus parents were health checked? Each pedigree parent should undergo breed specific specialist tests prior to breeding. (Eg I have wolfhounds and they should never be bred without both parents having a full heart test done by a specialist cardiologist). It’s not like a yearly health check done when vaccinating.
Plus. KC means little. Go through the breed club to find breeders.

Good for you OP. You have made a good descision with head over heart.

It is so easy to get to the point where you feel you've waited long enough and will deal with what you get, but I think you've dodged a bullet here.

Best of luck on your onward search

Thank you both.

Very disappointing overall, because apart from this issue, she got full ok and she has a lovely little personality. She is going to stay with breeder, they have lovely dogs so she will be happy.

Ah sorry to hear that. I think it was the best decision in the long run.

Sounds like the breeder is decent though which is a rarity, so perhaps you can ask them to keep your details for any future litters?

Good decision OP. Walking away from a pup is hard but uninsurable health issues are a deal breaker for sure.

Sounds like a decent breeder though have they offered you another puppy space ?

I have a CKCS they are just the best lap dogs

Thank you,

Yes the breeder actually suggested this was best thing to do, she will keep her until it corrects itself or puppy has surgery, and then she will either keep her or if absolutely necessary, such as she fights with her other dogs then she will re home her if needed to a suitable home.

And yes, we will stay on her list, she has another dog due in a couple of weeks so may have possibility to have one of those puppies.

She has another litter due in a couple of weeks? @tryingtogrowarosegarden that’s a massive red flag. Good breeders don’t have so many bitches or breed from each often enough to have more than a litter or maybe two in a whole year.