Selling Mom along with Pups Questions - Page 1

Hello Everyone!

I have a quick question.

I have been talking to a lady who was selling her pregnant GS female. I was really interested and the lady said she was due in one to two weeks (last week started talking to her). Well, mom had pups over this weekend. The lady is still selling her, but with the pups. Is this okay? I would ask my vet, but he is closed for the night and I would really like to know what everyone thinks. She had nine pups all healthy plus beautiful. She is show ring material along with the father. This is her first litter also. I was wondering if this would stress her out too much, if I took her in? The lady is over 12 hours from me one way. I would be driving to get her and the pups. I just do not want her to harm the pups or for her to get too stressed with me being someone new.

Let me know what you all think!
Thanks in advance!
~Nikki~

Sorry, I just found out one pup died. So their is only eight, but they are healthy. Nikki

You should be able to answer this question. For someone to sell a female who has just had pups, and now wants to sell them and the mother immediately should be making you ask a lot of questions. Sure, sometimes crap happens and a female who has just had pups or is about to have pups has to be moved for one reason or another. But one does not do this without good reason. And yes, moving them, potentially exposing them to disease, inappropriate temperatures, the mother to added stress is not something I would want to do unless there was simply no choice. In this case, it sounds like there is a choice. The dog should stay where it is until the pups are much older.

As a minimum, you should be thinking about whether you have the skill and knowledge necessary to take care of this litter and whether you have the proper facility to do so. What is it that you are expecting from the mother? Are you then prepared to keep the pups as long as necessary until a proper home can be found? Do you have the financial means to properly care for them and their veterinary needs? You mention one has already died. Why?

Disturbing a mother at this time is a no brainer and not the best time to be buying a dog. And how do you know the dog is show ring material? Have you done all the homework to make sure you are getting what you think you are buying?

I would not be buying a female who just had puppies. Something does not sound right about this situation. It may simply be that the owner wants money. I would suggest you think about this a bit.

The mother has been in the show ring before, and is close to getting a title for championship. If I cannot put the championship on her, then obedience and others will be placed on her. I am well prepared to keep the pups until they can find great homes. I have the money, which I have been saving for years for my first litter. I am currently looking into the mother and father's background as far as I can go. I know the lady has to move by the end of this month. I am thinking about it, but just wanted others opinions. I am kind of scared but I think everyone usually is when having their first litter. Thanks so much for the help, Hodie. ~Nikk~

Very bad idea.  Stressing the mother at this time with so much travel and a new unfamiliar environment will scar the temperament of the puppies for life.  They take all their cues from their mother.  If she feels fear and insecurity, it will imprint on the little ones.  Also there is a physiological reason.  If the mother is stressed at this time she will release cortisol hormone and it will go into her milk, causing lifetime damage to the puppies in that they will exhibit fearful tendencies and possible immune deficiency.  This is a NO WIN situation for all concerned.

No offense Brat but you sound very young. If you are already scared, I suggest again that this is a poor idea. At the very least, find someone who is thinking more of the consequences for the mother and pups than anything else and talk to them about it. It sounds like you are involved in AKC stuff. There surely must be others who will  also suggest that this is not a great idea. What, for example, would happen if you pay for this mother and the pups and then suddenly more die? 

I understand. Thanks. What do you two think about getting pregnant females? I understand about bring in new lines to your breeding program. Nikki

ARRGH!!!!!!!!  

Review previous posts and it just gets worse. Gets even "better" if you drop the tag into Google.

 Hodie you are a saint - you have far more patience then I could ever have.

I have done some research. The lady more than lied to me about everything, so I will not be going through with it not all. I would not be able to do that to the mom. The lady should seem to care more about her than the money. I do a lot of AKC stuff, with my shepherd right now, and we love it. I should of said nervous instead of scared.

VKFGSD-I looked at the google thing. The only thing that is me, is from this web site. I have not a clue who the other people are. I do, know that I have gotten a few emails in the pass from wrong people. They were looking for the @yahoo.com person.

Thanks again Hodie. You have been much help in the pass and now.
~Nikki~

 VKFGSD,

No, I have no patience and what I do have is about to run out now that I realize we have been down this road before with this person. Unfortunately, there are far too many just like this who ask for advice but don't have the sense to take it. Or, for that matter, to do one's apprenticeship before getting into breeding etc. when they don't know what the heck they are doing. But, when I do tell it like it is, I often get slammed too.

Brat, we already talked about your first posting. Clearly, you have no clue about what you are doing. But I am going to answer you one more time and then stop. I frankly doubt that anything I or anyone else says will make any difference to you and you will end up learning the hard way. Do I care? No, but sadly, YOUR learning the hard way will almost certainly mean the pups and other dogs you end up with will also end up paying for your mistakes. That pisses me off.

Brat, no I don't think getting a pregnant female is a good idea. Why? Because if and when I breed I want to breed MY OWN dogs and know everything about them and have some idea of what I can expect in the progeny. I want to be sure all the paper work is in order so I don't have some of the debacles that we regularly read about here. And specifically, because it is you, I do not think you have the experience or a clue about what you would be doing and I think that is a bad situation.

Secondly, I personally abhor people selling pregnant dogs. For me, a dog is for life. I don't breed and breed and breed a female, or a male for that matter,  and then, when the reproductive life is up, sell it. How unfair to the dog. And it is pure crap that one "has to make room for more stock, better bloodlines etc. " I believe a dog is for life period. But then, I am a fanatic about these things and yes, I only want to breed dogs who can work, not just trot around some stupid show ring and have little or nothing more as a claim to breed worthiness than a Canine Good Citizen or less.

And oh yes, one more thing....I want to be CERTAIN that the dogs I am breeding really ARE breed worthy. That, in an of itself assumes I know something about the breed and am not just getting into breeding for all the wrong reasons.