Woops... - Page 1

Well they all said it would happen, I swore it would not, But apparently I have too many kids for it not to happen. My daughter let her female out, (while in heat) Not realizing I had one of the males out in the yard, and had penned up all the females. Well one thing led to another and whalah, we have 7 puppies. Admitting it right here, We had a woops. We are offering our full Guarantee, and limiting the Registration on the pups, because Mother is not yet 2 yrs. and so hips have not been OFA'd yet, Dad just got x-rays and are awaiting the results. In addition we are offering a $150.00 back on every pup upon the receipt of the spay/neuter certificate. Also will be altering our contract to include that these pups will be spayed/neutered by age 6 months. Or they loose all claim to the dog and we will retrieve the dog by a specified date. We are still gonna Microchip these pups as well. Anyone out there have any more ideas on how to properly care for this litter and ensure that we handle this as correctly as possible, My ears are open. Please don't kick me for this I have done that enough myself, actually threw up when we realized what had happened. So yes I am sick over it enough already !! Accidents do happen.

ECHOMEADOWS, Sorry about the OOPS! Alot of people would not agree with me, but I would wait and do a spay/neuter. Do it at 1 yr. JMO, but I feel that the bladder is not fully matured, and as the animal ages to Senior Citizen age, there could be bladder problems. You will have Limited Registrations on the pups so, they cannot be bred. This question is for breeders, if there is an accidental OOPS such as a situation as this, is there a shot that can be given to prevent the pregnancy from continuing after THE DEED was done? Dawn Bonome

@Dawn: If you know the DEED has happend the vet can give the female a shot to prevent the eggs from nesting. But this has to be done within a few days, is pretty heavy for the female and doesn't guarantee there won't be pups. I'm not sure I would go that way, it probably would depend on which female and which male and how unwanted it is to have the pups born. Mostly it is possible to find good family homes for such pups, at least here it is. How it is on the other side of the ocean I don't know. @Echomeadows: We all know it happens, I know of litters mother/son because of such accidents. I suppose you've seen the x-rays of dad, so you'll pretty much have an idea on how his hips are. The mom also isn't pre-x-rayed? If not, I think I would do that as soon as possible.

There have been studies that prove that spaying and neutering after the growth plates have closed is the most optimal time.. most sport dog people use this guideline, small dogs growth plates close around 10 months, larger dogs around 14 (these would be ours).... Secondary sex charateristics are affected as well as bone length.. it has been found that dogs altered before growthplate closure are generally more leggy and more prone to injury.. I think it is the best way to let a dog grow up... all things in balance so to speak.. And yes, there is a mismate shot (this is coming from the ex-vet tech not the breeder).. it has to be given within a certain amount of time to the suspected mismating and there are side effects. If memory serves me, at least one heat must be skipped before actaully attempting a breeding.... I'm not sure I'd use it.... we did go in a do an early c-section on a cocker who had been bred by a very large Lab or GSD or something..how the heck that happened is beyond me but... she could never have whelped/maybe even carried such potentially large babies..

Echo: Don't beat yourself up about it, as they say "shi# happens" I myself would not trust any shot or other med tht messed around with the reproductive system of my bitch, but then I am just a suspicious old grump. You should be able to find good, responsible homes for your pups. Do you think that these will be working line dogs? There may be more of a problem placing a high drive dog in a pet home.

I did contact my vet the same day about the shot, And he upon reviewing all the facts of this situation, Declined to use it. As they had one side effect with it and it turned detremental with that dog, and he opted me out on the shot. I totally trust my Vet and respect that he asked me about 20 ?'s before making this decision for me. Poppa, drive was another reason we opted out on the shot, As these pups should be medium drive, Honestly they should make excellent 4-H, obedience, therapy, companion dogs. We do intend to prelim the mom, but are waiting until after weaning to do so, that as well was reccomended by Vet. and ya Dad's X-rays looked good, but we always await OFA's decision on that one. :-) Thanks for all the input on waiting a little longer on the spay/neuters, I will definately be taking that into consideration, and consult with Vet about that as well. Actually sounds like Vet might be getting one of these pups too. Thanks again Everyone who has responded so far, and if we have missed anything and anyone cares to add, Please do ! :-)

"Or they lose all claim to the dog and we will retrieve the dog by a specified date." Echo-- You're setting yourself up for a potential unknowledgeable and wimpy, new puppy buyer. Anyone who really loves dogs is never going to buy from a breeder that threatens to take away the dog. I would want a confident, hands on, fair person as a potential buyer. A knowledgeable person would want a dog neutered later to allow for proper development. A confident person is never going to be intimidated by contract wording--they won't even get involved, initially. You'll end up interviewing new, easily-led buyers. To my way of thinking---good *yes* talkers, who probably will only have a 50/50 chance of still being interested in the dog 5 years later. Do the limited registration and get applicants who are more intelligent and responsible candidates for buyers of your puppies, Echo. They should exude wise, leadership qualities. These people are your safest bet for maintaining a stable and good environment for anything they take into their homes. Good luck. I would love to see the puppies.

Many years ago I walked in my house and the dogs were tied in my living room(Male had turned door knob and let himself in the house). I took the female to the vet and if I remember correctly, he gave her a shot that was a large dose of estrogen, that started the heat cycle all over again, flushing the potentially fertilized eggs. No pregnancy occured, but the full heat cycle was initiated all over again. Stephen

..sounds like you already have a plan. Why would you limit the "buyer" to Spay and Neuter.. from an "oops" litter @ your fault? Are you a ligit breeder?

Stephen, And that is how it's "Supposed" to work. However my vet had a very bad reaction with a fine Gorden Setter bitch, AKC Champ, trial champ, blah blah blah, and the bitch bled to death. The shot caused the bitch to sluff or tear away the eggs, caused internal bleeding that they were unable to control. So he opted out, one other side effect they had was that a female was no longer able to conceive and "carry" a litter. She never had pups again, and of course these are nice dogs we're talking about not Mutts. My vet simply felt the shot was not worth the risk to the health of the bitch. But it was my first instinct as well, until I heard of the potential side effects.