Hiya I'm new to this site. We put our deposit down on a pup born on the 21st for a black working labrador retriever girl. We are so excited and have been getting a pic every week. We get first choice of one of seven girls! The breeder has called today to say they might have to release the pups after their 6 week check as mum has severe mastitis and they have been advised today by the vet to take them out of their pen and start feeding them on rice pudding. The breeder has said the pups are lovely and healthy but I've read and reread all the articles on this site and I'm worried about the affect not being with mum will have on the pups and also getting our pup 2 weeks early?! Any advice much appreciated Thanks in advance Emma
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Hi, Emma, and welcome to the forum! As I understand it it is not unusual for a mother to stop feeding her puppies at 3-4 weeks of age, or at least start becoming intolerant of them suckling. At point the breeder would start introducing runny puppy food of some kind. So, while it is not good news that the poor mother has mastitis, which presents a challenge for puppy management, I do not think that the need to wean the puppies a bit early is a reason to let the litter go to new homes early as well. What is the breeder's rationale for that? As I'm sure you're aware the issue is not the physical health of the pups but their social development. To he honest, if the breeder is adamant that they need to go at 6 weeks I'd be beginning to look at other litters. I can image how hard it would be to walk away from this litter, but I myself would not be too impressed with a breeder who did not go to all lengths to do it by the book.
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! What Rachael has said is totally right. Some pups do begin getting weaned at 3-4 weeks so it's not a totally bad thing this is happening now. The breeder is irresponsible to be letting the pups go at 6 weeks of age. They need to be with their mother for their social development, not for feeding at this age. Take it from someone who ended up with a 6 week old pup (breeder lied about their age) those pups are being set up for a whole host of behaviour problems as 99% of my dogs issues can be traced back to not staying with mum and litter mates long enough to learn social skills. It will be hard and devastating to walk away from the puppy you have chosen but you need to weigh up a fe weeks of heartache compare to years of hard work and training just to get your dog to a minimally acceptable level of behavior around other dogs.
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Hmm. I have a 6 month old girl whose Mum had very little milk. The breeder opted for physical exhaustion and bottle fed the pups... but no way did they leave early, they stayed for that all important early socialisation. Rachael and Naya are right - mastitis may well cause problems, but shouldn't affect the age that the pups go. I would challenge the breeder about the logic here - and hard as it may be, I think you might need to be prepared to walk away. Clare
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Thank you for your replies. I guess it's back to searching for new pups. We are so gutted this has happened it took us 6 months to find what we thought was the right breeder and type of dog. Such a shame. I'm not sure what else I can do to prevent this, I think I might call the breeder tomorrow. Surely the vet should be advising him to keep socialising the pups with mum? He is saying mum won't be with them again. So confused!! But also the other 7 buyers should be saying no too?!.....
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Yes, it is a hard situation Gutting for sure. I know that 6 months is a long time to search and wait, but you are bringing into your home a family member who will be with you for well over a decade. You have done the right thing by doing your research and might just have to do a little bit more of the same, unattractive as that option sounds... Talking to the breeder sounds like a good plan, at least so you can listen to their rationale and ask about the reasons why the pups can't apparently stay together for the full 8 weeks. If the other buyers do take puppies at 6 weeks then they are leaving themselves open to a range of behavioural problems, as Penny+Me has said. I agree with her that you just don't want to start behind the 8-ball like that.
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Hiya Emma, welcome. Sorry you are having these issues. Have you been to see the pups? If you have actually seen the mother, and the setup, it will be easier for you to make an informed judgement. If you have never seen the pups or the mother, then at this point alarm bells should be ringing and the dreaded words 'puppy farm' appearing in your mind. Also, feeding on rice pudding sounds deeply suspect to me. Sorry.
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Hi, Agree, puppies are normally weaned about 3-4 weeks, so should have started this process and this wont hurt them. My parents English Setter had this at just over 2 weeks, so we bottle fed 4 puppies every 2 hrs, for weeks. Puppies should never been taken away from mum before 8 weeks at earliest, sounds like they just want them gone. If your really set on this puppy then speak to the owner and explain your not happy about 6 weeks could she hold onto it for a few weeks longer. Our first littler were 8 weeks old, 3 days before christmas, my parents wouldn't let them go until the new year as didn't want them to be christmas presents. They also Vet checked every new owner. If they wont or your not happy about response i would start looking again, it's worth the wait. mel
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Totally agree, when we got Hattie the breeder wouldn't let any puppies go until they were 12 weeks, so we were really lucky and Hattie is an amazing girl. Think carefully before you go ahead with buying this puppy as hard as it might be. So sorry you are being messed about by this breeder
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! You must be desperately disappointed, but it sounds to me as though this breeder may be out of her depth. It also sounds a little odd. For several reasons. Six week old pups need their siblings to rough and tumble with, and all puppies are normally weaned at six weeks anyway. Weaning is not why puppies stay with the breeder until 8 weeks. Puppies (unless raw fed) are normally weaned onto a commercial puppy food, from about three weeks. Not rice pudding. Some breeders soften the puppy food with a little water to begin with. It is usual to let the puppies continue to nurse from a bitch with mastitis, as this keeps her udder drained. Sudden weaning can make things worse, and the antibiotics the bitch has been given do not harm the puppies. Whilst I am not a vet and there may be some perfectly valid reason why this particular bitch cannot feed her puppies, she might just be too sore to tolerate them near her for example, taken as a whole, I think you have cause to be concerned about the situation. Maybe the breeder will be able to put your mind at rest if you have a chat with her. But my guess is, that she is probably having a rotten time of it, and has decided she has had enough. If you do decide to walk away, this is a great time of year to be looking for a pup. There will be lots more litters about, and I'm sure you'll find your pup soon.
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! I do hope we haven't put you off with all the negative comments. You must be so disappointed. I wish I knew even a tenth of the stuff I know now from the forum - it would have stopped a lot of mistakes i have made. Do let us know how things are going. We are here to belp all we can.
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! What a shame. It sounds, as Pippa said, as if the breeder is out of her depth and very inexperienced, and she is taking advise from a vet, who's probably never bred a litter in his life. :-\ It's the other litter mates the pups need to stay with, not necessarily the Mum. Some Mums have very little input with their pups once they are weaned and weaning is normal at 3-4 weeks old anyway. Perhaps have a little chat with the breeder about keeping all the pups together until 8 weeks old and go from there. Other than that, there are lots of other litters out there, especially at this time of year. I wouldn't take another 6 week old pup though, not unless there were very extreme circumstances. I've done it twice and it's much, much harder work teaching them Bite Inhibition, amongst other things.
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Thank you all for your comments and your concern. I had a good chat to our vet and armed with knowledge I phoned our breeder. The breeder said the mum had perked up and was still in with the pups and feeding which was a relief. We are going over next week to have another look and I will question him fully I have also left a message for him to call me with an update this weekend as I haven't heard from him since Tuesday. The vet said rice pudding is fine if accompanied by puppy milk if the mother isn't feeding. I'm also going to refuse to get her until 8 weeks, and then only if I'm comfortable that she has received the right care. We went to see the puppies when they were a day old and I was happy with the set up so this is why it was such a shock to hear him say what was going on. If we are happy and decide to take a pup the vet has mentioned puppy parties and socialisation classes which sound fun. I'll update you once we have seen them. Thanks again for your comments. I'm so glad we have found this forum.
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Well done. Great job. It's good news that the mother is doing ok.
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Update appreciated. Glad things are looking more positive for you
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! Just a little update.... We had a call from the breeder last week and it turns out he has lied to us and mum has been out of the pen since they were 2 weeks old. He also told me they are on rice pudding alone and he wants them gone by 6 weeks, no puppy pack, no injections, nothing. After a lot of debate we decided we couldn't continue with getting a pup from him and have forfeited our deposit. Today we have been to see a wonderful breeder and have put our deposit down on the most beautiful pup which we can get NEXT SATURDAY!!!!!! The breeder is wonderful, such a massive difference. Our family (me hubby and 2 boys age 3 to 5) ended up spending the afternoon there with all the animals. They live on a farm but breed different types of working dogs and they also do gun training. Needless to say we have come away super excited, covered in mud and relieved knowing we have done the right thing. I do feel for those poor pups we turned down though How do I post pics on here via a mobile? Thank you all for helping us Emma xx
Re: 3 week old puppies - mum has mastitis!!!! So sorry - but I do think you have made the right decision. Looking forward to 'meeting' your new addition!
