Hi, we have chosen a stunning new puppy (Chocolate lab x) and had intended to pick him up at 10 weeks due to a booked holiday. Now the owner has said they are going away and need him collected after 8 weeks, just before we go. There is a possibility that a good friend could have him for the two weeks we're on holiday. Is that a stupid idea or would it be ok? Really unsure what to do as we have not paid for but chosen and named him. Please help with suggestions. Thanks
Hi and welcome to the forum That is a difficult situation. If your friend is experienced with dogs and pups and you trust them totally and they would do everything as you would want it done for the first two weeks then that option might be just fine. But my honest opinion (note - just my personal opinion!) is that it'd be a terrible shame to miss these first two weeks... If it were me (again just my opinion) I'd cancel my holiday (but maybe your holiday is a once in a lifetime, expensive or special trip that cannot be easily changed). The other option is to look for a pup from another litter, but that is also easier said than done, and maybe you have been waiting for this particular litter and already feel very attached to this puppy. Can you tell us more about the friend option? How experienced are they? Do they have any kids? Is their home situation similar to yours? Can someone be home all the time (or only away for short periods)? It is a big deal to have a new puppy to care for.... What a shame that the breeder has changed their plans... It seems like you had it all worked out nicely...
Hi Rachael, Thanks for the welcome and such a quick reply. We have known about the litter since she was introduced to the dog. (Friend of my sister) and we saw the litter at just over a week, then again yesterday (Thursday) at just under 4 weeks. The holiday is not something we can cancel unfortunately and we only take two weeks a year anyway due to business running! We had been up front all the way along and it didn't appear to be a problem until the day after we chose and put a collar in him! We are a family of 4 with a 12yr old and an 18yr old. our friend is single but I trust her to be exactly the same as we would be. She and I both volunteer with Medical detection dogs and train them from quite young (but not 8 weeks old!) so I'm sure she would be doing things the same as we would. With her experience, despite the difference in home situation, it would be ok (not ideal) as she works from home and could be around most of the time. I think it may turn out that we have to let him go and look for another litter though. As you say, it's s big ask and especially for two weeks. Thanks Colin
It does sound like your friend is the ideal person to care for your puppy, even though the situation is not what you'd hope for. Although you'd miss out on those two weeks, you were going to anyway with the pup being at the breeder. Have you talked to your friend about it? She might be open to it (I would do this for a good friend in a pickle). And a case or two of nice wine might compensate for the biting and early morning wee trips Having said that, there are stacks of litters out there from good breeders with lovely dogs... If you decide that this situation was not manageable then a puppy from a different litter will still end up being a wonderful member of your family who you will love to bits and not part with for the world.
It's very unfair of the breeder (for want of a better word). You could just go back to them and say you can't take the pup and maybe they'd change their plans. At least it sounds like your friend would take care of the pup but I would probably send the rest of the family on the holiday and just have the pup to yourself for 2 weeks!
Oh what a curve ball......you must have been upset by the news....I think exactly the same as Rachael although she's expressed it a lot better than I would have done! If your friend didn't sound so experienced and well set up to deal with your puppy I would have said differently. Let us know what you decide,sorry you are in this position. Welcome to the Forum and Best wishes Angela x
Hi Jane / Dexter, Thank you. I have now spoken at length to my friend who is happy to take him on for s couple of weeks (mad fool!!) so we will probably go ahead with that route. Dexter, I am tempted to have two weeks alone with him but this will likely be the last holiday with my son (now 18 & 3/4) and the only two weeks break we're getting this year so a bit loathed to stay. Thank you all so much for support and advice, it really has helped in our decision making process. I'll jump back on in a few days and let you know where we are with things and put a picture up if I can. Cheers Colin
Update. Thank you all for your help and advice. We have decided to take our friend up on her offer. We have almost decided on the name Echo but it's a bit close in sound to NO so not 100% sure yet! Also need to decide on harness or crate for the car, so many decisions. Thanks again and I'll be back on here soon. Colin
Before deciding on a name try calling the name at the top of your voice and also high pitched. If you feel comfortable with the name I would go for it and not worry about being close in sound to NO. My girl is Juno and I didn't even consider any possible confusion with sounds. Perhaps the lack of problem is that we mainly use "Non" rather than "No" being in France, but I would not be too concerned about "Echo" and many people prefer not to use No with their puppy anyway.
Good call, thanks. We'll be annoying the neighbours with that over the next few days!! How do I post a picture so people can see him? (proud dad!)
I think Echo is a really good name He won't get it confused with 'no'. To upload pics you need to put them on a photo hosting site like Flickr and then share them by copying the BBcode and pasting it into a post here.
Here are some instructions: http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/i...elp/238913-posting-a-photo-from-flickr-update
You're not having much luck with this are you? I found one trick is after you copy the bb code link thing in put an enter in to push the cursor onto the next line. By the way, it has gone wrong for me lots of times but I am on a run of getting it right.
