Keeping puppies beyond the collection date

I have recently bred a litter of ESS puppies (both parents fully health tested as recommended for the breed and clear of everything and good hip scores!) A couple of my new owners to be, have asked if I can keep the pups an extra 3 or 4 weeks because of pre arranged family circumstances. I am in principle of course happy to do this but wondered about how to deal with the question of the extra costs I will incur. Clearly I will have to get the 2nd injections done and then they will also be eating me out of house and home, not to mention the time training and socialising etc. Is this just part and parcel of the breeding territory or is it reasonable to ask the new owners to contribute to the costs. Has anyone any experience of this and if so how did you tackle the issue. I have to say I believe both sets of people will be giving my pups excellent homes in the long run.

 

If I were buying I would expect to pay the extra costs. So I would calculate them and let the buyers know ASAP. It's not a part of the original deal is it?

 

Glad you don't think I'm being a greedy so an so! The deal includes 1st jab, & microchipped when ready to go at just after 8 weeks. With one set of owners they are paying the deposit in tomorrow and we are going to chat about the details then. With the others everything is still up in the air....so plenty of time to negotiate terms!

 

I've never been interested in breeding but I would charge the new owners for the additional weeks you are keeping the puppies for their convenience, so costs for food, vet visits and for some basic training and socialisation. If of course it's the case that a home hasn't been found for a puppy, the cost would be down to the breeder until re-homed.

 

I will be doing some sums in the morning When brain is hopefully in gear.
I have been very selective in choosing owners and demand has exceeded supply and they are only 41/2 weeks old! I have a growing "reserve" list in case anyone has a change of mind/circumstances.

 

I'd also point out to them that they will be missing out on those crucial first few weeks, so important for socialization... Not ideal for them, the puppy, or for you! Are you keeping one of the pups? If you are, your puppy may also find it harder to bond with you, with his/her siblings still around...

Some photos would be lovely...

 

Yes I've already had the conversation about socialising and I agree it's far from ideal especially as I'm keeping a pup!
I haven't mastered the technology as far as uploading photos...they're all on my iPad.....umpteen as you can imagine, every day they do something new...hard work but very rewarding.

 

I'm really interested to hear all about your experiences with your pups Catherine, and I'm sure the other forum members would love to hear more, too!

 

I kept one of my puppies longer - new owners were absolutely fine with paying for vet checks & extra food. I never asked them to pay for socialising etc as I felt it's just my duty as a breeder. Not even mention that it was a great pleasure to train him a bit more & to have a first experience with having 2 older puppies at the same time as we kept one from the litter for ourselves. It really all depends on your attitude to breeding & how much you get from just being with dogs. For me observing the pup that came to this world only because I made that decision for a bit longer was great opportunity to learn sth new ....

 

Would you say there was a difference for your puppy's socialization, having another pup there, or was it more a positive experience for the puppies?

 

yes - it was different. I had to take a good care to train them separately, to try to bond more with Ellie (my pup) than Jasper (the pup that stayed longer). But on the other hand after that experience I'm tempted to keep my next litter longer than 8 weeks as both of them had much more time together + with mum & I think that's why they were the pups that were much less "crocapups" than the others as they learnt from each other that biting hurts. Observing my Ellie & comparing her with feedback from the other owners, Ellie & Jasper are the best pups from that litter. Might be coincidence but might be not.

 

I've been thinking quite a bit about all of this....my instinct is that provided I can strike a balance between letting them learn from each other, funnily enough bite inhibition being at the top of my list, remembering the piranha teeth of their mother, and giving them separate time to get some basics started, all will be well. Already they are used to crates, don't pee in their sleeping area and realise human beings are fun...we have a busy household with constant comings and goings of people of all ages, they are unperturbed by hoovering and strimming and noisy workmen..all seven are very friendly, filled with curiosity,confident and outgoing...no shrinking violets amongst them...such a lot of development in such a short time, it's truly amazing.

 

We left Lilly with the breeder an extra 2 and a half weeks to accommodate a holiday, We gave extra payment (they didn't ask, but I guess might have if we hadn't offered) and agreed beforehand we would pay for vaccination/vet visit that was scheduled age-wise.

I do wonder not so much about the socialisation (once she was the only one left they brought her from the kennel into the kitchen) but as to whether getting her that little bit later affected her recall. That may of course just have been our inexperience/ineptitude.

One thing I would mention, is the breeder got the first set of vaccinations when we were away, but our own vet used a different brand, so Lilly needed another two vaccinations 2 weeks apart before we could get her out and about. That delayed everything some more and probably also added to our recall issues.

I probably do Lilly a dis-service. Her recall is fine. Unless there are deer/pheasants/rabbits/hares

I would love to hear more about your experiences too.

 

drjs@5 I really don't think that recall issues have anything to do with that I stick to quarantine time till the pups are 12 weeks old & never had any issues - my dogs are being trained at home & in the garden. They see outside world only from the car or a bag hanging from my shoulder & none of them had any problems.

 

Our Guide dog pups don't get to free run 'till 17 weeks! ('tho they do meet plenty of other guide dogs and pups at class and social events and they walk on lead in shops and everywhere other dogs haven't been from 8 weeks old)
They have their last injection at 16 weeks then we have to wait a week after that before we can let then on grass other than the garden. They lost a few to Parvo and now give 3 vaccinations. Gypsy's recall was 100% from day one - I am hoping for the same with Twiglet.

 

Now that is really interesting. What age do guide dogs leave the litter and what do you have to do with them in the first few weeks? Certainly with spaniels too much freedom can be their downfall as they then learn to go self employed.

 

Oh whoops.. just found Twiglet's training blog so will enjoy reading through it and learning lots!

 

Just for interest pups don't normally leave the breeder until 10 weeks here in France, so they have had their vaccination, microchipped, etc. From experience Juno was never a crocopup and her recall was good from day 1. She was use to a collar and lead, would sit when asked (in French ) and was calm lovely girl, which she has remained.

 

Does anyone know if there is any research on the optimum age to break up the litter? I'm hoping some of my owners will stay I touch so it will be interesting to see any differences between those that went in the 8/9 week period and those that stayed till 12ish. Mine will be leaving microchipped, firs vaccination and with a copy of the Happy Puppy Handbook ( which I will give the owners when they come to see their puppy's progress at 6 weeks)

 

Benson was nearly 11 weeks old when we collected him, so spent a bit longer with his mum . He never really went through a crocopup stage, got a bit bitterly when really excited, but nothing really compared to other peoples experiences.