Keeping puppies beyond the collection date

Riley wasn't super bitey and he left bang on 8 weeks. We had a holiday booked but the breeder wouldn't keep him. They weren't experienced and felt that all the dogs should go at 8 weeks in order to bond and be socialised in their new homes. Which is fine but it did mean Riley was shunted around for a couple of weeks after we'd had him for a little over a week.
Obi was much more mouthy but he pretty much pulled his punches from the beginning and didn't do any damage (except to endless loo rolls!)
I think I have a large supply of cardboard and kongs to thank for most of that.....and a healthy dose of luck!!!!

 

I think I have a good perspective on this, since my two are litter mates, but I got them at different times. Willow left the breeder at 8 weeks and a day. Shadow came home at 14 weeks, and his sister, Annie, also went to her home (friends of ours) at 14 weeks.

They all came with built-in recall, because the breeder worked on that every day with them, associating the whistle with good things, from a very early age. We had a bit of a blip when they hit adolescence, and it's certainly still not proofed against very strong distractions, but it's pretty good.

I socialised Willow as the books say; taking her out every day to shops, schools, carrying her around the village, to fetes and fairs etc etc. Shadow and Annie didn't do any of this before 14 weeks - they lived at a big chateau in France where they didn't have the same opportunities to see different things.

They are all completely different, both in personality and physically.

Willow had a bit of a crocopup phase, but it was all over by the time Shadow came to us. Shadow and Annie didn't have a crocopup phase at all, probably because they learnt bite inhibition with their siblings and parents. However, Annie can be a bit mouthy when she plays, not applying pressure at all, just putting her mouth around your wrist. Shadow likes to nibble at clothing first thing in the morning, like he's grooming you. Willow does neither of these.

Willow was bomb-proof when we first had her, not scared of anything. Shadow, when we got him, was terrified of large vehicles (buses, lorries, bin trucks etc). Annie was the same, although not to the same degree. None of them flinch at the sound of fireworks or a storm - but they had plenty of storms when very small and a local hunt that came quite close to the chateau.

Now they are older, all three of them show a dislike of children, even Annie, who has been around children far more frequently. She also doesn't like unfamiliar men. Nothing negative ever happened with them with children - or with Annie and men - to cause this fear, so it's very strange that they're all the same like that.

No-one could ever say that Annie and Shadow didn't bond with their owners from leaving later. They are both remarkably cuddly dogs. Far more so than Willow, who is happy to not have physical contact; Shadow craves that and is always cuddled up to one or the other of us.

This is obviously all purely anecdotal, clearly, but I think demonstrates that the dogs are all complete individuals and so you just can't predict how they will turn out.

Two of the other puppies stayed on at the breeders for a few weeks to fit around holidays. They were charged for board and lodgings; the amount that the food cost, plus a bit more for the time that had to be spent on them. Neither we, nor Annie's new owners, were charged extra, because it wasn't a matter of us asking for them to be held onto; both Shadow's and Annie's arranged homes fell through , so they were up for sale at a later date to the others.

 

Got my first pup at 10 weeks and he was never a crocopup. I'd happily have another one at 10 weeks so s/he had a bit longer with Mum. I think that earlier than 12 weeks is ideal but only so they can start having new experiences during their most receptive period.

Obviously that socialisation burden will fall to you, Catherine. You are doing the new owners a big favour and I think it's totally reasonable to charge for any consumables....and any vet fees they incur on tip of vaccinations, which might be worth talking about with the owners. I'd be getting a sizeable, non-refundable deposit too.

 

That's a very sensible idea.

 

We collected Saba at 10 weeks, and paid extra for his vaccinations. The breeder was happy to hang on to Saba while we were on holiday, and we collected a happy, healthy pup who would sit and down on command, and travelled well in the car. As buyers, we would have been quite happy to contribute to feeding costs had the breeder asked.

 

What happened in the end was they collected him at just over 8 weeks and fell in love so reduced the length of their holiday.. I had him for the 10 days or so while they were away, he and we (mum& pup I kept) had a great time and a lot more bite inhibition was learned! They brought some food which didn't last long because they need ever increasing quantities at this stage but that wasn't a problem as he's still having the same as mine. They came back bearing gifts for me and the dogs, offering to pay for the extra food which I refused. Everybody, people and dogs had a lovely time and having him for that bit of extra time was a bonus as far as I'm concerned!

 

Wonderful

 

Ah a happy ending (or beginning depending which way you look at it) lovely news

 

Super, thank you for giving us the update! Glad they fell in love and came back early, that sounds like a good start!

 

Very interesting thanks for sharing.

 

I had to do the same thing when I was getting my Dalmador. I paid £50/week extra. For people wanting you to keep them for 3-4 weeks I would suggest maybe £150-200 extra, probably £150 and that would also include the price of the injections.