The Spotted Devil

I think it's less about "littermates" but having 2 puppies that are potentially of a similar size, age, disposition, confidence level etc etc. When a new puppy (of my breeding) joins my household the other bitches will have different relationships with her but she is clearly going to be submissive to them. I do notice that when I have pups of my breeding back to stay, littermates avoid each other and there is some level of tension when they interact, whereas the half-sisters play and hang out together a lot more. It's different when it's males and females. It's also going to be different across breeds and lines. I would not sell 2 puppies to the same household given my own experiences. The owners sound like they are doing the right thing - different puppy classes definitely help too - with younger puppies it's about confidence so learning to deal with the world on their own without falling back on their littermate is really important.

I definitely wouldn't breed on with this girl. I would do some investigations, if possible, to see where it has come from but, as others have said unfortunately sh!t happens. A good way to think about it is over the long term. Would you want to, 3 generations down the track, have to completely start again as this girl's issues are dominating your lines? I breed so I can have the dog I want in 20 years time.

OMG the money I spend on vet bills What I think of my vets?

The dog may have ingested bedding or a toy. Inappetence is definitely a common response to stress but it should be investigated. I hope the suspected cause/outcome is published. Both the kennels and the owner deserve the truth.

Received a pup back after only 2 weeks. I refunded in full and paid for transport because I just wanted that puppy back with me. Yes I'm out of pocket (after all the vet tests to disprove their allegations) but I don't care. I have the puppy. I owe them nothing.

The roll over behaviour normally precedes submissive urination. I've had a b!tch here for whelping that did it all the time. So I just stopped patting if she went to roll over. She LOVED pats so she quickly learnt to sit and lean against me for a pat rather than roll over and pee.

Given that the stray/feral cat population numbers in the 100s of 1000s, if not millions, these stats aren’t very helpful. Cats have low microchip rates, extremely low reclaim rates and many are not suitable for adoption.

No issue with the spinal nerves? Ziggy is 15 now and that causes him to need to toilet more frequently. He's treated with fortnightly acupuncture and laser therapy, monthly Synovan injection, twice daily gabapentin and nightly Galliprant.

I always am up front about pricing. But yes, in the context of a conversation or email. Not “how much for a female puppy?”

So your time is worth nothing?

Whilst I tend to agree with you with regards to the extreme price increases, I (and many others) have been seriously undercharging for a long time. In addition, breeding is more than one litter. This time I’ve been very fortunate with a large litter and healthy mum. However it’s balanced out by the costs of every other litter - 3 puppies to sell - one required corrective eye surgery at 6 weeks (not genetic) which was more than my puppy price; 5 live pups, 2 deceased - 1 euthanised at 4 weeks (congenital megaoesophagus); 7 pups - emergency c-section and 10 days later Ginny developed gangrenous mastitis which can kill a bitch in hours. Daily vet visits and antibiotics until it could be lanced and drained of putrid pus. Then the necrotic tissue was surgically removed 6 months later. I hip and elbow score my bitches too. Not cheap given it requires a GA. You were lucky @Rascalmyshadowwhich I’m very happy about. But breed long enough and you’ll experience every disaster in the book at some point.

Holy shit @Teebs that is bloody disgraceful.

At the end of the day “contracts” aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. Possession is 9/10ths of the law so I make sure I have strong relationships with my puppy people. It’s actually more effective than scaring someone with legal stuff. I have a girl going on breeders terms from this litter - they already have a puppy from me and I’ve told them their friendship means more to me than a litter. They will own the bitch (no charge) but the pedigree papers will be in my name. We may have one or more litters. The girl can come to me when in season or for breeding or stay with them. We will maintain open communication throughout and if they change their mind that’s ok. Costs will be for ongoing discussion, depending on expenses incurred, time put in, puppies born etc. We share the same values and love for our dogs which is more important than anything. These are people who sent me a package of freshly shorn lambs wool as a novel scent and texture for the pups

….wrong thread.

@Kirislin the masking gene is cool - really messes things up. In ESS, black is dominant and liver is recessive. Pretty simple stuff. But then you have tri-colour which gives the tan points that my Luna has. Her dad was a tri-colour but I didn’t realise Ginny carried tri….we ended up with 5 tri-coloured out of 7!!! The sire of this litter carries tri and we’ve ended up with 3 out of 10. But what’s cool is that the sire’s mother is genetically a tri-colour but also has the masking gene so looks liver and white! Which explains why tri-colour can disappear for generations!