jacqui835 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Well I managed to convince a friend of mine to buy from a registered breeder rather than a petshop, but she has just come back from seeing the puppies, and instead of the excited phone call I was expecting, she has called and said the puppies didn't seem to like her at all. I'm not a breeder and hopefully never will be (hopefully people keep breeding the dogs I like) so I don't know, but I do remember with my own puppy, well he (and everyone else in the litter) was extremely happy to see me at 6 weeks and then again at 8 weeks when we returned to take him home. They were literally crawling over each other for prime lap spots etc. According to my friend, these puppies didn't really want anything to do with her, or the breeder. They hid when they could, and cried when either she or the breeder tried to grab them. She said she doesn't think they were scared, just really not interested and wanted to be left alone. This was in NSW so I haven't seen the puppies myself and can only go on what she's saying, but she's not a liar or one to typically exaggerate and the whole thing seems very strange to me. I imagine with some breeds that are by standard more aloof you might see a bit of that, but I always thought GSD's would be similar to dobermans/crosses in that they love people - or at least the breeder/person they know? Is this normal for GSD puppies, or should she look for another breeder? She said the breeder wanted her to take one home next weekend but she isn't so keen at the moment... The pups certainly aren't cheap. Some extra points that might be useful: The dogs were kept outside. The father she said was quite affectionate, he was with the pups and mum and would take every pat she had to offer. The mother wouldn't come out even when the breeder called her. She wanted to look at the mum after I told her she should make sure both parents looked good and were dogs she'd want to own, but they couldn't get the mum to come out of the kennel. They did seem very sleepy, they played a bit with each other and mum and dad but lying down a bit whilst doing it. The breeder shows the father, said the mum had a brother who was doing prison work - supposedly a mix of show and working lines. I'd said I'd ask here before I made any judgements because I just don't know what's normal and what's not, just doesn't seem right... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Personally I wouldn't buy a puppy that showed no interest in human contact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodoggies2001 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Puppies generally all over anyone close by. Whenever I have gone to look at a litter of puppies that I was interested in the puppies were crawling all over anyone that dared to sit on the floor. I think I would just turn around and walk away as quickly as I could. Something doesn't feel right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion 01 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I'd be looking elsewhere too if it were me. Doesn't sound normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wantsapuppy Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Definatly not normal an like previously said I would run a mile in the other direction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkehre Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 It's a definite NO from me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lappiemum Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 its hard to say. yes, ideally a litter of excited little puppies is what you would like to see, but there can be a number of reasons why a litter is not active and wanting to say hello when a visitor arrives - for example, they may be tired after a big play session, or it may be a hot day, or they may even be a bit flat if they have been wormed that morning. However, I would be concerned if the mother wouldn't come when the breeder called, although bitches can be a bit funny with puppies around (it just depends on the bitch). IMO Bottom line advice is to go with your instincts - you're friend is buying more than a pup, she is buying support, advice and the experience of the breeder. If she doesn't feel that its going to work out, then she should look at other options now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 G**gle the breeder, and see what comes up . I would be looking elsewhere, I think ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minxy Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 its hard to say. yes, ideally a litter of excited little puppies is what you would like to see, but there can be a number of reasons why a litter is not active and wanting to say hello when a visitor arrives - for example, they may be tired after a big play session, or it may be a hot day, or they may even be a bit flat if they have been wormed that morning. However, I would be concerned if the mother wouldn't come when the breeder called, although bitches can be a bit funny with puppies around (it just depends on the bitch). IMO Bottom line advice is to go with your instincts - you're friend is buying more than a pup, she is buying support, advice and the experience of the breeder. If she doesn't feel that its going to work out, then she should look at other options now. Good post, Lappiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 As previously stated, there are reasons why a litter of pups might not show the level of activity/interest that is ideal at the time of viewing, and they are all valid. I breed GSD's and have faced this same scenario a couple of times when allowing people to view pups. Especially if they have had a huge play session just before the people arrive, no ammount of stimulation will get them up and active. Once they are tired, that is it until they have slept and recovered. Even if they are very tired, they will not usually hide. They will still come out for a quick investigation, before losing interest and dropping in a heap. However, I would be very concerned at the bitch's behaviour. All of our bitches are extremely social and can't wait to meet visitors and show off their babies. In fact, seeing how happy and friendly they are,is considered a big plus by prospective buyers. You may find a bitch that is not all too happy with strangers near her babies, but if this were the case, I would expect her to be out of her kennel to check you out and make sure you were not going to harm them. Under no circumstances would I expect a bitch not to come out of the kennel when called by the owner. The disinterest from the pups may have just been bad timing on the part of your visit, but the bitch's behaviour, if reported accurately, would be enough for me to walk away and look somewhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui835 Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 Thanks guys. Didn't think it was normal but I'm no expert. I think it's time to visit some of the other breeders - it's not like there's only 1 and lappiemum you're right, I really want her to have that lifelong support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui835 Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 As previously stated, there are reasons why a litter of pups might not show the level of activity/interest that is ideal at the time of viewing, and they are all valid. I breed GSD's and have faced this same scenario a couple of times when allowing people to view pups. Especially if they have had a huge play session just before the people arrive, no ammount of stimulation will get them up and active. Once they are tired, that is it until they have slept and recovered. Even if they are very tired, they will not usually hide. They will still come out for a quick investigation, before losing interest and dropping in a heap. However, I would be very concerned at the bitch's behaviour. All of our bitches are extremely social and can't wait to meet visitors and show off their babies. In fact, seeing how happy and friendly they are,is considered a big plus by prospective buyers. You may find a bitch that is not all too happy with strangers near her babies, but if this were the case, I would expect her to be out of her kennel to check you out and make sure you were not going to harm them. Under no circumstances would I expect a bitch not to come out of the kennel when called by the owner. The disinterest from the pups may have just been bad timing on the part of your visit, but the bitch's behaviour, if reported accurately, would be enough for me to walk away and look somewhere else. Interesting. Now that I think about it, you wouldn't think a healthy bitch would be so tired from anything that she wouldn't come and say hello when her master called, so it probably was something else that stopped her coming. My friend said the mum was in a kennel, lying down, and they could see her, but when the owner called her she just lay down completely, like put her head down as well. She said everyone except for the father just seemed quite lethargic and disinterested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilaryo Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I'd imagine these puppies have not been handled much from what you describe. Puppies have different personalities and you may find some that come for a quick hello and then prefer to be off playing with littermates BUT cry when handled doesn't sound right! I suppose as others have mentioned perhaps they were already worn out from playing or if it was a really hot day, sometimes pups will run for cover.... Still I wouldn't be buying one ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 (edited) I'd imagine these puppies have not been handled much from what you describe. Puppies have different personalities and you may find some that come for a quick hello and then prefer to be off playing with littermates BUT cry when handled doesn't sound right! I suppose as others have mentioned perhaps they were already worn out from playing or if it was a really hot day, sometimes pups will run for cover.... Still I wouldn't be buying one ;) Neither would I! My next puppy will come from an interstate breeder so in all likelihood, I will only meet the litter once when I go to pick my puppy up. At the end of the day, I would never take the risk of taking a lethargic or disinterested puppy. I'm sure there are reasons puppies may appear less energetic than usual, but I still wouldn't take the risk of taking one that showed no interest in me and wouldn't engage with me in any way. How puppies react to a new person would actually be one of the things I look at when picking a puppy. Edited December 18, 2011 by huski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flaves Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 It does not sound normal too me Walk away or see if she can go back another time and see if she gets the same response Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 She could make another appointment to see them and go at a different time of day, but the alarm bells are ringing for me. The fact the puppies cried when handled, seemed totally disinterested in people and the bitch flat out refused to come out makes me think that they haven't had a lot of handling and the bitch can't see humans as very interesting either in her life experiences. Even if puppies are tired they should still not show a determined disinterest in people. If anything they should be looking for a lap to curl up on. I had a Dobe bitch who came home from the breeders as not pregnant to present me with a singleton pup. She went into protection overdrive and strangers could not be in the same area as her and she would have bitten, there was no doubt about that, even hit the garage door as it was slammed in her face. Once the puppy got to around 6 weeks she took an interest in what people were doing with her baby but was nowhere near what she was. Once the baby was ready to go at 8 weeks she would have happily given it away and was far too busy being a pat me tart to care who was doing what to her baby. I would be looking elsewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atanquin Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Our GSD was all over us at 7 weeks old and he or his litter mates never has much human contact but his mother and father where both lovely dogs. I would be concerned about the mother too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui835 Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 Thanks guys for all the advice - really didn't seem right to me, and not to mention, so disappointing because puppies may be untrained and hard work, but at least they're normally loving and fun. Spoke to her again, she's really not keen to go back. The breeder was pushing for a deposit and she told him she needed to consult with me. I asked her about the crying again and she said they didn't cry continually, just as you went to pick them up. Once you were holding them they were ok, but again no interest, no licking, no play biting which I had told her to expect, no nothing and as soon as you put the puppy down it went away. She said it wasn't hot, but the puppies and mum definitely seemed lethargic. I'm really happy though, my biggest fear was that she'd go back to the petshop since at least those puppies were happy to see her, but she's already back to her list of registered breeders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowanbree Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I would go back for another visit because as a breeder I have been in that exact situation with tired puppies. Second time round isit on meeting the mother properly and if no better walk away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe001 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I was sent a video of my GSD a few times before I picked him up at 8 weeks. At a couple of weeks old he was being picked up and was snuggling into the person, footage of the mother playing and fetching etc, the mother with the pups, and the father being walked, played with, and running free with other dogs. And then at 5-6 weeks more footage of all of them playing with kids and following them around. Nothing scared or timid and definately no crying. They were happy little fat balls of fur that couldn't get enough human contact. One younger bit of footage (less than a month old) they were sleeping with mum and the owner walked in and picked up each pup for me to see their faces etc. Most kept sleeping. I would be worried if I saw what it seems your friend saw. If she has concerns now I wouldn't buy one of those. She should trust the breeder not be suspecious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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