mini girl Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Just interested to hear of any girls who have come back to their breeder for a litter. How long would you keep the mother with her pups before letting her return home. Of course would not let her go until pups well and truly weaned but interested to hear of others experience in this. I know my girls that live with me were quite content to let the pups go around 8 or so weeks and certainly don't fret when they do go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystiqview Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I had to return one bitch back to her owners when the pups were just three weeks. They were causing SUCH a fuss and making my life a living hell. I would not normally do this as it caused all sorts of new issues with the pups. I had to find a surrogate mother for a week during weening. Thankfully there were only two pups in that litter. Depending on bitch/pups, I could let them go back from 6 weeks as by this stage my bitches have generally fully weaned the pups and had enough of them. I do have other dogs/bitches here who are good with pups who are great at teaching them manners and how to live in a pack. Normally I would be happy to let them go back when the pups go at 8 weeks. I have only done the bitch back once for a litter. I am not keen on doing it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leema Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 (edited) I had a bitch back for a litter, and she came here 2 weeks before her due date to settle in, and went home 4 weeks after whelping as she had weaned them and had no more interest in them. I had planned to keep her until the pups were about 6 weeks old, but didn't see much point keeping her an extra 2 weeks when she wasn't doing anything with her puppies! I also had plenty of dogs for the litter to interact with, so they didn't miss out on adult socialisation just because their mother wasn't here. EDITED TO ADD: The contract actually said that the bitch may stay with me for up to 12 weeks post whelping, 'just in case'. Edited January 29, 2014 by Leema Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mini girl Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 Thanks for your help. Yes I have the pups to be grandmother and two other now desexed females so dogs to teach the pups what they need to know so if the mother is not that interested in the pups at 6 weeks and her milk dried up it should be ok to let her go home? It's to be her one and only litter she is with very good friends and they love her so much they will miss her so they are going on a holiday after the pups are born. Hope it all works out but feel it should be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 We don't do breeders terms with pet owners . All our bitches still play & would feed our pups till 8 weeks ,we don't wean them off as such but they are feed early on . I don't think you can committ to a time frame each litter & bitch is different ,if i was to say up to then up to 7 weeks & i guess that would depend on whether new owners wish to meet the mother etc etc or what arrangements you wish to make Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjelkier Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 The bitch I leased for my last litter came to me just after she had been mated and although she weaned the pups quite early she didn't go back until they had all gone to their new homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I wouldn't send a bitch back until she has fully weaned the pups ( of her own accord ) that might be 8 weeks or more depending on the bitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mini girl Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 It's my first time for this so will just play it by ear. She lives very close to us so her owners can visit regularly. She has stayed with us in the past so will be relaxed while here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aetherglow Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I have twice had a bitch go back to her breeder for a litter. The first time was our family dog many years ago, and we took her a couple of days before the puppies were expected, but she ended up whelping that evening. the breeder sent her back at four weeks which was as far as I could tell their normal policy as they weaned all litters at this age. I doubt that this would be standard practice these days, even if the pups are weaned keeping the mother with them for social development would be better for at least a couple more weeks if she's still happy. As a sequel, the bitch was in emergency vet care with pyometra a day after coming home, so it was a bit of a disaster - not that I think the breeder would necessarily have spotted that she was sick before she came home - we didn't realise she was more than just a bit tired out and adjusting to the big change until we saw her nearly collapse. Had she stayed at the breeder's she would have been seperated from her pups anyway due to medical necessity. With my current girl's breeder we went to the x-ray together and my girl went home with the breeder, and whelped that night - again, several days earlier than expected. She came home to me at about 5 weeks, which was earlier than planned, as she had weaned the pups and was fretting so much that the breeder asked me to collect her early. It worked well for the pups as my girl's mother had whelped a litter a few days after her, so they had their grandmother and the breeder's other dogs to socialise with as well as the other litter. I was only able to visit a couple of times, and while my girl had had plenty of visits with the breeder and her other dogs before then and knew them well she still just wanted to be home. So it sort of depends on the bitch and the circumstances, but going from these experiences it's probably best to get the girl settled in at least a week before due date! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mini girl Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 I have twice had a bitch go back to her breeder for a litter. The first time was our family dog many years ago, and we took her a couple of days before the puppies were expected, but she ended up whelping that evening. the breeder sent her back at four weeks which was as far as I could tell their normal policy as they weaned all litters at this age. I doubt that this would be standard practice these days, even if the pups are weaned keeping the mother with them for social development would be better for at least a couple more weeks if she's still happy. As a sequel, the bitch was in emergency vet care with pyometra a day after coming home, so it was a bit of a disaster - not that I think the breeder would necessarily have spotted that she was sick before she came home - we didn't realise she was more than just a bit tired out and adjusting to the big change until we saw her nearly collapse. Had she stayed at the breeder's she would have been seperated from her pups anyway due to medical necessity. With my current girl's breeder we went to the x-ray together and my girl went home with the breeder, and whelped that night - again, several days earlier than expected. She came home to me at about 5 weeks, which was earlier than planned, as she had weaned the pups and was fretting so much that the breeder asked me to collect her early. It worked well for the pups as my girl's mother had whelped a litter a few days after her, so they had their grandmother and the breeder's other dogs to socialise with as well as the other litter. I was only able to visit a couple of times, and while my girl had had plenty of visits with the breeder and her other dogs before then and knew them well she still just wanted to be home. So it sort of depends on the bitch and the circumstances, but going from these experiences it's probably best to get the girl settled in at least a week before due date! Thank you for the other side of the story - her owners live close by and are very close friends - they do love her to bits and she visits us regularly and has stayed with us a good few times in the past - I will just see how things go - to be honest I think her owners will miss her more than she will miss them. It is the only time I intend to do this so do hope it works out - I have her mother and grandmother and do want one of the pups to keep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aetherglow Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I hope it works out for you all. Some girls are perfectly fine when they have puppies to look after and don't miss home at all. The first girl used to think visiting her breeder and getting to play with the other dogs was like holiday camp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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