My friend's dog had a litter of puppies...again...

[Ritz459]

*sigh* If they are complaining about having the pups, why in the heck didn't they get the mom spayed?

So now she has on her hands ten beautiful Aussie/Collie crosses...again. They are around five weeks old now. The dam was hit by a drunk driver when the pups were four weeks old and they had to put her down. (And the sad thing is, the first thing I thought of was, "Hey, at least now there want be anymore puppies!) So now the pups are being fed a formula of sorts until they can eat solid foods.
I'm trying to help find the puppers homes, as I don't think the family is as receptive to them this time. I think as soon as they are old enough, if they haven't been adopted, they're kicking the pups out. If that happens, I've offered to take them in.
So I placed three ads on different website, and ignoring the scammers, I actually had one genuine person want one! I asked her some questions and she sounds like she'd make a good owner. She has had previous Aussie experince before, so that was a plus. Has a Cocker so knows about grooming needs...single, no kids. I'm going to meet her next week when I go to see the pups, preferablly.

My friend was trying to adopt out the dogs now, at five weeks, and I told her that they really needed to stay with each other until at the very least seven weeks, or they loose a lot of socialization from their littermates.

I also told her the importance of screening homes, so they don't just end up anywhere. She seemed receptive to the ideas.

If my parent's let me, I'm toying with the idea of getting one of the pups, but I'm not convinced I want to deal with the potential activity level of an Aussie. If they are more Collie, no problem. I do however want to compete in obdience and/or agilitly and I do want to start jogging....*shrugs* IDK. We'll see. I want to meet the pups and the pup from a past litter first.

I'm going to go see the pups next week, so I'll get pics then. (Unless my friend sends me some she's taken, like I asked her too. lol)
Here is a pic of Joe, a puppy that she kept from a last litter:

Isn't he cute? He looks like a stocky Collie with Aussie hair. lol I do believe he is around seven-eight months old in this pic.
The sire is the Collie cut off in the background. The pups look alot like that, only some are almost completely brown, others have the same markings, and then other's still look like they have a red merle coat pattern. (The dam was a blue merle Aussie).

So if anyone knows of someone who wants an Aussie/Collie cross, let me know! lol And wish me luck trying to find them homes!

[Sayuri]

Thank you for finding these poor kiddoes good homes - kudos to you!

As for your friends...it's as if they set out to become the poster children for irresponsible breeders, isn't it? How in God's name they can possibly think it makes sense to "kick" the puppies out if they're not adopted because *they* were too lazy to get their dog spayed, and *they* were too lazy to find the puppies homes is beyond me. What a shame about the dam too. This whole thing is just sad. Can they even explain why they have dogs at all?

Best of luck to you!

[DogLover8]

Wish you lots of luck! Cute pup!

[Rivsky]

That pup is absolutely gorgeous!

Good on you for helping to find them homes and offering to take them in should these "people" decide to kick them out too soon. Good luck with finding them their forever homes.

[brandysmama]

I'm a mama to a collie/Aussie mix. Brandy's activity levels were higher when she was younger, but she was never incredibly hyper, which is why she was a good fit for the family. She loves attention, but heck, she won't even play Fetch. She'll watch you throw the object and either a) look at you in a weird way, like why did you throw that, or b) go get the object, and sit down and play with it. Then again, she might have taken after the collie side in that respect. That pup from your friend's dog's litter sort of looks like her. Very cute! But I am a bit biased, admittedly...

Good luck with finding homes for those pups. Is there a local Humane Society or a rescue where they could go if some time goes by without all of them having homes?

I can totally understand your frustration with your friend. Our next-door neighbor adopted a mixed breed as a puppy last year (I think they got her from someone who had an "oops" litter). They never spend any time with her, and barely have enough money just to take care of her. So what do they do? Leave her intact, out in an unfenced yard, on nothing but a tie-out (they did eventually get her a chained run). She now has about 9 even more mixed puppies. Would have been cheaper to get her spayed, but oh well... I don't know what she's going to do with those puppies. Heaven help us if she decides that she and the family are going to keep them. There will be 10 yappy, intact dogs in their unfenced backyard, all on tie-outs 24/7.

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

All the luck finding them GOOD homes! That family is so stinking lucky they have you to help!!

Have you posted fliers at pet stores, vet offices and humane societies? That would be a good way to get some interest. I've seen dogs not for adoption from the animal shelter on their website, so maybe you could pursue that option too?

[Ritz459]

Originally Posted by TinyAlbinoDancer

All the luck finding them GOOD homes! That family is so stinking lucky they have you to help!!

Have you posted fliers at pet stores, vet offices and humane societies? That would be a good way to get some interest. I've seen dogs not for adoption from the animal shelter on their website, so maybe you could pursue that option too?

Actually, no, I haven't even thought of doing that. lol Once I get some pics, I'll be sure to post some flyers.

I have a quick question about the lady who was going to adopt a puppy....
I just talked to her and she said that her neighbor was keeping a 4 1/2 week old pup outside. She took the pup in and when she told the neighbor to come get the puppy, he refused and said, "Just put her outside. When she gets hungry she'll come home." Needless to say, she isn't going to do that.
She still wants one of the puppies, however, but she isn't sure if that is a good idea.
So....would it be better to let her have a pup so the two puppies can be raised together as "littermates" or would the cons of raising two pups at the same time outweigh the pros of having two young dogs be around each other for socialization?

And if that isn't a good idea (I don't have enough knowledge about the subject to say it is or it isn't), is there anything she can do for this young pup in terms of socialization with other puppies so it won't end up an anti-social dog?

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

Hmmm. She might want to talk to her vet since the puppies aren't fully vaccinated and coming from two different places? Bless her for taking that other pup in. I don't have enough knowledge or experience to answer the rest of the question, but I hope it works out!

[Ritz459]

Originally Posted by TinyAlbinoDancer

Hmmm. She might want to talk to her vet since the puppies aren't fully vaccinated and coming from two different places? Bless her for taking that other pup in. I don't have enough knowledge or experience to answer the rest of the question, but I hope it works out!

Thanks, TAD.

I just sat here at my computer for about five minutes straight just thinking about it ( ) and I think I've come to a conclusion.

The puppies are already without a mother. It is just all ten of them. They are being kept outside in a barn. They aren't really being socialized to anything. Taking away one of the pups and putting it inside a house with another "littermate" where it can get the socialization it needs....that doesn't sound too bad. Tell me if I'm wrong though.

I'm going to ask her if she plans on keeping the pup she found, as raising two puppies from the same "litter" is hard work...I don't know if I want to adopt a dog out where that situation would happen. *shrugs* IDK. I'll have to think about it some more.

[Rivsky]

I have a friend who has 2 litter mates and she said those first 6 months were nothing but hard work. She said toilet training, obedience training, teaching them manners etc took a lot of time but she did have her husband to help her - they each take one dog each to obedience training every week. Of course now she wouldn't change it for the world.

As long as she knows how much hard work she's in for - particularly in the first 6-12 months then she should be fine. She should also be aware to give each of the pups some alone time with her so they get used to focusing on her and not being distracted by each other and this will help the pups bond to her as well as each other.

[Ritz459]

Good news! I talked to Catie (the lady who wants to adopt a pup) again, and she isn't planning on keeping the other pup. She has contacted an all breed rescue and is just going to foster it until it can be placed up for adoption.
From the sound of it, she is also an ex-breeder/show-er (if that is a word. lol), so even if she was going to keep the pup, she knows how to handle having two pups at one time! lol
I can't wait to meet her and have her pick out her puppy! At least I know one pupper is going to go to a nice home, two if I can have one.

[Swiftwind]

First off, I just have to say how gorgeous Joe is!

Gosh some people just don't learn from their mistakes, do they? Oh well, what's happened has happened and there is no way to undo that. I just wish you the best of luck in finding those puppies new homes.

[Ritz459]

Originally Posted by Swiftwind

First off, I just have to say how gorgeous Joe is!

Gosh some people just don't learn from their mistakes, do they? Oh well, what's happened has happened and there is no way to undo that. I just wish you the best of luck in finding those puppies new homes.

Thanks. I talked to Sarah today and I'm hopefully going to be able to see the pups Saturday after work. That is also when I'm hopefully going to meet this Catie chick. I'll grab some pics then as well. I can't wait.