[karibear]

Originally Posted by Jackie Morrow

Hi y'all. I was just wondering if some of you could get me a few tips on raising 9 puppies to "giving away" age. My Son's dog had puppies 2 weeks ago tomorrow morning. The Mom looks like a Lab to me, but my Son was told that she's mixed with Pit Bull. (I see NO resemblance to PB) Anyway, neither my Son nor I have ever had a dog, and certainly haven't been in on the "puppy thing". So far, everything seems to be going well. There are 6 black puppies, with small splotches of white under their chin, on their feet, etc., and 3 brown ones. They are gaining weight, and their eyes are opening a little, but not much. Mom is staying away from them more & more, and just goes in their box to feed them and clean them up.

Any information and advice would be appreciated.

First of all, don't even think about giving them away younger than 8 weeks. It's illegal in many states to separate them from their mother and littermates earlier than that. They need puppy shots, call a vet to make an appointment. The mother needs extra food, after all, she's eating for 10! As for the 'giving away' I'd reconsider that as well. You should charge at least enough to cover the cost of shots and some of the food they will eat. Besides, people tend to think that "free" is the same as "worthless" and they don't take such good care of them. Raising a puppy to an adult dog is very labor-intensive, but they give unconditional love and loyalty in return, and since they didn't ask to be born, they deserve the best they can get.

Don't worry about what kind of mix they are. The vast majority of dogs return affection for affection, including pits. One of the reasons the pups need to be kept together until at least 8 weeks is so they learn how to be 'dogs' from playing with each other. It's sort of a natural puppy kindergarten - learning to play well with others.

[_redbird_]

Kari, that advice is right on the money. Especially the part of keeping the pups with their mother until they are well over 8 weeks.

Our dog wouldn't leave her pups except to pee and poop when they were still 2 weeks old. That is kind of weird. I hope you get your dog fixed unless you want this puppy raising to become a regular thing.

We often stop by the local dog shelter and it seems like there are always puppies that are black lab mixes. And don't give the dogs to just any idiot off the street. Try and find them good homes.

[Jackie Morrow]

Thanks for your responses, Karibear and redbird. So far, I guess we've done everything "right", other than letting the dog have puppies in the first place. It troubles me to hear that your dog stayed with her puppies continuously until they were older, redbird. Our dog was super-super conscientious at first, and seemed to be a bundle of nerves. I thought this getting away from them was good for her, and they are roly-poly little guys and gals, and don't look like they're suffering from her being away longer. Anyway, thanks again for the input.
No, Redbird, I did not see the thing about Underwood. I agree, that is NOT right!!!! Why glorify something so horrific!!!!

[bjb123]

Originally Posted by redbird4848

Good night John Boy. WHAT? Oh, its morning again.

Tough day. My poor german shepherd had to be put asleep today.

But only for a little while so the vet could clean out her ears. They were so infected, they caused the inside of her ears to become full of black crud.

Been catching up on reading some previous posts. Redbird, you got me on that one! There was a big awhhhhhh..... coming from my mouth ---at first.

[mkfarnam]

Originally Posted by bjb123

Been catching up on reading some previous posts. Redbird, you got me on that one! There was a big awhhhhhh..... coming from my mouth ---at first.

We should have known because he started out thinking he was one of the Waltons

BTW: I did have to have a German Shepard put to sleep because of his arthritis.
He was a beautiful police dog,,,, named him Sargeant.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

We should have known because he started out thinking he was one of the Waltons

BTW: I did have to have a German Shepard put to sleep because of his arthritis.
He was a beautiful police dog,,,, named him Sargeant.

When MK? And how old was he? I hope that he lived a long, full life. He was really a Police dog? I love German Shepards.

[mkfarnam]

This was about 7 years ago.

He was pretty old when he died. I did'nt know that he was a police dog until after I got him.
The way I got him was, there was a dog in my backyard eating cat food and (without looking close) I kept chasing him out. I had a long driveway and the last time I chased him out the driveway I tripping on a rock and went down in the flower bed. Before I could see straight he was on me, crying and licking my face to see if I was alright. That did it,,,,I just couldn't let him go. No one claimed him,,so I did. When I took him to the vet they found a mark on his ear. I checked with the PD, they said that he was retired early and if I could give him a good home I was welcome to keep him.
I had him 12-14 years.

Somewhere I have a picture of him.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

We should have known because he started out thinking he was one of the Waltons

BTW: I did have to have a German Shepard put to sleep because of his arthritis.
He was a beautiful police dog,,,, named him Sargeant.

Having a pet put to sleep when it's time is the last best thing a person can do, to give them a peaceful passing. It drives me nuts sometimes, how often people will say "I can't bear to let him go" when it's obvious to anyone with half a brain that this animal they claim to love is suffering, or to what extent some people will go in order to keep them alive. A few more months because of major surgery? Not in my world, and I doubt if the animal would choose it, either. If it were me, I'd rather go in my sleep, but no one allows people that choice. I've certainly had to put more than my share of dogs, cats, and birds down, usually because of health issues or more rarely because of temperament, and at times other people have asked how I could bear it. I tell them it's always a heart-breaker, but it's even more heart-breaking to see them suffer unnecessarily. And for what it's worth, I remember each and every one of them.

[colleeng47]

Originally Posted by karibear

Having a pet put to sleep when it's time is the last best thing a person can do, to give them a peaceful passing. It drives me nuts sometimes, how often people will say "I can't bear to let him go" when it's obvious to anyone with half a brain that this animal they claim to love is suffering, or to what extent some people will go in order to keep them alive. A few more months because of major surgery? Not in my world, and I doubt if the animal would choose it, either. If it were me, I'd rather go in my sleep, but no one allows people that choice. I've certainly had to put more than my share of dogs, cats, and birds down, usually because of health issues or more rarely because of temperament, and at times other people have asked how I could bear it. I tell them it's always a heart-breaker, but it's even more heart-breaking to see them suffer unnecessarily. And for what it's worth, I remember each and every one of them.

I had to put down my boxer a few years ago because of cancer. She had gone down to 31 lbs from 55 lbs. I was giving her a needle every day for the pain, but what made me decide to do it was the agony my then 12 year old son was going through knowing she was going to die. I drove my two kids to school one day and then went home and took the dog to the vet. I told them at the end of the day that she had passed. It was a few years later before I told them I had her put down. It was really hard doing it by myself.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

This was about 7 years ago.

He was pretty old when he died. I did'nt know that he was a police dog until after I got him.
The way I got him was, there was a dog in my backyard eating cat food and (without looking close) I kept chasing him out. I had a long driveway and the last time I chased him out the driveway I tripping on a rock and went down in the flower bed. Before I could see straight he was on me, crying and licking my face to see if I was alright. That did it,,,,I just couldn't let him go. No one claimed him,,so I did. When I took him to the vet they found a mark on his ear. I checked with the PD, they said that he was retired early and if I could give him a good home I was welcome to keep him.
I had him 12-14 years.

Somewhere I have a picture of him.

What a great story. He was a special dog. You were chasing him out and he came back to make sure you were okay. My only question is why would they just put him out to fend for himself. Good for you though. You did the right thing. I'd love to see a pic of him.