So . . . Many . . . Puppies!

[Narcissa]

I felt the need to share this, haha, but it really is very serious.

My rescue (or more correctly, the rescue I volunteer with) has 8 lab puppies, 5 chihuahua, and 6 MASTIFF puppies are coming in next weekend. 19 puppies. And we do not have enough fosters. This rescue has no actual facility, and we are a no-kill shelters, so we rely on fosters, and unfortunately I can not take in any puppies right now (new carpets . . .). We also have had 5 litters recently, several puppy mill breeders and puppies, and now many more dogs pouring in because a new dog petstore recently opened.

I just wanted to post this to remind everyone that buying dogs is really, really bad, and NOT TO BREED! Sorry, but this just infuriated me as soon as I heard, and I need to express this.

[Vitani]

I feel you Nar. It's spring here, so our 'floodgates' of puppies and kittens hasn't fully opened yet...But they are already starting to trickle in...And its scary.

I don't understand why somebody would get a pet and not bother to de-sex it...It doesn't cost THAT much..Dunno about the States, a dog neuter is around $90 here, and a bitch spey is around $160. Small change compared to a lifetime of potential pregnancy complications, STD's (yes, animals can get them too!) fighting wounds, and potential health risks.....Removing the reproductive organs in an animal almost completely ensures they won't develop something like testicular or ovarian cancer....Yet more vets bills saved in the long run...


Sorry, now I'm just ranting >.< I'm passionate about this subject. I get really mad when somebody says their animal is 'accidentally' pregnant/fathered a litter. It's not an accident. It's YOUR fault...


*stomps off muttering about irresponsible owners*

[Narcissa]

I know, it's early fall over here, so we are seeing puppies that irresponsible owners weren't able to find homes for. The chi puppies were found in a box on the side of the road!

[Fire Opal]

Yes, it's completely ridiculous to buy a pet-quality animal and not spay or neuter it. Breeding just for "fun" is a waste when you consider all the homeless pets sitting in shelters, waiting for a home.

But, don't be so close-minded to despise responsible breeders who breed quality animals for a good purpose. My dog, Shelby, is a purebred from a great sheltie kennel in Florida. I got her from a kennel for several reasons: I was in love with shelties, and I wanted a purebred dog with good bloodlines which I could use for 4-H and showing purposes.

But the bottom line is, if you get a puppy for a reason that does not include AKC conformation, spay or neuter it. And if you have no business breeding, don't!

[Vitani]

I have absolutely no problem with responsible breeders -

Those that vet check the potential parents to avoid passing on genetic problems e.g hip dysplasia (sp?)

Those that have homes lined up BEFORE breeding a litter (because face it, in this economy you cannot be 100% sure that every baby will have a home)

And I especially love and thank breeders that contract those pets - If the new owner (for whatever reason) no longer wants the animal, the breeder will take it back to either rehome/keep until natural retirement.



I'm very anti backyard breeding. I'm not anti breeding.


My Beagle was bred for MAF purposes. She didn't make the grade - Since she has no future producing more, she is speyed and has a permanent home as our resident food hoover. 3 of her littermates have gone on to produces puppies because they proved themselves worthy of it. There is nothing 'wrong' with my dog....She just didn't have what it took for the job due to her personality.

It's not just purebreds though - People get really wary about 'mutts'. Nothing wrong with a mutt, it needs a good home just the same as the purebred. In some cases they end up being free from the defects their purebred parents may have had.

I just really don't see the point in buying a dog unless you specifically want to do something with it (eg showing).....And mutts do super in things like agility so its really only the showring that calls for a purebred....

So there is really no excuse to not save a life if you are thinking about adding a new furbaby to the family. I'm posting mainly about dogs but its absolutely true for cats too.....





I do have a specific thing though....I really dislike it when people get pets as a christmas gift (for someone else).....At least 50% of them will be in a shelter by December the following year

[SomebodyDude]

*sighs*

I know what you mean by pups on the side of the road. It is really horrible, my cousin found a bag of eight puppies all were dead except chocolate >.< So he took the lab pup in and she had barelly survived. Now she lives happily, even though she has siabeties and has to have a shot once a day, and my cousin loves her to pieces lol. She is really cute because she is smaller than a normal lab

[Narcissa]

I agree with both Tani and Opal, and poor babies to those puppies, SD! My Sophie (F1 cockapoo) was bred by a good breeder, that wants to make the cockapoo an established breed. My family "bought" her because she had more of a cocker spaniel look and attitude (somewhat bitey) to her, and very little of poodle (although she does have poodle intelligence, interestingly enough).

Sophie is spayed, and although she is not great with adult dogs she never met as puppies, she is a surrogate mamma to dogs that need to learn to be dogs. She "trained" a four year old puppy-mill Maltese how to play and act like a real dog. Both of them were purposefully bred, but one was bred by responsible people, the other was not. Although the Maltese now has a loving home with people down the street from us XD.

[SomebodyDude]

Yea I know >.< He burried the rest of the pups and he almost had to burry poor Chocolate.

But you know, [adressing it's your falt breeding], sometimes a person can't help if their animals breed. Sometime it is a true accident. My Aunt, who reascues dogs had two begals in two seperate outdoor pens, they had shelter in their big cubby holes in the barn and they were going to be moved to a different spot soon. Well one was male and one was female, their was a storm and my aunt couldn't leave work because of it. She was stuck where she was until they let them go and that was for 4 hours. When she got home the tree in one of the dogs pen had fallen over on the fence that seperated the dogs. *sighs* of course at that time the female had been in heat and well... You know what happened. Of course the the pups each got good home in the end of course and two of them still live happily with her. You see it can't always be prevented.

I know what your asking. It could have been prevented!!! She could have been spayed! Well accually she was schedualed to be spayed a week after this happenened >.<

But yea, don't look down on my unt she is a very reponsible breeder!

[Vitani]

Admittedly, yes, sometimes REAL accidents happen, i.e a bitch getting pregnant the week before she is due to be speyed....Thats unfortunate.

I mean more the kind of 'accidentally pregnant' where someone lets two entire animals of different gender be loose together then scratches their head and says "Well gosh darnit, it sure is an accident how old Lassie there got in the family way. Who knew her son would breed to her?"



ARGH.



*bangs head on wall*


Ignorance is no excuse either. It they have working parts, rest assured, they'll use 'em. They don't know any better. We do. Therein lies the difference...

[Alabama]

My animals always get neutered/spayed and almost all of them have been rescued in some way or another. The looks I got down here when it was discovered that Buddy (an unknown large breed I found tied to a fence at about 6 weeks old) would be neutered as soon as his male parts dropped. LOL Construction guys take it personally in some aspects. People don't often spay/neuter dogs around here and cats are just almost a lost cause.

They even offer reduced price spay and neuter clinics around here from time to time and there's not a week that goes by that there isn't a $10 shot clinic in some little town within 20 miles, but people are very much of the mindset that what happens, happens.

Even my husband is of that line of thought. I didn't know we as a family wanted another dog until my husband asked what I thought of getting an indoor dog. I said sure because I would always want another animal and my mind already thinking about shelters in the area, when he said a buddy of his offered us a puppy. It's from an "accidental" pregnancy between a terrier/doxie mix and a chihuahua/doxie mix. Wouldn't surprise me if the parents were related. The friend said if we wanted, he'd give us "pick of the litter" meaning down here that he'd pick the best pup of the litter for us. He said he'd pick a male for us so that if it got away, it couldn't get "knocked up". I looked at my husband and said it didn't matter what gender it was because it'd be fixed as soon as it was physically able to.

Now, I'm not exactly overjoyed at the situation, too many unknowns. Heck, we've not even had a look at the pups, let alone the parents. But at least our pup will be neutered/spayed and will get all of its shots through its life. I would almost bet the other pups from the litter won't be so lucky.

[*~Trent~*]

[Narcissa]

I probably should have cooled down a little before posting XD, sorry, I was really upset because we had very few available at this moment (I have new carpets and my mom dosen't want them messed up yet, two are having surgery, one woman is having her first baby, and one of our main couples just got married and are on their honeymoon).

I did say I agreed with Opal and Vitani about responsible breeding, however. Oh, and those puppies sound so cute! Although the Bernese owners not caring is rather odd . . . Did they breed her after?

Oh, and about the 'monthly friend' (I'm laughing hysterically at this, for some reason XD), we couldn't get my cockapoo spayed until she was almost a year old old (she was very, very small and the vets didn't want to perform the surgery until she was at least fourteen pounds), and BOY did the monthly friend visit hard. While she was un-spayed, we made sure that when we socialized her it was with spayed and neutered, extremely tolerant dogs.

I think I just had a lot of run on sentences . . .

[Vitani]

LOL 'Bama!

It's not just construction workers. Men on the whole seem to generally be abit 'iffy' about a neuter. I guess they look at the dog, then at themselves and take pity on it. Most don't have problem with fixing a bitch, just a dog.

Not all men are like that, of course. But it does seem to be the general attitude.



Lol, monthly friend. One of our first dogs, a labrador/blue heeler cross, yup, 2 guesses how THAT happened Had her first 'visit' at 3 months old...Much earlier than normal. Vet wouldn't spey till she was at least 6 months so it was horrible trying to keep her safe, as we had a lot of roaming dogs in the area. She was not once left outside unattended until her op...Just didn't want to risk it. Theres a product sold here called 'Bitches Britches' to help with the mess if you've got one thats staying whole.


Lol...I was 12 at the time. Mother sat me AND the pup down for 'the talk'.


I still laugh thinking about it.

[Narcissa]

Just putting in an update on the puppies:

All of the labs were adopted in a week.

The mastiffs are all gone except for one, who is being fought over by three families O.o

The chihuaha mixes are all adopted except two. One of which was adopted, but didn't get along with the existing dog. The other may become MY NEW PUPPY!!!

We fell in love with him over the weekend at an adoption day. We will be going to see him again this weekend with my cockapoo (to see if she likes him. She's picky), if he is not adopted by then!! Crossing our fingers over him, haha!

[Narcissa]

Second Update:

I now own the puppy, his name is Jingle, I adopted him today, and he is sitting on my lap as I type! He looks like a Collie or Shepherd, he is SO CUTE!!

Only his one brother is left, and is hopefully going home with a family tomorrow.