ref puppy

hi guys and gals,looking for some honest advice please,we have been to see a litter of pups who are about 4/5 weeks old,the owner says its the mothers second litter and as the pups have teeth mother is losing interest in them,the owner has started weaning the pups and giving them weatabix,and the owner has said that as the mother is not interested in the pups we could take the pup at 6 weeks,does this seem right,and secondly what would you feed pup on is weatabix ok.

No 6 weeks isn't ok Hun, your right to be concerned, they learn so much in the last 2 weeks, learning bite inhibition and behaviour which they won't learn if removed Early. Weetabix isn't ideal they won't be getting what they need. Are the pups health tested? Are they kc registered?

_Hayley_ wrote:No 6 weeks isn't ok Hun, your right to be concerned, they learn so much in the last 2 weeks, learning bite inhibition and behaviour which they won't learn if removed Early.  Weetabix isn't ideal they won't be getting what they need. Are the pups health tested? Are they kc registered?

they are being sold without papers so i dont think they are registered,not sure about health checked but looking at where they are coming from i wouldnt have thought they were health checked.

Totally irresponsible, and what is classed as a back yard breeder.

Contact the Kennel club and see who is having a litter, you may be put on waiting list but at least you know the history, alternatively rescue.

they learn so much from 6-8 weeks from their mum and sibblings,taking them away at 6 weeks really is not good,sounds like you should stay clear to me   

Yes that's not good, stay clear   

Sazzle wrote:Yes that's not good, stay clear   

i think its the owners way of avoiding first injection costs

The Mother getting fed up is part of the process. In the last few weeks she is fed up and starts teaching them the boundaries. They are no longer allowed to gat away with absolutely anything.

Be careful.

I would stay away as well. Six weeks is too young.

The breeder doesn't sound good at all...I don't know if you can contact the council or RSPCA or someone about this? They don't sound like they know what they are doing to be breeding puppies!

Sounds like a backyard breeder and as echoed above 6 weeks if far too early.  I feel sorry for the pups they may have been bred by a selfish money grabbing sorry excuse for a human but they need somewhere to go so I just hope whoever takes them has good intentions and makes sure they get the proper care and training they obviously won't get from their mum if they are being taken away so early.  Makes me so sad

Also, i'd definitely report this person, i'm not going to call them a breeder because that's an insult to all the responsible breeders out there. This person is scum and needs to be reported

i can see what you are all saying however it looks like its going to happen if its me or someone else so im tempted to go ahead for the sake of the pups.

This is what we did with Bane, but the "breeder" is still benefiting so you are just encouraging them to do it again. I don't know what happens in cases where pups are taken away by say the RSPCA, whether you can ask to have one of the pups? That way the money is going to somewhere that helps other dogs and not just in some scummers pocket.

i can see what you are all saying however it looks like its going to happen if its me or someone else so im tempted to go ahead for the sake of the pups.

I'm not going to say don't take one as I am with you on this one, you've found this person and they have pups and they need to go somewhere BUT be aware that at 6 weeks they won't learn anything from their litter mates or mum.

Usually when you get a pup at the correct age it has gone through a lot of "training" with its litter mates and mother. If you do decide to go ahead you will become the mother. You will have to teach the pup all the things that it's mum could not. For example you may get a problem with the puppy nipping too hard, it won't know when to stop when it plays and many more things. I would just ask you to be aware of all this before you take the pup on. It's not easy having a pup in the first place, with one that's been removed from its mother too early it will be even harder.

If you do decide to go ahead then we are all here of course to give you advice and help you along the way

I got bruce at 6 week but thats only because the person who i got them of couldnt afford the vet bills. And they were going to the rspca that day so i got him for free and i am glad i did it.
Am not saying its the right thing to do but at the time i thought it was right.
Nearly 6 month down the line and i wouldnt change a thing

So if you can give him a better home go for it
Because if you dont someone else wil.

I got spud at 6 weeks n looking back it was wrong but what's done is done and I'm still getting bit etc but he's learning slowly, but wouldn't recommend it, but if it means you take it or somebody not as loving does then go for it, just be prepared to for a long journey

Be very careful, as an owner with a staffy diagnosed with a genetic disease I wouldn't get another without full health check including L2HGA test.

I understand that if you feel that you, in effect rescue this Puppy and support you whole heartedly. Just be aware of health checks or lack thereof.

i think the pup needs to be removed from the poor enviroment so my hearts telling me to do it,however i will try and make excuses as to why i cant collect early.

Maybe you could come to some kind of arrangement about at least a refund or help towards Vet Bills if Health Check is adverse.

Unlikely by the sounds of the Breeder but maybe worth a try.

I got Katy at 6 weeks old & we are her 2nd home away from her litter, that was one of the reasons I took her on to give her the love & attention she needed. The people I got her from were feeding her adult Bakers Complete   & had a 2yr old child slapping her in a basement flat   Yes she needed a lot of loving & training as she missed out on the bite inhibition training from her litter but I wouldn't of missed it for the world (it was hard work) Good luck if you decide to go ahead   

well i know some of you people will dissagree with me but ive paid a deposit on the pup as i feel sorry for the litter,at least he will get proper care and lots of love.

Like I said above, I'm with you on this one, you found the pups and they need to go somewhere so may as well be you. At least we know one of them will be okay Just be prepared for the extra care you're little one is going to need

You have shown that you are going to be a good owner by visiting this forum before you made your decision.

Therefore I trust your judgement that you are doing the right thing and support you 100%. The Puppy is very lucky to be leaving his current situation and going home with you, BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR NEW FAMILY MEMBER AND ENJOY!

I'm glad atleast one of them has a good home to go to then If you put the time in the little pup will do fine.
We did the same with Bane, he was 6 and half weeks when we got him and so underfed and full of worms we just wished we had reported the people so they wouldn't be able to do it again.

good luck with your pup alan enjoy it mate were all here if you need any advice mate thats what happy staffie families am for

Best of luck, any questions just ask   p.s in answer to your question, don't feed weetabix, grain has no nutritional value to dogs   

I got Lula at 7 weeks and i don`t think they had wormed any of the pups. We wormed her and she settled in pretty quickly. I do think the mouthing and biting would of been less if she had been a little older but the house she was in was awful. I could not of left her there so decided to take her.

Good luck with your new puppy hope everything works out well for you

another question now at what age would you recomend the first injection and how soon should i worm him and how often

I think most vets will do the first injection at 8 weeks and second at 12 weeks.
A few days after we got him, we registered at the local vets and took him down for a free puppy health check, which is when we got a "puppy plan" which meant we paid a one off fee and got 6 months free worming and fleaing, his first two injections, a microchip and kennel cough vaccine all included. Ask the people you are getting him from when they last wormed him. If never then he needs to be wormed asap Then once a month until about 6 months and every 3 months after that.

well i just had a text from the pups breeder saying the mother has nothing to do with the pups,they are on weetabix,and i can collect anytime im ready,the pup is five and a half weeks old,part of me is saying get him away from the house but the other part is saying leave him

Many "Breeders" will say the mother is refusing to look after the pups just to get rid of them too early, personally I would walk away  

Why could they not phone and speak to you about this instead of sending a text ???

I really don't think we should be referring to this scumbag as a breeder, she/he is no such thing a breeder would not behave in such a cruel and irresponsible manner.

Five and a half weeks is so young that poor little mite I'd probably listen to my heart and not head and go and get it at least if its with you its out of harms way but I'm not sure how leaving mum at such an early age will effect the poor little thing

dont know what to do my heads all over the place

just text her back and said we cant get there till next friday andshe said ok,just worried now that the pups are not being cared for.

Alan have phoned the vet mate to see what he thinks I no it's normally 8 weeks when they leave there mother but if the mother is not doing her job u will have to take over if your up to it mate get it sorted

thanks mate

I feel for you mate.

To all those who say walk away, I know exactly where you are coming from However, Alan seems like a compassionate and responsible potential owner, and I feel that the Pup will end up in Rescue or worse if he walks away. For the Pup's sake............

I say walk away but if I were in that situation I doubt I could!

Such a hard decision. Have you got a dog already or a friends tolerant dog that he/ she can spend time with and learn from? Can't stand these cr*ppy excuses for breeders. Ultimately, do you have the patience and set up to bring this pup on, who could potentially have problems down the line? If your answer is yes, then go with your heart and we'll all advise and help as much is humanely possible. I have a dog who wasn't socialized properly and came from an awful home and it's a full time job keeping her comfortable and safe, but so worth it, however it can be a lot of work. On the other hand she may turn out just fine!

As long as Alan is prepared for the extra work and patience required is this not just rescuing the Puppy before it has the potentially mentally scarring and anguish of irresponsible ownership and abuse before ending up in a rescue centre with "issues"

Yeah its a chance like you take with any rescue dog, like I did with Daisy   And potentially less 'issues' than a rescue

I would say so Tony Alan sounds like a very caring person, this pup could well end up with somebody that couldn't care less!

thanks for all your kind words,i have a12 year old bitch who we rescued about 7 years ago,so im hoping she might mother the pup.

as for me being caring and responsable well if i tell you the truth you might either laugh or be shocked,ive been married for 35 years and when my best mate duke was alive he was my life,i got him at 7 weeks and he lived to 12 years old,suppose what im trying to say is i loved him more than anything in the world.

You'll be just fine I'm sure   And like Rach says, any problems we're here to help as much as we can x

Bless! So sweet Well, it's completely up to you, but be sure to keep us updated along the way!

Alan you go for it mate were all here behind you mate 

Your current Bitch will help I think with a bit of discipline that only Bitches can dispense to Puppies.

We are far too soft.

I used to be married to one lol