Our first doxie!

[BeauBuddy]

Hi and Welcome from Canada!
I already have red flags that any breeder who is wanting to push the babies out at 6 weeks does not have the best interest of the puppy in mind. From Ivan's second link..

When a puppy is part of a litter, he learns all sorts of valuable lessons. This is the time to learn important life skills from his mother, such as eating and grooming. His littermates will help teach him socialization. If he’s taken from his mother too early, he will be robbed of these valuable lessons and may not thrive or socialize well with others.

Those 2 weeks are very important in the socialization of the pups. If the breeder does not recognize that, I would run. A breeder should be bending over backwards to make sure that the new families are getting a well socialized puppy. They learn bite inhibition from mom and littermates that cannot be taught by their new family. Please reconsider purchasing from this breeder. If she is on 'the other side of the bridge', then perhaps you should look for someone on this side. Support a breeder who is doing things the right way and have the best interest of healthy pups her top priority.

[Rae]

I'm in Kentucky and will be the first to say that for the most part we have no laws regarding pets (except leash laws in cities) AND that our animal abuse laws (not that I am saying this is abuse by any means, just pointing out that our legislators DO. NOT. CARE. about companion animals) are the worst in the country. Like, Number 50 out of 50 states.

Can't wait to see more pics when that sweetie comes home, and congratulations!!

Edit: Penny, I agree with what you are saying... and even with all that said, this puppy IS obviously going home with someone on his 6-week birthday. You are probably 100% right, this is probably NOT a breeder who has the best interest of the pup in mind, or possibly one who doesn't know any better. Sadly, we are in the South and, as in the Mid-West of the US, crazy dog people such as ourselves are in the minority. Puppy mills are rampant and our shelters are full of purebred (and "designer") dogs.

I think part of the reason Savannah is such a BRAT is because she was taken from her mommy at 6 weeks. She turned two on May 1, and is JUST NOW getting around to being a joy a higher percentage of the time than she is a pain in the butt. (Spoiled rotten.... wonder how THAT happened??)

[Alex's Mom]

ITA with Rae (and you too, Penny )...however, since this little one is getting booted out at 6 weeks no matter what, I'm REALLY happy that he's going to such a caring home and to parents who are anxious and willing to raise him right! I hate BYBers almost more than I hate millers, because the mills are so obviously wrong, but BYBers present themselves as responsible, when they're just as bad.

Having said all that, Mandi, your little one is just gorgeous!!! Looking forward to hearing all your adventures. We tend to have older dogs on here (we've been here a while ) so it'll be kind of fun to follow you and Karen as your little ones grow.

[missmandii]

ITA with Rae (and you too, Penny )...however, since this little one is getting booted out at 6 weeks no matter what, I'm REALLY happy that he's going to such a caring home and to parents who are anxious and willing to raise him right! I hate BYBers almost more than I hate millers, because the mills are so obviously wrong, but BYBers present themselves as responsible, when they're just as bad.

Having said all that, Mandi, your little one is just gorgeous!!! Looking forward to hearing all your adventures. We tend to have older dogs on here (we've been here a while ) so it'll be kind of fun to follow you and Karen as your little ones grow.

Thanks so much! Like I said, we are nervous but also anxious. It has been a long time since we had a puppy in the house, and the only other puppies we had were a litter that we were forced to hand raise from about 1 week old. We wound up keeping one out of the litter. We kind of have the same thoughts on this pup as you. When we saw that no matter what he was going to get rehomed at 6 weeks we couldn't imagine him going anywhere else. Our older dog (after a TON of work) is fairly well mannered, and we have hopes that between him and the kiddos this pup will learn his manners as well.

[Karen]

I understand where everyone is coming from regarding the age. 6 weeks really is young but I'm sure you will do all you can to make your puppy the bestest! Mine is 8 weeks and I have a few questions about things that probably have to do with leaving mom...but I'll start a new post and not hijack yours :P

[BeauBuddy]

Would the breeder be open to sharing your contact info with the other families in the same litter? Maybe you can visit and have the puppies continue to play together, being the same size and age. It might very much help with learning the bite inhibition.

[missmandii]

Would the breeder be open to sharing your contact info with the other families in the same litter? Maybe you can visit and have the puppies continue to play together, being the same size and age. It might very much help with learning the bite inhibition.

I will certainly ask her. She was telling me today that she likes to keep in touch with the pups she sells, and that she has 90% of their owners as friends on Facebook. I have been reading some articles on teaching bite inhibition to pups that don't get the chance to learn it from the litter. I've seen a lot of good advice on it so far.

[SasatheRusty]

Welcome. You have received great advice so far from many of the members. Enjoy and continue to ask. This is a wonderful group of very humane people.


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[Red Haired Girl]

Welcome to the board. Cute puppy you are getting.
Option 1: Family emergencies happen everyday of the week. When it gets time to get the puppy call the breeder and tell her you have a family issue and would she please keep the pup another week. Make sure the pup is paid in full and offer to pay for board. It will be money well spent. This isn't perfect; perfect would be a 2 week emergency but, it is better than nothing.

Option 2: Offer to buy the momma dog together with the puppy.

Option 3: If buying the momma is out of the question, offer to rent her for 2 weeks.

We really can't stress enough how important those 2 weeks are. I know you are anxious to bring your baby home but, you will have a lifetime with him/her - these 2 weeks are the most important in the pups life.

[lotsadox]

Edit: Penny, I agree with what you are saying... and even with all that said, this puppy IS obviously going home with someone on his 6-week birthday. You are probably 100% right, this is probably NOT a breeder who has the best interest of the pup in mind, or possibly one who doesn't know any better. Sadly, we are in the South and, as in the Mid-West of the US, crazy dog people such as ourselves are in the minority. Puppy mills are rampant and our shelters are full of purebred (and "designer") dogs.

I think part of the reason Savannah is such a BRAT is because she was taken from her mommy at 6 weeks. She turned two on May 1, and is JUST NOW getting around to being a joy a higher percentage of the time than she is a pain in the butt. (Spoiled rotten.... wonder how THAT happened??)

While I can see your point in this, I have to agree with Penny. Run as fast as you can. If this breeder doesn't want to keep pups until 12 weeks, she's a bad breeder and you are possibly (and most likely probably) getting a poorly bred dog that will have problems down the road. I've had 2 dogs that came out of BYB operations. Neither was as healthy as my other dogs in the long run and both cost me a fortune in their later years. I know you want this dog but you really need to back out of this situation. I"m not sure where you are finding your dogs, but working with a reputable breeder or finding a dog thru rescue would be much better options for you.

As far as the "someone else will take her if I don't", being able to sell the dogs at such a young age only encourages them to continue their bad breeding practices.

BTW, where did you find this breeder?