Has anybody ever kept a dog from one of their litters or gotten a dog from a litter they watched grow up?

[sparker]

We have 2 females that each had litters about 3 weeks ago resulting in 9 puppies total. I plan to get at least one of the puppies if not two and am having a very difficult time choosing, there are 7 females and 2 males. The moms are my parents and I am planning to move out soon after the puppies are ready to go home but would still like to bring them over often. How do you go about deciding which dog/dogs you want? I am around them everyday and have had a hard time not wanting all of them and not getting attached which is making it difficult to make a decision. And does anyone have any advice or experience they can share with having puppies and their parents being around one another often and things to watch for with this? I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this but I was unsure where else would be good too. Thank you in advance!!!

 

[mygisfy]

@sparker Do some research on littermate syndrome. It's a good idea to just have one puppy, especially if you're about to move out with no help

 

[sparker]

@mygisfy Thank you I will do that!

 

[sparker]

@mygisfy Should I have any concerns having the puppy around their parents often?

 

[mygisfy]

@sparker Not really. The concern is more of a puppy harassing an adult dog, so make sure the parents are given a place to 'escape' from the pup when they get overwhelming.

 

[sparker]

@mygisfy Good to know thank you!!!

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@sparker What is your goal? Do you want pets, are you going to breed down the line?

If you are hoping to breed: two females, one from each litter.

Litter mate syndrome is real, but isn't a 100% occurrence. It's actually not really well understood, we just know that it sometimes happens. You'd have to weigh the risk. From what I've read it can be mitigated with proper socialization. If it were me and I were set on two, I'd grab a package from doggie daycare and take one dog one day (or half day), and take the other one the next. They need time away from each other and to experience different handlers. You can do this and not neuter them up to a year old depending on the daycare policy.

If your goal is only pet, take one dog. Get another a year down the line. Older dog will teach younger dog the ropes, and you'll get more one on one training time with the first. Potty training, chewing - everything will be easier one on one.

As far as picking, again, what's your goal? You can research breed conformity and pick the animal with the best joints, ear placement, teeth/bite, coat coloring. You could also temperament test the puppies and find a good, neutral and confident dog. When I pick I don't want the one that comes up to me first, and I also don't want the one that runs away and cowers under things. There are YouTube videos on how to test temperaments.

Look out for any puppy that has any resource guarding. A dog that's aggressive (or freezes it's muscles) while it eats is a hard pass.

 

[sparker]

I should have added. I work from home so I will have quite a bit of time to take care of and train the puppies