I’m an accidental breeder

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

Also, don't give the original owner the pups, and don't communicate with them anymore. Please find good homes for the pups, but don't feel like you have to give them away for free. You will have to worm them every 2 weeks, get them microchipped and vaccinated. If you give them away, or sell them cheaply, please be sure the new owners have the money for any future/potential vet bills the pups might require, as that's how more dogs end up in the shelter

I interview all new owners of puppies I sell, to ensure they can care properly for the puppy, and especially have the correct funds to care for a dog. Anyone saying "I can only afford $xxx for the puppy, but I promise to love them!" is a huge red flag. Dogs can't survive off love alone.

 

[mitchell]

@imagebeastmarkbeast I was already interviewing people for her and even tho she didn’t fit with our family and the previous owner didn’t want her I didn’t feel it was fair to just give her away to whomever just raise their hand.

How much should I expect to spend on them? I read that having puppies is expensive but I don’t know what that means… is there any way to get a ballpark if it will be 300, 800, or 2000?

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@mitchell I'm in Australia, so prices are likely higher here, I may not be the best person to ask, call around your local vets to determine pricing. I spend about $1200 caring for 4 puppies for 8 weeks (vet fees and food). But then spend an additional $200 per pup putting together a puppy pack with food, toys, worming tablets, training supplies and a booklet I wrote, bound and professionally printed. Obviously Australian prices are much higher than elsewhere in the world though, and you likely won't be making a puppy pack that involved, if you even decide to do a puppy pack at all.

 

[mitchell]

@imagebeastmarkbeast Thank you, it seems like you take your participation on this very seriously and that is amazing. Next time I decide to adopt I for sure will go the proper route. She was given to me for $150 with no papers, bowl for water or food, toys, or bed. Just a “good luck” and “call me”.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@mitchell It's so sad, the lack of care she was shown I'm really glad you're going to make sure she gets the right home and care!

 

[april0485]

@mitchell are they pure bred? backyard bred? any papers? all that plays a role.

 

[mitchell]

@april0485 The owner promoted her as pure breed but didn’t produce any papers. Only one document about vaccinations 6 months ago.

To be fair I am not looking at making money out of them but rather just making sure they are OK and that they survive.

I was mainly wondering on price to know how much to budget to spend on her. So far has only been about $300 on items that have been useful and recommended here so I am trying to keep track of the spending.

 

[mango]

@mitchell I'm a trainer and wanted to talk a little about socialization in case you end up with them longer than planned.

You'll want to be sure to do early socialization starting at 3 weeks. At 3 weeks, you'll want to start introducing weird textures into their environment and begin gently handling them. Touching paws, body handling, and touching faces.

Each week add new novel experiences and starting at 6 weeks, you can take them on outings where they are carried and just exposed to the world with lots of tasty treats to reinforce that the world is a good place

I usually go to various pet friendly places like academy and home depot and put the pups I'm working with in the basket lined with a welping pad in case of accidents and just calmly walk around the store to get them used to it.

At 8 - 12, you will want to be careful as the puppies will enter a fear period. It's important to work through things the puppies find scary with lots of reinforcement when they are calm about something they find scary.

Keep sessions short and always try to end on a good note.

This work will help build on the puppies' temperament and make them more pet ready. If you choose to keep and raise one, continuing socialization is really important during the first year. This helps build tools for the dog to cope with new environments and builds confidence for the dog.

 

[mitchell]

@mango Thank you for your recommendations! We have gotten kittens in the past and the first thing we have done is to touch their paws and hold them so they get used to and it works!

I was hoping to have them only until 8 weeks old, I am not sure I can do beyond that but I am not sure if that is recommended. Specially since I work from home a few days a week and I would imagine there would be a lot of barking as they are getting older but then again I don’t know.

 

[mango]

@mitchell 8-12 weeks is usually when you want to place them in homes. Barking is pretty litter dependent, I think, though I've only worked with breeders and shelters for early socialization and temperament testing rather than breeding dogs on my own.

 

[iantja36]

@mitchell Raising puppies can very much resemble raising a baby, but on steroids. It's hugely rewarding, but also completely overwhelming. I absolutely adore puppies and all the work that goes with it. It's their start in life. You have a wonderful attitude and are entirely accepting for this surprise litter. Good luck to you. Sleep when you can. Mom will most likely do the hard work at first. When they are up and moving it can be chaos but a wonderful experience.

 

[ksc123]

@mitchell We’re going to need some photo updates of this litter also!

 

[mitchell]

@ksc123 I didn’t see many posts with pictures so I was not sure if that was frowned upon but I will for sure share one later today when we weight them

 

[drsharles]

@mitchell If you have any tums at your house it would be beneficial for momma to have a few. Tums are a source of calcium and whelping and milk production can deplete the mommas calcium levels.

 

[mitchell]

@drsharles I don’t but I’m going to buy her a new are rug and will get some tums for her. How do I give them to her? Just mix them with her food?

 

[drsharles]

@mitchell If you have same day delivery with Amazon prime there is a product called Doc Roys Healthy Bones that is really great. It has both calcium and phosphorus that momma dogs need! If you would like me to pm you the link I can! As for the tums you can put a bit of peanut butter on them or wrap them in cheese and just feed them or putting them in her food is fine too!

 

[mitchell]

@drsharles Found them! It is too late for same day but I just order them and should have them by tomorrow. Thank you so much for your recommendations. I knew it was right to ask for help from a group like this for us who never done it and probably never will again

 

[drsharles]

@mitchell The tums will work for today! Whelping and puppy rearing isn't for the faint of heart that's for sure! You have gotten some really great advice so far and please don't hesitate to ask more as you go! I don't think it's been brought up yet but you may also want to give momma a probiotic. When a dam eats the placenta's during whelping it can cause diarrhea. Proplan makes a great probio called Fortiflora. It's a powder you can sprinkle in her food. She will also need her food portions bumped up while she's nursing, it takes lots of calories to keep those little bellies full!