If a pup in your litter is born with any difficulties for example hearing problems, or being born deaf, do you keep the pup or do you try and give it up?

I'm curious because 3 years ago when we brought Mika home he wasn't really responding to anytihng we said to him, but a few days later he was....we were really worried at first that we picked a deaf puppy and were contemplating taking him back to the breeder, but after a few days he was responding to us - think it was prob the fact he was in new surroundings and was a bit scared so was just ignoring us.

I was remembering us bringing him home and remembered this, and so i just thought i'd ask if any breeders ever had this situation and what would they do?

See, this forum is def educational

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My two babies. Separated for a while but now both reunited on Rainbow Bridge, running in a field of daises. Gone but not forgotten. Love you always and forever



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oops wrong forum...mods please move to the breeding section

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My two babies. Separated for a while but now both reunited on Rainbow Bridge, running in a field of daises. Gone but not forgotten. Love you always and forever



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281358/quotes?qt0401992

Moved for you

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How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven. - Robert A. Heinlein
http://www.lambchopsiamese.webs.com

I one of my pups were born deaf or with problems i would probably rehome but with certain conditions, like endorsed papers and a spay/nuter contract in place, idealy would rehome to someone i knew and trusted and for no/low cost x

I'm not a breeder but if I do breed I would have a litter BAER hearing tested and if the results were not pass for both ears I would inform the person who had picked the puppy and talk to them about it. A puppy deaf in one ear can manage in a normal average home as well as a puppy with hearing in both ears. A completely deaf puppy would require different care and if the person who had picked it felt they didn't want it or couldn't learn to cope I would try to find it a suitable home.

It would depend what the other difficulties were as to whether it would be better to take veterinary advice on the pup's life expectancy and quality of life and have it PTS or not, but if the difficulty was not beyond the competence of a responsible home then I would try to find it a suitable capable owner.

I'm being specific to my breed Border Collies who have a particular bent for attaching themselves to an owner like velcro and thrive on having a busy life and plenty of one-to-one attention. In most cases I think a BC is happier with it's own owner to be devoted to which is why I would look for suitable homes.

Let the puppy I was going to keep, go and keep the "defective" pup.
It doesn't matter what dreams and plans you may have; nature has a habit of putting a spanner in the works

I had a sheltie pup who was fine and who was chosen by a lovely couple then I had the pups eye tested and it was found that the bitch pup had under developed optic nerves. I was devastated but when I told them they said they wanted her more, so they took her (for a peppercorn amount) and have had her spayed. They also took her back to the eye specialist who took another set of photos. He confirmed they were still under developed but she has an excellent quality of life and is on the beach most days. She clearly has sight, but not sure how much, but she copes very well. She's very beautiful and is very spoiled :-)

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Penny
Funfastquick Agility Dogs

It depends on a lot of things - it's bold and PC to say "yes, I would keep the pup(s)" - but actually, if a breeder already has several dogs, then is this the right thing for the pup(s) concerned?

The answer to that could quite possibly be no - because you wouldn't be able to give it the time and attention it needs - it's critical to socialise a healthy puppy properly, and doubly so I would imagine for a pup with hearing / eye-sight problems - this could result in the other dogs being neglected - what do you do then? rehome all the older dogs?

Would such pups thrive better within a one dog family relationship - or maybe just an older dog who acts as a mentor and where the owners have more time to give that extra care and attention needed.

At the same time, owners would have be hand picked even more carefully than normal owners (if that's possible the way some of us grill and watch our prospective puppy owners!!!)

Science does afford us some priveleges in being able to avoid many such conditions that could cause early onset eye and hearing problems - but sadly, not all conditions

There but for the grace of god methinks

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What you need to know before buying a Labrador puppy

But if you're breeding and keeping a puppy anyway, then your only decision is healthy or "defective" pup to stay I keep my numbers small, so much so that it turns out I don't even have a breeding programme despite my best efforts.

A single pup yes - but - if there is a genetic issue in the line which up to that point has not displayed itself, then there's a pretty good chance there will be more than one pup affected (quite possibly as much as 50% or more of the litter).

As it happen's - I have two 'defective' (for want of a better word) dogs here that can never be bred from (both situations could never have been predicted) - they will never go anywhere whatever happens.

But I am also a realist and with the best will in the world - sometimes, keeping if you know in certain instances, there is a better home out there armed with all the facts, it MIGHT be a better option to let them go.

Until you are faced with the situation, it's easy to say I will do x, y or z - all my pups will always have a home here if they need it - but you often see people say things like "oh I will keep the whole litter, if a, b or c' happens - and in fairness, that might not be the right scenario for the breeder, the existing dogs, or the pups - ultimately - it's the right decision for the dogs which HAS to be made.

I am not saying I would or wouldn't keep - and even if a long term plan wasn't to keep IF the right owners came along later - they would be there until that day arrived during which time I would do everything in my power to ensure they were socialised, trained and able to adapt to whatever is thrown at them.

I don't have a breeding programme as such and not had a litter in over 2 years - I breed when I want to keep and plan to keep a single pup from each litter; obviously if homes cannot be found, then the pups stay until it happens - whilst I wouldn't rule it out - my choice wouldn't be to keep two or more pups at the same time - so keeping two or more pups with sight / hearing impairments could, in a lot of homes, result in the pups not getting what they need in terms of attention / socialiation / training.

That's not being horrible or diregarding my responsibilities whatsoever - I have a return and rehoming agreement with my puppy buyers - if they have to stay, then they stay - but my preference would be to find the right homes for them to ensure THEY get the best possible life.

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What you need to know before buying a Labrador puppy