WE did it, but did not mean to.

[Sherry Thoeny]

So we decided to wait until Candy was a year old to get her spayed. She came in heat and we were absolutely sure she would not have a chance to get bred. She never went out alone, we continally called the male dogs owner to come get him out of our yard. No way were we going to let her have puppies. But then you never no what kids are going to do. I thought we had made it clear, Candy was not to go out were she could get bred. I guess we were not clear enough. Our daughter took her for a walk, and she got bred. I was hoping it was not succesful. That one time would not do it. I am not dumb, I was just hopeful. But she is having them. Soon. Aggghhh! I did not want this to happen. So when they are ready to find homes, anyone have tips on how to make sure they are good homes. I do not want to just get rid of them. I want them taken care of. So any tips would be appreciated. I know I do not want to place a free to good home ad. But how do I let people no I have them? What kind of questions shoule I ask? Maybe I will just keep them. Can't have too many Thanks for your suggestions.

[sea4th]

Depending on how far along she is, you can still have her spayed.

[Guest Freckles LaLa Mom]

True, they will likely charge more for this and will terminate...obviously...but all is not lost

[juliepoudrier]

Yep, I don't quite understand why you didn't go on and spay her as soon as you knew she was bred. How far along is she now? FWIW, if you insist on letting her have the puppies, you should be doing some serious screening now of potential homes.

 

J.

[MrSnappy]

If you knew this happened, why didn't you schedule a spay immediately?

 

I'm going to share what will probably make me very unpopular, but there you are.

 

I don't actually believe you. I didn't believe whatsherpickle when this 'happened' to her alleged spitz mix a few years back and I don't believe you either. If you REALLY didn't want puppies, your dog would have been spayed already. Or she would have been spayed immediately afterward. Or you wouldn't have allowed your child to take a bitch in season for a walk. And then, when it was clear it had happened, you wouldn't have played ostrich and "hoped it didn't take." It's just so freakin' irresponsible that I can't fathom this was purely accidental. I tend to classify this in the "happy accident" category. Not that *I* consider it a happy thing.

 

Now some advice, so you can't accuse me of writing a post just to terrorize you. First put aside a couple thousand dollars for incidentals, in case her tiny 9 month old puppy-still body has difficulty delivering those pups and you need to get her a c-section. Then, sit down and explain to your kids that sometimes puppies don't make it, if you should happen to lose more than half the litter to Fading Puppy or something else. Be sure to clear your schedule in case she doesn't nurse the pups and you need to do it. Just hope she doesn't have 11 of them like Wick did.

 

When the pups are 2 months old and at least 2 lbs big, get them neutered. It's going to be a significant financial outlay, especially if she has 11 puppies!! Like a couple thousand more dollars. And they will be need to be dewormed - what is, starting at four weeks now? - and vaccinated as well. Start advertising when they are about 6 weeks old, and tell prospective owners that the adoption fee will be what it cost you to have them neutered and stress that they won't be leaving until that's done. Take deposits, because a lot of people sign on for pups and don't take them after all. Be really careful about viewers - you wouldn't want anyone to bring a disease into your home.

 

You'll want to meet their families and do home visits to be sure that they don't have a nice chain outside waiting to tie the puppy on. Ask them about their training philosophies and their views on crating and how they will handle specific behavioural problems. How do they potty train? How much exercise can they offer every day? What will they do when the puppy chews up their digital camera and their kid's science project? Some people are going to call you intrusive and tell you go to hell. Ah well.

 

When they adopt those pups, make them sign a contract that says they will promise to return the pup to you if it shouldn't work out. Then make sure for the next 15 years you are available to take those dogs back if need be. Because YOUR pups aren't going to end up in the pound, right?

 

In between, start raiding people's recycle bins for newspapers because you are sure going to need them! Puppies are really noisy and need a lot of socializing, so clear your schedule and start recruiting friends to help out. Make sure they are introduced to all sorts of new things so they are well adjusted. Get some small crates and start teaching them to sleep in them in threes, then twos, then singly so they are have a good start at it. It's going to be tough to housebreak all those little guys, but you put them on this earth so surely you will do right by them, right?

 

Now, depending on the availability of pups and geographically and how much people value their dogs where you live, it might be difficult to place all those puppies. So let's hope, again, she doesn't have a dozen of them. You may end up with some 12 and 15 and 20 week old pups that didn't "sell". God forbid, it could be all of them! Lets hope that doesn't happen.

 

Or, you could spay her now and abort the litter and save yourself the trouble.

 

RDM

[Guest WoobiesMom]

Why oh why would you wait until she was over a year to spay her? Barring any serious medical conditions, there's just no reason to take the risk that has resulted in your dilemma. There are too many puppies out there already! I know your heart probably won't let you get her spayed and the puppies perish, but for goodness sake! Place them with a rescue organization so they can make the decision to place them with homes that will get them spayed/neutered in a timely fashion and avoid a situation like this. Would you take on the cost of keeping them and sterilizing them before they're placed? Probably not, but you should, be responsible for the actions (or NON ACTION) that you've taken. Don't leave that expense to the rescue organization who will likely assist you FOR FREE. And get her spayed as soon as is possible after delivery.

 

Sheesh! Sorry to be a you know what but there are so many animals that need homes. Your recklessness has now made it harder for them to find homes. There are only so many to go around!

 

~off soapbox, and not so sorry to be a you know what actually~

[books]

I'm having a very hard time understanding how you could let this happen in the first place. This might upset you, but my first thought in reading your post was shock that you let a young child be responsible for walking a dog in heat. Not only that, but how dangerous it could have been for your daughter. I'm glad that nothing happened to her.

 

 

Now to your question.....I would suggest you contact a local rescue group and work with them to place these puppies. You would be responsible for costs incurred, but could utilize their procedures and resources for placing the puppies.

[smileyzookie]

*edited out...too mean*

 

I do not for a second believe this was a mistake. If it was it could have been easily remedied, and may still be possibly.

 

If RDM is right at her being 9 months old, that makes me even more appauled. Not only are you bringing a likely mixed breed litter into the world, but now you're making a baby have them. Dang it that makes me extremely upset. There are thousands in the shelters and rescues, and now you're adding more into the already way over populated world.

 

ETA: but you know what really gets me? You're "oh well" attitude about it. You along with a bajillion other pet owners have the same attitude. This is why there are so many dogs/cats/whatever without homes.

[Guest WoobiesMom]

You're plenty popular with me Mr. Snappy! It's people like you who do God's work and clean up the living, breathing messes made by people who casually disregard their responsibilities and then giggle with girlish embarrassment when their disregard results in living beings that deserve better than the idiots they're born to. Thanks for saying what you did and giving the OP a realistic picture of what's ahead. I doubt it'll make much impact but at least it was said.

[Kat's Dogs]

Agreed with brooks - it can be very dangerous when getting anywhere near the dogs.

And everything RDM already said of course, as usual.

[RaisingRiver]

I just wanted to add since a few people brought it up, that waiting until a dog is about a year old before spaying helps make sure the dog grows correctly by using the hormones. I was going to wait a year for River, but honestly, I worried too much about her coming into heat, I only lasted until her 7th month and got her spayed.

 

You better believe had she come into heat there would be no leaving the yard, no off leash nor out of MY sight. period.

 

RDM rocks and is correct as usual.

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

Ahhhh, I think RDM's post just made my night.

[Shetlander]

I just wanted to add since a few people brought it up, that waiting until a dog is about a year old before spaying helps make sure the dog grows correctly by using the hormones.

 

I don't know that the research is conclusive on that, but it is a popular school of thought right now.

 

The problem with delaying altering dogs, of course, is the careless, thoughtless, and/or selfish owners who do not or can not prevent their intact females from being bred. Or their intact males from getting loose and breeding with females in season.

[Laurae]

Good grief. Spay her now.

[RaisingRiver]

I don't know that the research is conclusive on that, but it is a popular school of thought right now.

 

The problem with delaying altering dogs, of course, is the careless, thoughtless, and/or selfish owners who do not or can not prevent their intact females from being bred. Or their intact males from getting loose and breeding with females in season.

 

Right, there's no conclusive evidence. It is a trend in sports dogs (agility, flyball). I just wanted to answer the 'why would you wait a year to spay' question. However, I don't know if that's why the OP waited or not.

[Journey]

So when they are ready to find homes, anyone have tips on how to make sure they are good homes. I do not want to just get rid of them. I want them taken care of. So any tips would be appreciated. I know I do not want to place a free to good home ad. But how do I let people no I have them? What kind of questions shoule I ask? Maybe I will just keep them. Can't have too many Thanks for your suggestions.

 

Yes, here's a few tips. Keep them all. This stunt is incredible. You are responsible for them, you let your *puppy* get bred - not your daughter, it's not her fault, you are supposed to be the adult. Spay her now and deal with the trauma, if you can't or won't, then keep all the pups. I would not recommend rescue, you are simply dumping your responsibility on someone else by doing that. If you do give the litter to Rescue be sure to give a huge portion of your wallet as well. I sure hope your *puppy* lives through this.

 

Karen

[Little Bo Boop]

Big Sigh. And these same people are allowed to reproduce. What a tragedy.

[Guest WoobiesMom]

eta: forget it, deaf ears. You need to cover the FULL COST of this litter and only use the services of a rescue group to make sure these pups don't end up in homes that will not do what's necessary in the time it's needed, like yours. And then you need to WRITE THEM A BIG FAT CHECK.

[Laurae]

Aargh! Just went back and read some of the OP's posts about Candy...she is a rescue...

<throws arms up in defeat>

[Alaska]

As long as we're all telling the OP what we don't like about this story, I'd like to suggest that you, OP, reconsider your attempt to publicly shift the blame for this event onto your daughter. She does not need your guilt-tripping, overt or implied; she needs a responsible parent who will keep her from making tragic mistakes like this one. "I told her not to but she did it anyway [so it's not really my fault]" sounds like a child talking, NOT one who is responsible for raising a child. YOU are the responsible party here. Your poor parenting skills have already failed your teenage, pregnant, chunky possible BC mix of uncertain origin. Hopefully you can do a little better by your own daughter.

 

Sorry for the tone, but people badmouthing their own children to complete strangers in public really rubs me the wrong way. Take a hard look in a mirror and see whether you're really proud of how you presented this situation here. At least that's something that it's not too late to change.

 

ETA: RDM is presumably right about the pup's age, per this thread: Border Collie with..., Do you think she is mixed or all BC?

[Beth G]

*SIGHS* SOME people!!!!!

 

What else can I say?? I agree with EVERYTHING RDM said. 'Nuff said.

[Guest Freckles LaLa Mom]

:SIGH: I shall try and keep my trap shut. But I WILL thank you as people like you are why I have a job. Too bad its a shitty heart wrenching tragic job where I see perfectly good animals put to sleep every day because there's is just too many of them because of irresponsible lazy cheap people that couldnt get their friggin animal fixed. And the best part? In Riverside County...there's a voucher program that will get your animals fixed for FREE. #(@&$#*@!!!

[Guest LJS1993]

Besides the stunt your growth theory, I see no reason in hell you wouldn't want to spay your dog at the standard six months. Aren't most females pretty much done growing at six months? Aren't males the ones that get stunted if fixed early? Either way I have to say this much. Since my fiance got her job at the local shelter I have really learned alot about the tragedy which occurs when people get lazy and don't take care of spay/neuter. I see no logical reason for this besides gross human negligence.

[Sherry Thoeny]

I am going to reply just once. Then no more. I do not want this to turn into a flame war.

 

First I never said it was my daughter's fault. In fact if you read the post I said I thought we made it clear but obviously not. That means we did not make it clear to her, and therefore it's my fault not hers. I never said it was her fault. I just said what happened.

 

Second we decided to let her finish growing before we had her spayed. That information has been posted on this board. This board is where I read about it first.

 

Third, I obviously did not come accross the way I meant to. I take it very serious. I am not giggling and laughing about it. I am trying to deal with it, and do what is best. The smiley icon was not the best choice to make that point. I guess I should not have even tried to make a joke or lighten the seriosness of what is not a positive situation. It is really hard to make words say exactly what you mean. They can be taken so differently without facial expressions, tone of voice, etc.

 

Finally, you people know nothing about be. Yet you have all decided I am a liar. I am irresponsible, and not fit to be a mother. I doubt that everyone reading this agrees, but they probably do not want to respond and get the attacked like I have been. If you want to decide I am a liar. Fine. But it truly crosses a line to say my daughter is a tragedy, and that I am not fit to be a mother. I am by no means perfect. But I am a good mother. And I have an amazing daughter. She is just amazing. Ask anyone who knows me. Oh wait you do not need to do that. You can read a few lines I type, and figure out everything you need to know. Irresponsible. Tragedy she has children. Liar. Should not have dog at all. Careless. Thoughtless. Selfish. and probably some I missed. When I first started reading this group there was a thread talking about how harsh it was. Some denied it, but from where I sit it seems pretty harsh and judgemental.

 

Again this is my last response.

 

P.S.I appreciate what little advice was mingled in with the rest.

[bettilu]

Besides the stunt your growth theory, I see no reason in hell you wouldn't want to spay your dog at the standard six months. Aren't most females pretty much done growing at six months? Aren't males the ones that get stunted if fixed early? Either way I have to say this much. Since my fiance got her job at the local shelter I have really learned alot about the tragedy which occurs when people get lazy and don't take care of spay/neuter. I see no logical reason for this besides gross human negligence.

 

 

Well, not sure that's even true either, we have always had our dogs fixed typically as soon as you can, and I don't think their growth has ever been stunted. Bo is 24", that's not exactly little for a BC. I have to agree with everyone on this one so far....was just irresponsible unless you really wanted puppies to begin with (which is ALSO irresponsible for that matter). I also feel sorry for that poor pregnant pup.