Well as you know we have a wolf/dog puppy; the big question now is to breed her or not to breed her.
If we choose not to breed her then we want to have her ‘fixed’ before she is 6 months old. Considering this we have till some time in February or March (2006) in order to make our minds up.
When I got Sasha (the pup in question) she was 8 weeks old. I am not one to keep track of time so I think she is about 10 weeks old now maybe 11 weeks old?? More?? At any rate she is scheduled for her 12 week old shots in abut a week (today is Monday November 28, 2005)
Getting back to things; I have popped the question to my husband about BREEDING her.
On one hand I would LOVE to breed her, the puppies would bring in some MUCH needed cash! Although I am sure there is an expense in the stud service coupled with the expense of caring for the new puppies I have yet to factor into the cost of how much I would sell the pups for. Right now I am thinking 50 to 75 dollars a pup (dreaming about 100 to 150 bucks a pup!) considering that it would be her FIRST litter about 4 pups. (it would be nice for her to throw about 6 pups the first time!) I do not intend to breed her after the one and ONLY litter if I do decide to do this AT ALL!
I have NEVER breed a dog EVER!! If I do decide to breed Sasha then I definitely want it to be with a pure breed WOLF, I want to keep one of the puppies for myself (I know myself enough to say that there is NO way I could have a litter of puppies and NOT keep just ONE!) Sasha is working out so well that my dream of having a pure wolf pup is getting BIGGER!!! (still working on that house breaking thing though LMAO!)
OUR FEARS….
Hormones change us all; right now Sasha is such a LOVING sweet BABY! She does show signs of who she is going to become and that full grown a wolf/dog isn’t anything to tremble about, in fact she is sweet as PIE! She LOVES and listens to us and knows her place in the pack. (although even now she tries to dominate the other two dogs in the house but that I am sure will work out in the end, as for us humans she knows she is DEFINITELY beneath us in pack pecking order!!!)
My husband worries about the running issue she has….
She will run away from us when taken outside, this started about a week ago, in order to counter act that or to work with it, I take her out side for ‘potty breaks’ on a leash and for ‘work out’ sessions to my moms who has lots and lots of acres to run in! (I started this on Thanksgiving Day and have gone out there one more time since and plan to do this at least once a week maybe twice depending on Sasha and her signs of need for more room to run.)
Some of my mothers’ property is wooded and others are all field, a lot of her ‘neighbors’ (most neighbors at my moms are a mile or more away, although wolves can lope up to 50 miles a day no problem! Could you imagine running that far every freaking day!) have cows and sheep, Oh! We mustn’t forget the donkey! (one of my mothers neighbors has the most lovely donkey I have EVER seen! It’s calico! I have never seen a calico donkey before!) Sasha seems to think they are strange and scary right now, later I am sure she will think they are far more interesting so I try to get her to play with the baby sheep and cows and this LOL! Well its funny if nothing else! (baby meaning almost a year old) One of the farmers near my mom has new baby piglets! Yes they are out of season although I am EXCITED! I am trying to introduce Sasha to the piglets and show her how they are TENDER and to play SWEETLY with them! She acts as though they are strange and SCARY! LOL! You should see her with our FERRETS!!!
My husband says that his dog (chubby) was WILD before he was neutered. (chubs as I have said so may times is half sharpie and half chocolate lab; I would like to add that chubby has the bluish tongue of the Chinese, sharpie dog, as well as the wrinkles, and yellowish color, he also has the sharpie aggressive temperament, although this is exquisitely married with the loving and nurturing nature of the lab, creating a protective, fat and lazy in APPEARANCE,( I put stress on the fat and lazy in APPERANCE for a good reason, just ask our Land Lord why LMAO!) yet loving and caring dog. Chubs ran as a pre-neutered pup and didn’t mind very much. After neutering chubby he listens very well! LOL Jeff, my husband, only has to either look at chubby or snap his fingers at him and Chubs snaps too right away! Jeff is worried that if we don’t catch ‘it’ in time Sasha will be a very BAD dog in the future!
My worries are that the wolfish behaviors that I already see in her such as the running, stalking and dominating natures will become more profound if she is allowed to go through that hormonal change. The stalking behavior may be of some concern IF we had small children about but we don’t (thank God!!!) all of our children are in their teens and BIGGER than US! Most of them anyhow, my 12 year old is 5 feet 9 inches and I am 5 feet tall maybe 5 feet 2 inches at best, my husband is 6 feet tall although I think he is 10 feet tall but whatever back to the issue at hand….
Although now all she, Sasha, is showing us is a very loving nature and a need to challenge, in other words push the ferrets and other dogs around but not US! She also shows that curious edge that is normal yet for me, who is watching for wolfish behavior, well I worry.
Anyhow this is a HUGE decision for us to make and as I stated we don’t have a lot of time to make it. I do know that we need to allow her some time in order to mature before we allow her to breed, (one or two years?)
I also know that with wolf pups you have to take them away from the mother early in order to fully integrate them into the human way of life so I am not just asking should we breed her the very day she first comes into heat or not; what I am asking is for other opinions on my honest account of our fears and hopes.
Oh I don’t think I mentioned our hopes…
Our hopes, or rather my OWN hopes are; to have a more WOLF than DOG to train, to make MONEY and to watch the growth and developments that Sasha goes through on her path from puppy hood to adult then on towards motherhood and after. To further my hopes I wish to train and watch a WOLF do the same thing.
My husbands hopes are simply to get these HUMAN kids raised and watch THEM do the above; the pets are all up to me. (we have 6 teenage children one in college and the rest all girls here at home for those who didn’t know or cant remember)
Before I end this post I want to say that I ADORE my animals; I go to great lengths and expense for each and EVERY single one of them. Their health be it mental, physical I take it all into consideration before I make any decision!
Breeding Sasha or not to breed her is something I am warring about inside myself. And just want so third party input on.
Thank you for reading my post and thank you for your input. ************************************************************ 11-29-05, 09:06 AM Lydia There's alot to think about when raising a wolfdog, let alone breeding them. I'm hoping that you looked into the breed before deciding to get one. Raising a Wolf site gives you lots of information on the breed as a whole. There are several links on that site and they're pretty informative and interesting.
As for whether or not to breed...that's something that you really need to look long and hard at (which you are and that's good!) You need to be very careful as to what you breed with...and who you sell to. Because this isn't just "another dog", you need to consider so many things including laws in your area. WolfDog Alliance site discusses ethical guidelines and policies and has breeding guidelines as well as owner guidelines.
This quote on their site really sums it up... "There are many well-intentioned individuals who are involved in the activities of owning, breeding and rescuing wolves and wolfdogs but who may lack the experience and guidance to do so in a manner that reflects favorably on the wolfdog community as a whole or is in the best interest of the animals." As you mentioned, you have no experience breeding, let alone in breeding a wolfdog...it's nothing like breeding a poodle or a "regular" dog.
Responsible Breeding is also a good site to check out for wolfdog breeding. Especially worthy of note: "Sending a pup into an illegal area can be a death sentence." Know your state's laws! Ohio does not have a law against them, but that's not true of all states.
Hopefully the above will give you lots of information and help you make your decision. It's not one to be taken lightly...think long and carefully because the health and life of your dog and those that might be born are at stake...
~Lydia
11-29-05, 09:56 AM misty45 i have to vote to not breed her. here in oklahoma 15,000 animals are put down every year because there are not enough homes for them. that doesn't count the strays running the streets looking for food and love. bringing more animals into the world just to make money doesn't make since. also, if she is spayed before her first heat, there is very little chance that she will get breast tumors. i just lost my oldest cat last week to breast cancer, because she wasn't spayed in time. i have 9 cats and 6 dogs and they are all fixed. i have never let any of my pets have babies. i hope you decide not to breed, just to help control the pet over population. it sounds like you adore your pets, so make the best decision to benefit her.
11-29-05, 01:22 PM aminator2002 Sounds like a horrible idea to me. I think you ought to find another way to make some extra cash.
11-29-05, 11:44 PM Tree In my humble opinion --- DON'T breed her.
11-30-05, 10:09 PM Siana Well I have come to my decision on whether to breed or not to breed; but first allow me to take you though what I went though in order to come to my decision.
Thank you Lydia!!! I found that site VERY helpful!
I learned so very much when I started reading about the breeding aspect of things!
I reflected back on growing up, I never thought there was much to it. On the farm it seemed like we were popping out baby something or other all the time! It just seemed like such an easy thing that I didn’t think about a lot of the other stuff that can go wrong or about what is Sasha’s pedigree exactly and what are the health issues if any with her parents and grandparents ect…
I do know I don’t trust the breeder who sold Sasha and the rest of her litter to the pet shop where I got her at. I do believe that Sasha has more dog in her than wolf but the people who own the parents of Sasha swear that isn’t so. That doesn’t really matter because I love her to pieces either way.
Our vet gives Sasha a fairly clean bill of health but worries about hip dysphasia in old age. (I called and asked to get her in before next week; I just HAD to have her checked out!) He said we would keep a watchful eye on that and see what develops or doesn’t develop. The vet also said she should be perfectly capable of having puppies but warned me that she could change a bit in temperament if she was allowed to have pups. He also said that his concerns about the possible hip problem could be worsened by a pregnancy. He went on to say a lot of other stuff and we talked at great lengths about wolves and wolf/dogs and his experiences with them. It seems they are pretty popular around these parts and he has seen quite a few of them! I was surprised to hear that! I had no idea they were that popular here in Ohio!
Oh and for the people wondering yes they are totally LEGAL in Ohio!
My vet appears to LIKE these wolf/dogs and says they are some of the most intelligent animals he has had the pleasure to work with. He told me he would call me later this week or next week if a certain person he knows who raises them both, wolves and wolf/dogs, says that it is ok for me to come out and see their babies! I am so very excited about that prospect! It would be GREAT to take Sasha and see the differences and similarities!
I have learned a great deal though about breeding and all that it entails and since I cant swear to Sasha’s bloodline and the hip dysphasia may be a concern for her I will NOT be breeding her at all.
I do want another wolf/dog though and this one I want to make SURE on the percentage of wolf it has or does not have. It has been my dream my entire life to have a wolf! I am prepared for the damage they may cause and I know that wolves do not turn on you and that your doggy dog is more likely to turn than a wolf is. I am already experiencing the difficulties of potty training a wolf/dog and well its no fun picking up puppy poo but well worth it!
I doubt that I will be getting another one any time soon though. I have put in a request for another wolf/dog pup on my 5th wedding anniversary though! LOL! My husband said something about getting me a wolf/fish??!! I told him the only thing I think fish are any good for is EATING so he had better NOT!
Cross your fingers, toes, eyes, ears if you can and anything else that I get to go see some real wolves and other wolf/dogs!
more about my Sasha though....
Obviously I am totally in love with her. Every day I am amazed at how much she behaves like a human baby! The potty training thing is coming along, I think, not so sure, ok well I am still picking up about 5 piles every morning and a couple more through the rest of the day but I am thinking positive!!!!
Teaching her that the toys in the basket are HERS but the things under my Christmas tree are NOT! Is futile, I gave up and just moved the stuff. Teaching her not to eat my tree WORKED! She wont chew it….when I am looking that is…LOL! Ahh well I was warned wasn’t I! Pretty much every thing I have read about wolf/dogs told me not to be surprised if I come home to find my couch destuffed! LMAO! Well she already got the bean bag so I suppose the couch isn’t going to have a very long life span either. LMAO! One site I read that these peoples wolf/dog is working on her 6th DOOR! LOL! As you can tell I really don’t care what Sasha chews or doesn’t chew up, its no biggy, not when it means that I will be able to have her as my comrade for 15 years or more!
From all I have learned I don’t think they are for everyone and certainly not for someone looking for a PET. I want what she is going to give me and that is companionship. I know she will want to be my equal and I believe I have chosen just the right animal for me, so far all is good even with the silly mishaps like the beanbag and some old Christmas decorations, Sasha is at my side pretty much 24/7 and loves me loves me loves me! And I think the very world of her as well!
I would also like to say I first wanted to do this not just for money but because I love Sasha and thought it would be great to have another puppy but from her! The money was a perk or so I was thinking, although I was being pretty naive about it. Got my head on right now! LOL!
Oh one last thing, I had forgotten how old she was when I made the original post but I did contact the breeder and she was born about mid morning on September 4 2005, that makes her 3 months old now!
01-12-06, 08:22 PM vshelton2 You never stated whether you had decided to breed her or not but if you decided to breed her, please consider a few things what are you going to do if your dog has puppies and you can't sell them? Are you prepared to keep these wolf/dog puppies and raise them and be responsible for them for all their lives? Even the most experienced breeders sometimes have litters where all or some of the puppies are not sold. A RESPONSIBLE breeder makes sure that they will be able to take care of the pups. Also they make sure that if something happens and someone buys one of their puppies that if at any time the owner can't keep the dog/wolf that they are prepared to take that animal in and keep it until they can rehome it or in case of the animal being undersocialized and overly aggressive take the responsibility of putting the dog down.
Another thing no vet can predict whether or not a dog is going to have hip dysplasmia or not. The only accurate way is to wait until the canine is two years old and have the dogs hips xrayed and then sent to OFA and have them OFA certified. Are you willing to do this? What if your dog becomes aggressive and goes after some of your mother's neighbors animals are you willing to accept financial responsibility for this.
I hope you will reconsider this. For one thing IMHO any one who sells a dog or a cat through a pet shop is not a RESPONSIBLE breeder and I wouldn't hold much to what these "breeders" told you. A responsible breeder does not sell through pet shops and makes sure that none of their dog's offspring are sold through a pet shop either.
Please reconsider and have her spayed or if you absolutely must breed her, then make sure that you wait until she is at least 2 years old and have her hips OFA certified first.
One other thing are you prepared that if something happens to her during her pregancy and she either dies or is unable to nurse the puppies are you prepared to accept responsibility for them and take care of the puppies?
01-12-06, 10:50 PM misty45 please reread siana's letter. she did say that she would'nt be breeding her. she made a wise decision.
01-14-06, 03:39 AM Siana I haven’t checked in for a while, I have been quite busy, the holidays and this old house that seems to be in a continuous state of refinishing, or finishing finished projects that need refinished AGAIN. LOL say THAT three times fast!
I did indeed decided NOT to breed Sasha. In fact she is scheduled for her surgery right after my birthday in February.
I am scared to death about it, my other female dog Heidi had a bad reaction to the anesthetic used when I had her ‘fixed’ some odd 4 years ago. I wound up sleeping with her on the floor next to her doggy bed for THREE DAYS! That was an awful time, I thought I was going to lose her! She pulled out of it and all is good, still have her and she is a joy to us all.
Sasha though, LOL! My husband refers to her as the spoiled 2 year old. I have to admit she behaves very much like a 2 year old child! Getting into things, wanting mama’s attention, getting into things LOL.
I got to take her to the place with all the other wolves and wolf/dogs. They have 5 wolves and 3 wolf/dogs. I was referred to a trainer and hired them on the spot!
They are a couple and take only those who they wish to on. They take turns coming to my house and will finish up the training sessions this weekend.
Sasha has learned not to stick her nose in the trash, it bites back. I placed mouse traps in the trash, all along the table and counters and well let us just say once bit twice shy.
Sasha comes when called, IF you’re her trainer, if your mama you better have play time in mind or something yummy to eat! LOL!
I have spent many years training other peoples dogs for fun, I have also taken in many dogs, taught them some manners then found them good homes. I have 6 teenaged children, 2 other dogs, a couple of ferrets, a rabbit, two rats and those awful lizard things my stepdaughter is in love with. This time around I have Sasha and I am spoiling her! I draw the line at eating the trash, taking food from the table and counters, taking food off others plates, begging, ok well OVERLY begging, and I made sure she knows the command SETTLE! This means knock it off or your going to time out! Other than that I am making her my sweet little baby who thinks she is everyone’s princess.
She sleeps with me, goes EVERYWHERE with me, sits beside me while I eat, watches TV with me, and basically seems to think she came from me and I am her mama and God help anyone who even THINKS about causing her harm!
She is now 4 months old, I do not have the words to express how much I love her. Right now she is sleeping in ‘her’ basket beside my computer chair and will probably wake up and crawl into bed with me when I finally shut this machine down, turn out the lights and get into bed.
I adore my baby wolf/dog Sasha and she thinks the world of me as well. This is one happy puppy and one very satisfied mama!!!
01-14-06, 07:29 AM soaringhorse Hello Siana, I just wanted to say I enjoyed reading your post, you really cracked me up over the training, it gets easier, she's just a baby. Your sentiments to Sasha are exactly how I feel about my best friend, Poochess. Just a little info....I've had her since she was 3 months old. She was given to me because someone found her being abused at an apartment building, tied up to a water heater with a wire around her neck, left alone in a basement. She has been my shadow every since then, my baby! The sad news is she is now 10 years old, she has been diagnosed with mast cell tumors Frown Not good, I have had them removed three times, total of 5, yeh, they're malignant, stage two. I will not do chemo, just don't have that much funds, and the tumors may come back anyways. So, that's what I'm dealing with. I spotted another small one today, how much more can I put her thru? She has had drain tubes on the last two surgeries, and was a very good patient, but cried when I picked her up from the last surgery, it broke my heart. The reason I'm telling you this, is I wish I had kept her pup from her only litter. She had seven, and I just thought I couldn't afford any more vet bills then I already had. I have 5 cats, and her. But, you know what, I have been lucky, and been able to foot the surgeries so far, and believe me, they have been expensive, over 400 dollars a piece. They have to take out surrounding tissue, and it takes a long time. I know you've made your decision, but I think it's all up to you. You just got to make sure you have a home for your pets, and that you have a yard, or somewhere they can go out to. I feel like I am an adoption agency for these cats I have, but they are collections from my brother not being able to take care of them, and they are all spayed and neutered. But I love them all, and take full responsibility for them. I just hate to see people just drop off their pets, once they can't take care of them, I mean, how cruel! Do they not have any feelings? I'm talking about people who just move out, leave their pets there, and just forget about them, that is just totally low, at least they need to make sure they go to a good home, right?
Anyways. Good Luck with your doggy, have you considered a cage? They like somewhere to go for shelter, especially if it's part wolf. You may think about that. Take care, and enjoy that pup, it goes by fast, so make the best of it.
01-14-06, 11:44 AM babthrower Hi, Shiana. How wise of you to make a decision in the animal's best interests! Lydia's sites were good, and all the other posts were full of good advice. It does my heart good to see someone like yourself, who so obviously would make a very responsible owner, decided not to breed. Because when you breed an animal and put it on the market, you have no idea what's going through the head of the potential buyer. Guard dog for a drug dealer, who would deliberately make the pup savage ... you get my drift. Now you can love your wolf/dog puppy with all your heart, yet not have it on your conscience that you put an animal out into the world possibly to be abused and eventually put down.
The satisfaction of responsible and loving pet ownership is better than any kind of money! Good for you.
p.s. did you know that donkeys protect herds from wolves?
01-14-06, 02:09 PM Siana No I did not know Donkeys protected herds from wolves but I wouldn’t be surprised! They are VERY smart animals and are actually faster than horses in a lot of cases.
As for a cage I absolutely hate it when I see a dog in one! I have a really nice big one and have kept it for years and years; mostly it holds old Christmas decorations LOL! I have come up with something to use for my Sasha.
One of these days she is going to be big, I am thinking 90 pounds? Maybe larger yet I kind of doubt it, then again my youngest daughter looked like she was going to be my size then suddenly this past summer she had a growth spurt and is 5feet 9inches tall!!! She’s only 12!!!!
ANYHOW!! I am going to go get one of those plastic Rubbermaid storage containers, one with a lockdown lid. I plan to cut out one entire side, leaving the curved edges intact and the lid locked into place. I then plan to use spray paints and created a faux patina over the entire thing, my colors are going to be rustic, greens, reds and browns. I am then going to take Sasha’s blanky, a five dollar find at the doller store, it’s a soft blanket with deer and wolves all over it. I plan to take that and wrap it around some batting to make a mattress slip cover in the bottom. I will then give her what is left in addition to her red and black blanket she has stolen from me, as well as my cheep red, black and white Indian throw blanket she has decided she loves.
I plan to set this new bed for her at the foot of my bed. It will be her own personal privet space and she wont have to bang her head off the underside of my bed any more! LOL!
In perfect wolfish caricature Sasha loves to hide, she will hide under the dressers, my end table, the bed, the couch, and she loves to take a soft blanket with her!
Funny story; I was walking into the living room one day and saw a corner of my Indian throw on the floor most of it under the daybed. I bent down went to grab it, heard this guffing sound and the throw was snatched quickly under the couch! LOL! Sasha had found herself a new place to hide and claimed my Indian throw as her cover for the day. LOL!
SoaringHorse;
I feel your pain! It is so very hard when our pets get ill, especially in their old age. All you can do is love her and be there when she needs you. That is all any of us can do when a loved one is suffering. I will keep you both in my thoughts.
01-14-06, 02:45 PM babthrower Siana, you are a true animal lover, and it comes across so clearly in your lively prose.
Make money? Why not get yourself a few cheap 'scribblers' from the dime store and keep one in every room of the house. Then when you get a good 'animal' idea, observation or recollection, just jot it down. Then in the evening, transform these into little stories for adults or children.
Animal stories usually sell well , I think. I've just finished a good one about cats. It's very simply written.
I think you have a better 'style' than the author of that book!
And when you submit your typewritten book (double spaced) to a publisher, it would be a good promotional idea to include some pen drawings or watercolor illustrations also, to catch the agent's interest. If you don't sketch yourself, do you have a friend who does?
01-14-06, 03:58 PM misty45 hi siana-you do have a way with words and it is so obvious that you love your animals. SoaringHorse, i am so sorry to hear about the cancer. i lost my 13 and a half year old cat two days before thanksgiving to adenocarcinoma(breast tumors). we had the tumors removed 3 times before we were told the cancer was in her lungs. it tore my heart out to lose her. to top it off, we lost our old poodle, we're guessing around 15 years, on january 4th. she was just old and she wore out. losing two so close together was so hard. we still have plenty, but that doesn't make it easier. we have 5 dogs, 9 cats, 2 rabbits, a guiena pig and a ribbon snake. all of them except one were strays. i'm a sucker for strays. if i could have my wish, every animal on this earth would have a good, loving home. they are all precious.
01-15-06, 12:06 PM Siana Babthrower and Misty,
Thank you very much for the compliment!
I have been told time and time again I should write a book. My mother encouraged me when I was a teen, I wrote a short story, which followed along with the song by Jon Bon Jovie ‘Never Say Goodbye.’ It was about a group of teens who were the best of friends, the moral was don’t drink and drive. The story didn’t have a happy ending, everyone died in a car crash as the result of teenage drinking and driving.
I was nominated by my English teacher to take this story to a young authors convention in a town not so far away, it was actually chosen as one of the top 5 short stories. I went on with my story to an even larger young authors convention in Columbus Ohio. I actually took second place! Approximately six months later we received in the mail a published book and my story was in there!
I didn’t receive any moneys for this because I had signed over my rights to the story after winning second place at the convention. Dumb move, yet I didn’t think anything of it at the time.
This prompted my mother to enroll me in a mail order class which was to teach you how to prefect your writing skills.
At 15 years of age I was unable to understand, let alone tolerate the constructive criticism I received when submitting my lesions. I took this to mean I am a wash out as a writer and stopped writing. I was a headstrong teenager who thought she knew it all.
I have gone on to write and actually publish an article on my deafness and what it was like being the recipient of the wonderful technology we have today known as the cochlear implant. This I received no monies for as well because it was written for a charity type magazine.
When my children were younger I often made up little stories to tell them at bedtime. They remember several of them, yet I never wrote them down.
A few years ago I was working on a book. It was based on fiction of course and was about werewolves, yet depicted them as ‘good guys.’
My computer crashed or was dropped during one of my many moves, the floppy I had saved my story to somehow got grape Kool-Aid spilled all over it! Thus my novel was lost and with it went my desire.
Lately I have been having a difficult time finding a job. During this time I have spent countless hours on my computer writing silly things, as well as restoring my home, and playing with my many pets.
Since discovering Internet forums, I have found I enjoy participating in posting on several of them. I have been told by many members of the various forums I participate in that I have a ‘good writing style’ and should write a book.
Family members, friends, and now complete strangers are encouraging me to write. I believe I just might.
I have a little something in the back of my mind having to do with my wolf/dog Sasha and HER ferrets Bob and Oliver. Who knows I just might crank out something the publishers will love! LOL!
That said I suppose if you are ever shopping for a children’s book and see something about a wolf/dog and a couple of ferrets named Bob and Oliver you can remember your friend here Siana and maybe just maybe she wrote it.
01-21-06, 05:15 PM Sherasi OMG that is too funny! She is cute!
I am glad you chose not to breed her, though. Too many irresponsible people.. even if you sold the pups to responsible people, they may not have kept them and then the pups may have ended up in bad situations.
The people may not have wanted to give up the puppies but things DO happen.
I had the occassion to make this hard decision to give up my dog, Loki. He was 150 pound black lab/german shepherd mix and totally obedient and lovable. But I got pregnant, had a preemie baby that came home on oxygen and the dog accidently knocked the oxygen down and broke the regulator. If we hadn't seen it, my son would have died without the oxygen. I cried and cried, but I had to give Loki up.
We do have two SMALL dogs now.. 18 and 30 pound Schipperkes. I will post my favorite photo of them. Smile
07-19-06, 10:20 PM dreamercgl Hi,I agree with most everyone . Why would you take the chance of possibly losing your dog in when giving birth. Dogs can pass away with difficult births. Do your dog a favor and have her fixed, and let her be a baby for awhile. She deserves this. And let me tell you, that raising a house full of puppies isn't the easiest thing. I rescued a mommy with 8 puppies that were 3 wks old. I lived with a mop and spic and span for at least 3mths, until they were all adopted out. If they are pooping, they are eating, or peeing. You run around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to chase them down. You can't just constantly keep them in a pen, cause they need socialization. So yes, I enjoyed them, would I do it again? Only if the situatio came up that I had to save some. Please do not breed her, if you love her.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,
