DumDog
Posted : 10/24/2007 12:16:57 PM
huskymom
Couple of questions.
- Did you volunteer to watch them for the week? Or did she ask? She may feel more obligated to you if she asked vs. you volunteering.
- Are you one of those people she wants to 'please'? Maybe she'll give them to you if you ask...offer to pay her in installments and then give her a discount on ... eggs?
- Is the momma there with them? If she isn't, who's to say she will even take them back when they get home. If she is, perhaps she can stay as well. Either way, if she's not nursing, they will probably get all the socialization they need from your dogs and the rest of your household.
- Is your cousin going to be willing to put in the time required to keep the pups healthy? Is she going to ever take them to the vet?
- Do you have any idea what happened to the others? Are you sure its not something that could effect Kaydee, Bo, Ben and the firecracker? Or the other animals or even the boys? That would be my biggest concern. Perhaps it was something the momma ate that somehow poisoned the pups and then just the lack of puppies nursing that dried her up, but maybe not...
- Do you need my address? I'm still waiting for Remus...
1. she asked me because she knows i'm a sucker
2. nah i'm the one that gets the left overs no one else wants. again because she knows i'm a sucker... i got another shepherd from her just to keep her from taking him to the pound when she found a replacement.. Boss was skinny and looked like Wiley Coyote.. but she didnt want him fixed - wanted to maintain breeding rights, but she knew and agreed that i was actively looking for a home for him , which was the deal i made with my husband when i brought the dog home.. FORTUNATELY i found someone who wanted him and she got him fixed right away. he had an infection in his testicles that was, somehow, preventing him from gaining weight. he was almost as large as a saint bernard but he only weighed 90lbs!! so yes.. i get the left overs because she knows i'll take care of them.
3. lol she WANTED me to bring Star (their mom) back to my place just to see if she would still keep nursing them.. i told her i didnt have any room for Star.. not with Bo, Kaydee and Ben.. but suggested "Well there would be room on your front porch right?" ... noooo.... i have a rabbit and squirrel on my front porch, and my cat, AND Mattie spends some of her time out there as well. no room for a mother shepherd and her two puppies. all i need is for her to feel just a little threatened and go after my cat or Mattie...
4. i highly doubt it. the last litter were too skittish for my liking. their all kennel dogs with almost no human interaction except food and water and maybe some random leash walking.. their toenails look like claws on a grizzly bear..
5. thats also my worry... i THINK the reason for the deaths is because the mother was under nourished and had been bred way too soon. she didnt get a break between litters once the first was weened. the one remaining puppy yet to be sold from the last litter supposedly starved to death because his dad wouldnt let him eat.\
yeah, i know... WHAT?! they were ALL in the same pen.. they eat from an auto-feeder... and because the puppy wouldnt let people get near him no one probably thought to monitor his health.. he had a shaggy coat too.. which would hide any ribs and hip bones. i think bottom line is their mom was over worked... the fleas and mosquitos probably did a number on them.. not getting enough nutrients from mom, plus being sucked dry by parasites was too much for the poor things.. and yeah with fewer puppies to feed there wasnt a need for so much milk. thats my guess anyway. all i could think of when i went to pick them up was... even IF their mom could handle only two as opposed to seven, i cant leave them here! not in a sand pit!
6. lol yeah might want to send that on!! i hate to break them up, but really.. i doubt they would care lol and yes i named them... shame on me.. i called them Romulus and Remus - ok stop laughing at me lol the reason why is because ... Romulus and Remus were orphaned babies raised by a mother wolf. i figure its a similar situation only reversed... they are the orphaned "wolves" being raised by a mother human lol and if you know about Romulus and Remus you'll know why Candace wants Remus lol
and yes my goal would be to raise them, keep them socialized and interacting as much with people and other animals until they could find an approved home. though honestly i wouldnt mind having the two shepherds and my two bullies... i love having more than two dogs.. thats what i'm used to, but i dont think, right now, we are what they need. we have a budget that only covers the pets we have now, plus my cousin is paying me to feed and care for her two dogs. unless my husband got a raise or i found some other way to make money, it would just be gambling for us to keep them. we could HOPE nothing bad happened.. but what if it did, you know?
lol you can see i have thought this through to the inth degree