she had 6 puppies on may 10th, and i took them all to my mom's today (to avoid the $25 per pet per month fee). i was pretty much gone all day, and when i got back, my roommate asked if i had fed her today. i told him i did earlier when i picked up the pups, and he informed me she was whining all afternoon and night, so that's why he asked.

should i have progressively removed the pups? is my dog going to be traumatized or something? am i indeed an asshole?

6/30/2008 2:16:16 AM

i would leave one with her

6/30/2008 2:19:27 AM

three weeks is plenty of time

but a gradual wean would be best

http://petcaretips.net/how-wean-puppy.html

6/30/2008 2:23:48 AM

my sister is keeping one, and i may keep one as well, so she'll have atleast them to visit with. the puppies seemed fully weened after 7+ weeks, and they've been eating the mother's solid food (as well as her breast milk) for over a week now.

6/30/2008 2:24:14 AM

When I was growing up we let our female cat have 3 litters of kittens before we had her fixed. We let the kittens wean for a minimum of 6 weeks before we adopted them out. There seems to be a point ~ 5-6 weeks where the mother becomes distant from the offspring and generally withdraws from them. Thats when we knew it was time to send the kittens to their new homes.

6/30/2008 3:22:12 AM

you should have spayed her.

6/30/2008 8:02:53 AM

^True, but she does have a point with the time frame thing. It can be really detrimental to the puppies/kittens if you separate too early.

6/30/2008 8:13:40 AM

Did you at least give your dog a treat or something? I mean Id be pretty pissed if someone swooped in and took my kids and didn't even leave me a biscuit or anything.

7/1/2008 9:10:41 AM

I agree with what everyone else has said so far - pups need to be with their mom for at least 6-9 weeks before separating them. They wean better, have less problems with digestion, and are imprinted from mom and litter mates with what is appropriate behavior, and learn discipline. A lot of dogs who were separated from their mom/litter mates tend to have more behavioral issues, and tend to be more mouthy and nippy because of the fact that they were never taught about what is appropriate behavior when playing.

7/1/2008 9:22:52 AM

are you going to spay her?

7/1/2008 11:42:38 AM

dont feel bad, she wouldve done the same thing to you

7/1/2008 11:49:08 AM

do these people like come by on the first of the month and count the number of pets you have? i dont get why you had to take them away today

7/1/2008 1:38:50 PM

Quote :

"i would leave one with her"

7/1/2008 2:24:58 PM

When we bred bulldogs the mom had a lot better time when we kept one pup around. They were always trained so much faster than a puppy by itself- a huge perk. They were all trained to ring a bell when they had to go to the bathroom before they left (sooo handy) cause thats how the mom got out. Benson (one of the pups) is going to be HEARTBROKEN when his mom goes, though. He still gets his face washed every day, and he is six years old.

7/1/2008 3:06:29 PM

probably the most disturbing thread on tww right now

7/1/2008 3:09:59 PM

that mommy dog is so sad!

7/1/2008 3:14:12 PM

Quote :

"am i indeed an asshole?"

Yes, you are. Put yourself in the dog's shoes. How would you like it if someone took away your children after a few years of you having them?

7/1/2008 3:40:53 PM

Quote :

"should i have progressively removed the pups? is my dog going to be traumatized or something? am i indeed an asshole? "

THIS IS BEYOND FUCKED UP. you have to give a few weeks before seperating and even then its at a slow rate.

7/1/2008 3:49:07 PM

Quote :

"Did you at least give your dog a treat or something"

i fed her.

Quote :

"are you going to spay her?"

probably.

Quote :

"do these people like come by on the first of the month and count the number of pets you have? i dont get why you had to take them away today"

landlord came by awhile ago to get our waterline fixed. we're not even allowed to have pets, so rather than evicting us, she's charging $25 per pet per month. rent is due on the 1st, so i needed to remove the pups to avoid paying $150 in fees.

Quote :

"THIS IS BEYOND FUCKED UP. you have to give a few weeks before seperating and even then its at a slow rate."

like i said, they've been weaned for a little over 7 weeks. also, she'll have regular visits with the two pups we're keeping at my mom's (15 minutes away).

7/1/2008 4:10:17 PM

born on may 10th + weaned for 7 weeks ??? does not compute?

spca has spay/neuter vouchers. http://www.spcawake.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Spay_Neuter_mainpage

$72 is A LOT less than what you've invested in the puppies. Do the responsible/smart/economical thing and fix her.

there are even cheaper low-cost spay/neuter programs.

wondering why you had a pregnant dog in a no-pet apartment in the first place. Perhaps you could bring the momma dog over to your moms too.

7/1/2008 4:59:56 PM

it begins

7/1/2008 6:37:46 PM