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Responsibilities

© Nancy McMillan

The honeymoon stage is over. Maggie is no longer the central caregiver. Now the Poop Machines (as my niece calls them) are solely my responsibly. Now I'm really glad we only have two. I can only imagine what a larger litter would mean in terms of newspaper.

Aside for proper care and stimulation for the puppies, I'm starting to think Which one should I keep? and How can I bear to let one go? I've begun to get inquires and have started to ask the typical questions:

Have you ever had a dog before? What kind? How long?
Do you have children? How many? What ages?
Do you live in a house or an apartment?
Do you have a fenced yard?
Do you have other pets?
What happened to your last dog?
Do you plan to do obedience training with your new dog?
How do you feel about crate training?

Lots of useful information is available on line:

Questions Responsible Breeders Ask & What You Should Ask Them

What Makes a Breeder "Responsible"? provides excerpts from posts to the rec.pets.dogs newsgroups.

How to find a Reputable Breeder

Finding a responsible breeder offers topics like locating a responsible breeder; buyer beware; and breeder beware.

Are you in the initial stages of a puppy seach? Here is good information, Breeder's Do and Don'ts where the writer suggests going to a local dog show to chat with owners of the breed you are looking for before speaking to a breeder and futher states:

Learn about your breed before you look to buy one. Read the breed standard, find out about grooming requirements, typical temperaments, health problems that are common in the breed, etc. Irresponsible breeders hate educated buyers! .

Well, its time to clean the puppy pen, again!

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