i have just had one of my buyers on the phone asking me to take back a pup I sold to her 4 weeks ago as she keeps biting everyone .I find it very upsetting as I have never had this problem before with any pup that I have sold.I think its just normal puppy behaviour but the family seem to have given up and are looking to bring her back or re-home/sell her on.Advice please anyone .please tell me its not my breeding all the other pups in the litter have settled in well with no problems

No not your fault, most puppies will mouth unless stopped, if they have had her 4 weeks and made no effort to stop her then the pup will be better back with you untill you have trained her or a more experienced owner is found. More experenced than her owners now, not you. All the best. JH

Its most likely normal puppy behaviour, but whether it is, or whether its something more worrying, either way, GET THE PUP BACK........otherwise it may get passed from pillar to post & you will never hear of it again. Get it home, assess it for yourself & take it from there.

Being my usual down to earth self I think they probably dont want her. All pups bite, they must know this (listen to me only ever having had mine for 4months!!) but from what has been posted here and what I have read they do all bite. Mine has only just stopped!! I would have her back so you can re-home her with someone nicer who really wants her. Not your fault at all. Regards Gina

It does indeed sound as if it is an excuse rather than anything else, they have probably just changed theirminds or something.

If all the others are fine then i'm sure it will be OK...

LINdsay

Are they first time puppy owners? That could be the problem. Not educated in the fine arts of puppy rearing. If you feel after talking with them that the family will not try to do right by the puppy, I would take it back. In my contracts, I mention that their money will not be refunded either until the puppy has a new home and after my expenses.
I sincerely doubt that the biting is serious, although you should see for yourself, it will put your mind at rest.Keep us informed!

I agree with evreyone else, I cant believe you are doubting yourself! puppys bite or mouth as we call it, its a fact. I think these people are trying to justify not wanting the puppy anymore, very sad situation why dont these people do their homework b4 getting a puppy. I really think some people believe that their puppy is going to be the exeption to the rule and it wont mouth or chew the house up, not to forget the nice little presents they leave for us to tread in first thing in the morning, maybe im weird but I think its part of the joy of getting a puppy and it makes me smile. ok I wouldnt smile if my new settee was shredded but I would blame myself.
I have a similar story, a work collegue of my who had no experiance of dogs decided she would get her three yr old daughter a puppy, I advised her to think carefully and maybe get an older rescue dog that was used to children or if she had to have a puppy something suited to family life. But she set her heart on a dalmation because they prance like horses. apparently!!!!! I strongly advised her against this having worked with dalmations I know how willful they can be and they need an extremley large amount of stimulation and excersize to make good pets. Having a 3yr old daughter and not even wanting to go to puppy classes I told her not to get a puppy then. but she did and yes you know what happened she couldnt understand why the dog wouldnt house train itself she couldnt understand why it cried when she left it in the crate all day and most of the nite because she didnt want it to mess the house and she couldnt understand why it jumped up her daughter, I tried to explain that you do need to train dogs but it fell on deaf ears. so she contacted the breeder because the dog was unruly!!! this was a four mth old puppy by the way! and he put her intouch with someone who had one of the pups of the litter and she had her. it makes me angry that this happens so much!!!

by the way sorry about the long message had to get it off my chest. anyway to conclude the women who took the puppy on to go with the one she had from the litter has also decided she cant cope. so if anyone knows of any homes for two six month dalmation bitches (permanent obviously) please email me.
anyway finally to kia mummy I dont think it is your fault, remember bad owners make bad dogs!

I'm not surprised she can't cope. Dalmations are highly strung dogs at the best of times, but to have two 6mth olds is just crazy. I'm really surprised the breeder allowed this to happen - Shame on her, that's what I say.

Fiona

(sorry had a bad night with hubby who's now got the pox along with the children so I'm not feeling very sympathetic )

Oh you poor thing I do feel for you. If it were my husband he would probably think he was worse than the children. How are the children now? Regards Gina

i really dont want to take the pup back unless i really have too.I don't think they have given her a chance and I think it's a combination of things that led to the phone call.I think maybe that the children have become wary of the pup as she has bitten a few times and the mother was told by some sort of trainer at her vets that the pup shouldn't be doing that.It makes me so mad instead of blaming the dog why didn,t this trainer give the owner some constructive advice on what to do?I bet it's a case of people snatching their hands away and the puppy thinking it's a game
Anyway she says shes going to puppy class with it tonight and I will phone her tomorrow and explain where she's going wrong on the training side of things then we'll see how things go and if there's no improvement then I'll certainly take her back as I'm 99% sure that I have someone who will take her
Oh! another thing ,she has spent out a lot in vet fees(inj microchipping etc) she wants to recoup her costs on top of what she paid but I can't add the cost on as it's a lot more than the cost would have been in my area(does that make sense)
lorraine

Like I stated above, she really shouldn't recoup anything. Do you not have a written contract? Is it not possible to do that over there?
No way would I feel I owed these people for microchiping etc.
Sounds like they called you to complain before they really looked for solutions. With the puppy class, maybe they will finally be on the right road.

As i say i will be contacting her tomorow armed with good solid advice on training and if she's still set on bringing her back then I think I have someone more suitable lined up

she has decided that she wants to let her go so I have a very nice couple who have had ess for 30 years so I think they know what their doing.They are coming to see my lot today to have an idea what sort of pup they'll be taking on ( i have 2 from a previous litter,same parents) they can also see photos of the pup taken from birth to 8 weeks and pedigrees etc They are aware of the circumstances and agree that the previous owners are just inexperienced and probably the novelty has worn off.Anyway fingers crossed and they like what they seeand Daisy will have a new home bless her!!

That's great news. I hope everythign works out well for you, and Daisy.

Good luck and don't worry about the previous owners.

fiona

Their loss! Glad the puppy will be getting a more caring and understanding family.

oh! dear.The lady didn't want her after all,not quite what she was looking for .so its back to the drawing board which is a bit of a dissapointment especially as I had 2 e-mails from some other new owners who were absolutely chuffed with their pups .well thats the way it goes I suppose!I have a waiting list so I'm sure I can find someone

What a shame, but at least she felt able to be honest with you.

good luck,

Fiona

I'm sorry, but what does chuffed mean? From the context of the sentence I assume it is a good thing, is this right?

chuffed = extremely delighted, very pleased, happy as a pig in muck!!

Hope this helps,

fiona

well chuffed = even more delighted

Where I come from 'chuff' can mean the same as a 4 letter word beginning with 'f'. So when someone tells me they're really chuffed.........!? I have to say it is very colloquial though, so unless you're from a certain part of Yorkshire, you'll not of heard of it in that context.
sas

The poor pup has clearly got into the wrong hands, probably any dog would be wrong for them.
Whatever preconceptions they had of a pup prior to getting one have not been fullfiled, so the reality of a pup/dpg is not what they are suited to.
What you do is your own decision.

Hi, what bad luck. If you do end up taking the puppy back -which if you possibly can will be best for the puppy I think - do get a new "contract" made up for them to sign - making it quite clear what the financial/ownership "set up" is. A friend took a puppy back once under simaliar circumstances without any written agreement, and got in a terrible pickle as in law the puppy still belonged to the original purchaser. Friend paid for 2nd vaccinations, re-trained it, spent weeks socialising, lead training, house training, let alone feding and worming etc etc, and then after 6 weeks the purchaser demanded it back, said they had returned it under duress, and there was nothing she could do, and had to return the puppy to them because they threatened her will all sorts of legal action. They had begged her to take the puppy back in the first place. She did get the vaccination cost back, but that was all. More important the terrible worry that they would take the puppy back and ruin it again. Sadly they now do not keep in touch and she has no idea how the puppy is now. Perhaps someone could suggest wording for this, I'm not very "up" on legal matters, if you do take it back make sure you get ALL the paperwork back too, and maybe get them to transfer KC ownership to you, which will give you half a leg to stand on if they turn "funny" later on.

They were first time puppy owners I had no doubts that the puppy would be well loved and cared for and they told me they intended to start puppy training classes which would have taken care of the training etc. Unfortunatly as it turns out,they either did not have the time or the inclination to carry out the origanal promise. As they live so far away from me and I do know some people wanting a pup not far from them,I am trying to make arrangements that she be sold on without them having to bring her back. I will make sure that new owners recieve all paper work for Daisy,KC reg forms,innoculation certificates etc. Hopefully Daisy will find a new home soon,its such a shame as she really is a lovely little pup!

Lorraine

Well you'll never believe it ,afterall the chasing around looking for a suitable home for Daisy,e-mailing posting photos,phone calls etc,she's only gone and passed her on to another family member without even bothering to let me know.When I last spoke to her she was eager for me to find someone better suited to Daisy's needs and after a lot of sleepless nights and soul searching I had so I thought found 2 such couples that I thought met her needs.I had passed on the contact information to them so they could make arrangements to go and view.Imagine my surprise when this morning one of the couples e-mailed me to say that Daisy now lives with relations of hers on a farm in Wales.Hope it's not a case of out of the frying pan........
People like that make me sooooo mad !!!!!

i had the same problem with my pup (she a 15 week old boxer) she was nipping my 2 kids who are 7 & 10 and in the first few weeks became wary but she IS getting better every week and we understand shes only teething and doesnt want to hurt us (as u would find out if u pretend to cry, she wonders what shes done and starts licking you) you just need patience

Hi,
We've got a 15 week old Boxer pup as well (bitch named Daisy, but i'd never give her up!) and she is a mouther/biter and we have to deal with it, go to puppy class, and TRAIN her. It is a commitment and a hard one sometimes. I just feel so sad when I hear stories like this.
I have an almosy 4 year old and she winds the pup up and the pup nips out of love, craziness, etc. That's life w/ tiny people and puppies. I love it.
Megbel

Hi, I thought I'd add my bit to this as this is a subject very close to home. I too have an eight month old puppy and she still mouthes and occasionally bites a bit too hard. She was extremely lively, dominant, playful and big (she is a briard - GSD size) from the word go and I have lost count of the clothes (and skin) she has ripped (while me and my three children were still wearing them) and of the times she has hurt all of us. However I know it is a puppy thing (and a training one) and I see an improvement in her every week.

The problem is I think that if you get a puppy that is this way inclined (and some are much much more so than others), it is very difficult if you are first time owners (or not) to stop it very quickly. All of my children have asked me to send her away to live somewhere else at some point and at times I have wondered it she is actually aggressive - although I have read alot of books she is my first dog. I now know that it was merely normal puppy behaviour.

Where I think people can go wrong is not realising exactly how much any puppy can hurt. Some people (like myself) may consider all other aspects of a puppy - cost, chewing, house training - but be totally unaware of the amount of biting and jumping and scratching. This perhaps is something breeders should stress more.

Having said all that, we all love Saffy in our house and wouldn't be without her. I now realise she is not aggressive, is in fact very tolerant of my children and a great dog to be with.

Fiona and Saffy