our new baby girl - Tess

boyohboyohboy wrote: HI everyone, I am introducing our new baby girl, Tess. I only have the website pic right now to post..
http://www.lancasterpuppies.com/content/im...ies-sale/tara-f

I also need to vent..
I think we might have purchased a puppy mill dog today. I was torn between picking her up once we were there, but have reconciled it with that we saved a dog today..but also that I feel we supported a puppy mill
this man posted on the above web site, we called and asked to see her today..well we got there and he had about 10-15 small rabbit like cages, and one adult dog..

we really liked her and her mix, so we got her anyway..she sees the vet tomorrow, and I am praying she is fine.
I do find it fishy though that he said HE gave her her shots, and handed me an index card with stickers supposedly from her shots..

what do you think? what makes a puppy mill?

coasterqueen replied: Congrats on your beautiful new puppy!!! She's so cute.

I have to say, though, you are one brave person getting a rottweiler mix. Of course I'm the scaredy cat dog person, ya know. DO make sure you check with your insurance. A lot of renters/home owner insurance will NOT cover your property depending on some dog breeds. This is a HUGE issue in Illinois and people find themselves not insured because they didn't do the research before hand.

Hmmmm, wow, I don't know. My sitter is a breeder and what you describe is not how she does things AT ALL. I don't consider getting a dog from a breeder saving one because at $450, he's getting a lot of money for the pups so it will go to someone else eventually, But I guess in this case you are saving it from it's breeder. I'm not sure how he could give that dog it's shots, but what do I know. Hopefully a vet can tell whether she's had her shots or not. Has the guy done any training with her at all?

boyohboyohboy replied: from what we were told and read a rott can be very sweet and loyal just like the boxer, its all in the way they are raised.
he told us she isnt 8 wks old until monday..so she is really young..
he also told us that he weens his puppies at 3wks and then uses crushed food..she is very round so I have no doubt she was fed well, but that seems so young to not have your mommas milk.
I intend to tell the vet the entire story tomorrow to be sure she is healthy.

coasterqueen replied:
Oh yea, rotts can be the sweetest ever, not saying otherwise. Our friends parents have two of them. They are the sweetest ever, but extremely protective of their owners and hence why we never visited them after the 1st time, they don't like anyone who is not their owner.
I'vw also read all the studies insurance companies do on certain dog breeds and how no matter what they can "snap" - heck insurance companies think dogs that are NEVER vicious in the "media's eye" as dangerous dogs and that's why a lot of times you can't get insurance. For instance cocker spaniels are on the list in our state and my sitter breeds them and they are the sweetest pups in the world!! On the other hand, my cousin who grew up with hers all her life, the cocker snapped and attacked her. That is why insurance looks at all aspects. I only brought it up so if you do have renters or home owners insurance to make sure you look to see if they will insure you still -- I would hate to have that happen to anyone. Again, not saying anything to scare you....I am only posting this because again, I don't know how your state is, but I know dog laws in our state are huge and our association for years has been fighting them for various reasons - so has my breeder.

I can't believe they wean those pups that early. My sitter keeps those pups near their moms for the full 8 weeks. Now I don't know if they only get momma milk for 8 weeks, but they have access to her all the time for those 8 weeks.

coasterqueen replied: BTW, I love her name!!!! So do you get to bring her home on Monday or did they let you take her home earlier? I bet the boys will fall in love with her.

boyohboyohboy replied: Yes we have tess now, they didnt want to risk us not coming for her on monday I think, he really wanted to make a sale.
I really liked the other two he had better, more playful and just friendly and outgoing..tess was shy and just stayed away from her sisters and made me a little nervous,she didnt run around.
we have had her about three hours and she is just starting to move around..
do little puppies like this sleep all the time like babies? she is sleeping alot.
I finally got her to take a little sip of water and eat a little he told me he hadnt fed them or given them a drink because of our long car ride, I expected her to be hungry when we got home but she wasnt..
how much do you feed a small animal?


now as far as insurance, why would they care what type dog we have? I mean they dont want to insure our belongings because the dog is more prone to ruining them?
Or else you mean like if someone gets hurt here from her?

I havent even thought about insurance, I can call and ask them tomorrow.
or maybe look it up on line, we have erie.

I have made a huge list to ask the vet and keep adding to it..

coasterqueen replied:
I honestly have NO clue on dealing with a puppy so I can't help you there.

As far as insurance - homeowner's insurance insures your property, but also insures accidents that may happen on your property. If someone falls in a hole and hurts their ankle they can make a claim against your insurance. If your dog bites someone on your property YOU are responsible for that accident and HOI should cover that. There are bills up in the legislature in IL almost every year trying to put more dogs on a list of those who won't be insured if they have one of those dogs. As it is now, if I remember correctly with some breeds you have to post signs in your yard AND the premium is higher. I know our friends parents who had my FIL as their insurance agent had trouble insuring their home since they had rotts. All dogs can destroy your own property - I do not believe you could even make a claim based on that - but if someone gets hurt by your dog on your property they can file a claim against you and you'd have to pay (or your insurance would).

boyohboyohboy replied: so I should call the insurance company and ask them if they cover dog bites on my renters insurance..and ask what dogs are excluded.
I will do that tomorrow.
thanks Karen I never thought about it.
we are getting her a leash tomorrow and she wont be off it.

I am enjoying learning about her and taking care of her. We had researched owning a dog, but not really the type. I was not set on a dog breed just one that was a good guard dog and also that would love us as much as we loved it.
I also thought we would get a boy but ended up with a girl..
it was spir of the moment today.

I am torn on how I feel about the man who sold her, I feel in my gutt he wasnt the best person to take care of the dogs, he made a point of telling us that he wasnt a puppy mill, and that he cares for only the amount of dogs he can care for..
so I dont know.
I think its weird that a lay person can give shots to the dogs..I mean how would he get the money?
but his tail was docked and his dew claw removed so he had to have had her to the vet some..

I am praying she is fine..

coasterqueen replied:
Oh I'm sure she is fine. They seem to sell quite a few dogs, so I'm sure she's ok. I mean, we have NO clue what health Gavin has getting him at the pound and him being 17 months old. So it's a crap shoot no matter what you do.

I would check with your renters insurance company, just in case. It might not be an issue in your state, but I know it's become one for many states.

Enjoy her. Just remember...you are the boss when training her. Ryan new I would be all "mommy" with Gavin and I did at first but I QUICKLY realized that I can't be that way with him or he'll dominate us, instead of us dominate him. That's my only other piece of advice for what it's worth. Sometimes they are so darn cute you forget you still have to be the MASTER.

mom21kid2dogs replied: Cute

Wow! seriously expensive for a mixed breed dog, though!

Glad you are taking her to the vet tomorrow. S/he may want to revax as there is no proof the vax happened. They'll also check for worms or parasites. Both can be common in puppies.
Enjoy your new baby.

lovemy2 replied: She is absolutely adorable

I bet she is perfectly fine - tell the vet everything you were told and make sure she is vaxed properly - other than that I wouldn't worry too much - we got our dog - Maxi at 8 weeks - she was in a pen with her brothers and sisters - maybe that this guy has too many puppies but that doesn't necessarily mean its a "puppy mill" so to speak. Maxi slept all the time when we brought her home too - she would play for maybe 1/2 hour or so and then that was it - but when we first brought her home she was scared, etc. so it took her awhile to come around - remember she came from a cage/pen with other doggies and is now in a house with a bunch of BIG people - even your little people are big to her!!!

We have a German Shepherd - yes the insurance company asked if we had a dog and what kind - it goes both ways - your insurance (at least homeowner's - not sure about renters - which I understand only covers your belongings - not the dwelling since you don't own it) can be a little higher because of it but according to my agent they also look favorably on it in terms of "home protection" you are less likely to be broken into with a certain type of dog - but you could also be more likely to have someone else make a claim due to a dog bite, KWIM? And I don't care what kind of dog it is - its all in the way its raised - my dog has a loud obnoxius bark but under it all is the biggest sap in the world who would rather lick you to death or just go hide if she doesn't "like" you - but I can tell you - I feel VERY protected with her here....she is fiercely loyal.....

Take her to the Vet ask your questions and then enjoy your puppy I bet the kids love her!!!

luvmykids replied: To answer your puppy questions, yes they do sleep a lot just like our human babies Plus, she may be a little worn out from the drive and the big change she's just gone through. As for feeding her, I'd ask your vet. The back of the dog food usually has guidelines but my vet has always said they don't need that much, you probably will need to feed her three to four times a day though, and take her outside about 15 minutes later for a potty trip. Mix it with warm water or replacement milk to make it a mush.

He may have given her the vax, some breeders do have a vet they've built a good relationship with and will give them the meds but you need a true vet shot record for future reference so I'd ask to have her revaxed.

She is a doll, enjoy!

cameragirl21 replied: omg, that is SUCH a sickeningly cute puppy, now I want one too.
Congrats on your new baby girl, I hope she brings you tons of joy!

CantWait replied: What a sweet sweet puppy. If only they stayed that small forever

grapfruit replied:
I was an insurance agent for awhile. Most (if not all) policies have a clause that they will not cover what they call "vicious" breeds. Our list included rotts and pitt bulls, akiatas, chows, wolf, and I think maybe a few others. Also any dog that was a mix of any of those breeds was a no no.

The company had the right to terminate your policy or non-renew you if they found out you had a dog that fit that category.

Reason being, statistically (and remember, insurance runs on statistics) these are the breeds most likely to injure somebody (probably not a family member) and cause a claim. Doesn't matter if they're super sweet and have never hurt somebody in the past. Insurance companies don't want the risk...

grapfruit replied:
It would go the same w/renters b/c its not the belongs, or even the home they're worried about. Its the liability claim if somebody gets bit.

Oh and once a dog bites once, its done in their eyes. No matter the breed. And I'm surprised they thought about giving you a discount for home protection, b/c really they're typically worried about that lawsuit. And most "family dogs" (dogs that aren't specifically trained for protection) won't just attack an intruder.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Eek...I probably would have turned away when I saw the cages AND the price (we didn't even want to pay the $250 for Lucy)...but she is adorable.

And for the record...I noticed the guy's name is Troy...WE DID NOT BREED THE DOG!!!

Have fun and hope she's healthy!

coasterqueen replied:
$250! I thought I was paying a lot for Gavin and I paid $147 for him and that included all his vax, neutering, etc.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I think they were asking $250 for Lucy, but we talked her down to $200 if my thinking if accurate. She was all vaxed and spayed as well. It's outrageous what some people ask and get for puppies/dogs sometimes.

coasterqueen replied:
Yeah, my sitter gets anywhere from $300 to $700 per puppy. It's crazy. She also gives a LOT of stuff to the person adopting the puppy - a puppy "starter kit" as she calls it. So even though you are paying a lot you get a lot of stuff to start out with the puppy that normally you'd have to go buy yourself.