# Rehoming a litter



## ms_beautyful (Oct 1, 2020)

My GSD’s bred and my girl had puppies, I have no interest in keeping five pups so how do I sell them? I want them to go to good homes, not just anywhere, especially not to someone who will mistreat them. They’re all purebred and parents are AKC Registered. Where do I began???


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

It's great that you care about where these pups end up! 

Hopefully the mods can move this out of rescue to a breeder forum because you are now a breeder with a litter to sell, not a rescuer. If you want to do right by these pups, that comes with the heavy responsibility of being the safety-net of every one of these pups for life -- finding good homes is the first step! Taking them back at any point as long as the dogs live if one of those good homes can no longer care for it, providing post-purchase advice and support to every puppy-buyer, etc., is also part of the deal.

OTOH, if you want to treat it as a rescue situation because it was an "oops" litter, and you're not ready to be responsible for all of that life-long safety net responsibility, then ask a local breed rescue for help -- if they're willing, they would get the adoption fees, handle adoption screening and post-adoption issues, handle the cost of speutering all of them according to whatever local law allows or requires (pre-adoption or post-adoption), and handle other pre-adoption vet care needs (vaccines, deworming, microchipping, etc.) -- but will likely ask you fix your dogs to prevent any more "oops" litters. I know of several situations where rescues covered the cost for owners to speuter their dogs, in order to stop the flood of unwanted "oops" puppies.


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## ms_beautyful (Oct 1, 2020)

Well yes I need to go under breeder forums! I’d be willing to take them back if circumstances changes cause we absolutely LOVE them, but we’re not prepared to home 8 dogs at one time lol. Thank you so much!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

FYI - it's against board rules to advertise and sell a litter here.

But you can ask for sample contracts from breeders in that section if there are any on there. Or you can go to 








German Shepherd Dog Resource Center | Facebook







www.facebook.com




You may get more input there but again, you can't advertise the litter because it's not bred to SV standards.


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## ms_beautyful (Oct 1, 2020)

Jax08 said:


> FYI - it's against board rules to advertise and sell a litter here.
> 
> But you can ask for sample contracts from breeders in that section if there are any on there. Or you can go to
> 
> ...


Ok well let me delete this, sorry I didn’t know


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

ms_beautyful said:


> Ok well let me delete this, sorry I didn’t know


i believe Jax was just giving you a heads up. i (as a moderator) do not consider your request for help/direction as an advertisement.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

ms_beautyful said:


> Ok well let me delete this, sorry I didn’t know


Whoa! I didn't think you were selling! I just didn't want you to advertise and have the thread deleted when you were asking how to sell them responsibly.


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## ms_beautyful (Oct 1, 2020)

Jax08 said:


> Whoa! I didn't think you were selling! I just didn't want you to advertise and have the thread deleted when you were asking how to sell them responsibly.


Ok, thanks guys! Just here for advise and I appreciate it all!! You guys are super helpful!


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

i updated the subject line.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

When you register the litter, you can buy an ad on the AKC site that might net you a few interested people. People looking at the AKC for a breeder in your area are usually people who are a step above your typical newspaper ad chasers. Though, you can find nice people there too. Nothing wrong with putting an ad in the newspaper. 

It is good to ask people some questions when they call to inquire. Ask if they have owned a dog in the past, what kind, how long they had it, do they still have it or what happened. Ask about their vet. Ask about training/trainers. Most are happy to talk about their previous dogs. Just give them a little encouragement here and there to give them a chance to let you see their personality. Don't read off a list of questions to them, that is off putting and lots of people can give you the answers they know you want to hear if you give them an obvious test. But work the questions into your conversation. 

Of course your first problem is getting the interest in your litter: AKC ad, Newspaper ad, some folks put up a small flyer at their vet's office: a picture of the sire and dam, and how many of each sex are available. Some will put their phone number and name x10 or so along the bottom of the sheet and cut them so they are easy to tear one off. 

Posting pictures of the litter getting older on your Facebook page may net you some interest 

You have to be careful about scammers. They will read your Newspaper ad, and you will most likely get the dude who is deaf and needs to go through a deaf service -- he want you to ship the puppy to him and take more money than you charge, and then give the carrier the excess. I am not sure exactly how that works to their advantage. Maybe the check bounces after you have given cash to the carrier. Who knows what becomes of the pup. The deaf dude though, it makes you want to help him out. It sucks but there are scoundrels and cheats in this world. 

Often friends and family will want a pup or know someone who wants a pup, or folks at work. If you did not deliberately breed this litter, you might call you county dog warden or your local shelter, and ask if they know of anyone who might be interested in a shepherd puppy. 

You love these puppies so be sure to worm them at 2 week intervals, from about 4 weeks upward, and get them their first set of shots around 7 weeks. You should keep them a minimum of 8 weeks, even if they are weaned. They learn a lot from the litter and weeks 6-8 are just as important as weeks 3-4. I like to keep puppies at least for a few days after the first set of shots to ensure that there is no reaction. And I take the puppies to the vet for the shots. 

Another possibility is the breeder of the dam and sire, they may be able to give people your contact information.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

And you should register the litter, as long as the parents have AKC papers that are not limited which prohibits their being used for breeding! As this is an oops litter, with neither parent (assuming!) health tested, they should also be registered on limited papers. Facebook is a great marketing tool....although you cannot advertise "FOR SALE", you can post puppy photos and carefully word posts to generate responses. It is best to spend some time with people and get vet references and CHECK them to be sure they have taken care of their pets in teh past and are legitimate buyers.

Good luck!

Lee


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## mnm (Jan 9, 2006)

Yes, if the parents are AKC registered on Full Registration, then register the puppies on AKC Limited Registration. A lot of good advise so far.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

mnm said:


> Yes, if the parents are AKC registered on Full Registration, then register the puppies on AKC Limited Registration. A lot of good advise so far.


Curious question, why limited? Were sire and dam closely related?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

AKC limited is a very good idea. It can always be lifted later if the owner meets requirements such as health testing (HD/ED xrays, DM testing), titling, conformation. Something to prove the puppy is a breeding prospect. Limited helps to protect the dog from ending up as a breeding machine in the backyard because their puppies can not be registered. Not fool proof, but it helps. 

Even my female has a limited registration and there is a breeding agreement between her breeder and myself.

So, as a buyer, this is what I would like to see in a contract. 

1. Breeder will take the dog back at any time. I want this safety net for my dogs. What if something happened to me? I don't want my dogs put in a shelter or handed off to someone that will treat them poorly. You should have first right of refusal on all dogs. 

2. Health guarantee. If your female and the male have been health tested this shouldn't be a an issue for you. Many breeders offer a replacement puppy. Some offer partial money back (which I prefer. I don't need another dog to care for and I'm not giving my dog back). If you are going to limit to OFA for genetic diseases, please at least make the age a minimum of 3 years. It's BS to see contracts with 2 years when you can't get an official OFA until 2 years.

3. Limited registration until requirements are met.


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## Muskeg (Jun 15, 2012)

Register sire and dam and list the pups on AKC Marketplace.

That may be all you need to do. 

I agree with starting pups on limited reg. I've found beyond that contracts are useless as they can't be enforced without a bunch of very expensive legal bills that may or may not result in a good outcome (I've talked to many breeders about this). I do all my work at the beginning, lots of conversations on the phone, checking references, checking with people in the dog world who know this person. That way, my pup ends up in a good home, and I know the owner will do right by the dog and me if something goes amiss- like the owner can no longer keep him/her for some reason. 

I also will not sell a pup as a kennel dog. I do my absolute best to prevent this. 

Are sire and dam health checked, titled, known amongst GSD people? 

Having a known sire makes a HUGE difference in selling pups to qualified homes. You would probably sell the pups anyway, but really wonderful trainers and homes come out when you are breeding very nice lines and to a known sire and dam in the breed.

If these are just relatively generic GSD, advertise locally, put up an ad at the feed store, and send out word. It's a puppy-breeders market with Covid so (for better or worse) it shouldn't be difficult to find the pups homes. It's the making sure those are good and forever homes that's going to be tricky.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Pet people with an oops litter - no health testing on parents (assuming) - "back yard breeding".....no reason to continue making more random pet puppies....at least be responsible enough to stop the cycle and leave breeding up to knowlegeable people with health tested, proven bloodlines and individuals.

Lee


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Well, I don't limited registration, in buying or selling puppies. If I trust you to take one of my puppies, the genitals go along with the dog. What limited registration does, is it prevents people from registering a litter as AKC German Shepherds. This limits the quality of buyer the litter owner might get, but nothing else. They can still sell the puppies, but for people who don't care about papers, and usually less money. That means the breeder will put less into the dogs: health checks, shots, training, etc. 

It is hard to tell someone that you should be able to breed your dog, you are suitable to make decisions for your dog, but that the people you are selling them are not. So, nothing wrong with breeding dogs, just not you. As for jumping through hoops before getting that lifted, all of us can die at any moment. So, you go through the hoops, have a great dog, that passes health checks, is now titled, and over two years old, and you go back to the breeder to get the registration changed, and your breeder is dead or on the outs with the AKC. Suddenly you just put 2 years into a dog, money and time, and possibly have already got a litter coming from him, and can't get his registration changed now. Your fault, you bought a dog with a limited registration. 

If you don't trust the people to make good decisions for the dog, don't let them take the dog off your property. Done. 

Because someone who wants to breed their dog will breed their dog, limited or not. The scoundrels are not generally using AKC, the are using ACA or other registries and can get those papers for the dog without any problems. So, with AKC papers, the dog might be able to be sold to a breeder who follows some standards when breeding, while a pup without AKC papers can be sold to the people who have 600-800 dogs on the property. And Muskeg is right, a contract is not worth the paper it is printed on unless the breeder has enough green to back the contract. Most breeders do not. Most of us cannot check up on our dogs and then begin litigation if someone has sold our dogs. So we do need to know up front if we can trust the new owners, and even then, shtuff happens, people die, dogs go to the nearest person who wants the dog in most cases. 

If you never want to breed your dog and can get a significant amount off your purchase price to go limited, than that's up to you. Dog don't care. The thing is, it costs just as much money to whelp and raise a pup on a limited registration as it does on a full registration. So why should a breeder give you a break on a limited registration if it is offered just so that the progeny can't be registered. 

Some reasons for limited registration that make sense: the dog has a disqualifying fault -- a white coat, problem tail, problem with teeth or nuggets, etc. The breeding is a experimental breeding for a specific purpose, like breeding father to daughter or other close in-breeding deliberate or accidental. Of course disclosing the reason you are not providing papers or providing only limited papers is a must. If sire or dam is diagnosed with a hereditary problem after the breeding has taken place, place puppies on limited registration to eliminate progeny of those dogs from perpetuating the problem with the registry. 

But just to say, well, I can breed, but you shouldn't breed your dog, nah, that's hypocritical.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

My point was just made.


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## mnm (Jan 9, 2006)

Registering an oops litter on full registration is perpetuating the BYB/poorly bred cycle...

Pet homes don't need full registration, because they are not doing anything with their dog other than a companion or pet.... Working homes, once titles and official health testing is complete and passing, then signing off to Full Registration isn't a problem at all, and there are no additional cost for doing so. It is what it is. You put the work in to raising, training, titling, health clearances to prove the dog is breed worthy, then great for you and your pup, you deserve it. If it's in your contract, then there are no issues. Full papers right out of the gate at 8 weeks old to anyone and everyone isn't doing justice to the breed or the dogs themselves.


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## ChickiefromTN (Jun 16, 2020)

selzer said:


> Well, I don't limited registration, in buying or selling puppies. If I trust you to take one of my puppies, the genitals go along with the dog. What limited registration does, is it prevents people from registering a litter as AKC German Shepherds. This limits the quality of buyer the litter owner might get, but nothing else. They can still sell the puppies, but for people who don't care about papers, and usually less money. That means the breeder will put less into the dogs: health checks, shots, training, etc.
> 
> It is hard to tell someone that you should be able to breed your dog, you are suitable to make decisions for your dog, but that the people you are selling them are not. So, nothing wrong with breeding dogs, just not you. As for jumping through hoops before getting that lifted, all of us can die at any moment. So, you go through the hoops, have a great dog, that passes health checks, is now titled, and over two years old, and you go back to the breeder to get the registration changed, and your breeder is dead or on the outs with the AKC. Suddenly you just put 2 years into a dog, money and time, and possibly have already got a litter coming from him, and can't get his registration changed now. Your fault, you bought a dog with a limited registration.
> 
> ...


Agree 100%

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I tend to agree with Selzer only because you can’t control what someone does with a puppy once they own it. If someone is determined to breed and you have speuter in your contact, how do you enforce it? Selling a puppy at a discount because you offer limited registration means your costs are higher because you are giving up income. So I’m not sure I see how offering full registration promotes BYB or that a limited contract can prevent it. Not everyone who buys a dog wants to breed it. In fact, relatively few do. I certainly never plan to breed a dog and most of us here don’t either.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

i was reading a breeder contract for mini labradoodles today (don’t ask!), and they sell their pups ($3500) already altered, at 7 weeks. that’s one way 😬


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Fodder said:


> i was reading a breeder contract for mini labradoodles today (don’t ask!), and they sell their pups ($3500) already altered, at 7 weeks. that’s one way 😬


I can’t even imagine. Not that I would get one. They are so hyper. My female was spayed at 8 weeks and has had some uncommon health problems.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

LuvShepherds said:


> I certainly never plan to breed a dog and most of us here don’t either.


Having fostered a pile of litters I can say with conviction that you could not pay me enough to do it on purpose. Lol.

I used to have nightmares about Shadow having puppies! I cannot even imagine the genetic mess that could be.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

I don’t have a preference for registration type. My concern is the dog I’m getting. If you’re a breeder I trust to produce good dogs, that I had a program I believe in, I will follow whatever system it is you want. I think if you read what selzer said, they agreed this litter should be on a limited registration. It’s an accidental litter.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Sabis mom said:


> Having fostered a pile of litters I can say with conviction that you could not pay me enough to do it on purpose. Lol.
> 
> I used to have nightmares about Shadow having puppies! I cannot even imagine the genetic mess that could be.


I ran into a problem with limited with my first purebred. We could only register the dog if we spayed by six months. I didn’t know about a connection between early spay and health problems later on. Nor did I understand registering a family dog was not even important. So we spayed at 6 months just so I could get papers, and created future health problems. She lived to be quite old for a German Shepherd but had Cushings as a senior and some other health problems that might have been avoided. Also arthritis. And she was unusually tall.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I am not a fan of spay or neuter at all, but I understand that once money changes hands, I have no say in what anyone wants to do with their puppy. I encourage people to wait until the pup is sexually mature -- 18-24 months before altering them, if they want to. Pups are sold on full registration. 

The vast majority of my people call and let me know when they alter their dog. 

I spent yesterday picking up a 2.5 year old dog from a lady whose child was suffering from allergies, and the dog hair was a factor. She had the book I gave her, the entire vet history vaccinations. She spayed the bitch in May, just before her second birthday. She took her to obedience training, agility, and retrieving. 

I took her to my friend's home, who has a friend who contacted her just weeks prior looking for an adult female as he lost his bitch recently. My friend had contacted me hoping I had an adult female that I wasn't going to breed that he could buy. So we got that set up and when we let him know that she was spayed, he said that he would have spayed her anyway. 

That is typical. Finding people who will call you when they do need to let the dog go -- that is important to. If I don't trust people to take care of the dog, I don't let them take the puppy. Taking care of the dog includes calling the breeder if for any reason you can't keep the dog.


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