Our Chihuahua had puppies on the 11th (6 of them - One boy - the rest girls...) I have four spoken for. I made the decision to only sell them to senior citizens for $25 which is the cost of the puppyy shots... Our seniors need a small animal - these will get to be around 8 - 9 pounds - small enough to be picked up easily and my puppies will have a constant companion and they will both love each other unconditionally. It is really easy to tell the difference in the males and female dogs - look for the little "pickle" by his belly button. I have another week to go before we can tell if any of them will be long haired - it doesn't come out right away and dad is a long-haired... Mine are just now starting to walk around - so cute...

I enjoy breeding my dogs and raising puppies and no, I don't get rich at it. These puppies are mutts. I ask (and get) $150 each only because if someone will pay that much for an unpapered dog I know it's going to a good home. It's hard not to get attached to them but I do. Letting go is easy because I know where these dogs are going and most of them I get to see from time to time. The hardest part is keeping males away from Gabby when she is in the early heat stage and bleeding. Dogs are all over the place; she wants to go out and play with them and the doggie diapers don't work all the time and there are stains in my house. The carpet and upholstery cleaner comes out and stays out until the heat is over. This batch of puppies have caused me some work because they can't be outside. It is so cold and I have no way of heating the barn to keep them warm and Gabby warm enough. We used to raise puppies with Ruby. She is strictly an outdoor dog. Because of the cold she wouldn't have enough milk to keep the puppies warm and get over-nursed. Then she would get mastitis and be sick and I would bottle feed puppies. I did this two times and I swore 'never again'. I got too attached to the puppies and it was REALLY hard to let them go. The puppies weren't as strong as they should be and it was hard on Ruby. So, puppies live in my store room. This is Gabby's first winter batch. It's been a lot of work but worth it. I will skip Gabby's next heat cycle. Seven puppies have been hard on her. I plan on breeding Holly. Her puppies, because she is a Corgi, will be worth much more. I will let her go one, maybe two heat cycles before I breed her IF I find a suitable male. The trick to selling puppies is to breed what you know are cute, personable and smart. Breeding a so so female to just any dog isn't smart. My puppies aren't jobs....two of them are barking at each other right now and there's this smell......wafting...down the hallway....LOL Lori

Awww Stacy! Puppies! My passion...puppies! I am so jealous! We had an unplanned union of Mic(Min Pin) and Emmie(Chi) 3 yrs ago...resulted in 6 beautiful babies! I was so picky about new owners that I ended up keeping 3 of the boys.We lost one of them....but still have the 2.They are my Ricky and LilBuddy...my babies.2 of Emmie's pups got glown to PA and have great homes. 1 female has a lousy home here in El Paso,I gave her to someone I thought would be great,then they gave her to a woman that keeps her outside,lets her have litter after litter that all die from Parvo...makes me sick.I deliberatly made sure I didn't give my babies to certain people and one ended up with one anyway...I hate that part.But my boys...wouldn't give them up for anything.I did get Emmie and Mic spayed and neutered afterwards,so no more pups here.But I know you love your pups like I do and will make sure they have good homes or keep them.Good Luck and I want to see pics of the new family when it gets here! Can't wait!

gemini, I don't know if it was my question that got your goat, but mine was a genuine, out of curiosity, wanting to learn question. If you choose you can go back up and read it. So far nobody has responded to it. Briefly, my question is - other than perceived expense or desire for a litter, what is the reason a person would choose not to have their pet neutered? I'll answer it for myself in reverse. I choose to have my pets neutered because I don't want any litters, it is healthier for the pet, it is more happier for the pet, it makes living with the pet easier (not going through those heats of a female or frantic humping by the male). I believe it's ethically and healthwise the better choice. So that's why I choose to neuter my pets. I really, really am interested, without judgement, in hearing what factors people who choose not to neuter considered and what kept them on the "not neuter" page. "Because I choose not to" doesn't answer that question. Can anyone?