Archive for December 8th, 2007

Deposits on Un Born Puppies

kathiliebe December 8th, 2007

Deposits on Un Born Puppies

> I have found a Frenchie puppy I want to buy. The breeder says to send
> her a deposit and she’ll ship the puppy right away. How do I know if
> she is a legitimate breeder? I have read about people being scammed.
> The puppy is really affordable because the breeder/owner got
> transferred overseas and can’t keep her dogs there due to the weather.
> She only wants me to pay for shipping. What should I do?

Kathi Writes:

These days it is very difficult to buy a puppy sight unseen from a breeder. There are alot of breeders out there who put together very legitimate looking websites! They can talk to talk and know what to say to make you believe they are reputable. They may belong to clubs and you think that makes them reputable, but that is not always the case.

SO…if you cannot go to the breeders house and see their dogs and how they are raised and housed, then try to find someone who knows them, or has bought a puppy from them. GET referrals and ask around!

THERE are alot of mailing lists (ed note: check out our mailing list links) where you can ask people for references on breeders, etc. The frenchie community is a small one and everyone who is a reputable breeder is very willing to help you find a pup, even if it is not from themselves. Most reputable breeders will help and refer you to others if they do not have pups. YOUR breeder should be someone who will be there for you for the life of that puppy you are buying, and they should ask you alot of questions as well as you asking them alot of questions.

So, I cannot tell you exactly what you should do, but you should definitely do your research before buying from any breeder!

Ed Note: Check out our tip sheet on how to choose a breeder, and how to avoid being scammed. The ‘we are overseas missionaries who can’t keep our puppy’ scam is infamous.

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Neutering Your Frenchie - What Age is Best?

drpatty December 8th, 2007

 Neutering Your Frenchie - What Age is Best?

Hello I have a question for the Frenchie veterinarian. Is it true that
we should wait until our dog is a year old to get him neutered?

Our breeder said we should get him neutered at 6 months old, but I read
that if we do he won’t get very big. We asked the breeder if this is
true and she said that neutering him early can prevent some training
issues. We don’t want to ruin our dog but we don’t want him to be
under sized either.

We called our vet but the receptionist said it’s just up to us.

What do you suggest?

 

Dr. Patty Writes:

Welcome to my world. It’s true their heads and shoulders tend to be wider if you wait longer to neuter (after a year or two)–but it doesn’t always make a very big difference. As to overall size, it matters not much at all.

In any case, a smaller Frenchie generally has fewer orthopedic issues to manage as they get older. Weight gain (pudginess) can be an issue as the loss of testosterone means a slower metabolism, but that’s no reason not to neuter as long as you feed appropriately.

If there’s any inkling that your Frenchie has a bit of a Napoleon complex (dominance, aggression, etc.) I would not hesitate to neuter at six months on the dot.

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How do I deal with my neighbor’s aggressive Frenchie?

gollygear December 8th, 2007

How do I deal with my neighbor’s aggressive Frenchie?

We have a problem. We have a neighbour who owns 1 male french bulldog, 2 female french bulldogs; plus one or two resuce dogs, hound origin. We own a golden retriever male.

Our problem is that the french bulldogs (1 male and one female) have attacked our golden retriever together 3 times once resulting in taking our dog to the vet after being injured by them. Last night the male broke through the fence again, and ran at me whilst I was at our front door. I am not usually afraid of dogs but I am absolutely terrified of these ones, particularly the male, and the owner will not listen to us, since she finds her dogs adorable.

What can we do to solve this problem, I am at my wits end and am now going to seek advice from the police. We are also trying to put up a more rigid fence. If this doesnt work we will have to move from our home due to the aggressive behaviour of this male french bulldog.

Please can you help us to find a solution. I am terrified that the end result will be that someone will end up being really hurt by this dog.


Hope writes:

As most dog owners know, either sex of any breed of dog can be aggressive. There are many steps an owner can take to gain control of the situration, or preferably, prevent it from happening at all.

Without the owner recognizing and dealing with the situation through training, the only thing you can do is protect yourself and your family, including your dogs. Do strengthen your fence, making sure there are no holes large enough for the unfriendly neighbor dogs to use. Secondly, when you go out, arm yourself with a spray-bottle filled with either lemon juice or vinegar. If the dogs come charging at you, yell “no” at them. If they come within range, spray them with the lemon juice, aiming for their mouths if possible. It should give you enough time to get back inside.

If the problem persists, do call your local animal control office and see if they will assist you, either by speaking to the owner and getting her to recognize the problem and deal with it, or by giving her a citation to force her to control her dogs.

- Hope and Dax �

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