On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:52:49 -0500, montana wildhack
wrote:

I had asked this before and didn't get any response, but we'd like to
get Bella out of "Siberia."

We take the dogs outside together and they're fine with that. Neo
appears to go looking for Bella and would, in her "time off" hang out
in the bedroom with her if we let her.

I'm not sure how to proceed because I don't want us to unconsciously
cause or amplify any problems. But I don't think it's a good idea to
keep them apart for too long.

How do multiple dog households handle this?

I'm not sure what you're asking. When you first asked this question,
it seemed to me to be not so much a multiple dog household question as
a breeder-experienced question. I don't keep new dogs apart from each
other when I bring them home (of course they're supervised when
they're together uncrated), but I've never had a litter of puppies
born here.

I don't see any problem with letting Neo hang out with Bella during
Neo's time off from puppies. She seeks her out, that's a good thing,
and I'd think that at this point you could leave pups alone long
enough to supervise Neo and Bella while they're together. I still
don't think it would be a good idea to bring Bella in with the pups,
though.

Mustang Sally

on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:24:07 GMT, sighthounds & siberians
wrote:

I still
don't think it would be a good idea to bring Bella in with the pups,
though.

I have no experience here, but it seems like there is a lot of potential
for problems... but maybe not.

Perhaps you could put a gate up on the office door and let Bella sit on the
other side so she can see what is going on. This might allow you to gauge
Neo's reaction to her when she is somewhat near the pups.

My neighbors had an unexpected litter of some kind of miniature terriers,
and her 2 Great Danes were allowed near the mama and pups right from the
start. There were no problems whatsoever. If anything, the Danes were
protective of the babies. I went over to help bottle feed a few times
(mama dog had terrible mastitis) and the Danes were definitely wary of me
being with the pups, which weren't even theirs, so you never know.


--
Lynne

on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:12:38 GMT, sighthounds & siberians
wrote:

But those dogs knew each other. Some bitches are extremely protective
of their pups and don't allow dogs (sometimes even people) they live
with near them. Neo seems like a very laid-back dog with an
absolutely wonderful temperament, but this is a big unknown area.
Also, IME, some female dogs have really long memories, and something
that occurs between them now over Neo's puppies could carry into their
long-term relationship.

I would worry about that, too.

--
Lynne

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:49:02 -0600, Lynne
wrote:

on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:24:07 GMT, sighthounds & siberians
wrote:

I still
don't think it would be a good idea to bring Bella in with the pups,
though.

I have no experience here, but it seems like there is a lot of potential
for problems... but maybe not.

Perhaps you could put a gate up on the office door and let Bella sit on the
other side so she can see what is going on. This might allow you to gauge
Neo's reaction to her when she is somewhat near the pups.

That's a possibility, but I'd check around and see what other folks
with breeding experience think.

My neighbors had an unexpected litter of some kind of miniature terriers,
and her 2 Great Danes were allowed near the mama and pups right from the
start. There were no problems whatsoever. If anything, the Danes were
protective of the babies. I went over to help bottle feed a few times
(mama dog had terrible mastitis) and the Danes were definitely wary of me
being with the pups, which weren't even theirs, so you never know.

But those dogs knew each other. Some bitches are extremely protective
of their pups and don't allow dogs (sometimes even people) they live
with near them. Neo seems like a very laid-back dog with an
absolutely wonderful temperament, but this is a big unknown area.
Also, IME, some female dogs have really long memories, and something
that occurs between them now over Neo's puppies could carry into their
long-term relationship.

Again, I'm not saying to not let Bella and Neo near each other. My
experience with baby puppies is very limited, but as the pups grow,
Neo's going to want more time off from them, so Bella and Neo could be
spending more time together anyway.

Mustang Sally

In article ,
sighthounds & siberians wrote:
That's a possibility, but I'd check around and see what other folks
with breeding experience think.

Yeah - there could be barrier issues.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 17:33:34 GMT, montana wildhack
wrote:

I keep trying to do research and I'm just not finding much. I'd think
there would be more info. out there somewhere. My friend here who did a
breeding a few years back had a male dog who knew the mom very well...
It's not quite the same thing.

Well so long as Bella and Neo are spending some time together and doing
fine, perhaps you shouldn't even consider letting Bella meet the pups.
There are so many potential problems if you do... Of course Neo might be
fine with Bella meeting them at some point, but if she's not, that would be
a lesson not worth learning. It might be wise to just not risk it, at
least until Neo weans them.

Hopefully some breeders will speak up!

--
Lynne

"montana wildhack" wrote in message:

I keep trying to do research and I'm just not finding much. I'd think
there would be more info. out there somewhere. My friend here who did a
breeding a few years back had a male dog who knew the mom very well...
It's not quite the same thing.

I got in touch with a few people I know that have had puppy raising
experience. It's pretty unanimous that in your shoes, they'd leave well
enough alone. There is consensus that if the two dogs knew each other well
and the other dogs were known to be good puppy sitters, it would be okay to
let them together after the first few weeks, but that definitely won't work
in this situation. The only other suggestion was that if Bella is going to
be allowed to visit the puppies, it should be with supervision and when Neo
is out in the yard.

Suja