Don't Just Thank Your Breeder - Appreciate Their Children!

I always see the posts - The ones reminding the general public about how much of our time and our efforts, our hearts and soles are poured into each and every one of our dogs - our puppies - our pets! I have been home for the whelping of each and every litter that has been born, I have slept in my whelping box - at first sitting up, and then on the floor - waiting patiently while drifting in and out of sleep, waking with every move my girl makes until the ball starts rolling and I'm being the best dang assistant I can be to my bitch while she does all the hard work! But truth be told, nobody really ever mentions our kids - the breeders kids! The ones itching to see those newborn babies. The ones rallying for the teeny tiny pup in the whelping box praying she pulls through with you. The ones that spend every waking moment of their days socializing those puppies with interactions with more than we, as adults sometimes, would have thought to introduce those precious puppies to! The ones that love each and every puppy - but have a favourite - that more often than not - doesn't end up being that 'pick puppy' that gets to stay. We, as preservation breeders but also parents, submit our kids to such a bittersweet childhood. Our children experience more life and death than most of their classmates. They're elated with life and absolutely devastated with death. They're saddened when a litter of puppies doesn't bring what you need moving forward in your program - they just don't understand why we aren't keeping one and we'll have to say good bye for now to them all. My children in just these past 4 months have experienced 2 young adult deaths and a neonatal death. They randomly remind me just how much they miss Greta and Switch. How some things trigger their thoughts and they're reminded of the pain of losing them. It's not easy. Today was one of those days. So, for that very reason, I'd like to remind you that when you pick up your precious new puppy, if your breeder has kids, be sure to acknowledge them and give Special Thanks for loving your puppy. After all, they've poured their hearts into them too!