I can't think of a good reason off hand if all the buyers are willing. We have a yahoo group for all puppy buyers to join if they choose in order to keep in touch, and most are more than happy to do so.

 

I was connected to the other puppy buyers from my breeder on facebook and we keep up on what's going on that way.

 

I don't see a reason not to let them meet each other. In fact, I think it's good socialization for everyone.

 

I love the fact that I can keep up with Karlo's littermates and other pups from other litters! And the advice given by Chris and other owners is priceless!

I wish I could do so with Onyx's and Kacies.
Especially if there are health or temperament issues to deal with, you know whether or not your dog is the "fluke" of the breeding.
I'd really like to know how Onyx's littermates turned out. I know only of two's wherabouts, one has Pannus, she lives less than a mile away and I keep in touch, the other's owner works with my DH.

 

Hmmm... My thoughts exactly... I mentioned that if others owners were willing that I would love to keep contact, but the only response I got was to check their testimonials for updates A second inquiry got no real response at all... So I was just wondering outside of normal privacy concerns if that was something breeders didn't feel comfortable doing...

 

Might be one of the 101 rules necessary to be a reputable breeder:crazy:.

 

I think it was an honest question with the OP trying to do things right and not step on any toes. The feedback did not give rules for right or wrong, just sharing opinions and personal experiences. Nothing wrong with that.

 

Our breeder has a blog and we post puppy updates there, I think it's wonderful to be able to keep up with your dog's littermates, I love reading all the updates on the blog.

 

I keep in touch with a few owners of littermates. However I don't expect the breeder to facilitate the communication. Nikon's breeder has a blog for public communication. I e-mail back and forth with the owner of one of his sisters but we have quite a bit in common anyway. We found each other, were not put in touch by the breeder (though I knew their names and location from the breeder). So yes, I enjoy finding out what my dogs' littermates are doing and keeping in touch with their owners but no, I do not believe this is the breeder's responsibility to facilitate that communication or to provide the contact information.

 

We found each other, were not put in touch by the breeder (though I knew their names and location from the breeder).

How would you have found them if your breeder was not willing to tell you their names and locations, and if the other puppies in the litter weren't even listed on the PDB?

 

I certainly don't think this is something that belongs on any sort of list. Nor do I think it falls under a breeder's responsibility to set up means for customers to communicate, or that they should be expected to offer to get customers in touch with one another. And I certainly don't think it appropriate for a breeder to give out customer contact information without the customer's permission.

But at the same time, if someone were to specifically ask for it and the other customers are willing to share, I can't think of any good reason for a breeder to not be willing to do so.

 

But at the same time, if someone were to specifically ask for it and the other customers are willing to share, I can't think of any good reason for a breeder to not be willing to do so.

I think this is what the OP is getting at - not that it's the breeder's responsibility to put people in touch with each other, and not that that the breeder should give out contact information without permission, obviously that should never happen. But what if a customer would like the breeder to share HER contact information with other puppy buyers from the litter? She's trying to figure out what the norm is and if anyone can explain why a breeder might not be willing to do that. Without even knowing the names of the other puppies in the litter, much less the names of the owners or what part of the country they're in, it would be virtually impossible for anyone to get in touch with each other on their own to share stories, pictures, and experiences, even if everyone wanted to.

 

My breeder started a group on Facebook, so we all get to stay in touch. It's really neat.

 

My breeder has a Facebook page too, and I've made friends with owners of pups from Frank's litter it's nice to see how his brothers are doing. The breeder has a discussion page for questions and a vet who answers questions too.
I love all her updates on the newest puppies.

 

I am actually in contact with quite a few people who own dogs from my breeder. Some my breeder put in contact with me regarding the raw diet or training venues or just general dog inquiries, others we found via facebook.

Just this past weekend I met another owner who owns two dogs from my breeder and spent the afternoon with another doing some herding.

A few other owners and I are hoping to get together this summer for either hiking or at a trial with our dogs.

I think it's nice and I really enjoying meeting other dogs from the same kennel. My breeder is a friend of mine and she is always excited when a group of us get together BUT like others have mentioned, it's not really her responsibility to put us in touch with one another. We do have a facebook group we can chat on as well.

 

Frankly, I think it would be a bad idea for breeders to give phone numbers, addresses, or e-mail of the people who buy their puppies to other people that buy their puppies.

Let me explain:

Some of the people that buy a puppy come three or four times, have been in contact with me, have trained with me. Others, I have had a phone call and conversation -- deliberately long so I can get a good idea what the home will be like. And then then people come out, spend about an hour or so and take their puppy home.

Most of them look pretty normal. But then there's that one.... The one my trainer changed her incoming initial class speech because of -- "call me for any DOG problems, not marital advice...."
The guy could talk the ear off a German Shepherd! He was going through a divorce, and calling my trainer for some minor thing with the dog, and then into his issues.

On Facebook you can banish people at least. A website blog you could just not come back if there was an idiot making you crazy. Personal information is for people to share for themselves. I really do not care to start that. But I do not ship puppies, and always, invite puppy owners to join the GSD club I belong to. Only two people who own one of my puppies are currently members, besides myself, but that would be a way for people to connect with the siblings of my dogs.

 

I think a FB page or yahoo group is the best way to do it. That way you can participate or not, and it isn't giving out information that may be personal.
And it is fairly easy to start up/manage such a group.
One thing I like about our yahoo group vs a FB page, there is the opportunity to have individual photo albums of the breeders dogs, so we can update as the dog progresses.

 

I can't think of a good reason why our puppy owners should not know of each other and keep in touch. BUT - some might wish to be left alone so I don't push the issue.

 

I don't understand why it would be a bad idea for the parties that are interested?

I would never push the issue for those not interested. My thought was simply, would you see if any of the other litter owners are interested in sharing the growth of our pups, and if they are, please pass along my email and we can further keep in contact. But since I have no info of any kind, I can't see how even starting a FB page would help, since you have to be a friend of a friend to even see that a profile exists.

I envy those that are able to share their experiences with others from their pup's litter. There is never enough to learn when raising a GSD pup, and I find the dramatic changes that they go through from pup to Adulthood fascinating, and would just have loved to been able to share and compare the genetics of my pup with others from the same litter...