Family’s love for puppies grows
Christine Rupp — Staff WriterArticle Photos
GRANADA - What could be better than one playful dachshund puppy? Why three, of course.
Then again, why stop at three?
These days, the Milne household is home to 15 dachshunds - three adult dogs and 12 puppies - although the puppies are leaving at a good clip, destined for new homes.
Getting 12 puppies in the same room and keeping watch over them isn't easy. Just ask Cindy Milne's 12-year-old son, David. He recently herded all 12 puppies into the living room of their rural Granada home as the puppies unwittingly posed for pictures.
The Milnes hadn't originally planned to breed puppies, explains Cindy. After a border collie puppy wandered off their farm, they decided to get a long-haired dachshund because Cindy's husband, Peter, grew up with a dachshund.
"We thought, 'Oh, this is just too much fun,'" Cindy said, which led to the addition of two more dachshunds.
The Milnes were having a great time with their dogs, so they eventually started discussing breeding them.
"Let's try one batch and see how we like it," Cindy recalls them thinking.
"And it's fun," she added recently, surrounded by two puppy litters. "It's really, really fun."
The Milnes bred their two female dachshunds, Kayla and Missy.
They befriended a couple from Huntley who bred dachshunds, and they kind of became the Milnes' mentors. Their friends said to call day or night if they needed anything.
Then the time came for the birthing. Kayla was the first to give birth, and her puppies came during the day while Cindy was at work.
She and David had a bet going. Cindy guessed Kayla would deliver five or fewer puppies, while David insisted she would deliver five or more. Cindy remembers David calling her several times during the day, updating her on the puppy count.
"We had another puppy, Mom," he would report.
The count reached five and kept going.
David called Cindy to report Kayla had given birth to six puppies when she heard Peter in the background telling David to get off the phone and come help deliver another one. Kayla ended up delivering seven puppies total.
Then it was Missy's turn. She began birthing at 2:30 a.m., which made for a long night.
"I pulled a night shift with her," Cindy said. "I was really tired the next day."
Missy's delivery wasn't as smooth as Kayla's. There was a time when Cindy thought they might lose one of the puppies, which had her on the phone to her friends in Huntley at 5:30 a.m. They were in bed, Cindy said, but walked her through the process. All five of Missy's puppies were born healthy.
So here the Milnes are with all the joys and challenges of raising a dozen puppies.
It's not really too difficult, Cindy said, except for the fact that all the things they would do for one puppy they have to do 12 times over.
Of course, the number of puppies is falling as people pick their favorites and take them home.
The purebred miniature dachshunds are for sale at $300 for males or $400 for females. There's a mixture of short-hair and long-hair puppies in the bunch, Cindy said, and a wide variety of color patterns considering the puppies are just from two litters.
Each puppy gets its shots before it's available for adoption. The puppies also have been dewormed, and they will get a pet check from the veterinarian before going to their new homes.
Three puppies have been sold so far, and Cindy expects another one to be spoken for today.
David is particularly involved in the process, as he's in charge of the finances - with his parents' supervision, of course.
For each dog sold, David must choose a mission or charity that will receive 10 percent of the profit. Money from the first three puppies will go to help support missionaries from Bethel Evangelical Free Church in Fairmont, which his family attends.
David has to put 10 percent of each sale into savings, and he also has to make sure expenses such as food and vet bills are covered.
After that, he will get a percentage of the money to spend on whatever he wants, Cindy explained.
"We want him to grow up realizing that there are expenses out there and you have to plan ahead," she said.
David also helps care for the puppies, which includes taking them outside in the mornings, feeding them, cleaning their kennels and socializing them.
"It's kind of a way to help him recognize the reality of life," Cindy said.
Along with responsibility, though, comes the joy of playing with the puppies and watching them grow.
It's amazing how quickly the puppies have grown, Cindy said. When they were born, they fit in the palm of her hand. Now that they're 6 to 7 weeks old, they weigh about 2 or 3 pounds. To be considered miniature dachshunds, they must weigh 12 pounds or less, she said, and the adult dogs themselves generally weigh only about 7 or 8 pounds.
Training is going well too. The puppies are taken outside first thing in the morning, and if people are faithful in taking the puppies outside often, the training should progress rather rapidly. They are still puppies, though, she said, and accidents do happen.
"I'm sure it'll be a while before I let them on the carpet," Cindy said with a laugh.
With three of Kayla's puppies already gone and Missy's puppies ready for new homes next week, the time has gone really fast, Cindy said.
And during this time of fun and discovery, Cindy also has discovered something else: "Telling them good-bye is really hard."
If the family decides to breed their dachshunds again, Cindy said it would likely only be once a year and probably in the spring. They don't want the breeding operation to get too big, she said.
"I have a feeling there'll be another one (batch of puppies) next spring," Cindy said, although she suspects it would be just as difficult to say good-bye to those puppies.
For more information, call Cindy at (507) 236-8020.
