File this under: What the heck were they thinking?
The Gosselins, who star in the TLC reality series, "Jon & Kate Plus 8," already have their hands full with their eight small children: twin eight year-old daughters and their six four-year old brothers and sisters.
So why in the world would they decide to get two puppies to add to their chaotic household?
That is not fully explained in the half hour episode that aired earlier this evening on TLC at 9 p.m. EST.
"Our kids wanted a pet. They've always wanted a pet. They begged for a puppy. We moved here, we have the land. I thought it made sense," explains Kate. "Somewhere along the line, one puppy became two puppies, which I'm not quite sure how that happened."
"That means double the poop. Oops, we forgot about that," adds Jon.
When Kate announces to her brood that, "For Christmas...we're getting not one, but two, puppies," the kids start screaming deliriously.
Kate has enormous reservations about getting the puppies--"all the mess, all the poop, all the pee, the added expense, the hair, the slime"--and has never had a dog and doesn't know how to take care of one.
Her husband Jon says, "I didn't know anything about dogs."
"We were so stinking scared of bringing them home," Kate says. "We were more scared to get dogs than we were to have kids."
Which again begs the question, why did they decide to add two highly needy, untrained, un-housebroken puppies to the mix?
In any event, cameras follow the Gosselins to a breeder's facility. (The breeder's name is Jeff. He met Kate at a function where the Gosselins spoke and he began telling Kate what a great family dog the German Shepherd was, and the intelligence of the breed.)
The family picks out a male and female puppy. Kate names the puppies: Shooka for the boy, and Nala for the girl. The Gosselins are ill-prepared to take the puppies home with them that day, but they do. On the long drive home, they stop at a pet store to load up on supplies.
Once at home, Shooka and Nala do what puppies do: they pee on the carpet. At this point, Kate has what can only be described as a freak out session. "No, no, no, no! " she screams, running after the puppies and scrambling to clean up the mess with paper towels.
It's baffling why Kate, famous for her list-making and organizational skills, agreed to get the puppies in the first place.
"I did eight potty trainings," she says. "I don't want to do potty training with fur."
To see pictures of the puppies, go to the TLC website.
Comments
I had the same thought myself. She has a breakdown almost every episode just from dealing with the kids. Why would you throw two puppies into the mix? Especially a dominant breed like german shepherds, and getting a male and female to boot.
Do you have any idea who this breeder is?
Those poor puppies! I will be surprised if they can make it to the 6 month mark. German Shepherd's need training and structure, a crate would even be nice! They will turn out to be complete untrained hellions and probably grow up and bite someone due to the lack of training and control on the owners parts. Theses are the type of people that give the GSD a bad name! I would also wonder what type of breeder would sell two puppies to these people without even having the house ready for one or plans for training and development...............
Signed,
Concerned responsible GSD owner
Hi Doglover, the breeder did appear in the episode. The only information they revealed about him is that his named is Jeff and he lives several hours away from the Gosselins home. He met the Gosselins when they spoke somewhere and approached them about what a great breed the GSD was.
*DITTO* My first thoughts: what is this woman thinking? She cannot tolerate mess/dirt of anykind. Does she not realize that even adult well-trained dogs have accidents, shed AND track dirt into the house? No one can wear shoes in this house - are the dogs banned to a life in an outside kennel??? Please - PET,Humane society - please get these poor puppies into a loving home!!
This breeder needs to be slapped. No responsible breeder would place two puppies into a home at the same time. No responsible breeder would place one puppy into a home without having long discussions with the parents about the amount of hard work that is required to correctly raise a working breed dog. Jon & Kate need to be slapped for obviously doing no research before bringing two lives into their home to screw up.
I am looking for the name and or e-mail of the breader that Jon & Kate bought their puppies from. I am looking for a GSD with the same lines and temperment as the adults this breader has.
Thank you,
Joyce
I agree with what everyone is saying and the reason is because the kids really wanted a dog. Kate had felt that they were "ready" for one but they should have done some researching about dogs. They do love at the end of the day but still Kate needed to have a serious talk with Jon before getting these two puppies. I mean, in this episode, Kate freaked out when Nala had an accident and when Shooka was stepping in his poop. It was really funny to watch but sad because they didn't do any research and they could damage their dogs' lives forever if they don't train them.
Joyce,
Please contact the nearest GSD club and ask them how to find a GOOD and reputable breeder. Anyone who would sell two puppies like that without caring if the home situation was appropriate is not someone you want to buy a dog from. That's the definition of a "backyard breeder" which is a VERY bad thing to be. Ensure that any breeder you speak to has their dogs completely tested out and have proof of OFA ratings for hips and elbows. It may seem like work and money to find a good breeder, but hip dysplasia is far
Google GSDCA to find your nearest breed club. Many clubs offer breeder referral.
Shame on them for not adopting-people on this site already want a german shepard because they got one and that is just stupid. There are THOUSANDS of homeless german shepards sitting out there neeeding homes. There is never a reason to go to a breeder. PERIOD.
Yeah, I own a 10 month old GSD named Rambo and he is the coolest thing around but I did A TON of research before purchasing him. I also had him enrolled in puppy classes until he was 4 months old. GSD's need a lot of exercise and a person who can spend a lot of time with them. They are way too intelligent for someone who doesnt know how to take care of them.
hii i m excited to talk with u guys we named the puppies Snoopy and Bella the girls picked Bella n the boys picked Snoopy
I have breed and shown GSD's for almost 20 years. This Jeff guy sure isn't a RESPONSIBLE breeder! Pups should stay with the litter till at LEAST 8 weeks. I counsel new owners for HOURS....and am available to them the life of their pups.
dobie,
Great advice. I was shocked that they got two litter mates at the same time. Bad, bad idea and one that good breeders would never do. They don't seem to have a clue how to raise a puppy, let alone two. I'm actually quite surprised that TLC didn't step in to suggest another breed. It will be interesting to see if they go to a training class or have a trainer over. Personally I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't train them at all. I remember in an earlier episode Jon saying he wanted a big 'outdoor' dog. Unfortunately, both the dogs and the family are going to suffer for this poor decision.
I will never look at that Show again and so many others and I will not by the Producted that you advertise , she does not need 2 German Shepards ,she should take care her Kids first I feel sorry for this Puppies , and I will tell in 3 months she will get rid of this Puppies ,because she is not a Animal Person , I can tell ,she does not have any love for Animals , her Husband has more love then her
This breeder is a back yard breeder that has no Buisness selling Puppies, with 8 kids that are so loud ,this Puppies are in 3-4 months in a Shelter by this Mother , her House is runn like a Comander and no body can have nothing on floor or any thing , and she gonna let the Puppies run loose , this poor Dogs gonna be in a Cage all Day soon or worse out side ,, she should bring this Puppies to a rescue before there bite ,because of no training
Mostly I wanted to comment because I can't believe that they PAID for the dogs (probably at least a grand) when they clearly need to be saving money for their herd of children.
(BTW Hanna Kenny ... learn to type! You lose all credibility by your unnecessary capitalization of letters and bad punctuation. Get some education.)
i watched the show last night and kate clearly does not want those puppies. their idea of housebreaking the dogs are to let them run outside. yes they have the land but as they get older they will wander. the only people i saw hugging the dogs were the kids. they need to bond with the dogs. i feel sorry for these puppies. why not rescue a puppy? they have too much money and if they thought this would get people to watch their show frankly it turned me off.
Does anyone know how to contact the breeder Jeff?
Well I am sure TLC thought it would make good TV Kate the uptight witch that she is. Has NO Clue what German Shepherds need and I have no doubt if they haven't been already they will be rehomed soon enough and I doubt they paid for the puppies I am sure TLC did. I do hope the Breeder takes the back after the experiment in having a dogs end in failure. These People have no clue and need a Trainer to help them IF they going to raise two German Shepherd properly. I raise and train these dogs I can tell you two is not easier then one.
Kate is not fit to raise dogs she is to picky and crazy those puppies will be gone before you can learn to pronounce shooka correctly. She needs a trainer to come and teach her how to deal with dogs Jon too but at least I think he is more tolerant then Katie is. Do they have fences or are they just letting them RUN?
The breeder's name is Jeff Christopher, but I can not locate him in a breeder's registry on-line. However, he did leave an angry post to my comment on his being a back-yard breeder on radar. You could leave a post and see if he comments.
i watch your tv show well use too i hope that u will start the show over again tell hannah ,leah , alexis ,adan , collin , joel,mady, and cara
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