Congratulations, but it wouldn't be ideal for me either- I have just LOVED having my puppy the past 3 month and he's ony 5 months now. It's such a lot to miss out on!

of course its up to the op and the breeder, but in the breed/breeder world, I more often than not hear about these set ups going wrong.

As long as the OP is happy with it then that's ok. I think most people are trying to show the OP what can go wrong. Just say that maybe somewhere down the line the breeder decides to sell to someone that will take the puppy straight away, where will that leave the OP. We wouldn't be very good dogsey friends if we didn't point out what pitfalls there could be. At the end of the day it is up to the OP what she does, she doesn't have to take any advice given.

thanks everyone.
i understand your concerns, thanks for raising them
we do know each other fairly well and have looked at all the pros and cons. of course it would be nice to get a puppy at 8 weeks, but the timing wasn't right for us as we went with a breeder we trusted. we are going to legally own the pup from the beginning. she is happy to do the socialising and early training, she enjoys this and although it will be hard for her to hand him over, she is happy to as she feels we are the right home for one of her puppies.
i know it's not conventional route, and i did have my reservations - hence why we thought long and hard before deciding on this route. i do hope nothing goes wrong, nothing is 100% certain, so i'm prepared in case something goes wrong, but we have looked at everything as much as humanly possible.

regarding looking at more than one breed, is there something wrong with that? i love a lot of breeds, i grew up loving rotties, isn't it natural to want one? my husband is allergic. i also really like airedales and borders, theres nothing wrong with liking more than one breed, we researched each breed throughly, eliminating them from our list until we came to the standard schnauzer.

we're very excited to be getting our puppy, we don't want to wait til next july, it's all fallen into place in a way we're happy with, the breeder is a lovely woman who has been very kind in her offer (i wouldn't have asked as i know it will be hard to give up at 6 months) but how different is it really than if we'd found a breeder who runs a couple of pups on and then decides to sell one on if they're not right for the show ring? the only difference is (and major benefit in my opinion) is that the puppy will have a home to go to and we'll follow its progress from birth.

thanks again, i really do appreciate everyones viewpoints, i look forward to being able to show off my bundle of joy

Congrats on your new pup!!!! The waiting will be awful I'm sure. I've found it hard enough waiting eight weeks!!!!

I don't think there's anything wrong with looking at different breeds. When we wanted a second dog I was after a Tibetan Mastiff and the OH liked Leonbergers, so off we went to Crufts and DD to find out more. When we got there we discovered Estrelas and I was sold, but himself wanted a Malamute or NI then! So I got my way and he will get his - eventually! We're in a position that we can have several dogs so we don't have to compromise.

***UPDATE***

Well, for those of you who read this, I have sad news. The litter was due to be born January 2nd. Just over a week before they were due, they were reabsorbed. She was scanned to check and they were all gone, there was 3 seen on the previous scan.

The breeder has been really kind in helping me find another possible litter, and now I have another 2 possibilities. Both litters will be between 8-12 weeks in July and one of the breeders keeps them all til then anyway.

It's obviously sad for me and the breeder about the other litter, but we're staying positive that we shall still have our puppy, thanks for all the support

That is so sad We went through the same upset 14 years ago when a litter never mareialised ..... BUT we ended up with the best dog ever - my Vanessa who is now 13 1/2 - you will have a wonderful companion too

I'm so sorry you must all be devastated.

thanks muddiwarx, i know we will too

yes nippy, the breeder was really upset, as are we, i didnt quite believe it was true until a few days after she was due - i kept hoping for a little miracle, but we didn't get one

i'm trying to keep positive and the breeder says its normally natures way of saying something could have been wrong with the litter. i'll be meeting the other 2 possible breeders (they know about each other, nothing is definite and only on both provisional lists) and they said they should have more news for me. we've got pretty much everything bought ready for the puppy, we're so ready for our little bundle - just need it now.

Thasts Said, Sorry to hear that