Thread: Some questions for breeders

When do you give them toys? How early/late? What toys?Small soft toy in whelping box after birth,mums toy/s. toy will change with weeks

When do you start playing prey games with them? lol when you walk into the room inside box and they latch onto your pants! I go to step and they are still holding on for dear life...piranhas.I gently move toy,once on legs.2/3 weeks approx

When do you introduce loud noises? From birth Life continues as per normal, i have kids therefore its always noisy! They hear and see everything from the time they are all open and functioning.

How much do you interact with puppies from the day they were born? I check all at birth and routinely move them to clean up after mum. weighing etc doing dew claws..

Do you change the period you interact with them? (eg - more interation when they grow)Yes. people places environment vet,kids etc other dogs..animals..

How muh interactions do they get with strangers/other animals etc before they go to new homes? they go places in car and i carry them around malls etc they see visitors and are all on leads at 5 weeks.

And last but not least - do you recommend any reading on the subject? Not directly,but if I am asked I would recommend Bruce Fogle, the dogs mind.


One more thing... I know people use sound cds for noise stimulus,thats fine but i prefer to get real noises going,banging pots opening window in a storm, i let them run with mum mostly on their down time and out in the yard that sort of thing..

I hope more people answer.

Are you breeding a litter monelite?

Thanks,
Amy

Edited to add something.
I have had reg litter and rescue and an accident.All some years ago now.....There are probably many more people here who raise a few litters each year. : )

When do you give them toys? How early/late? What toys? Soft toys when their eyes open. When do you start playing prey games with them? It's play games at this early stage. When they start to move around, I start spending time with them as a group. When do you introduce loud noises? They are whelped in our family room & moved outside under a covered area during the day when they are about 3 weeks old. The radio is always on, the tv is sometimes on. They really don't hear too much until they are abt 3 weeks old. How much do you interact with puppies from the day they were born? The whelping area is cleaned out regularly & more regularly as they get older. The mum is put outside & the pups are picked up & moved aroud, they are spoken to, stroked etc. Do you change the period you interact with them? (eg - more interation when they grow) yes How much interactions do they get with strangers/other animals etc before they go to new homes? A lot. They are introduced to all of our dogs but under supervision, we have people dropping in all the time, but anyone that has dogs is not allowed near them until they are at least a month old. The pups spend a lot of time with our grandchildren & other children. They leave our place only to go to the vet at 6 weeks, they are tattooed & microchipped at 7 weeks & ready to go at 8 weeks & they all have usually gone before 9 weeks. They are by that stage outgoing & without fear. And last but not least - do you recommend any reading on the subject? The Monks of New Skete & I still like The Koehler Method of Dog Training

Mike Ellis is an excellent communicator, and even if you already understand the concept that he is dealing with on his dvd's then I would suggest that you would still stand to learn how to better express yourself when trying to explain these important concepts of puppy rearing to your clients.
I wouldn't be quick to recommend Koehler-esque reading on this topic unless as part of a broad reading list...we have learnt a lot about how to do a lot more in recent years.
Balabanov, Ellis (get a pirated copy to avoid supporting Leerburg though), Lindsay, Hilliard....
And a bunch of stuff that i have never heard of that is probably pretty great!

IF IT AINT FROM A WORKING TRAINER, CHANCES ARE THE PUPPY REARING PROGRAM IS NOT TRULY COMPLETE...consider this highly during your chosing of educational literature/media.

Have a killer night y'all....

BG