Bringing Home a Puppy

Getting a new puppy is exciting. Dogs are such a great part of a family and puppies represent so much promise of the things to come, but they also have a lot of needs. I remember bringing my first puppy home. I had waited so long and I was SOO excited. I had cut a cardboard box and put a pillow in it for the puppy to sleep in. I am not going to recommend that today :-) but I am going to make some recommendations that can make bringing a puppy home go smoothly.

The more prepared you are when the puppy arrives in your house, the better. Lots of people remember the puppy will need to eat. The most commonly asked question is, “what are you feeding the puppy”. We are currently feeding our puppies Iams Puppy Food. Not only do I like the puppy food, I like the fact that new puppy owners can usually buy it in the local grocery store. It is a good idea to pick up a bag prior to coming to pick up the puppy. While at the store, some people think to pick up a collar.

In the store, the “small” collars may seem small enough, but for an 8 week old sheltie, a 3/8” wide, 6-10” long adjustable collar is about right. Experience has shown me that it is very difficult for new owners to have a concept for how small their puppy is going to be when they first pick it up from the breeder, so I send the puppy home with its first collar. I usually have leashes available for purchase. Shelties are not a breed that pulls on the leash and they don’t require a big heavy leash. I sell a ¼” thick, 6 ‘ long leather leash. I like these leashes because the snap that is small enough to fit on the ring of the little collars I send home with the puppies, the snaps are not really heavy, and puppies have an easier time with the leash training if they are not being pulled down by a lot of weight.

I also send each puppy home with a new toy. It smells like home, and gives them something to cuddle (and bite!). I do recommend that new owners have additional toys available for the puppy when they get home. I think it is a good idea to have a few interactive toys, such as tug toys, squeaker toys, and balls. This will encourage you to play with your puppy. The interaction will help the two of you bond. The more you do with the puppy, the more the puppy will learn its new family interacts. Your puppy will be learning constantly, so teach it about you. If the puppy just wants to spend some time chewing, then something as simple as a carrot will provide them with something to sink their teeth into, and also be edible and digestible.

Puppies should sleep in a crate until they are house trained. What type of crate you get is up to you. We have both wire crates, and molded plastic crates and some dogs do prefer one over the other. Since your puppy will not have a choice, get the one that appeals the most to you. If you get a wire crate, drape a blanket over it to make it dark and more “cave” like. This will help settle the puppy and help them to sleep without distraction. Occasionally they can get over stimulated in a wire crate where they can still see all of the things going on around them. You want the puppy to settle down so that if it does fuss, then you can give it the benefit of the doubt and take it out to see if it needs to potty.

Baby gates are also a wonderful tool to help house train a puppy. By keeping the puppy in the same room you are in, you are more likely to see if it is having an accident. This will enable you to respond and to get the puppy outside where you can say, “go potty”, or some other “potty” command. By staying in the same room, the puppy will not be able to sneak off and find a different room to use as a potty. It that important to insure they do not develop the habit of going into a different room to go potty where you might not see it for a few days. That can be a very difficult habit to break once it has started. Now that you have gotten all of the items you will need for the puppy, you have one more thing to do before you pick up the puppy; schedule a Vet appointment.

As soon as you have scheduled the day you are going to pick your puppy up from the breeder, call your Veterinarian to make an appointment for the day or two after your puppy comes home. Even if your new puppy has been “Vet checked” prior to you picking it up, it is important that YOUR Vet examine your new puppy. My contract states that you must have your puppy examined within the first week. The puppy will not be in need of a vaccination at that visit, but a stool sample should be taken to the appointment. Your vet will ensure that your puppy is healthy (or not !) and guide you on its care.

Your checklist:

__ call your Vet to make an appointment for a day or two after you bring the new puppy home.

__ 2 bowls-

__ water

__ food

__ 5 lb. bag of Iams Puppy food (yellow bag w/ the beagle)

__¼” thick, 6’ long, leash (I usually have these for sale for $15)

__ 3/8” thick, 6-10” long adjustable, collar (included with puppy from me)

__ crate

__ crate pad

__ chew toys

__ 2 baby gates

Read more...

How do you evaluate your puppies?

Although this post is long; it is not the definitive writing on our puppy evaluation.

When do you decide which ones you are going to keep? What age can I get my puppy? When can I come visit the puppies? These are a few of the questions people ask a lot. The answer to the last question is - I only allow people to "come visit" the puppies when it is time to take one home. It is only human nature to "pick a puppy"- and it is the answer to the other questions that will help you understand why I can't run the risk of disappointing people.

Evaluation begins at birth, but the puppies change, and grow, and change... so I just have to observe, until they have grown enough I can start to get "real" information about them.

1st criteria: No obvious Faults

The reason I have litters of puppies is to produce my next "show dog". There is a written Breed Standard for each breed which describes the perfect specimen of that breed (it is this breed standard that judges at dog shows are using to evaluate each dog in the ring). Sometimes when a puppy is born, you know it has an obvious fault that may (will) prevent it from being a show dog. (pictured is Bianca: more than 50% white is a disqualifying fault). Those puppies can go to their new pet homes at 8wks.

Unfortunately for sheltie breeders, the genetic makeup of this breed is rather diffuse. This breed is not very old and a lot of breeds and mixes of breeds make up the sheltie. Genes don't get "diluted"- they get inherited or not (that is very simplistic and not entirely true- but for the purpose of this blog post it is good enough). One example is, as recently as the 1930's collies were cross-bred with the Shetland Sheepdog to cement more of the "collie look"- but it also added "collie size". Our breed standard says that any dog over 16" or under 13" (measured at the point of the shoulder) is to be disqualified from the conformation show ring.

2nd criteria: Measurements

How do you know what the adult height will be when they are babies? Well, sheltie breeders have been dutifully measuring their puppies for years, and growth charts have been developed that are a very helpful guide. They are not perfect, but they do give a breeder a "best guess". We begin measuring our puppies at 6 weeks of age, but we like to see a few measurements to know how they are tracking along the chart. Puppies that are over the charts at 6 and 7 weeks can go to their pet home at 8wks. Puppies that are "in-size" and quality stay longer.

3rd criteria: Testicles (obviously this applies to males only)
Males must have two testicles to be shown. The testicles can be felt as young as 7 weeks, but I don't usually check until around 8 weeks. If a male is nice, and meets the standard, but I can only feel one testicle, I may keep him until 10 weeks of age. If he is really, really nice I might keep him until 12 weeks of age. Testicles have been known to descend as late as 6 months, but I don't want to keep dogs that keep me guessing that long.

4th criteria: Do they have virtues? Do they have a temperament I want to live with? So maybe they don't have obvious faults, but do they have virtues? I like to photograph them between 6-8wks to get a different perspective on how they look. The picture above of Liza is the type of picture we take. I want to get a sense of overall structure and build. I find these pictures to be very helpful and I usually see them in a different way than I do when they are just playing. With temperament, what I want to live with might be different than what someone else would like to live with in terms of temperament and personality. It is in my best interest, and the best interest of the puppy, to try and ensure that each puppy gets to live the type of life that will make it happy and where it can be successful.

Evaluation is a process. We are constantly evaluating our puppies. We get to see how their reactions to new things change, we get to see how their bodies change. By the time a litter is 8 weeks we usually know a lot and most puppies go to their new homes at that age.

Of the puppies that stay here, there are still things that can render them "pets" and not "show dogs".

6-7 month criteria: Teeth Did all of their teeth come in straight and are they all there. Sometimes we have puppies available in this age range because of teeth issues.

Statistics say that of "show" breeders, only 1 in 8 shelties ever becomes a champion (that number is different in different breeds). When they are born, they all look like champions, but as the weeks go by- they begin to weed themselves out. By 8 weeks of age I may be down to one or two that I want to keep longer.

Height is always a factor. Pipi is a good example of that. She was tracking up the growth chart just fine- and she was very pretty- so I kept her. She quite growing at 6 months of age and didn't reach 13"- so she can not be shown.
Temperment is also always a factor. Not all dogs want to be "show dogs". It is difficult to win with a dog that doesn't enjoy the shows. It can be done, but it is not as fun for me either. I do this as a hobby and a way to enjoy my time with the dogs. I want them to enjoy it too.
So- the answer is be patient- they are changing and I am observing!!

Read more...

What's for Dinner?

This past week I have gotten multiple questions about food. I do feed my dogs dry commercial dog food. We feed Eukanuba Adult Maintenance. They also get a A LOT of fresh food. Just over a decade ago I read the book Foods Pets Die For: Shocking Facts about Pet Food, by Ann N. Martin (NewSage Press). I was appalled. When I was done reading that book, I went and bought every book I could get my hands on about nutrition. I went the homemade diet routine, but (and I hate to admit it) it became too labor intensive and I went back to my ‘ol standby commercial dog food. I still don’t think it is the best thing for them, but when time is tight, I know that at least they have eaten. We feed them twice a day- ½ cup each feeding. We are not consistant about any of the other things I am going to say. When I say "a lot"- I don't mean daily or even weekly. We tend to be just like the seasonal harvest- a lot- all at once- then- nothing. At least for a while, and something will happen and the bounty starts again.

Fruits and Vegetables
As you know, we live on a farm. One of the benefits of farms- fresh, real food. This year when I accidently left the peas in the fridge, past the point of dealing with them, I cooked them all at once and fed them to the dogs (but not all at once). The yard the dogs play in has an orchard. The dogs LOVE the fallen apples and pears. One year I made a mistake of checking on the ripeness of the peaches when the dogs were out playing and the next day all of the peaches on the lower branches were GONE. I know the “word on the street” is that grapes (and also raisins) are toxic to dogs- but try telling that to Tucket. She LOVED to eat the grapes off the arbor and was never sick a day in her life. They eat as much ripe fruit as they would like. Mid fall their stools look like "apple mash".
We had pigs (don’t anymore) and I had made arrangements with our local grocery store to pick up the produce they would be throwing away each day to feed to the pigs. One day there were boxes of bananas that were just at the PERFECT ripeness. The dogs seemed interested so I offered a few to the dogs and was extremely surprised at how veraciously they ate them- peel and all. I fed them bananas for a few days- it was like they just couldn’t get enough and then one day, they said, they had had enough and weren’t interested anymore. I attribute that to a nutrient deficiency that the bananas were satisfying and when that deficiency had been satisfied, their body told them they didn’t need to eat the bananas anymore.
Fruits and vegetables are very good for the dogs. Don’t be afraid to share.

Meats and BONES
Of course our dogs get a lot of lamb meat. We direct market meat for human consumption. When we have an animal butchered we keep all the organ meats unless the buyer asks for them. We don’t advertise the organ meat as part of what you get when you buy “whole lamb”. Our dogs get the organ meat. We feed this to them raw. We give them the liver, kidney and heart. Organ meat is an important component to feeding dogs a raw diet, but giving ONLY organ meats can be just as bad. Each year it is time for a few adult sheep to leave our farm. Rather than getting paid pennies on the pound, we have them butchered for the dogs. This gives us plenty of muscle meat too. They also get bones. Bones are very, very, very good for dogs.
The benefits of bones (RAW – NEVER COOKED)
Before we start on bones, I have to reemphasize that bones should ONLY be given to your dog when they are RAW. Cooked bones can be DANGEROUS. Cooked bones are potentially fatal. They become brittle and can splinter and a whole host of other really bad things. So- only feed RAW bones and we are set to move on.
Really, bones have it all. Not only are they exceptionally nutritious, dogs enjoy the process of eating them. I think of bones in two categories. Food supplemental bones and recreational bones. Food supplemental bones are things like rib bones, or other smaller bones the dogs can actually eat all of. Recreational bones are things like cow femurs and other very large bones. Luckily, lambs provide mostly food supplemental bones. The marrow in bones provides all the important blood forming nutrients a dog needs. They also contain protein, all the minerals a dog needs, vitamins and essential fatty acids.
Feeding bones also provides a dog with “something to do” and while they are at it, they are cleaning their teeth. I like to give bones to the dogs in the late fall and on winter days when the ground is frozen , but without snow. I don’t need to worry about ants, flies, or meat bees bothering the dogs. They get bones other times of the year, but I just like the "no bugs" part of late fall/winter.
Bottom line
Meat, bones, fruits, vegetables, yogurt, cheese- all YES. Feed them as much fresh raw food as you would like. As they say, variety is the spice of life. I think the dogs appreciate a varied diet too- and I am SURE they are healthier for it. One word of caution- when you feed them a lot of protein, they might have runny stools. I love the stools they have following bones- they are white and chalky and fully formed. Bones are good.

Oh- and (as if just by coincidence) Mike is going to the butcher tomorrow to pick up meat we had done for the dogs. I have WAY to much for my dog and I would love to sell some of it. We are working with a different butcher than the one we normally do (he was booked for the next 3 months) and Mike forgot to mention we want our bones too. I doubt this butcher will have those for us this time, but we will have lots of muscle meat and organ meat. We do ship- any takers?

Read more...

Safety Tip: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

What is the purpose of a fence? It may seem like a silly question, but when you think about it, the answers do vary- so it is not that silly of a question. One of the first questions a breeder may ask of a prospective home is, “do you have a fenced yard?” If the answer is, “Yes” then a follow up question of, “what type of a fence is it?” needs to be asked- why? Because the answer to that question gets at the true nature of the purpose of the fence.

Fences that surround pools for example are there to provide the pool owner with “liability insurance” – to keep children and animals from “accidently falling in”. Some fences are decorative in nature. Some fences are for privacy so that your neighbors can’t see directly into your living space. Some fences are to protect the neighborhood children-outside the fence- from a large dog which is inside the fence. In the case of sheltie breeders, we want fences that will protect the dog-inside the fence- from the large dogs (and children) that are outside the fence. I consider fences to be a protection of my family member- a kind of “dog insurance”.

I am not a fan of Invisible fences. They do not serve to protect the dog within the fenced area from dangers that may come into the yard. I personally know of 5 people whose SHELTIES were KILLED by attacking dogs. Additionally, one dog that I bred and sold to a pet home was attacked by a large dog. This sheltie survived, but did have extensive damage. It happens a lot. I don’t know what it is about shelties, but they seem to wear a sign that says, “bite me”. I wouldn’t be surprised to have many of you leave comments saying things like, “yeah- a (such and such dog) attacked my sheltie while we were at the (park, agility trial, walking in the neighborhood….)”. Home associations might like invisible fences, but I don’t. They do not protect the dogs within their boundaries.

In my opinion, if the purpose of the fence is to enclose a dog, it must be an actual physical barrier. If it is not, then other dogs (or kids) can enter your yard and cause harm to your dog. This physical barrier must also reach the ground. There should not be spaces where a dog could squeeze out. Dogs can squeeze out of very small spaces.

I don’t always require prospective buyers to have fences. I often feel that people who get young puppies can teach the puppies boundaries, but be forewarned, when someone says to me, “I am always with them when they are outside”- just remember that just because you are out with them, it may not be enough to protect them. It does no good to see them get hit by the car. If you get a dog and you don’t have a fenced yard, you have to work doubly hard to help your dog understand boundaries, and this means that yes, they will test those boundaries, just to make sure you mean it. Hopefully, this will happen in your presence, and at a time when no car is coming, or big dog is chasing. If you do have an invisible fence, you should also never let your dog out unsupervised. It is just too dangerous for your dog.

Read more...

Ears-

Some of you will find this post funny. I am not known for my great ears. It seems that I am always talking to fellow breeders who consistently have nicely tipped ears and asking them to “show me again what you do”. Long ago I did conclude that my “technique” was fine, but my “timing” was lousy. Over and over the breeders whose dogs have nice ears tell me, “you must keep them over. You can’t wait a week between the braces coming out, and new ones going in.” I have a bad habit of “if they look nice when the I take the braces out……..”

So, I will pass along to you the “technique”- but I will tell you that if you really want perfectly tipped ears, take the braces out, clean the ear up again, and that same day (yes, you can wait a few hours), put the new braces back in. The ears will need to be braced at least until the adult teeth come in. Of course if you don’t care about this- then just enjoy whichever way the ears end up!

The ear consists of 2 parts (in my mind anyway). The skin portion -that is what what we will be working with to tip, and the actual "ear"- or the parts that allow the dog to hear. The "ear" begins at the skull and is identified by folds and lumps. I am going to call this the "button" for simplicity's sake. (this is a simplification of the ear since the shape of the entire ear, skin and all, affect how the dog hears- but that is for someone else's post).

Items you will need:

1. alcohol and cotton swabs

2. moleskin

3. ruler

4. scissors

5. an adhesive- and there are a few that are fine

a. Doc Brannon's spray adhesive

b. skin-bond

6. a paper plate

7. Fabric glue such as

a. Tear mender

b. speed sew

c. jiffy sew

8. yarn

9. small crochet hook (#6 works the best)

You can buy these items from Mel Cohen at roylsroyce@aol.com or from Nadine Iroff at triumphshelties@comcast.net

Step 1:

*Clean your puppies ears thoroughly with alcohol- *then put the puppy down so the ears can dry while you prepare for the rest.

Step 2:

*Get all of your materials together in one place.

* Cut out the moleskin pieces. You don't want your puppy to be sitting nicely waiting for you while you do this part as it can take a few minutes to really get ready.

Moleskin: (picture is of the pieces that go in the bottom of the ear)

- Cut (2) 1" x 1 1/4" pieces for the bell of the ear

- round the corners of one side. (Well, you will notice that I take the edges off of the top too, but that is because I don't want anything poking the dog.) The top edge should be straight. That is the edge that will be where the tip will occur. The bottom will go all the way down to the "button" (but not over it- just above it).

-cut (2) 3/4" x 3/4" pieces for the tip of the ear. Round the tips of this too. The rounded side will follow the top edge of the ear and the straight side will meet the straight side of the bottom piece at the part of the ear that is the tip. (see the picture #1 to see how they line up).

- cut (2) 1/4" x 1 1'2" pieces. These will be the cross braces.

- poke a hole on one end of the cross braces and using your small crochet hook, thread the yarn through. If you fold the yarn in half before you pull it through the hole, you will have a loop on one side, bring the end side through the loop and pull so that you now have yarn going in one direction.

- after I have cut all of the moleskin pieces I get the dog and check for sizing by placing the pieces in the ear where they will be so I can tell if they seem too big. If they are too big, this is the right time to trim them to the right size for that dog.

- the bottom piece should go from the bottom to just over halfway up the ear and from edge to edge.

-the top piece should follow the edge of the ear and not overlap with the bottom piece. It is OK if this is "too short" because you will be folding this over to meet the bottom piece. I usually do fold the ear over while I am checking size to make sure the tip seems like it will be in the right place- not too high- not too low! (easy for me to say )

Step 3: Preparing your moleskin

- peel the backing off of the moleskin and place them sticky side up on the paper plate. Apply adhesive (skin bond or spray adhesive- #5 in the list). Regardless of which adhesive you use, you will need to let it get a little "tacky". If you just put the adhesive on the moleskin and then apply immediately to the ear, the moleskin might slide.

Step 4: Putting the moleskin in the ear

-personally, I find it easier to have someone holding the puppy so it is facing me. Some breeders can do this alone by putting the puppy on a grooming table, in a chair, or some other place where you can keep the puppy reasonably still, but I find a patient spouse or friend to be ideal.

- place the larger piece of moleskin in the bell of the ear, all the way to the button. Make sure the straight side of the moleskin is even. Your adhesive should allow you move the piece a little if you need to make some minor adjustments. HOLD for a few seconds so it adheres to the ear. That part is critical. If you don't hold it to allow some "setting time", when you put the cross brace on and apply pressure, the cross brace could cause the moleskin in the bottom of the ear to "slip".

- place the top piece of moleskin in the ear. Again, HOLD for a few seconds.

- Using your fabric glue, attach the cross piece to the bottom piece of moleskin. Place this along the top edge.

- again using the fabric glue, glue the top piece of moleskin to the bottom piece of moleskin. You are now forming the tip. HOLD for a few seconds.

Final Step:

Use the yarn to pull the ears together on top of the head and tie the yarn in a knot. The ears might be almost touching- that is fine. Cut off the excess yarn, and VOILA!

You are done!

Thank you Utley- our model. He is owned, loved and spoiled by Sally and Dave McKeever and he came to visit to have his ears done.

This is my husband Mike relaxing with Utley. Mike helps hold the puppies for me while I do ears. Another site to go to for pictures and an explaination is http://www.bronwynshelties.com/helpful_tools/ear_pattern.php

Read more...

Safety tip: Dogs should be crated when riding in a car

My friend, Bonnie Frank, had a good reminder about dogs riding in crates on her blog and I thought I would take the opportunity add a second voice to her plea.

I feel very strongly that dogs should always ride in a crate in the car*. None of us ever expect to get into a car accident. My friend Bonnie was reminded of this important safety tip because someone she knew actually had gotten in to an accident and the crate saved the dog.

I have a list of my own stories of accidents and dogs that were saved. Crates serve as “seat belts”- but are far, far better than the strap “seat belts” you can buy in dog catalogs or pet stores. Crates actually protect the dog and should the nature of the accident require that the crate (with dog in it) be moved to the side of the road during rescue efforts, you can rest assure that the dog is contained. Another advantage a crate has over safety belts is that if your dog needs to be transported by a stranger, that person will not fear being bitten by your crated dog, and the dog won’t feel as if this stranger is “attacking them”. The rescue crew will be more comfortable with the dog, and the dog will be less traumatized by an otherwise traumatic event.

Ideally you will secure the crate to the car using some method. I use bungee cords. If you just get into a fender-bender, the crate won’t go flying around in the car.

Those safety straps that are designed as seat belts are not as good because your dog could still experience the same whip lash effect that you might experience from your seat belt. It will save your life, but you might have a broken clavicle too. Common seat belt injuries are broken bones and possible neck injury. Not to mention the fact that once you have unbuckled the dog from the seat belt buckle, you need a leash to hold on to the dog.

People often ask me, “what type of crate should I get?”. If you are only going to get 1 crate, then a molded plastic, #200 vari-kennel (or medium size) is my choice. This kennel has a handle on the top and is easy to move into and out of the car and home. I also think it is the best for car travel. I would not want to think what a wire crate would do in an accident. Broken wire could impale the dog- and that would defeat the purpose of the safety of a crate.

I have both wire crates and molded plastic crates in my home, and the dogs often choose the molded plastic as their “private space”. If you are going to get a crate for the home and one for travel, then just make sure that the travel crate is the molded plastic one.

It is law that children have to ride in car seats, I think dogs should ride in crates for the same reasons.

* I do make one small exception- I will allow a puppy traveling to his new home for the first time to be held. However, if the new “puppy” is older, or an adult- they must ride in a crate.

Read more...

A Puppy for Christmas?

Responsible breeders cringe when people call and say they would like a puppy for Christmas. Pets are a huge responsibility and so much goes into choosing the right puppy, the right breed, and establishing who is responsible for what activities (feeding, walking, poop scooping! etc) and attempting to "surprise" someone with a puppy precludes these conversations.

Even if these conversations have already taken place and it is established who is responsible for what- Christmas time is very busy with family, company, cooking, decorating- and potty training the puppy or making sure the puppy is not chewing on the Christmas lights is not usually the highest priority. For these reasons, bringing a new puppy home AFTER Christmas is the best option.

Here are my recommendations for how to give pets as Christmas presents.

• Accessories make GREAT gifts. They need to be purchased anyway, so you can accomplish two things at once. Crate, collar, leash, bowls, toys, beds, brushes, nail trimmers, treats, baby gate (not in picture) all provide endless unwrapping opportunities for everyone in the family and make it clear that the new pet will be everyone's responsibility.


• The Anticipation that unwrapping the accessories creates is even more exciting than "unwrapping" a pet anyway.
• shopping for pet supplies is fun.
  
• It is very clear what the "Real" gift will be-
  
• A picture of a dog (or cat) with a note saying, "this gift card is good for one..... (puppy, dog, cat, whatever) can be the "final clue".
  
• If the conversation of "what breed, what color, what sex" has not taken place, the picture will foster this conversation and good choices will result. Everyone will win.

When the hustle and bustle of the Holiday is over- then the puppy can come home and be the center of attention.

"A Dog is For Life"

Read more...