Puppy chart

Important Puppy Developmental stages – items needed

Important Puppy Development – Make sure you have the right stuff 

Puppy chart
                   Puppy development

As a responsible breeder it is vital to have a sound understanding of how all dogs minds develop. It does not matter what breed your puppies are, they all develop the same and need the same care of the breeder.

 Breeders should learn these developmental stages so that they are equipped to support healthy socialised puppies that will grow up to be well-balanced, happy members of a human family. It has now been widely reported that the root cause of most adult dog behavioral problems can been pin pointed to the ignorance and poor care of puppies by the breeder. 

Clarence Pfaffenber identified the developmental stages ‘common to all dogs’ I have used her work to write these posts and I will cover briefly these first stages in the follow up posts with downloadable charts, but if you would like to read about this subject, which I highly recommend, I would suggest you read ‘Think Dog. John Fisher’ 

 

Before we look at the developmental needs of a puppy here are a few items you will need set up ready for your new born puppies…

To care for your young puppies you need a few important things;

  1. Whelping box 

 

This needs to be placed in a room that can kept warm, or you can use a heating pad or light 

2. Heat sources

 

 

Newborn puppies are able to maintain a body temperature about 12°F warmer than the air temperature. The temperature under the heat lamp in the whelping box should be around 85°F for the first 2-3 days, and then can be dropped to 75-80°F depending on the surrounding temperature. A temperature of 70-75°F on the far side of the box is fine. Puppies head toward the heat source to nurse so do not have the heat source warmer than the bitch. Hanging a household thermometer on the inside of the whelping box will help you know the temperature in the box. Puppies typically lay side by side or on top of each other to share warmth. If the puppies are scattered throughout the whelping box and away from the heat lamp, the temperature is too warm. If they are all piled on top of each other, it may be too cold. Puppies need the extra heat, as they are unable to regulate their body temperature until several weeks old. The rectal temperature of newborn puppies is about 97°F and rises each week until about 4 weeks of age when it is a normal adult temperature of 100.5-102.5°F. Find out more about rearing newborns

3. Weight 

 You will need to weigh the new born puppies daily for the first few weeks to check that each puppy is getting enough milk and that they are all developing at the same rate – Why not keep track of your puppies weight with this Yogadogs printable puppy weight chart Printable Puppy Weight Chart

4. Clipping Claws

 

The puppies’ nails must be trimmed weekly starting a couple of days after the birth. This will help stop some of the scratches on the dam’s mammary glands.

5. Bed for Mum to go into next to whelping box

By the age of 3-4 weeks, Mum will  want to be able to rest a little away from the puppies, it is a good idea to put a bed next to the whelping box so Mum can go and rest but still will be able to keep an eye on her pups 

 

6. Towels, Blankets and Training Pads

You will need lots of towels, blankets and training pads – I would beg and borrow from family and friends for these items as they are going to get ruined so there is no point in buying new. I did end up buying a couple of small fleece blankets that the new born puppies do like to sleep on 

7. Shallow dishes

When the puppies are around 3 1/2 weeks old you will need to start feeding them and weaning them off Mum 

‘A healthy puppy is firm, plump, and vigorous. Puppies should nurse every 2 hours or so. If they nurse until their stomachs appear round and they sleep quietly, they are eating enough. If they are crying and moving a lot, they are not eating enough. They may be swallowing air, which makes the stomach appear larger. As they become weaker, they will lay still and not cry. A puppy may lose weight in the first 24 hours (less than 10% of birth weight), but after that, the weight should increase steadily. Their weight should double in the first 7-10 days. Before, during, and after nursing, the bitch will lick the stomach and perineal area to stimulate urination and defecation. She will continue to do this for 2-3 weeks.

Puppies should gain 1-2 grams/day/pound of anticipated adult weight. Weigh the puppy daily for the first 2 weeks, then weigh at least weekly. A food scale typically works well for weighing the puppies. Failure to gain weight is often the first sign of illness in puppies.

 
 

At about 3 weeks of age, the puppies will begin to imitate the bitch eating and drinking. A secure shallow water dish should now be available at least part of the day. At 3½ weeks of age, the puppies can start receiving puppy mush.Prepare the puppy mush by placing 2 cups of high quality dry puppy food in a blender with 12.5 oz liquid puppy milk replacer and fill the rest of the blender with hot water. This should be blenderized until the consistency of human infant cereal. (This feeds 6-8 puppies of a medium-sized breed.) The puppies should receive 3-4 meals a day of this to start. Once the puppies have checked it out, walked in it, and have eaten some, the dam can be allowed to finish it and clean the puppies off. Each week, increase the amount of food, decrease the amount of the milk replacer and water that is added and the time of blenderizing, so by 7 weeks of age, the puppies are eating dry food. Once they are on dry food, it may be left in with the puppies (when the dam is out of the box) or the meal times can continue. As the puppies eat more solid food, the bitch may be let away from the puppies for an ever longer period of time.

By the time the puppies are 6½-7 weeks of age, they should be fully weaned from the dam’s milk, eating dry food, and drinking water. If the weaning is not rushed, she will naturally start decreasing milk production, as the puppies increase their intake of solid food. As the puppies begin eating the puppy mush at 4 weeks of age, start changing the bitch’s diet back to adult food to also help her decrease milk production. Start by replacing 1/4 of her puppy food with adult food. Keep increasing the adult food and decreasing the puppy food until by the 7th week postpartum she is eating only adult food. During the last week of weaning, the dam’s food consumption should be less than 50% above the maintenance levels and declining toward maintenance levels. Hopefully she has been fed well during pregnancy and lactation so she weighs the same at weaning as she did before pregnancy.’ To read full article

 
I would love to hear if you think this shopping list should be added too – if you have puppy items for sale please message me for advert space. 

This post has affiliate links in, I have put them on this post because I have used them in the past and think they are good items. 

 

Puppy charts

Free Printable – Puppy Training, Socialisation Chart

Puppy Socialisation Printable Chart – Week 2 

 

free printable puppy socialisation plann
                                  Puppy socialisation plan

 

 

You have your new puppy and you want it to be a well-rounded, relaxed and happy adult; one of the best things you can do with your puppy is  socialisation exercises .

 

Print week one if not competed already 

This can be lots of fun for both you and your puppy – the chart are suggestions and if you live in a busy city make sure your puppy experiences all the sounds, smells and people .Saying this don’t forget it is also important for your puppy to experience things you may not meet everyday – think if you lived in the city and never saw a sheep, and then one day you go on a picnic and just as you are taking a bite out of a scotch egg  and along comes a sheep…”What is that?” is what you would be ‘in so many words’ be screaming whilst running away from the white fluffy thing in front of you…what I am trying to say, imagine what your dog would do if the same thing happens – so think of everything

I will produce an empty chart for you to add your own socialisation experiences to fit around your own circumstances. 

For now, here is week 2, although I would use it for 2 weeks as it covers a lot. 

Puppy charts
     

Puppy Socialisation Plan week 2

Puppy charts

Free Puppy Socialisation Printable Plan – Week 1

Free Puppy Socialisation Printable Plan – Week 1

free printable puppy socialisation plann
          Puppy socialisation plan

This week I give you a free printable puppy socialisation plan – contained is a free download that covers week 1 where you introduce your puppy to the family, close friends, toys and smells. Come back next week to download the free next part in this series of puppy socialisation training plans.  

The Yogadogs family is so happy that you have a new member to your family and we know how much, love, fun and challenges you have to come. Hopefully we can be part of your journey – why not join our Facebook group and introduce your new puppy to us – we love photos   

All things Dog – Join our Facebook page

Socialisation plans
            puppy training

If you are looking to buy puppy items why not see what is new in the shop ; YogaDogs

Puppy training

                                                                                 Free Printable puppy week 1

 

 

English Bulldog

GIveaway – Flower Power Dog Bandana Giveaway from Yogadogs – Enter today

Win a handmade VW Bus Yogadogs Bandanna

Enter this competition to win a Flower Power, VW Bus Dog Bandana – March 2017 

  1. To be entered all you have to do is like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/yogadogs1/?fref=ts 
  2. Share our Facebook page to your friends
  3. Comment on our page about why your dog would like to own one of these handmade, Yogadogs bandanas 
  4. Competition ends when we get to 100 likes 

 

Good Luck from Grace ( Modelling the picture ! ) and Dinky Daisy ( who did not feel like modelling in the picture ! ) and Emily xxxx 

Beaches you can take your dog on in Cornwall 2017

Free Printable of All Year Round Dog Friendly Beaches in Cornwall – 2017

Beaches you can take your dog on in Cornwall 2017

Free Printable list of the beaches in Cornwall that you can take your dog on all year round in 2017, including in the summer. Make sure you are not disappointed when you go on your holiday in Cornwall and choose a dog friendly beach that you can all go on.  

Before Easter, in Cornwall, you will find dogs being walked on all the beaches – once the Easter Holiday strikes a many of the beaches become off limits for your dog.

Here I list the beaches, in a free printable booklet,  that are Dog Friendly all year round in Cornwall2017. So if you want your dog to enjoy your holiday as much as you make sure you choose the beach that all the family can enjoy. 

Click here for free printable of Dog Friendly Beaches in Cornwall 2017

 

Would you like to Enter our Flower Power, VW Bus handmade Yogadogs Dog Bandanna Competition – click this link to find out how Click here to Enter

Puppy weight chaart

How to train your dog to play ‘give you a cuddle’

How to train your dog to play ‘Give Me a Cuddle’ 

Learn how to train your dog to play the ‘give me a cuddle’ game and reinforce a good training habit that both you and your dog loves to do everyday ! 

How to train your dog to learn new skills and play games with you builds a stronger bond between owner and dog. It simulates your dog and reinforces positive engaging play and learning. The best way to train your dog is to keep the training sessions short, rewarding ( usually with treats) and done on a regular basis. 

French Bulldog and English Bulldog
Sisters giving each other a cuddle

The most important thing to remember when training your dog is to never force a behaviour, feed into their natural instincts and read your dogs mood. You will always get the best results if you work with your dog and not against them.  

So to the training…

I love when I get a cuddle from my two dogs and they do most of this game naturally so this game is a good one to start with 

Before you start with this training why not check out the four most important training lessons you must teach your new dog or puppy – this will then lay the basics down – Four most important lessons to teach your dog

 

 

  1. Invite your dog to sit on your on your lap, try to get them to sit facing you , making sure that your dog is secure and that they can not fall off.
  2. Gently lift their dog paws and place them on your shoulders and say your command – I say ‘give me a cuddle’ 
  3. Stop this training if your dog becomes excitable as they really need to be nice a calm to do it so neither you or your dog gets hurt. 
  4. This is a great training exercise that you could introduce hand signals
  5. Cross your hands over your chest and tap your shoulders, give your command and after a little while just do your hand signal.
  6. As your dog comes towards you praise them.

As I said this is a great training exercise to begin with and can really help bond you and your dog / puppy 

Why not try training your dog to tidy up their toys training

Books to buy to help you train your puppy

Good luck and please let me know how your cuddle training goes ( photos are always great and I love a good dog cuddle human photo to cheer my day up!) 

Emily xx 

Puppy weight chaart

The four most important training lessons for your puppy / new dog

   

If you have a new dog or puppy, here are a few simple things that you can do to make sure that your dog becomes a well-balanced, happy canine.The one thing that you hear a lot about is the ‘S’ word. Socialisation is a very important thing in the dog world but repeatedly it goes wrong. Here Emma from eccaines who is a professional dog trainer and runs training classes and flyball classes, tells us her top four must puppy training areas that will help your puppy become calm, happy and on the road to being a well-behaved, well-rounded adult dog. 

Emma says that she trains dogs by, “…using patience and the latest in dog knowledge we can train your dog the way dogs are meant to be trained. No more forceful techniques or gadgets, EC Canines will allow your dog to be itself while teaching it how to behave”  So who better than Emma to give us puppy or new dog owners ( including people who may have an older rescue dog) some tips.

Emma writes her top pointers …

How to teach your puppy how to approach dogs :

Socialisation takes place every time dogs meet. Teaching your dog to approach and greet dogs calmly goes a long way to the meetings being successful. Small puppies go through a fear period anywhere between 6 to 12 weeks depending on breed. During this period, it is very important that any introductions are done very carefully. Teach the dog to walk past other dogs without fuss and ignoring them. This is important as not all dogs want to be approached. Remember, once your dog is an adult, it will come across young dogs. Your dog will then become the teacher,

 

 

 

The next best thing to teach your dog is how to act while in the presence of humans, big and small:

Not all people love dogs as much as we do and dog hair is not a fashion accessory for them. Having your dog meet new people calmly, or even ignore them when asked, can be very important. Especially for small children or frail adults, who may easily be bowled over by even a small excitable dog.

Teaching your puppy how to stay calm:

Having a calm dog may seem to be impossible when you have a bouncy puppy or anxious rescue but it is an important part of training so start at home when your dog is lying quietly. Take time to sit with them and treat and stroke and cuddle them when they are calm. When they are being over the top and excitable, try to find out the reason. Walks, training and food all become a factor if a dog is constantly over excited and if you are unsure of the reasons a professional dog trainer will be able to help.

Out on a walk, your dog should also stay calm and walk on a loose lead. Training this from as early as possible is the best way with a puppy, though, with dedication can become possible for your older dog too.

Calmness can also be achieved by practicing impulse control. For higher energy, more excitable dogs, this can be the best way to teach them. By teaching the dog this you can also teach them when they are allowed to be excited e.g, during flyball, agility or even just out on a run, to burn off some of that energy. After all, we don’t always want our dogs to be laid back layabouts!!

 

The sit, down and stand command:

To cope with the times your dogs can get truly excitable, good basic commands can help. Having a strong Sit, Down or Stand, Stay and Recall, can help control a dog that is boiling over with excitement or anxiety.

Everyone who owns a dog, especially obedient ones, consider themselves a dog trainer, and if you are out and about with your unruly mutt it can get truly overwhelming with the amount of information that is out there, and with everyone thinking they know best about how to train your dog.

 

Points to remember when looking for a dog trainer:

When looking for a dog trainer, keep an eye out for words like Positive reinforcement, gentle handling, and treating your dog as an individual.

Stay clear of: 

Try to steer clear of those claiming to b a ‘pack leader’ and needing to punish or reprimand your dog.

 

With training there are no quick fixes: 

With true dog trainers and behaviourists there are no quick fixes. All punishing a behaviour does is to repress the behaviour, instead of trying to find the reason behind it.

Today, Dog trainers are more like psychologists and should be willing to work with you and your dog to help your dog overcome anything that may have become a problem, working on long-term fixes and not quick fixes.

To find out more about this type of training, go to my website eccaines and have a look.

 

If you need a dog trainer closer to home, check the IMDT website, which will give you the names of qualified dog trainers in your area.

We would like to thank Emma for her advice and we can’t wait to here from her again

If you would like to talk to others who own dogs / puppies why not join our friendly Facebook page All things Dog 

 

This post was kindly written by Emma Carpenter who runs classes in Cornwall, she offers group classes, one to one and flyball – to contact her please click on her website link below 

E C Canines

www.eccanines.co.uk

Duchy Dashers Flyball Club

www.ddflyballclub.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Puppy charts

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A little about me…

I am a writer ( and a librarian in the day )  who lives on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, I love my two dogs, Grace a English Bulldog and Dinky Daisy my French Bulldog.

English Bulldog
Grace or when we are feeling posh – Lady Grace

They inspired me to write this dog related blog and also to set up a business to sell handmade dog items – the problem being I only have one hundred pounds start up money.

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Follow us on the ups and downs of living on the Moor, being 40 years old and wanting to succeed at something in my life but having to do it with not much at all but drive and enthusiasm x  

I am always happy for you to contact me for product reviews, guest blogging, writing for you or if you just have a question

If you would like to contact me please feel free to e-mail me

Emily Jones

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Emily Jones