[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: [Showgsd-l]FOR "NON KENNEL" Breeders
- From: Stephen Reierstad <wmj1944@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: WyMarGSD2@xxxxxxx, Showgsd-l <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:03:22 -0800 (PST)
<<For breeders whose females live in the house all the time and are
not ever
living in Kennels, when weaning puppies how long do you let the moms
stay with
the puppies until? A detailed description would be great :) like
When do
you start to gradually take them from Mom, if you do? Do you let
them visit
right up til the puppies are 8 weeks til they go? If so, is it
harder for them
when they leave? I will say i am looking for a scenario for a bitch
that had
a huge litter of 10 and up.... how do you keep the puppies away from
the Mom
when everyone is living in the same house, if you do this?
thanks!
Dawnmarie>>
All our dogs live in the House, which means there are a lot of Dogs
to visit Puppies and act as Puppy Mentors. The answer to your final
question is that we keep the Puppies away from their Mom by
permanently establishing them in the Living Room with a Male and 2
Females when they are about 6 weeks old. This may occur earlier,
depending on whether the Mom has successfully convinced them that it
time to stop Nursing. We start weaning at 3 weeks, and if they are
eating solid food well at 5 weeks but still pestering Mom to nurse
them, we move them at 5 weeks. Those Puppy Teeth are murder on Mom's
breasts!!! Obviously, they have spent time with these three Dogs
before, but at about 6 weeks, they make the switch permanently.
The Puppy Visits from the older Dogs start about 24-48 hours after
whelping, with the Mother out of the room. This gets the Pups used
to being with other dogs right at the start. We also have many
2-legged Visitors to the Pups, as well as taking them out for Visits
to the Post Office, Town Hall, Convenience Stores, WalMart parking
lot, etc., for early and frequent Socialisation with People. The
added benefit is that they get used to being away from Mom for short
periods early on. This, of course, assumes that all the Pups are
healthy, and that weather-wise it is safe for Outside Visits. The
Pups are also allowed to explore every room in the house, with and
without Mom, as well as outside, by the time they are 3 weeks old.
This way, they get used to doing things on their own as well as with
Mom.
They also have inside and outside Play Time with Mom, again depending
on the Weather, up until the time they leave. These periods get
shorter and shorter as they get older, so they are spending more time
playing with the older Dogs (and people) as they get closer to time
to go to new homes.
We feel that these things make it easier on both the Puppies and
their Parents when the time comes for the Pups to go to their new
Homes; being away from Mom has become an established part of the
Routine.
One of the most interesting things about the Pups from Tacoma and
Sheila is that Tacoma, the Sire, stays with the Mother and Pups
constantly from the time they are about 24 hours old until they go to
the Living Room with the 3 older Dogs. He knows to stay away when
Sheila is nursing the Puppies. He is an incredible Father, who
cleans the Puppies, helps clean up after them, visits them in the
Whelping Box to give Mom a few minutes to herself, and plays with
them when they are getting out of the Box on their own. We feel that
the presence of a nurturing Father as well as their Mother, is an
added benefit for when they get to their new homes.
Steve
Visit Two Feathers German Shepherds online at http://www.wmj1944.com
Website updated 7/7/2005.
"If you invite the Wolf to Dinner, then don't get mad when he eats something."
- Unknown
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