Having Adventures

During the last week, the puppies have left the house twice! Their first visit was to Heronsgate Junior School, where they met LOTS of people, both children and adults. I am lucky enough to volunteer each week, supported by the lovely charity Canine Concern. I take Busy and Luna into school to work with the children, building confidence and developing good learning skills. I had been into assembly to announce the puppies’ arrival, so of course they had to visit! It was huge success and they were very well behaved.

Microchipping

Then today they went to the vet’s for the first time. They were cuddled (again) by ALL the staff and then checked over by one of the vets, before having their microchips inserted. This painless procedure is a legal requirement for all dogs, since the Microchipping Law came into force in 2016. All breeders must have their puppies microchipped before they are 8 weeks of age. The microchips must be registered with the breeder, before being transferred to the new owner.

So if you buy a puppy without a microchip, it has been bred illegally and the breeder should be reported. Sadly, the vet I saw today said that she is still seeing lots of puppies that are not yet chipped. Please do not condone this, by buying an unchipped puppy?

Much more lively

This last week has seen a real ‘step up’ in the level of activities of the puppies. They are much more energetic in their play and the periods of time that they are awake last much longer. They are also starting to be more destructive.

I was talking to the breeder of the stud dog today, who said that like me, she is very happy to wave goodbye to her puppies by the time they are 8 weeks old. They need lots of stimulation and engagement at this age. Of course they play with each other, and they do spend time with the older dogs, but this needs monitoring. A puppy on its own is much more of a challenge, as it cannot be left unsupervised except for short periods.

Normal Family Life

At this age, it is really important that the puppies spend time in the house. They have obviously received plenty of attention and millions of cuddles (100+ visitors and counting), but they also need to be part of ‘normal family life’.

This means bringing them into the kitchen, with the other 5 dogs, and just ‘hanging out’, while we watch TV. The other dogs (apart from Busy and Ounce) get pretty stressed by being hassled by the puppies. It is essential that the dogs are allowed to tell the puppies off when they are being annoying – this teaches them good dog manners, which will really help them when they are out on walks.

Toilet Training

Mind you, it is a challenge to have 12 dogs in the kitchen – sooner or later someone will wee! And once one goes, they all go! I’ve found it really interesting this time that given free access to outside, the puppies will always choose to poo on the grass and will very rarely wee in their bed. However, they are not old enough to wait to toilet and when they need to go, they just go!

Perfect Recall

Six week old puppies come when you call them. I do this with them every time I go into their run with food. But I also call them to me, using their names. I reward them simply with attention, but this engagement means that they will come to their owners, from day one. New puppies should be let off the lead on their FIRST EVER WALK. That way, they will definitely come back.

Not much longer..

They’ll be gone in two weeks (hurray)! I am having a Norwex in-house event and sale on Thursday 11th July, so if you’d like to come along, get in touch? NB: places are limited. And remember, if you want to make sure you don’t miss a pupdate, please follow the website? CONTACT ME for more information?