Introduction to A Year with Your Puppy
This is an introduction to the year long course, A Year With Your Puppy (AYWYP). In June 2021, I kept my 7th puppy, Quin. He’s the 9th Border Collie I’ve had over the past 30 years, as I have also re-homed a couple. Quin is also the 5th puppy I’ve bred and kept, which was part of the inspiration behind his name.
Me and my dogs
I’ve had dogs for most of my life and apart from a Cocker Spaniel we had until I was ten years old, these dogs have been Border Collies, in various shapes and sizes. My mum bred from her dogs for fun and I decided to continue that tradition. However, because I was a business person and entrepreneur, I decided to do it to the very best of my ability, becoming a responsible, Kennel Club Assured Breeder from day one.
The first and only dog I bought as a puppy, from a stranger, was Sunny, who came to us in August 2006, at the age of six weeks. She was an absolutely brilliant dog in so many ways and the beginning of my legacy. I started doing agility with her and she taught me that agility is great fun, but very challenging! Sunny was a fantastic dog to begin my breeding journey, producing 22 gorgeous puppies in three litters. I was also lucky enough to be mentored by the owner of the first stud dog I used.
I kept Luna from Sunny’s first litter and then when Luna had her first litter, I kept Aura. Three generations, so far so good. My plan was to keep a pup from each dog, each generation. I planned to have a boy at some point, living nearby, whom I could use for stud. Lovely. Of course things don’t go according to plan and there have been many hiccups and challenges along the way! I planned to have one litter per year; in 13 years I have had 12 litters, but it has been anything but straightforward.
Introducing my current family
We currently have six dogs, including Luna and Aura, mother and daughter, aged 12 and 10. Luna is diabetic, with cataracts, so is a bit of a frail old lady. Aura had one litter and one of those pups developed epilepsy, meaning no more pups from her. She’s been a fantastic agility dog, winning at grade 5, a massive achievement for me and her. Next comes Busy – my dog of a lifetime. She decided to stay; I wasn’t meant to keep her. She has been absolutely brilliant in so many ways. Initially an ‘unregistered’ Working Sheepdog, I transferred her to the breed register and she has had three amazing litters of pups. I kept Ounce from her first litter, my purple puppy. Then Quin from her third litter, the boy.
Finally, (for now) I have kept Ounce’s daughter, Murmur, another lilac girl. She and Quin are not that closely related, as Ounce and Quin have different sires and Murmur has a completely different line on her dad’s side. So hopefully Quin and Murmur will have pups of their own, one day.
Different breeds?
Owning dogs is a constant joy, full of heartache. Breeding is even more of this. I don’t recommend becoming a breeder, yet, we need many more dogs bred with love and purpose. We need people to choose to have dogs that have been bred with care and awareness.
I am a very experienced Border Collie owner, but that does not necessarily make me an experienced dog owner. Of course I have come into contact with many dogs over the years and I have had lots of dogs stay in my home. However, there are some breeds of dog that remain a mystery to me. I haven’t spent a lot of time with any brachycephalic dogs, so if you have a Pug, or a French Bulldog, this course and book are probably not going to be that useful to you. Health is my primary concern – I want all my dogs to live long and happy lives. Otherwise, it should be a good resource to help you navigate your first experience of owning a dog.
How to use this book
I’ve written this course alongside owning Quin during his first year. As with learning any new skill, owning and training a puppy is not a linear process. You need lots of information and hard work at the start, which you gradually consolidate over a long period of time.
Traditional puppy training courses typically last around 6 weeks, with most people missing one or two classes. These days we usually have access to online support and there are sometimes written notes. But once you’ve attended these classes, you might think you are up and running. Just like having a child, it is not that simple. You will go backwards some weeks and you will definitely need to re-visit some areas several times.
I’ve written the course in a 3 week cycle, covering:
- Information
- Training
- Problem behaviour.
You can see the contents of the course on the Contents Page. Each week you read the lesson, then think about how that affects your relationship with your dog. There will be Weekly Focus Challenge to do. You can share the results of your efforts on social media, in the AYWYP Facebook group. You can write up notes on how it is going and stick photos of your dog in this book. It’s a record of your progress. Before we start the lessons, let’s think about how to get a perfect dog? And how to be a perfect dog owner? It’s simple really..
Buy the Workbook
The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!
Remember..
Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs? And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think. If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.
NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE
NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.