I decided to continue talking about socialisation of puppies; it is so important it is worth banging on about it. When I send my puppies off to their new homes it is a crucial part of their puppy pack. I sit down with my owners before they are allowed to depart and go through the pack with them. I make sure they know that they are aware of the Puppy Socialisation Plan I tell them what I have done already and what they need to do now. This includes the puppy party.
Out and about
It seems pretty obvious that when you have a new puppy you want to show it off! Of course that is only natural. However, we are always told that puppies cannot go out until after their first vaccination. Well yes and no.
First of all, puppies are covered by their mother’s immunity, so they should not be vaccinated until they are at least 8 weeks of age. Many vets are asking owners to wait a little longer before starting the vaccination program, which seems sensible to me.
Secondly, puppies can go to places that are unlikely to be contaminated by dogs with diseases. So if you are allowed to take your puppy to work and the only other dog there has been vaccinated, you are likely to be safe.
Thirdly, why not carry your puppy? This is what I did with Ounce, at the start of her adventures last year.
Puppy party
The KC plan says:
“Introduce your puppy to friendly healthy vaccinated dogs if you know any. If not, speak to your veterinary practice or your chosen puppy training class – some have days where your pup can meet friendly staff dogs in a safe environment.”
Veterinary practices usually run a ‘puppy party’ every few weeks to allow people to enable their pups to interact with other dogs. However, a word of caution here. Some puppies are naturally lively and boisterous, wanting to play with everything that comes along. Other puppies are more reticent, easily feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of noisy, puppies bouncing into their faces.
Just as when dogs are unhappy about interacting with children, puppies can give ‘calming signals‘ to other dogs to show that they have had enough. Please pay attention to your puppy and understand when he has had enough? Don’t let your puppy become the party pooper who spoils everyone’s fun!
Other ideas
All experiences need to be totally positive – so if it is a person, they should give the puppy a treat. If it is an experience (car, traffic, pub etc) you need to make sure you treat and reward the puppy in that environment. Play a game with him, feed him his dinner there. Socialising a young puppy is easy – as most people you meet will want to see him and will be happy to help!
Use interactive toys stuffed with food, to give him problems to solve. He needs controlled frustration to deal with to continue his brain development in his new home. Introduce him to tunnels, steps, things to clamber over, and different surfaces to walk on.
Being alone and settling down
Teach him that part of his new life includes being left alone for short periods of time – or not having constant access to you. Do this from the first day you bring him home. Use a dog cages or crate or a baby gate to separate him from you at least once every day. This should be at times when there are positive things happening (eating dinner, chewing a stuffed Kong etc). To start with he should still be able to see you (and so not feel deserted).
Continue to use the noise CD that the breeder has been using (or you can buy one from Amazon) to play unexpected noises (if he hasn’t had the benefits of the first 8 week Puppy Plan, start these very quietly at meal times or game times, and slowly build up the volume).
Teach your puppy about relaxation, being calm around you etc. This includes being groomed, and being handled around his feet, face, mouth, ears etc. Remember to reward him all the time when he is still and relaxed. Many owners miss this one in all the excitement and so the dog thinks everything is a game and never keeps still when the owner is around.
Encourage periods of quiet time – when he is relaxed and settles down in your presence. Start these as very short periods, using a crate or a play pen beside you if necessary. Give your puppy something to occupy him such as an interactive toy (like a Kong stuffed with food).
Ask for help?
You are very welcome to CONTACT ME to ask for my advice. I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog. This includes suggestions for tackling training issues. Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my new service.
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? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.
If you receive my posts via email, remember to click through to the site to see the photos.
Socialisation part 1 – why it is essential for your puppy
This is a huge subject, so I am just going to write an introduction and talk about the role of the breeder. That is basically what ‘socialisation’ means – an introduction. It means teaching your puppy about the world that it will be living in, so that it can cope with the demands of the human environment. As the Kennel club says:
“Like human children, puppies are not born with the social skills that they require to live with their family, be that a canine family or a human one. The term “socialisation” in simple terms means the learning process that a puppy must undergo in order to learn key life skills to ensure that it is happy and confident in its environment, and can communicate effectively within its social group.”
When should socialisation start?
We understand that puppies, like babies, are sponges, soaking up everything around them and learning from these experiences. Historically, we probably didn’t really expect breeders to do anything much to contribute to this process, as dogs were kept in outhouses or sheds in the garden with their puppies. They might be brought into the family home for some of the time, but were generally left to their own devices.
For puppy farmers, there is no facility to socialise pups before they are shipped off to their new homes. Farmers don’t expect to have to do anything with the puppies and they may be kept in very poor conditions, with a mother who has little or no interaction with humans or other animals.
However, for responsible breeders, who are doing their utmost to produce pedigree dogs that the owners can be proud of, there is a challenge to provide the stimulation and experiences that the puppies will need in their new homes.
Socialisation plan
The Kennel Club have produced a useful step by step guide, the Puppy Socialisation Plan, which provides detailed examples of things that the breeder and the new owner can do to help their puppy develop.
Here is an example of part of the plan:
Week 5 – 7 – Curiosity: Tasks
Put more interactive toys into the puppy pen at times when you can supervise. These can include wobbly objects, tunnels, bits of cloth to climb over or burrow under, suspended tennis balls, larger balls that can be rolled about, empty plastic bottles with some pebbles in them that will roll noisily, small boxes that can be climbed on or in, trays filled with stones or shallow water… Anything you can think of to introduce new stimuli to the puppies.
Once the puppies are eating solid foods happily, feed them from different bowls – plastic, metal, from your hand etc.
Over the next couple of weeks, try and make sure the puppy meets as many different types of people as possible – women, men, children, people with beards, hats, high heels, hoods etc – and that they have rewarding experiences to associate with them (games, treats etc).
Household life
Having heard all the usual household objects, it is time for him to experience them – this includes the TV, vacuum cleaners, ironing boards… anything that will form part of his life as a dog in a busy household. As always, make sure these experiences are positive. Start very slowly with these things not moving or switched on, and reward the puppy with a treat or a game for ignoring them not playing with them. Slowly you can begin to move them, switch them on at a distance etc – always going back a step if the puppy is reactive towards them.
On occasions, feed the puppy separately from his mum and littermates – and a little bit away from you (in a crate, behind a baby gate etc). Start to teach him that good things can happen when he is on his own. Also on occasions, feed him from your hand – he also needs to learn that having humans around his dinner is always a good thing.
Positive interactions
Spend time with the puppy encouraging him to follow you, playing with him, making eye contact with him, stroking and handling him, picking him up and holding him – and generally getting him used to and enjoying human contact. Make sure all these interactions are positive for the puppy, using treats if necessary.
Try to take each puppy out individually to sit in the car, drive round the block, see and smell things that will be part of his daily life (traffic, trains etc). As he is unvaccinated (although will still have immunity passed to him from his mother) he should be carried but he should have all these experiences in these really important two weeks when his confidence is at its highest and his fear responses are at their lowest.
Putting this into practice
As you can see, the plan is practical and sensible, but it takes time and commitment. When I have a litter of puppies, I absolutely expect that I will be inundated with visitors! It’s one of the best things about having puppies; catching up with all my friends, seeing all my family and taking time out of my normal routine to sit and chat. While cuddling puppies – what could be better!
However, it does take a huge amount of time and effort to achieve all this and to do it well. Of course I also have to bear in mind the safety and security of the puppies. I need to know everyone who comes into the house and to take sensible precautions with regards hygiene. But for me, this process is so important that I am willing to devote my energy to it. I believe this is what makes my puppies grow up into the wonderful, beloved animals they are. Have a look at my testimonials page if you don’t believe me!
Ask for help?
You are very welcome to CONTACT ME to ask for my advice. I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues. Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my new service.
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? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.
And if you receive my posts via email, remember to click through to the site to see the photos and lots more information.
Working Sheepdog (WSD) is generally the name given to a non-pedigree Border Collie. They can also be called just ‘sheepdogs’ or just ‘collies’. Basically, if it looks a bit like a Border Collie (BC) but isn’t registered with the Kennel Club, it’s called a WSD. With me so far?
Farm collies are usually WSDs, because they are not designed to be pets, but working dogs. WSDs who work sheep are registered with the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS). This prestigious organisation registers and monitors Working Sheepdogs in the UK and Ireland.
Registration of WSD
If you have a litter of puppies with WSD parents who are ISDS registered, no problem! You can register these on the ISDS register and they will be assigned a registration number – usually 6 digits.
Once registered as an ISDS WSD, you can register your dog as a KC Border Collie. That’s because in order to be a ISDS registered WSD you must meet stringent breeding and health requirements. They must have known heritage, in other words their parents must both be ISDS registered. And they must have had all the relevant eye testing. (Still with me?)
If your WSD is not from ISDS lines, but you would like it to be ISDS registered, you can do so, by meeting the society’s requirements. They can transfer based on competition success. Alternatively, they can be put through a ‘working test’ as follows:
The dog must pass a test of skill in Outrun, Lift, Fetch and Driving and general farm duties on a packet of sheep at a test location nominated by the Society or Associate Club and assessed by two Examiners.
In other words, in order to become ISDS registered, a WSD must actually be a ‘working sheepdog’.
Registration of a BC
In order to register as Border Collie with the Kennel Club, you must have parents who are pedigree Border Collies. Or you can have an ISDS registered WSD parent or parents, as above.
If you want to have a dog with an unregistered parent or parents (ie neither pedigree nor ISDS) put onto the Border Collie pedigree register, you have to apply for a breed transfer. This is a long and arduous exercise, that involves:
an application process, with accompanying documentation
preliminary approval
two breed judges examining the dog to confirm that it meet the breed standard
a DNA profile to confirm the breed
all relevant health testing required for the breed – eye testing and hip scores as a minimum
judgement passed by the KC panel.
Once this has been done, a pedigree certificate will be issued, with a pedigree registration number. The dog’s pedigree name will have three asterisks after its name – Dentbros Busy the Imp***. Their progeny will have two asterisks – Dentbros Lilac Wine**. And so on, until Ounce’s grandchildren will be FULL PEDIGREE BORDER COLLIES!
Busy’s sire was an unregistered but nevertheless pedigree Border Collie. His great grandmother had not been registered and has some WSD in his pedigree, but after that his family were all from BC stock. This process recognised and registered Busy’s heritage (although the Kennel Club won’t list her sire on her registration certificate or pedigree).
Still following all this?
What is the point?
You may well ask. Does it matter AT ALL if they are ISDS registered WSDs or KC registered BCs, or both? Or not? It’s a complicated question, but the answer is quite simple.
What do you want your dog to do?
This is at the heart of almost all the posts I write on this site. What is the point of having a pedigree dog? Why do I need to think about a particular breed? I have been doing the breed blog to encourage you, my readers, to think properly about what makes dogs different from each other. As this article about breeds found in shelters says:
“A large proportion of the dogs that end up in rehoming centres are there because their original owners simply found themselves unable to manage the dog that they took on, or had not done enough research about the specific needs and issues surrounding their breed of choice.”
The list of breeds given in the article is as follows:
Mixed breeds are obviously the most commonly re-homed dogs, because there are more mongrels than any pedigree dogs. And because Designer Dogs are an unknown quantity!
Talking about the BC, the article says:
“One half hour walk once a day is unlikely to keep a Border Collie happy and healthy, and many first-time Collie owners find that they have grossly underestimated the needs of their new pet.”
Qualities of a WSD
In my opinion, a puppy from WSD stock will be more likely to be:
nervous
snappy
obsessive
herding
A puppy from pedigree Border Collie stock is more likely to be:
cuddly
adaptable
relaxed
sociable
So again I ask you, what do you want from your dog? The moral of this rather convoluted post is:
“Don’t buy a WSD if you want a family pet”
Ask for help?
You are very welcome to CONTACT ME to ask for my advice. Please let me know if you have found this post helpful?
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? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.
I’ve just been reading about how difficult it is to understand what it’s like to not know something. Apart from a few years at university (when I had a cat) and then living in shared rented houses (with another cat), I have always had at least one dog in my home. So understanding the challenge of buying your first dog is an alien concept to me.
This week I have received an enquiry for a puppy, as I do most weeks. This week’s person said the following:
“I wondered if you had a litters planned or available. We are a family living in London. I have grown up with dogs and we’ve been desperate to get a family dog but we’ve been waiting for our youngest child to be old enough! he’s now 3 so we feel we’re ready! I look forward to hearing from you.”
My reply was sadly unenthusiastic, as I recommended that she wait a bit longer still. It is really frustrating living without a dog, I know. I was lucky enough to be able to take on one of my mum’s, aged 8, when my sons were babies, which was great as I didn’t have a puppy and they grew up with a dog from the start. We got a puppy when the boys were aged 5 and 3 and it was hard work! I didn’t give Buzz the time he deserved and he was never that great. He adored the boys, but they completely ignored him and he was nippy with other children.
I have sent pups to homes with children this young, but again, it hasn’t always been that successful. One was re-homed and one became ill and was put to sleep, which was really traumatic for the family.
When it does work
Despite my misgivings, it does sometimes work fantastically well and the puppy brings joy to the family. What are the criteria for it being a success? In my opinion, it works well when:
The person who is the primary carer of the dog has plenty of time, energy and enthusiasm to work with their puppy
Both the adults in the partnership support that time and energy needed and are both consistent with their behaviour towards the dog
Children in the household are ‘sensible’. This means they understand the basic rules for being around their puppy, giving it space and leaving it alone when it is eating, or tired, or just doesn’t wanted to be squeezed or picked up. See the Children and Dogs page for more details
The right environment
So it’s not really about the actual ages of the children, so much as their attitude towards the dog and the way that the parents manage this. My mistake with Buzz was that I didn’t encourage the boys to engage with him. I should have got them to take his lead when we went for walks, give him a bit of a cuddle or a stroke. It would have been great if they had fed him from time to time.
That wasn’t how I was brought up – we were taught to mainly ignore the dogs and to leave them alone. They were just there, part of the furniture. As a teenager I became responsible for their care, just as I became responsible for the care of my baby sister.
Childhood experience not required
Is it important to have had a dog as a child when getting your first family dog? Again, it’s hard for me to answer this, because I was always around dogs, they were part of our home. But as I have just said, that experience was not the same as the experience I have had as an adult owning dogs; far from it.
I think the important things is to be realistic about your childhood experiences and to remember that however much you think you knew your dog, you weren’t its primary carer and were not the one making the difficult decisions.
Managing expectations
I think the main thing to consider when getting your first family dog is to be realistic about it. It definitely won’t be easy!
Don’t get a dog if:
you already have a busy life, with a hectic household, full of comings and goings
there are long periods most days with no-one in the house. You can get a dog walker to come in, but if you have a busy family that is just another thing to manage
you can’t agree what kind of dog you want
the children basically want something fluffy and cuddly, rather than a biting, chewing, weeing and pooing machine
you and your partner sometimes argue about how to manage your children. If you do this, you will never agree about how to manage your dog
money is tight – dogs are expensive!
you take lots of foreign holidays
First dog, best dog?
Just like a first child, your first dog as an adult will undoubtedly have a very special place in your heart. And just like with your first child, you will learn from your mistakes. Is it worth it? Of course! Dogs are ALWAYS life enriching experiences – they are the better part of us.
There is plenty of information and advice on this site to help you on your journey, including 10 common mistakes made by new dog owners?
Ask for help?
You are very welcome to CONTACT ME to ask for my advice. I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues. Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my new service.
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? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.
And if you receive my posts via email, remember to click through to the site to see the photos and lots more information.
Challenge – can I walk 8 Border Collies on my own?
Not only that – can I walk them on my own, off lead, for an hour? It is certainly a challenge; especially on a Bank Holiday Monday! I decided that it would be easier to do this in the woods than round the lake or up the river. Less cyclists and runners (but possible horses!) and wider paths. No roads nearby, so much safer I thought.
This weekend I have had 3 visiting dogs (plus one visiting cat) making 10 animals (not counting the snake) in our house. Poor Chris! I have had Bea, Luna’s daughter from her second litter here for just under a week. Then the boys arrived – Blake and Charlie.
Blake is Luna’s brother (same dad, not bred by me). Charlie is a very special boy. He is Aura’s son, from her only litter. He went to one family, who couldn’t cope with his exuberance in a busy household with young children. Fortunately for him and me, Charlie was rescued by my friend, so now lives happily with her and her family. He gets on well with Blake, is learning to do agility and has a lovely life.
How do you get 8 collies in a car?
Simple – one in the front, two in the back and five in the boot, of course! They managed really well – it was only for five minutes.
The challenge of walking a pack
Whether you are walking 3 dogs or 8 the issues are the same. You need to cope with different dogs having different interests and pace. So you keep counting and keep checking you have everyone. Where’s Charlie? He’s found a muntjac of course! I waited patiently for a few minutes. Back he came, what a good boy.
Charlie, Blake, Bea, Luna, Aura, Ounce, Busy and Sunny
When you are walking a number of dogs it is important to have plenty of treats. You need to call them individually and reward them. They also need to be able to interact well with each other. I work on this by putting them into a line and doing individual, named recall training work.
Fortunately, this pack are really easy; partly because they are Border Collies and partly because they are related to one another.
Pecking order
One thing I have noticed over the years is that Border Collies in a family will tend to line up in age order, with the oldest closest to you and the youngest furthest away. Of course it doesn’t always hold true, but it is an interesting dynamic.
The other thing that is interesting about walking Border Collie is just how snobby they are around other dogs. They rarely choose to interact with other dogs, unless they are also BCs! I always think it is intellectual snobbery on their part – they think that other dogs are not worth trying to talk to. I do find that the boys are more sociable than the girls, which is why I recommend getting a boy if you only have one dog (can’t remember only having one dog :p)
Anyway, we had a ball up in the woods and now they are all dozing around my feet while I write. Bliss!
Ask for help?
You are very welcome to CONTACT ME to ask for my advice. I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues.
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? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.
NB: If you read my posts in an email, you may be missing out on the lovely pictures! Please click through to my website to see the post in all its glory?
I was delighted when Adam Delderfield, from Delders Dogs agreed to be interviewed about his two gorgeous Labradoodle boys, Buddy and Chester. I started to write this post and then realised I needed to talk about Labradoodles, crossbreeds and designer dog breeds, so I wrote that post first.
Adam says he chose an Australian Labradoodle, but that whatever breed he has, he always looks for dogs that are bred for health and temperament, with plenty of stimulation provided early in life. He wasn’t sure what to expect;
“With a crossbreed the breed standards or stereotypes are vague, so I had no real expectations as to what I was getting. However I did get chance to meet the mother and aunt of the puppies, so had a rough idea of what the temperament was likely to be.”
Wet, muddy dogs!
Adam explains that an Australian Labradoodle is a mix of SIX different breeds:
Labrador
Poodle
English Cocker Spaniel
American Cocker Spaniel
Curly Coat Retriever
Irish Water Spaniel
Most of these dogs have quite high drive and also love water and mud. They may not leave any hair in your house, but they will take TWO DAYS to dry after getting wet! They are basically Velcro for leaves, sticky balls, grass, mud and anything else they can find. Most of the breeds are Gundog breeds so an Australian Labradoodle likes to retrieve. This needs to be managed, or you can find them taking things to their bed they shouldn’t have!
That face
The best thing about having an Australian Labradoodle, (or better still two) is that funny face!
“Nothing beats the joyful look of a doodle in the morning, or after being called a good boy. Its the floppy ears, tongue out, cheeky look they have.”
Adam says his boys fit his lifestyle perfectly; one is calm and loves to sleep all day, the other has the energy of six dogs! They are both affectionate and loving. One is independent and outgoing, while the other is reserved and loyal.
Health records
The Australian Labradoodle has potential issues with hip and elbow dysplasia, eye problems and heart conditions. Neither of Adam’s boys has had any issues, which is not surprising because he has health certificates for their parents and grandparents.
Adam has great advice for a potential dog owner, to help assess the breed and lines for health issues:
“Ask for a list of the breed line and all of their ages. If all the dogs before your pup got ill at 8 and died at 9, that’s a pretty good marker. If the breeder doesn’t know this information, that’s even worse. Look for a breed line that is living well into its teenage years because chances are your pup will also live that long. “
How much exercise and training does a Labradoodle need?
Adam says:
“I tend to walk my dogs twice a day as a minimum. Once in the morning and a longer walk in the evening, as that is what fits with my life. I always try and take the dogs on 1 adventure walk per week. They go somewhere new or with some new people or dogs, just to keep life exciting. My dogs tend to be a lot calmer and more settled afterwards. I really do notice if I don’t take them on a longer adventure walk for a few weeks. “
As for training, although Adam is a dog trainer and is confident that he can teach his dogs anything, he tends to let their personality shine through. They are pet dogs, not police dogs, so Adam makes sure training is fun for him and for them. Little and often is the way to go, with any training; 5 minutes a day is perfect.
Are they recommended?
Interestingly, Adam says:
“Although I love my Labradoodles and would never change them, I would also like to try some other breeds out. I have always loved Staffordshire Bull Terriers and would love to do a breed like that justice.”
Adam also says that Labradoodles are by no means the easy option in any way. He says that a good home for these dogs would be someone who likes grooming and definitely someone who wants to find games that will exercise their brain.
Final advice
As far as giving advice to others considering this breed, Adam says:
“Spend as much time with the Breeder as possible, ask them lots of questions and ask to meet all the dogs that would be related to your puppy. Ask them what the average lifespan of the dogs ancestors are, because you want your dog to live for a long time.”
Thank you Adam, for your invaluable insights into this incredibly popular breed of dog.
Ask for help?
I hope you have enjoyed finding out about owning a Labradoodle? Please comment and share your views and experiences? What breed would you like to know about? Or do you have a breed of dog and would like to share your views on living with your dog? Please CONTACT ME to let me know?
You are very welcome to CONTACT ME to ask for my advice? I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues. Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my new service.
Designer Dog Breeds – are they better than pedigree dogs?
What makes a crossbreed a ‘designer dog’? Over the last 20 years there has a been a massive increase in the sale of so-called ‘Designer Dog breeds’. Crossbreeds, or mongrels, have always been around and have always been popular. Many people think it is not important to have a pedigree dog and don’t care what mix of breeds their dog might be. But the new fashion trend for ‘specified mixes’ has a number of implications for the health of dogs in general.
cockerpoo?
Any crossbreed is simply a combination of two or more pedigree dogs. When this is done purposefully, in order to achieve a particular look, or type, it may be given a specific name, to demonstrate that it is a combination of the two breeds.
Of course this is how new pedigree breeds are generally created – we take different breeds of dog and put them together is a structured and managed way, to create a new, distinct type of dog. If we do this over time and can demonstrate that dogs will breed ‘true to type’ we can eventually have a new pedigree dog breed.
Labradoodles – the first designer breed?
The Labradoodle is a combination of the Labrador and the Poodle. The original intention was to create a dog that had all the benefits of these two distinct breeds, including the poodle’s non-shedding coat, which is considered to be hypoallergenic. This process was started in 1988 by a breeder named Wally Cochran, of the Royal Guide Dogs in Australia. He was asked to ‘create’ a dog that could be trained as a guide dog, but with a coat that wouldn’t aggravate an allergy. Labradoodle History then says
“Because of their immense rise in popularity, people began crossing any Labrador with any poodle without any regard to genetics, bloodline, or temperament and calling the puppies “Labradoodles. The result was an unpredictable variety of puppies with various physical characteristics.”
Labradoodle?
This is the issue at the heart of dog breeding. When it is done purposefully, to create something in particular, bearing in mind health and temperament, it is a positive thing. However, when it is then taken up as a fashion fad, it can become problematic.
Kennel Club view
The British Kennel Club have a primary aim, referred to when talking about Designer Dogs: “To protect and promote all dogs”. They encourage the registration of all crossbreeds onto their Activity register. Their main concern is:
shihpoo?
“Some unscrupulous breeders may be breeding these types of dog simply for financial profit, rather than with the health and welfare of the dogs in mind. This can mean that they will mass produce puppies to meet the latest celebrity-driven trend and will sell them on to people who are buying the dog as a fad rather than based on an educated decision about what is right for them.
“Buying a dog is a lifetime commitment and they should not be purchased on a whim or to go along with the latest fashion.”
Other designer breeds
Once Labradoodles started to appear, people quickly jumped on the bandwagon. Now it seems as though every dog you meet has some fancy name. Other popular crossbreeds include:
cockerpoo – very popular, Cocker Spaniel/Miniature Poodle
Most of the ‘designer’ crossbreeds have some poodle in them. This is because people (mistakenly) believe that this automatically means you won’t get dog hair around your house. Unfortunately that is not necessarily the case. What people also fail to realise is that this means you will need to spend a great deal of time and money grooming your dog.
Health issues
I could go on, banging on about issues with designer dogs and why they are not a great idea. Fortunately, the Kennel Club have been campaigning very actively to increase awareness of the health issues surrounding careless breeding. They report that:
The research found that:
One third of people who bought their puppy online, over social media or in pet shops failed to experience ‘overall good health’.
Almost one in five puppies bought via social media or the internet die before six months old.
12 percent of puppies bought online or on social media end up with serious health problems that require expensive on-going veterinary treatment from a young age.
94 percent of puppies bought direct from a breeder were reported as having good overall health.
Because of vigorous campaigning, we now have Lucy’s Law, which may well help to reduce the production of puppies by unscrupulous commercial breeders. It may also help encourage people to think twice before buying a designer dog. Unfortunately it may also make the process of breeding and buying a dog much harder for everyone.
Buy the Workbook
The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. This book is 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! Find out lots more by looking at the Contents page.
Want a dog? It’s about to get much harder to get one
I am pleased that Lucy’s Law is coming into effect from 1 October this 2018. Anything which helps to protect the welfare of animals is a good thing. If it helps to prevent people from importing and breeding dogs and cats en masse, as if they were mere commodities has got to be a good thing. But how on earth are you supposed to find a dog when you want one? And how is it going to affect a hobby breeder like myself?
What is a ‘hobby breeder’?
I breed from my pet Border Collies because I love my dogs and I want to share that love. Other reasons include:
Loving watching the puppies grow and develop, not just from birth but into adulthood as well
Cuddling puppies!
Doing it well – as a previous business owner and entrepreneur, I love to think I can produce dogs that are the absolute best they can be. I love being professional about it, creating a positive experience for the new owners right from the start
Producing healthy, happy dogs, that are a real asset to the families they go to.
Because I strive to do it well, I am a Kennel Club Assured Breeder, and proud to be one. It was hard work to ensure I did everything necessary to pass the assessment and I feel that it is an accolade worth having.
Breeding in this way makes me a responsible breeder, but it also means that I do it as a hobby, not a business. You cannot make a profit of any significance producing puppies this way. That is not what I want and it is not what it is about.
The cost of producing puppies
To do it well, there are many costs, both large and small, in dog breeding. These include:
Health testing – these range from £300-£400 for the hip x-rays to £50 for an annual eye test. That is for the adult dogs – the puppies must also be health tested
Good food – well bred dogs require good quality food and this is certainly more expensive than a supermarket own brand
Toys and equipment – well bred dogs live in comfortable surroundings with plenty of stimulation
Training – all my adult dogs attend weekly training classes and I think most breeders do the same. This is part of ensuring that dogs are well behaved and are happy and healthy
Time spent with the puppies. I rarely leave the house when I have a new litter. I sleep with them for the first week or so. I have many visitors to the litter, to ensure that they are used to a variety of people and experiences. (It’s a difficult thing to do if you have an actual job!)
People complaining about Lucy’s Law say things like:
“It’s impossible to get a dog from a rescue centre. They won’t give you one if you have young children. You can get a child if you have a dog, but not a dog if you have a child. How mad is that?”
If you have young children you are busy and your home is hectic. Can you supervise your children at all times with your puppy? What if they tease it and it bites them? I know it’s unfair, but we want the best for the dog, don’t we? We must learn to be critical. Look at my advice on Dogs and Children and think carefully before getting a dog with young children.
Want a dog now?
I have already talked about the buying process you need to follow when buying a puppy. That post is about having patience and doing research. It explains that you need to present yourself to the breeder and convince them that you are the right home for a puppy. This is more true than ever now that we will have new legislation.
But how do you judge the place you get a dog from? What do you look for when you want a dog? Again, I have already talked about the definition of a Puppy Farmer and I have covered some Questions to ask a breeder.
Problems with the new law
Problem no 1: Hobby breeders like myself may require a licence in order to sell their puppies.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against having a licence, BUT at the moment Local Authorities are not staffed or skilled in the issue of these licences, particularly in being able to discriminate between hobby and professional breeders (ie puppy farmers). They are more likely to issue a licence to the latter, as it can appear that they are more ‘business-like’ in their approach. By the time the LA come to visit my puppies, they will have gone off to their new homes. I am an Assured Breeder, which is much better.
NB: Do not expect small scale breeders to produce a licence.
Problem no 2: How on earth are we hobby breeders supposed to meet the demand for dogs in this country?
Everyone wants a dog, but a breeder like me only produces around 6 puppies per year. I am able to choose the very best homes for my puppies, so what is everyone else supposed to do?
Top tips if you want a dog
Research the best dog for you
Wait. For the right dog, or the right time, or the right home
Find an actual, purposeful breeder who takes the trouble to produce the best dogs
Look for a story with the dogs
A top breeder will be able to tell you their dog’s life story. She will be able to show you pictures and certificates of both parents of the puppies. You will see pictures from the day the pups are born and then every stage of their development, until they go to you. A breeder like this will expect you to visit more than once. They will help you choose the right puppy for you.
Ask for help?
You are very welcome to CONTACT ME to ask for my advice. I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues. Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my service.
Please let me know if you have found this post helpful?
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? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.
I thought it might be helpful to talk about selecting a puppy from a litter. Another week goes by and I have received more enquiries for puppies. I hear from some really lovely people and I hate to disappoint them. But unfortunately I am not a puppy farm, so I can’t produce puppies every week. If I’m lucky, I will have half a dozen puppies each year, but things rarely go according to plan.
That is why I try to support people when they have to go looking elsewhere. It’s such a challenge, to find a Responsible Breeder who is also hopefully a Kennel Club Assured Breeder.
Choosing your breeder
You’ve decided to ‘do it properly’. You’ve chosen what type of dog to have, then narrowed it down to your breed, perhaps by attending an event such as Discover Dogs. Then you look at the list of breeders for your breed, such as the Assured Breeders for Border Collie. You contact them all, get onto some waiting lists.
Finally the day arrives when a litter is born and you are on the list! Yay! Now what? How do you go about selecting your puppy?
Breeder’s criteria
If you are lucky, you will be at the end of the list and the breeder will present you with a puppy and say “you can have this one”. If you have done your research and chosen the right breed for you and your lifestyle, then the best breeder you can find, then it truly, honestly will not matter which of the actual puppies you have.
Of course there will be occasional issues with one particular puppy. But in terms of the temperament of the puppies from a litter, I can promise you that they will be like their parents and affected by the home they have been bred into.
By the time my puppies are three weeks old, I can start to see subtle differences between their characters. Even though they are only just up and about, with their eyes open, I can sense that one will be slightly more outgoing and confident, while another might be more cuddly. That’s because I spend hours with them every single day.
When you visit a litter, even if you are there for over an hour, you are unlikely to really see their characters. They might even all be asleep when you are there. If one crawls over to you, it doesn’t mean he has chosen you! So if the breeder says she thinks one will be more suitable for your lifestyle or circumstance, please listen to her?
Boy or girl?
Which sex of puppy you get will depend on your circumstances. If you are having your first ever dog as an adult (even if you grew up with dogs), I recommend getting a dog, rather than a bitch. Dogs are more sociable with other dogs, particularly Border Collies, which makes them easier to manage when you are out walking and meet other dogs. They are also a bit more ‘robust’ with younger children and better able to cope with being an only dog, in my opinion.
Other than that, it doesn’t really matter which sex of puppy you have. So when selecting one from a litter, choose the temperament you want, not the sex?
What colour?
When selecting a puppy, it is easy to focus on what it looks like. I often have people say they want a particular colour – that they have searched far and wide for a particular ‘look’. I find this rather disappointing, if I’m honest. Border Collies come in many varied colours, shapes and sizes. They have all different kinds of ears, and markings. Their coats can be curly or straight. They can be fluffy or quite short coated. So even if you think you have a certain ‘look’ in mind, you might end up with something completely different!
I regularly have people say that they want a different colour from their last, beloved collie, because they don’t want to replace him. Hmm, I doubt that this one would be at all similar, even if it was another black and white collie, with ‘classic’ markings. Oh and what are those, by the way? Wouldn’t you rather have Aura? I know I would.
Don’t forget that if you were having a Labrador, it would be golden, chocolate or black. (Or possibly red). That’s the only choice you get. So does it really matter that much?
Keep an open mind
My best advice to you is to keep an open mind and listen to the breeder. They know their dogs, they know what the puppies will be like and they understand what will work for you.
By all means pick the one that stumbles into your lap for a cuddle, but be prepared for the fact that that one might already be taken. Try to be happy that you have carefully chosen the right breed, the right breeder and the right litter. Then take your puppy home. They will then become the dog you make them, influenced by the way you raise them.
Ask for help?
You are very welcome to CONTACT ME to ask for my advice. I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues. Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my service.
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? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.
NB: If you read my posts in an email, you may be missing out on the lovely pictures! Please click through to my website to see the post in all its glory!
Ounce is now 14 months old and growing up. But just like people, dogs go through a bit of a ‘teenage phase’. Symptoms of this include:
suddenly forgetting how to come when called
getting a bit above themselves, with you and family dogs
thinking everyone is their friend
chewing things, having stopped chewing on the whole ages ago
being over-boisterous
Sounds delightful, doesn’t it? It’s a phase and they WILL grow out of it. But annoying nonetheless.
Growing pains
Although Ounce had her first season some months ago, that does not mean she is a fully mature dog. She is still growing and as a medium dog, won’t reach full size until she is around 18 months old. Large breeds tend to take even longer. This is not necessarily in height, but just in terms of filling out and ‘growing into herself’. So she still looks a bit gangly. And she still weighs only 14kgs, which is not much for a pedigree Border Collie. Adults normally weigh around 17kgs for a bitch and 20kgs or more for a dog.
Settling down
The main issue, for me at any rate, is that she is a bit too lively and jumpy. She is just too exuberant! Bless her heart. I’d hate to knock that out of her, but I can see that for visitors to our house, it’s a bit full on. The temptation then is to shout at her, but really, she’s fine, it’s just her age.
The selective recall is another aspect of Ounce’s behaviour that is a bit annoying. Of course no-one else would even notice a change, as she still comes back almost immediately, but I can tell that her mind is elsewhere. I clearly remember Buzz going through this stage and being completely confused. I thought “why is he no longer coming straight back, when he did last week?” Simply an age issue. It will get sorted out.
Ride it out
Sadly, many dogs are re-homed at this point, when they are going through this teenage phase. People think they have an adult dog, who has finished growing and developing and has no more to learn. They feel that they’ve done their job with training and that this is what they are stuck with. Wrong!
That is nearly the case, but not quite. There’s more work to be done, to reinforce all the early training and make sure it is built on; keep on with the recall training. But also, things will improve again and settle down, if you are prepared to wait it out.
I usually find that when a dog hits two years of age, they are more like the finished product. That’s when they finally stop jumping around all the time and demanding endless play and fuss. They will walk more calmly beside you. They respond to you willingly and you probably don’t need treats on walks any more.
Be careful what you wish for
Two years old isn’t very old is it? It’s not long to wait until their behaviour and temperament settles down. But actually, it’s almost a sixth of an average dog’s life. Before you know it they will be 4 (like Busy) or 6 (like Aura). Then they will be properly middle-aged, 8 (like Luna) and then you blink again and they are 12 (like Sunny). Then you’ll be worrying about their arthritis and how to manage it, worrying about other health issues and starting to take their age into account in the activities you do.
The life of a dog is very short. Enjoy it all, even the teenager bits.
Ask for help?
You are very welcome to CONTACT ME to ask for my advice. I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues. Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my service.
Please let me know if you have found this post helpful? More information about training a great recall can be found on the recall training post.
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? Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.
NB: If you read my posts in an email, you may be missing out on the lovely pictures! Please click through to my website to see the post in all its glory?
