Why we send pups home at 10 weeks

Over the past few days, as we entertained puppy visitors there were questions about when the pups can go home and what some of our suggestions are.

On the topic of going home, we release pups at 10 weeks. I have the link on my web site, but this is the link to an article written by Dr. Ed Bailey: http://www.doggonesafe.com/bailey 49th day.htm

I won't repeat the findings and opinion of Dr. Bailey on this subject, but suffice it to say that where Wolters came up with the Magic 49th Day is questionable and there are good arguments against that as the Gold Standard. You might enjoy reading about the various stages of development that a puppy goes through.  One such article can be found at: Puppy Development

We feel strongly that this is critical to sending home a confident, well-rounded puppy.  Many of the important life lessons are yet to be learned at 7 weeks and there is also the culmination of another fear period. At times we have sent an individual home a little earlier than 10 weeks if they are going to an experienced handler who knows how to appropriately continue their education. Many breeders will prefer to get the pups out the door as quickly as possible.  Why? Because once puppies are weaned it becomes exponentially more expensive to keep them.  There are vaccinations and much, much more time involved.

Bringing up puppies is labor intensive. There is a window of opportunity for exposing them to new things and making sure their experiences are shaped for the positive.  If you have visited other breeders, I hope that you can the differences in between how many pups are raised and how they should be. This is a lifetime commitment on the part of the puppy.  Consider also that, since we will take back any of our pups at ANY TIME during its life if you are unable to keep it, we also have an investment in making sure great dogs go out the door!

One lesson they are learning now is that adult dogs can say "no".  To this point, their world has been one of I demand and You supply.  Now their mother is enforcing rules and they also have to earn their food by practicing manners. (growing up sucks). In the next few weeks, they will meet other adult dogs and learn how to properly interact with them. I cannot reinforce this enough, but do NOT allow your puppy to interact with dogs that you do not personally know.  You are their protector and they trust the decisions you make. Don't let them down by introducing them to a dog that is going to jump on them and bite. Puppy will learn that they should act tough and threaten first the next time, which is not something you want them to learn. Likewise, understand that a stable, reasonable adult dog will make doggie corrections to the puppy that gets out of hand. Resist the temptation to swoop in and protect your baby (who may indeed shriek at the imposition, as I heard one do this morning when Momma reinforced NO) unless it is apparent that things are out of hand.  When a puppy (or dog) yipes and cries, I do not soothe it and say "what's the matter?".  I simply give it a pat and say "no big deal" and move on.  The pup will learn not to dwell on the insult and to move on, rather than act injured and get attention.

No matter what age the puppy goes home, remember that they are always learning, even if you are not formally teaching a lesson. I will cover some useful tips for training in upcoming posts.

 

Puppy Attitudes and Aptitude

Today we evaluated the puppies using the Volhard Puppy Aptitude test.  This was developed by Wendy and Joachim Volhard, and originally published in 1979.  Here is a link to the 2003 version, if you are interested:http://www.volhard.com/puppy/pat.htm  

I had printed an older version which did not include the umbrella test, and didn't realize until I looked up the link to add here.  The PAT was developed to determine which pups will make the best pets, and there are some things that they score as being not so desirable that I like to see in a working dog.  The environment is so important in the development of the puppies, and one thing that was evident in the testing today was that all the attention that I have been giving to Diablo had an impact.  He was a very cooperative and willing little man today.

You may also be interested to read the PAWS working dog evaluation, developed by Jona Decker. The Malinut Page » PAWS Working Dog Evaluation

PAWS stands for Possessiveness, attention, willingness.  With any of the tests, these are solely the results on one moment in time in their life and can be affected by when they ate or slept, and how full of themselves they feel at the moment.  For the PAT test, we took the pups to an area they had not been before and they were evaluated by a person they had never met.  The tester, Donna Matey ( Future Home of Donna Matey and Banner Dogs ) was struck by the fact that all were willing to come to her when called and follow her, despite the fact that Tom and I were present.  They did not cling to us, or refuse to go to a stranger.

Category I: Social Attraction.  This measures the degree of social attraction, confidence or dependence.  The testor coaxes the pup to her by clapping hands gently and kneeling down.  With these pups, such coaxing was not necessary; you simply have to call them! The tests were reproduced using D'jango so that I could take photographs, as during the actual test I was busy making notations.

All the pups came with tails up.  Dark, Diablo and Doc all leaped up on the testor and bit at her hands, D'jango jumped up on her and Danica came in but did not jump up.

CATEGORY II: Following.  This measures the degree of following attraction. Not following inddicates independence.  In this test, the testor walks away in a normal manner and sees if the pups follows.

All the pups followed readily, tail up. D'jango was the most fun to watch, as he exhibited a beautiful quartering pattern as Donna turned in different directions!  Dark followed but got underfoot.  In the testing, this is viewed as being more controlling.

Category III:  Restraint.  Measures the degree of dominant or submissive tendency and how the pup accepts stress when socially and/or physically dominated.  In this exercise, the testor crouches down and gently rolls the pup on his back and holds it in place with one hand for 30 seconds.

 

D'jango and Danica were most accepting of restraint, struggling briefly and then settling.  Doc and Dark were at the other end of the scale, struggling and biting to be let loose.  Diablo struggled, then settled, a testament to the work we have done with him.  Later in the day, when Bill visited, he was accepting of the position with him, as well. (I think aliens abducted him)

CATEGORY IV: Social Dominance.  Measures the degree of acceptance or social dominance.  For this the testor lets the pup stand up after the restraint and gently strokes as she crouches beside the pup until a recognizable behavior is observed.

Dark, Danica and Doc all jumped back up on the testor, pawing and biting at her hands.  The biting is typical puppy stuff, and no one growled.  The PAT test includes growling in the scoring, but none of the pups were interacting meanly with the testor.  Diablo, bless his heart, tried to cuddle up with the testor and did not even try to bite!  D'jango left the testor and stood next to Tom and I.  He wagged his tail back and forth and then returned to the testor.

CATEGORY V:  Elevation.  Looks at whether the pup accepts dominance while in a position of no control.  The testor bends over and cradles the pup under its belly, fingers interlaced, and elevates just off the ground for 30 seconds.

Dark was not fond of the elevation at all, struggled and bit at the testor. Danica did not struggle at all.  In fact, she looked as if she was falling asleep in a hammock! D'jango, Diablo and Doc struggled, then settled.

CATEGORY VI: Retrieving.  Shows the degree of willingness to work with a human.  All the puppies but Dark exhuberantly pursued the crumpled up paper used as a retrieve item, and brought it happily back to the testor.  Danica showed a special creativeness by first stealing the wooden spoon (used for another test) I had placed on a lawn chair and carrying that around!  I wish I had taken a picture of that!  Dark chased the item and carried it back partway before dropping it and running back to the testor. 

CATEGORY VII: Touch Sensitivity.  A dog that is insensitive to touch can be difficult to train and manage. D'jango, Dark and Diablo  reacted between 3-4 seconds and Danica and Doc reacted between 5-6 seconds.

CATEGORY VIII:  Sound Sensitivity;   Shows the degree of sensitivity to sound and is also a rudimentary test for deafness.  The testor makes a sharp noise a few feet from the puppy and the reaction is observed.

All the pups listened to the sound and approached it.  None of them were wary or aggressive and none of them barked.  Dark and Diablo heard the loud noise and RAN toward it, expectantly.

CATEGORY IX: Sight Sensitivity.  Checks the degree of intelligent response to a strange object.  We tied a string on a piece of chamois and jerked it across the ground.  The pups had never seen this object before.  Every single pup, looked at that, chased and bit it!  I like to see this reaction in a working dog.

SCORES:

D'jango   2/3/4/6/4/3/4/3/1

Dark        1/2/1/1/1/4/4/3/1

Diablo      1/3/3/3/4/3/4/3/1

Danica      3/3/4/1/3/3/3/3/1

Doc          1/3/1/1/4/3/3/3/1

Danica was very willing and sweet in testing today. Diablo was wonderful and Dark showed an interesting side of himself.  As the pups start to have separate time now many of those observations will be possible.  Being part of a group allows one or two pups to capture attention, or for the gang to have confidence together.

<yawn> I wanted to get this posted so you can see the results.  Come back again tomorrow, as I will answer some of the questions that came up during recent puppy visits, about training, socialization and the (not) magic 49th Day.

Sit-Upons and Dry Bottoms

Do you remember Sit-Upons? As a Brownie-- and then Girl Scout-- in Northern Wisconsin, making a Sit-Upon was one of those rites of passage, along with crafts that involved glueing seeds. This involved taking two pieces of oil cloth (I can't remember what went in the middle?)  roughly the size it would take to cover a young girl's bottom, punching holes on the edges and lacing a piece of cloth through that which then could be tied around your waist.  Then, wherever you sat, you had a ready-made dry place to perch.

Almost as ingenious as the invention of S'mores. Real S'mores must be made by toasting a marshmallow over a fire, generally to the point of catching fire and blackening at the edges, and then smashing the gooey mess in between two graham crackers along with a piece of Hershey chocolate bar. S'mores do NOT come in the form of pop tarts or ice cream flavors and I doubt that microwaving a Peep and placing it on a graham cracker counts, either.  Real S'mores require a camp fire setting.  And probably a Sit-Upon.

What led me to considering this dilemma of modern times was the fact that we have had abit of rain lately and opted to watch the fireworks last night from the comfort of our van.  Sitting on the ground wasn't going to be an option, and is one of those things that is probably much more fun minus about thirty years. The fireworks in Appleton were beautiful and seemed to go on forever.  Just when you thought they were finished, another beautiful starburst would break the sky.  On our drive home we could see the fireworks displays in two other towns. The pupsters have not minded the rain at all and it is only humans who worry about a dry place to sit.

And speaking of dry, do you remember the experiment involving placing crates in the night-time puppy box? The first night was not successful and then I suggested removing the dog bed from the other compartment and putting down newspapers, since outdoors the pups prefer to move away from their sleeping/play areas to potty.  We still had poop in the crates the next morning, though.  So last night, we got the pups out for a later potty break and were up this morning before they woke up themselves. There were no messes in the crates!  Success!

In a matter of hours, they will be inundated with visitors. They will be evaluated and played with.  No rides to the gas station this morning, since Tom is having breakfast with his brother and said he would pick up a newspaper.  I told him I didn't think they would sell him a paper unless he had a puppy along! 

The birds are singing.  I think they are trying to tell me to fill the feeders, but I'll ignore it long enough to make coffee. It's another beautiful day for the Pupsters!

Enough sense to come in out of the rain

I guess this just proves it-- the pups don't have the sense to come in out of the rain!  Or, it could be that all that gunfire and pans clanging has caused them to disregard a little thunder and rain!  We had a nice little downpour this morning and when I looked out to see how they were doing, they were busy wrestling and running and were not in the least bothered by the weather conditions!  I wouldn't have thought the rain would be a problem, as they are in and out of their pool and usually wet! Tom said earlier, when it was raining hard they were sound asleep under the playhouse.

I loaded some of the photos with their visitors the other day.  The little boy thought the pups were cute, but tractors and fireman helmets (from my Search and Rescue gear) are MUCH more fun!

Every day I take a couple pups with me to the service station in town, when I pick up my morning paper.  Today Doc and D'jango were the lucky ones.  This was the first day that the pups rode in separate crates instead of on the buddy system.  That made it much easier for me to access one pup at a time without his friend trying to bail out at the same time.  You can see them below, being very patient.  If you notice the multitude of collars in between the crates, hanging on a carabineer, which Tom lovingly refers to as my "redneck wind chimes", the pups also get to listen to them jingle, adding yet one more environmental oddity.

This is Ron and Vickie, the owners of the service station.  I knock on the window and ask "who wants to see the cutest puppies in the world?" and guess what? People come out and visit us.  As you can see, Ron and Vickie are dog lovers.

This is Doc with a woman who agreed to hold him while I took a picture.

  This was the first experience with a collar and leash for Doc and D'jango, and other than a minor bucking bronco episode, they were quite cooperative.  I gave the lady some treats (small pieces of Natural Balance) and instructed her on our lessons on "sitting".

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful.  On Tuesdays I do maintenance with some local police dogs and so they also get to play with the officers.  Danica found that she could crawl under the fence if she squiggled just right (since corrected) because she soooo wanted to join in all the fun!  I had to tell her that she is probably not destined to be a police dog, but my training partner, Sue, is constantly eyeing up the pups as detector dog prospects! 

Tomorrow will be a full day for the Pupsters!

Monday and vaccinations

The pups received their first vaccination today. They have been wormed 3 times so far with Nemex2 wormer, as well.  The vaccination was from Ford Dodge, Duramune Max 5/4L which includes Canine Distemper, Adenovirus Type 2, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus and Lepto.  In the past we have been cautious about administering Lepto, as some dogs can have an anaphylactic reaction to it and our Aryan did.  However, our vet has advised that there is an increase in the Lepto cases they are seeing and we felt it was best to include it again.  We keep an eye on the pups after their vaccinations for swelling or respiratory difficulty that would signal the need for an antihistamine.  The pups are still taking a swig off mom every day and so have continued to receive immunity through her.  Now that they are venturing into the big, wide world, they need their own system.

We give our own vaccinations, except for rabies which must be administered by a licensed vet.  We prefer to avoid bringing young puppies to the waiting room of a place where sick animals go!  There was one puppy who protested and apparently has a lower pain threshold (or was just unhappy about being held and poked) and that was D'jango.  We will see how the pain threshold test turns out on Wednesday, as part of the Vollhard Puppy Aptitude test.  In general, I have seen all of them take tumbles and run into things with nary a hesitation and no whiners. 

Diablo and Dark were selected for the Car Ride of the Day, and accompanied me to the gas station to pick up the morning newspaper.  They rode well, no messes or up-chucks and got to come out and get loved on, so all was well.

When we went to bed last night, Diablo was in one crate in their night pen and Doc was in the other.  There was too much room in the crate, and not enough outside and the night was too long; we did have a poop in one of the crates (will have to do DNA or check the rifling to be sure of the culprit!) ....so that may be an experiment whose time has not yet come.

Sunday with the Pups

The pups had a very busy day today.  Friends of ours stopped by around noon with their little boy and girl. I think their ages were around 2 and 4, but I'm not good at estimating those things. We spent two hours playing with the pups, two by two so as not to overwhelm the kids.  Next came a family from Stevens Point who wanted to visit and see if our munsters were what they were looking for.  They had three young boys and the boys were very good, following instructions on handling and feeding and I doled out pieces of hamburger as they prompted the "sit".  Only once did I have to separate pup from shirt on a sneak attack from the rear! At the end of their two hour visit, the pups lay like road kill, scattered here and there on the concrete patio, curled up and sound asleep.  One pup was having little puppy dreams and making cute little noises but the dream must have been fairly peaceful as there were no little legs pumping!  Young kids move and sound different from adults, even the well-behaved ones.  It was a good exposure for the young pupsters.

This evening they woke up long enough for another burst of energy and ran in the yard as fireworks boomed in the distance.  They pay no attention.  Diablo and Doc decided that my tomato planters made a fun agility course.  I have four large wooden planters that were meant for patio tomatos, although none have yet found their home there this season and mostly the birds sit on the lip and fish for dropped seeds.  Speaking of birds, one of the red-winged blackbirds was unhappy that I was devoting time to dogs instead of filling feeders and he made several trips to perch on the feeder and complain!  At any rate, the pups decided to climb up and then jump from pot to pot and off.  Wheeee!

Dark wins the Energizer Bunny award of the day.  He was still romping around as the others had crashed.  D'jango was doing so well on sitting to be petted, and all were attracted to the stinkiness of my new composter and thought they could gnaw their way in. Eiiuuueeewww!

Tonight they found an addition to their sleeping quarters; two plastic dog crates with rugs inside to sleep on.  What we have found in the past is that this helps to acclimate them to the concept of being crated and also they learn to keep their sleeping area clean.  They snuggle up in the crate and go outside to potty.  Tomorrow morning we will discover how well the first night went.

Rule of 7's

There is an article written by Pat Schaap regarding puppy socialization in which she advises that by the time a puppy is seven weeks old, he/she should have had certain experiences of 7 varieties.  As an example, she says that a pup should have been on seven different types of surfaces and played with seven different types of toys.  I am not sure where the number 7 was plucked from, or whether it truly has any significance (is 6 not enough? 8 too much?)  I think the purpose was simply to make certain that the pups had variety in their young environment, so that they are as well-rounded as possible when they go to their new homes.

7 different surfaces

The pups started out in their whelping box where the surfaces included wood, newspaper, throw rugs and carpeting.   Once they were "released to the wild" they have traveled on the concrete and gravel of the driveway, grass, ceramic tile and the many surfaces in their Challenge Course that they have climbed on.  They tend to make anything interactive, and climb up on the lawnmower, through the wire bird pens and over wood pallets.  In the house, they are on hard wood floor, rugs and carpeting.

Played with 7 different types of objects

It's rather funny to define what they have played with because, in addition to actual toys, they pretty much make anything a toy!  We have a container filled with puppy appropriate toys that they have explored which includes balls of various sizes, rubber balls, knotted rope balls, cloth frisbee, "squirrel", tug ropes, stuff toys.  The toys changed in their puppy paddock so that they are constantly investigating new things, and sometimes that means baby kong toys or balls, and sometimes tug toys.  We have a special toy we called "sneaky snake" which is a soft, two headed tug toy with a snake head on each end and squeakers in the heads.  This toy only comes out with human interaction. 

 One important thing is to keep the MOST FUN TOY for yourself.  This toy only comes out when you play with your puppy.  He/she does not have free access to the best toys so that he looks forward to you playing with him.  I also do not overwhelm the puppy with toys at home.  Give the pup one or two toys suitable for chewing on, not an entire toy box.  Change up the toys, so new toys are presented every so often.  And remember to keep the most special toys for your times together, and then they go away until the next time.

Don't leave toys with puppies that can either be torn apart and consumed or have dangerous stuffings, squeakers fall out.  Likewise, toys that have become too small and can obstruct the airway.  I do not like tennis balls because the abrasive surface can erode the enamel on the teeth.

Been in 7 different locations

Of course, the pups started out in their whelping box.  Their next temporary confinement location was the exercise pen, and now the puppy paddock.  The list of 7 includes front yard, back yard, etc...well, the pups have been in all the yards around the house and off exploring in the tall grass fields.  They have been in the garage, in the house and ridden in the van.

met and played with 7 different people

We have enjoyed visitors, and the schutzhund club members come up after training every Saturday to play with the gang.  Chuck, Sue, Sam, Lisa, Eric...and others.  Mike Kriegl, who has selected Danica as his own monster pup...I mean MUNSTER... has visited with a friend several times. People bringing their dogs here for boarding have been commanded to play with pups, as well, but that doesn't take much of an arm twisting!  Our friends Joel & Linda and their teenage daughter, Faith, recently spent several hours entertaining and being entertained.  There have been adults and children but I haven't had any handicapped people visit.  We will probably haul the crutches down from the training building that we use for the CGC test, and expose the pups to that. 

It is more important that the socialization is positive and supervised, rather than throwing pups into any crazy situation.  I want my own dogs to ignore children, because they know the best things in life come through me, and children have never been a source of reward for them.  They don't dislike children, and can be fed and petted in our demos, but they really don't care about playing with them.   Children can scare puppies and hurt them, if they are not instructed and supervised.

 

Been exposed to 7 challenges

Oh, there have been so many challenges, it is hard to keep track.  The author of the article listed such things as climbing or being in a tunnel.  Well, their existence is a series of challenges!  They climb up steps, across rubble, through tunnels, through wire bird pens, into the swimming pool.  There doesn't seem to be such a thing as a "challenge" in their world yet; there are no roadblocks, only speed bumps.

Eaten from 7 different containers

Does mom count? <grin>  The pups have eaten from pie plates, ceramic dishes, stainless steel dog dishes, my hand, muffin tins, bowls and cookie sheets.  And tried to steel treats from my plastic bag....

Eaten in 7 different locations

The pups eat whereever the food is!  They have eaten in their whelping box, the Xpen, puppy paddock, back patio, on a wood pallet, in the side yards, at the gas station on the car ride...and any place that the food dish goes down!  We have made it a point to feed them in many different places so that they don't think eating can only occur in one location, or from a particular container. 

 

So there is a basic explanation of the Rule of 7's by 7(weeks).   The reason why a breeder should try and make these exposures by week 7 is because puppies have no fear until about the 5th week of life with fear increasing gradually through the 6th week, and escalating toward the end of the 7th week.  The onset of the fear period can be very sudden,  but the duration and experience can vary between individuals and breeds.  It is for this reason that many breeders do not release a pup to a new home between weeks 8-9 when the pup will begin a time of much more caution.