Update from the Whelping Box-Week 3

The third week of a pup’s life is marked by huge milestones. It’s like they turn into puppies (as most people think of puppies) overnight.

This litter was born on May 23rd, 2014! There are adorable, chocolate, fleece-coated, medium-sized Australian Labradoodles. There are 5 puppies in this litter-1 boy and 4 girls. They are all THREE WEEKS OLD NOW!

Here it is, Day 21 or Week 3, and just look at what’s happened:

• Walking has become the preferred method of ambulation (instead of crawling).  Granted, it’s still a drunken-sailor walk, but they’re up on all fours!
• Their vision is becoming usable. When they “see” things now, they react appropriately with sniffs or puzzlement or growls or barks or pounces.
• They recognize each other (oh boy, litter mates!).
• They play with each other. Okay, so it doesn’t last very long, but they do “play” for short stretches.
• They wrassle. :O)
• They’re feeling secure with their humans, not just with Fiona.
• They can pant and lap.
• They have started to grow in (ouch! for Fiona) teeth!  Their baby teeth are just poking through their gums, and just like human babies, this is uncomfortable for them.  They’re beginning to feel the need to chew (look out world!)
• They can voluntarily sit, stand, roll over, scratch, paw, wag their tails, chew, investigate objects they “see” (still blurry, but visible), and are just beginning to climb.

We are accepting deposits for this litter now!

Here are some pictures of the adorable puppies!

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Pets on the Furniture

Question: Should I allow my dog on the bed, couch and other furniture?

Some people think that dogs should not be allowed on the bed and sofa because it can cause aggression or other behavior issues. Is there really anything wrong with letting a dog lie on the bed, couch and other furniture?

Answer: In general, letting your dog on the furniture is not going to cause problems – behavioral or otherwise. Dogs love to curl up on the sofa, the bed, and anywhere else that’s nice and soft. They also like to spend time in their humans’ favorite spots. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide the rules of your household and stand firm.

Behavioral Effects

Allowing dogs on the furniture will not necessarily make them believe they are in charge. It will not suddenly cause aggression or dominance. However, if you inadvertently reinforce certain behaviors, you will be sending the wrong message. Any dog that growls or snaps at you when you try to sit down should be removed from the furniture. If your dog refuses to move when you approach, he should be removed. Finally, if your dog “hogs” the bed or sofa, leaving no room for you, he should be removed. Making the furniture off-limits can be a temporary or permanent arrangement, depending on your preference.

Health and Safety Concerns

Many owners prefer to keep their dogs off the furniture because of the mess (e.g., hair, dirt and debris). Taking this a step further, some people are concerned about the potential for the spread of disease. There are a handful of diseases that are considered zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted to humans from animals. A few examples include Rabies, parasitic infections, fungal infections and even plague. However, if you keep your dog healthy, the risk is very minimal. Whether you allow your dog on the furniture or not, all dogs should visit the vet every 6-12 months for an overall wellness check-up. A dog that has been vaccinated, is kept free of fleas, and is regularly checked and/or treated for parasites poses very little threat. You can minimize the amount of outdoor germs and debris your dog brings in the house by wiping the paws, spot-cleaning as needed, and occasional bathing.

Keeping Your Dog Off the Furniture

Even a dog that is allowed on the furniture should have his own special spot, such as a dog bed and/or a crate.

To keep your dog from getting on furniture, some basic training is necessary. Begin by teaching your dog the off command. Next, he should be taught the go to your place command. If your dog tries to jump on the bed or sofa, simply say “off” followed by “go to your place”. Reward him when he complies. It is equally important to be sure your dog does not have access to the furniture while you are away. This is where crate training becomes helpful. While you are gone, keep your dog in the crate or confined in a small room away from the forbidden furniture.

After successful training, you may choose to conditionally allow your dog on the bed or couch. However, he will need to earn it. After all, it is a privilege – not a right. Before jumping on the furniture, your dog should be made to sit. Once he has obeyed one or more commands of your choosing, you can pat the couch or bed, allowing him up. If he oversteps the boundaries, he will need to get off the furniture. You must be consistent for this to be affective, otherwise, your dog cannot understand what you are asking of him.

Some owners prefer to keep their dogs off the furniture as a household rule. This might be for the purpose of cleanliness, to prevent damage, or for other reasons. As long as he has his own spot, he will be just fine. Be sure everyone in the household understands and enforces the rules. Inconsistency will confuse your dog and make the training process very difficult.

Why Do Dogs Chase Their Tails?

Do you know why dogs chase their tails? Why do dogs run in circles? This dizzying behavior makes dog lovers curious. What could possibly cause a canine to twirl around this way, nipping at part of his own anatomy?

A dog chasing its tail can seem like a random, somewhat silly activity. Researchers aren’t sure exactly why so many dogs pursue this fruitless pursuit. One reason dogs chase their tails may be simply because they are bored and their tails are moving. In this case, provide some mental stimulation for the animal. Since a hyperactive dog might resort to tail chasing, providing more physical activity may provide a solution since a tired dog is less apt to chase its tail. However, there are certain breeds that have a higher tendency to show spinning, circling or tail chasing behavior, among them, Bull terriers and herding breeds. It could be that the dog learned to chase its tail early on in its litter with all the other puppies. Tail chasing can also be caused by stress, discomfort from an itchy infection, or because of underlying genetics or medical conditions.

Always report to us any unusual behaviors as they may indicate medical or behavioral problems that can be treated. We have facilities for boarding dogs and cats. Our practice includes acupuncture and laser therapy to reduce pain and promote faster healing. Payment plans are available through CareCredit, and we can help you with pet insurance claims.

P.S. If tail chasing becomes a problem, contact the veterinarian to rule out something serious.

Socializing Your New Puppy

It’s a big world out there…

The great big world seems even bigger to brand-new puppies. You can help your pup learn to be brave and friendly by proper socializing him to new people, places, and experiences.

Vaccinations
Although it is vital that you take your puppy out to experience the world, you must wait until he is fully vaccinated to get him out and about. There are lots of dangerous and even deadly diseases that your dog can pick up from other dogs, and even from the ground they walk on.

Safe Visits
Since your not-yet vaccinated puppy really shouldn’t go out into the world until he is vaccinated, you can bring a little of the world in to him. Invite friends, especially friends with well-behaved children, over to play nicely with your pup. These initial interactions with strangers will help to form your puppy’s future feelings about meeting people who aren’t family. Just make sure visitors wash their hands thoroughly before playing with your unvaccinated puppy. Also, make sure visitors leave their shoes by the door. Diseases like parvo or kennel cough can be carried in from the ground on people’s shoes.

Play, Play, Play
Spend LOTS of time playing with your puppy. This is your chance to cement your relationship with your pooch from day one. Show your dog you are calm, assertive, and loving from the very start and you’ll be in good shape. Remember to discourage any behavior you don’t want your dog to display from the very first time. Puppies nipping at your hands may seem harmless, but if you encourage it, or let it continue happen, you may end up with a nipping adult dog, and that isn’t so cute.

Rewards
Figure out what motivates your pup. Some pups are most motivated by food, some by toys, and others by affection. Once you know what really gets your pup excited, use it to praise him for calm, submissive behavior in every new situation. Give him lots and lots of verbal praise every time he approaches a new situation without fear.

Different People
Once your puppy is fully-vaccinated, take him out to lots of dog-friendly places, and introduce him to people. Make sure he gets to meet lots of different people. Try to let him meet men, women, tall people, short people, people with facial hair, and people with different colored skin. This will help your pup be friendly with strangers and avoid aggression out of fear.

Different Ages
Let your pup meet both adults and children. Children and adults generally have a very different manner around animals. Children tend to have less respect for boundaries; they tend to move more erratically, and are often louder.

Different Animals
It is a good idea to introduce your dog to different animals as well. Dogs who are made familiar with animals like cats, ferrets or rabbits as puppies tend to have less prey drive. This means they will be less likely to chase or attack the family bunny or the neighbor’s cat

Vet Visits
Help your dog get comfortable with going to the vet by taking him for visits when he isn’t getting poked or prodded. Give his favorite treat or toy to an employee and let them play with and reward him. If he thinks the vet is a fun place where he will receive praise, he will be a lot less likely to fear it.

 

Puppy Training at Seven Weeks

Housetraining

• The first step in training any puppy, no matter his age, is to establish house rules by housetraining him. Both the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommend taking a new puppy outside at least every two hours for at least the first few months after he’s been adopted. A puppy’s bladder is small and needs to be emptied much more frequently than an adult dog’s bladder. Because of this, puppies should be walked immediately after they wake up, eat or drink. Without having instant access to an outdoor toilet, they will certainly go potty indoors. Housetraining a puppy successfully can take weeks or months and usually depends on the dog’s personality and intelligence.

Showing Leadership

• It’s common for dog trainers to tell owners that their dogs will never obey commands unless the dog being trained sees the person giving the command in a dominant position. When dominance training includes physical punishment or verbal abuse, especially with young puppies, the dogs being trained can quickly develop anxiety and phobias as a result. A more gentle way owners can establish leadership is by turning their backs and ignoring the puppy anytime he misbehaves, such as jumping on visitors, biting or barking. If the behavior continues, a trainer will usually put the puppy in a quiet room alone with a chew toy so he doesn’t get overly bored or destructive. After ten minutes, the dog is released. This method teaches puppies which behaviors are not allowed in their home.

Controlling Diet

• Owners and trainers help teach pets who’s the boss by feeding puppies on a schedule. A key rule when training a puppy is to never leave a bowl of food down for the puppy to eat on all day. Instead, owners make sure they are at home every time their puppies are fed and that they immediately take the dogs for a walk afterward. When training a puppy, an owner should also hand feed him for several weeks. If the puppy acts aggressive or growls while eating, it is common practice to immediately take the food away, wait five minutes and try hand feeding the dog again. Feeding on a schedule or hand feeding a puppy teaches the puppy who controls his food.

Praise

• It is important for owners of young puppies to show patience and remember that accidents do and will happen. Constantly scolding a puppy runs the risk of turning him into a timid and nervous pet, according to tips provided by the Humane Society of the United States. Dogs develop their behaviors based on what is expected of them, and praising a puppy helps teach him what behavior is expected. Whenever a puppy does something a trainer wants, the trainer will pet him, call him a good boy and give him a tasty treat or playtime with a favorite toy.

Socialization

• Owners can socialize a puppy by taking him to a dog park or arranging a play date with a friend’s dog soon after adoption. This is critical to his behavioral development. Properly socializing a 7-week-old puppy helps him learn social hierarchy and understand who his master is. It can also help prevent puppies from growing into nervous and anxious canines.

   

Puppy Update-4 Weeks Old!

This litter was born on January 4, 2013! There are adorable, chocolate, fleece-coated, medium-sized Australian Labradoodles. There are 7 puppies in this litter-6 boys and 1 girl. They are all FOUR WEEKS OLD NOW!

The little ones are fine and thriving, and they are turning into real puppies now! They’re up on their feet, wagging their tales, seeing, hearing, playing with toys, romping, and chewing on each other (and biting each other’s ears, which hurts with those sharp puppy teeth).  They’re getting much more 1:1 time with us, apart from each other, and we’re beginning gentle redirection on things like puppy biting and jumping to which they are responding quite well (they are *so* eager to please!).

They’re still nursing, but we’ll slowly introduce them to solid food toward the end of this week with the goal of transitioning them completely by the time they’re six weeks old. They should be weaned by their six-week-old vet visit for check-ups and vaccines.

Just two days ago, on a sunny 65-degree day, we carried each outside to experience the feel of the sun and breeze and the sounds of planes overhead, wind chimes, and bird calls.  All were appropriately timid at first but seemed to relax and enjoy the adventure. They now love to romp around in the grass and follow us around.

Socialization: Four to Six Weeks

From four to six weeks, puppies continue to be influenced by their mother and littermates. They learn to play, gaining needed social skills from littermates, such as inhibited biting (biting to play, not to hurt). The puppies also learn the ins and outs of group structure and ranking within the group.  The puppies are being socialized with humans, have a variety of people interacting with them – young (with supervision) and old, male and female. House-training can begin as early as five weeks, when puppies will follow their mother through a dog door or can be taken out for elimination lessons. At approximately six weeks, puppies can begin in-home training.  His first collar and lead will be introduced, he will be encouraged to come using his name, and reward him with praise and treats. At this age, you can also start training puppies with positive reinforcement methods: using a clicker, praise, and rewards.

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Update from the Whelping Box-Week 3

Though I know well that the third week of a pup’s life is marked by huge milestones. It’s like they turn into puppies (as most people think of puppies) overnight.

This litter was born on January 4, 2013! There are adorable, chocolate, fleece-coated, medium-sized Australian Labradoodles. There are 7 puppies in this litter-6 boys and 1 girl. They are all THREE WEEKS OLD NOW!

Here it is, Day 21 or Week 3, and just look at what’s happened:

• Walking has become the preferred method of ambulation (instead of crawling).  Granted, it’s still a drunken-sailor walk, but they’re up on all fours!
• Elimination and voiding is now something they do on their own. Fiona is cleaning less; the humans are cleaning more. 🙂
• The pups get up from where they’re sleeping and waddle over to a different part of the whelping box to potty, then waddle back to the puppy pile. They’re instinctively pottying in places other than where they sleep.
• Their vision is becoming usable. When they “see” things now, they react appropriately with sniffs or puzzlement or growls or barks or pounces.
• They recognize each other (oh boy, litter mates!).
• They play with each other. Okay, so it doesn’t last very long, but they do “play” for short stretches.
• They wrassle. :O)
• They’re feeling secure with their humans, not just with Fiona.
• They can pant and lap.
• They have started to grow in (ouch! for Fiona) teeth!  Their baby teeth are just poking through their gums, and just like human babies, this is uncomfortable for them.  They’re beginning to feel the need to chew (look out world!)
• They can voluntarily sit, stand, roll over, scratch, paw, wag their tails, chew, investigate objects they “see” (still blurry, but visible), and are just beginning to climb.
• This morning, I noticed that the puppies might be responding to sound, so I suspect their ears may be starting to unseal.
• We will be giving the puppies their litter names this weeks also!

We are accepting deposits for this litter now!

Here are some pictures of the adorable puppies!

 

Puppies!!!

Fiona produced a litter of 7 puppies last night-January 4, 2013! There are 6 boys and 1 girl in this litter! They are all medium-sized, chocolate-colored, fleece-coated Australian Labradoodles! Beautiful dogs that are non-shedding, hypoallergenic, and highly intelligent!

As breeders of these extraordinarily friendly family companions we want to extend to others the joy and companionship these dogs bring into our lives.

The Labradoodles are so popular because:

• Extraordinarily friendly family companions
• Non-shedding
• Social with people and other dogs
• Playful and witty in personality
• Allergy friendly
• Eager to learn and please
• Excellent water dogs and retrievers

As a small family breeder our dogs and puppies enjoy socialization by our family. As part of our family, our doodles not only enjoy our property they also join us at all kinds of extracurricular activities, such as football, and swim team, which also allows us to socialize our dogs in the public too.

Feel free to contact me at the following for more information!

Phone- 1 (307) 413-5891

Email-clancyaussiedoodles@hotmail.com

Clancy Aussie Doodles on Facebook- www.facebook.com/ClancyAussieDoodles

Pinterest- http://pinterest.com/clancydoodles/

Our pictures on Flickr- http://www.flickr.com/photos/clancyaussiedoodles/

Teaching Children to Care for Pets

 

You’ve finally gotten that family pet that you and your children have always wanted. A pet can be a wonderful experience for children, teaching them about responsibility, love and how to care for another living thing. But it can take some work from you to teach children how to care for pets.

You may want to make a pet care chart in order to keep track of your child’s responsibilities.

Instructions

1. Talk to your child about their responsibilities regarding the pet.  Decide with your child what your child’s chores will be when caring for the pet. Be willing to negotiate and compromise. Perhaps you will take care of cleaning up after the pet, if your children take care of feeding and watering the pet.
2. Make sure your children’s chores are age appropriate. A 5-year-old child may be able to help you clean a hamster cage, but they won’t be able to do it on their own.
3. Make up a pet care chart that clearly explains your child’s chores. Whenever your children take care of a chore, check off a box or put a sticker on the chore chart. Give them a prize, such as a movie out or a pizza night whenever they get a certain amount of stickers or checks.
4. Teach children the benefits of having pets. Not only should they have the responsibilities associated with pets, but they should have the joys too. Teach young children how to pet dogs and cats and show them how to hold smaller animals such as guinea pigs and hamsters. Teach children to be gentle around the pet so your pet doesn’t fear your child. Allow children to feed, train, give treats and play with the pets so your pets become bonded to the children and not only to you.
5. Expect to remind your children of their responsibilities in caring for the pet. In a perfect world, you would not have to remind your children over and over again to do their chores, but children need the repetition. Expect to have to remind them, but don’t expect to have to do the chore yourself, unless your children are very young.

Tips & Warnings

•  A pet that has gone through some training will be easier for your child to care for.
•  If a pet becomes aggressive with a child, separate your child from the pet.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be full of joy, family, and dreams of Labradoodles puppies!

This year I am thankful for my awesome friends and family. I thank God every day for them. I am also thankful for my adorable posse of Australian Labradoodles, whose fluffy faces always bring joy to my day. Furthermore, I am thankful for soon to be CHRISTMAS PUPPIES!!