After much deliberation (mainly because of the £70 fee !) we decided to apply for a kennel name. I like the idea of all the puppies having a common name in their pedigree and it will be exciting if we one day see a dog mentioned that has our kennel name in it !
Our first choice was for "Waterfront" which was chosen because it is the name of the large area being developed here in Edinburgh along the Firth of Forth where we live. Our second choice, in case the first is declined is HarbourGreen which is the name given to the group of houses and flats in our development. You're encouraged to select a few choices as they do checks to make sure the kennel name is not to popular a word or sounds too much like an existing kennel name etc... The lead time is 2-3 weeks before we hear - we will need to wait until we hear back before registering each of the puppies so we know which kennel name to use.
Cost : £70
Friday, 4 June 2010
Monday, 31 May 2010
Puppy crate training
One of the new puppy owners asked me a a very good question about the use of a crate for their new puppy and I thought it may be beneficial to others to share my views on this here.
Just like nearly everything else to do with raising a puppy, there are no shortage of viewpoints as to the best way to do things. With regards to crate training though, it's a fairly agreed consensus that the use of a puppy crate is a very valuable training tool. Of course there are still people who have never used them and fail to see why you would want to. I'm sure that for some people who don't like the idea of a crate, it is because they view it as a cage and think it's mean to confine a puppy to it. Unfortunately they are thinking like a human and not as a dog (very common training mistake but very easy to do when they become such a large part of your family :)
We have always used a crate for Jess, right from her very first trip in the car from the breeder to present day (except until we needed to rearrange everything for the breeding !). I personally would highly recommend the use of a crate for a number of reasons :
- Dogs naturally live in dens. Dens protect them from danger, keep them warm and dry and help to protect their young. In the wild they will burrow holes to sleep in. A crate becomes your puppy's den - somewhere they feel warm and safe. Jess chooses to spend the majority of her sleeping time during the day in her crate. While she has the choice of the whole downstairs floor she prefers to sleep where she feels most comfortable and safe - it's her favourite place in the house :)
- Young puppies cannot be left unsupervised ! A crate provides a safe place for both your puppy and for your furnishings if you cannot watch the puppy for a short time (especially at first, young puppies should never be confined to their crates for more than a 1-2 hours - except at night time)
- Crate training greatly increases the speed and success of toilet training. Dogs by nature do not like to soil their bedding area which helps to teach the puppy when and where to go toilet (ie when you let the puppy out of the crate and take them to the back yard). Obviously to start with a young puppy cannot hold their bladder for more than a few hours so you need to get up in the night, let them out then put them back in.
- Crates are great for travelling - both in the car and when you go and stay at friends places, B&B's, hotels etc. Because your puppy will view their crate as a safe place they will be more comfortable in strange environments if they have the familiarity and comfort of their crate - and it saves you having to worrying about your friends place or hotel room being demolished !
- Crates can help with separation anxiety
This site has some excellent information and training tips associated with the use of a crate
Dog Obedience Training Review
We have 2 crates - a 30" for when Jess was a pup and then a 42" once she got bigger. You could just start with the 42" and section a part of it off. We bought our crates from The Pet Shop in Rugeley. These ones at the UK Dog Crate Company also look very good and reasonable priced.
Just like nearly everything else to do with raising a puppy, there are no shortage of viewpoints as to the best way to do things. With regards to crate training though, it's a fairly agreed consensus that the use of a puppy crate is a very valuable training tool. Of course there are still people who have never used them and fail to see why you would want to. I'm sure that for some people who don't like the idea of a crate, it is because they view it as a cage and think it's mean to confine a puppy to it. Unfortunately they are thinking like a human and not as a dog (very common training mistake but very easy to do when they become such a large part of your family :)
We have always used a crate for Jess, right from her very first trip in the car from the breeder to present day (except until we needed to rearrange everything for the breeding !). I personally would highly recommend the use of a crate for a number of reasons :
- Dogs naturally live in dens. Dens protect them from danger, keep them warm and dry and help to protect their young. In the wild they will burrow holes to sleep in. A crate becomes your puppy's den - somewhere they feel warm and safe. Jess chooses to spend the majority of her sleeping time during the day in her crate. While she has the choice of the whole downstairs floor she prefers to sleep where she feels most comfortable and safe - it's her favourite place in the house :)
- Young puppies cannot be left unsupervised ! A crate provides a safe place for both your puppy and for your furnishings if you cannot watch the puppy for a short time (especially at first, young puppies should never be confined to their crates for more than a 1-2 hours - except at night time)
- Crate training greatly increases the speed and success of toilet training. Dogs by nature do not like to soil their bedding area which helps to teach the puppy when and where to go toilet (ie when you let the puppy out of the crate and take them to the back yard). Obviously to start with a young puppy cannot hold their bladder for more than a few hours so you need to get up in the night, let them out then put them back in.
- Crates are great for travelling - both in the car and when you go and stay at friends places, B&B's, hotels etc. Because your puppy will view their crate as a safe place they will be more comfortable in strange environments if they have the familiarity and comfort of their crate - and it saves you having to worrying about your friends place or hotel room being demolished !
- Crates can help with separation anxiety
This site has some excellent information and training tips associated with the use of a crate
Dog Obedience Training Review
We have 2 crates - a 30" for when Jess was a pup and then a 42" once she got bigger. You could just start with the 42" and section a part of it off. We bought our crates from The Pet Shop in Rugeley. These ones at the UK Dog Crate Company also look very good and reasonable priced.
Sunday, 30 May 2010
The truth about commercial pet food
For those that are interested, an excellent article from "Born Free USA" (a US national animal advocacy non-profit organisation) titled "What's really in Pet Food" is a real eye-opener.
"What most consumers don’t know is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food and agriculture industries. Pet food provides a convenient way for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered “unfit for human consumption,” and similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, heads, hooves, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts....."
The article can be viewed from the Born Free USA website here
"What most consumers don’t know is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food and agriculture industries. Pet food provides a convenient way for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered “unfit for human consumption,” and similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, heads, hooves, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts....."
The article can be viewed from the Born Free USA website here
Saturday, 29 May 2010
Week two photos
Here are some pictures of week 2 - you can see the cute collars we have on them now :) They started opening their eyes today ! Not all have yet but a few have had their first peek at the big wide world - then hurriedly gone back to sleep :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brentharlow/sets/72157624161046854/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brentharlow/sets/72157624161046854/
Friday, 28 May 2010
11 days old
Feels like 11 weeks already ! Can't believe it's not even been 2 weeks yet. The pups are all doing really well, and so is Jess - she is back to her diet in full swing - munched down a huge turkey wing for dinner :)
All the pups have now doubled their birth weight which is excellent progress. We've been weighing them daily up till now and making sure the lightest couple of pups get on the back teats first when Jess gets back in the box with them. They're currently all sucking greedily away now as I type this up :) When she first lies down in the box it's like a sea of wriggling fat worms ! They can obviously smell her and start to go mad trying to get on to a teat. The pups on the top teats are often carried right off the floor and end up body surfing on the ones on the teats below. It's amazing to watch the incredible tenacity they have to feed themselves. They will push and push like mad with their little back feet and if need be, not spare a thought for their sibling that they've just managed to push off ! This is where the heavier ones have an advantage :)
As of yesterday morning there were 3 pups tipping the scales at just over 1kg. We're reducing the weighing frequency down to weekly now. There is still a 200g variation between the heaviest boy and the lightest girl but that will be easier to level out once the pups are weaned.
We've got new collars for them - the nail polish needs to be re-applied every couple of days and is not that easy to spot. We've gone with these collars based on recommendations from other breeders that have used them on Labrador Forums and the testimonials on the website itself. The use of collars on pups is something else (like seemingly every little matter) is cause for great discussion amongst the breeding world. Some say they use them all the time, others would sooner hand over their first born then put collars on their pups. I can see valid arguments for both, but it certainly makes it far easier to identify them ! Obviously with growth so rapid I will need to check them once a day to make sure there is still plenty of slack.
Been nearly a week since pictures - I slowed down because as I looked back through the photos realised that I already had hundreds that looked mostly the same ! I'm sure people are keen to see their development though so I'll be taking a whole load more over the weekend and will post the link to the new sets - you'll be able to see their collars in all their glory :) We have a friend who is an amazing photographer who is going to do some photos shoots at 3 weeks and again at 7 weeks - these (along with all of my photos) will be made available on a DVD for the new puppy owners !
It's been nice to be able to keep my head out of puppy books for a week or so now but I need to get back and read up some more on weaning - suggested diets, timings, procedures etc..... This will certainly be a lot easier next time round :)
All the pups have now doubled their birth weight which is excellent progress. We've been weighing them daily up till now and making sure the lightest couple of pups get on the back teats first when Jess gets back in the box with them. They're currently all sucking greedily away now as I type this up :) When she first lies down in the box it's like a sea of wriggling fat worms ! They can obviously smell her and start to go mad trying to get on to a teat. The pups on the top teats are often carried right off the floor and end up body surfing on the ones on the teats below. It's amazing to watch the incredible tenacity they have to feed themselves. They will push and push like mad with their little back feet and if need be, not spare a thought for their sibling that they've just managed to push off ! This is where the heavier ones have an advantage :)
As of yesterday morning there were 3 pups tipping the scales at just over 1kg. We're reducing the weighing frequency down to weekly now. There is still a 200g variation between the heaviest boy and the lightest girl but that will be easier to level out once the pups are weaned.
We've got new collars for them - the nail polish needs to be re-applied every couple of days and is not that easy to spot. We've gone with these collars based on recommendations from other breeders that have used them on Labrador Forums and the testimonials on the website itself. The use of collars on pups is something else (like seemingly every little matter) is cause for great discussion amongst the breeding world. Some say they use them all the time, others would sooner hand over their first born then put collars on their pups. I can see valid arguments for both, but it certainly makes it far easier to identify them ! Obviously with growth so rapid I will need to check them once a day to make sure there is still plenty of slack.
Been nearly a week since pictures - I slowed down because as I looked back through the photos realised that I already had hundreds that looked mostly the same ! I'm sure people are keen to see their development though so I'll be taking a whole load more over the weekend and will post the link to the new sets - you'll be able to see their collars in all their glory :) We have a friend who is an amazing photographer who is going to do some photos shoots at 3 weeks and again at 7 weeks - these (along with all of my photos) will be made available on a DVD for the new puppy owners !
It's been nice to be able to keep my head out of puppy books for a week or so now but I need to get back and read up some more on weaning - suggested diets, timings, procedures etc..... This will certainly be a lot easier next time round :)
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Worming
Thanks to the keen eye of Reed's owner (Lynda) she noticed by my earlier post that our vet was planning to use Panacur as a worming treatment for the puppies. In Lynda's experience this was more likely to cause tummy upsets for the pups as well as requiring 3 times the amount of administration (3 days every 2 weeks) when compared with Drontal puppy (1 day every 2 weeks). I called up my vet - I've only been with them a short time but I am already very impressed with the level of service and openness from them - to ask them why they use Panacur instead of Drontal and do they ever use Drontal. Their response was that they use Panacur because they find that most breeders prefer it and also because some people report more tummy problems using Drontal instead of Panacur !
Seems the tummy upsets can certainly not be attributed to one wormer or another (I guess if a real, consistent correlation was observed then one of them would eventually cease to be used). The vet recently had a litter himself and used Drontal puppy and had no problems.
The puppies need to be wormed at 2,4,6 and 8 weeks. For nine puppies on Panacur that would amount to us having to administer 108 doses of wormer !! On Drontal puppy that would be reduced to just 36. That (and Lynda's recommendation) was enough to convince me that Drontal was the way to go. The vets were very kind saying that I could probably source the Drontal on the internet cheaper than they could get it but I was still welcome to pop in and they would show me/supervise the first administration for no charge (no way my previous vets - Braid Vets - would have offered that). Turned out with the vet ordering it for me it would only cost an extra £7 so I am getting them to order it for me ready for the first worming next Tuesday :)
Seems the tummy upsets can certainly not be attributed to one wormer or another (I guess if a real, consistent correlation was observed then one of them would eventually cease to be used). The vet recently had a litter himself and used Drontal puppy and had no problems.
The puppies need to be wormed at 2,4,6 and 8 weeks. For nine puppies on Panacur that would amount to us having to administer 108 doses of wormer !! On Drontal puppy that would be reduced to just 36. That (and Lynda's recommendation) was enough to convince me that Drontal was the way to go. The vets were very kind saying that I could probably source the Drontal on the internet cheaper than they could get it but I was still welcome to pop in and they would show me/supervise the first administration for no charge (no way my previous vets - Braid Vets - would have offered that). Turned out with the vet ordering it for me it would only cost an extra £7 so I am getting them to order it for me ready for the first worming next Tuesday :)
Back to raw :)
Along with her old appetite being back she is also keen to eat her normal raw "prey-model" diet again - except I cannot interest her in anything with a bone in it. She is wolfing down green tripe, liver, heart, kidney, chicken mince, steak all with gusto :)
One of the great benefits to a raw diet is the drastic reduction in stool size and odour. Jess has been on a raw diet since a puppy so I've never seen the sort of poo from jess that she was producing the past few days with all the processed wet food I was using to try and get her to eat. Huge, soft, smelly poos - on a raw diet her poo is small, hard and almost odourless. To me this is one of the best indicators when comparing a raw diet to a conventional processed one. Processed food (especially kibble) are high in carbohydrates (maize, wheat, rice) that are basically used as "fillers". Carbohydrates in this form are largely useless to a dog and indigestible, hence the large amount that comes straight back out ! On a raw food diet, their poo is mostly undigested bone (which is why it turns white if left in the sun for a few days) - everything else is put to perfect use and digested :)
While I don't want to spend too much time discussing the benefits of a raw diet (and the disadvantages of a commercial, highly processed diet) , I would like to say that additional benefits of a raw "prey-model" diet are :
- healthy, shiny, thick coats
- no doggy odour
- no doggy bad breath
- no teeth problems
I would encourage people to at least take a look at the following reference sites - the last one "myths" is particularly good.
http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=175912
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/honest.html
I will be feeding all our puppies on a raw diet but also giving them some puppy kibble as well as I realise raw feeding is not for everyone and it could possible cause stomach upsets to switch to pure kibble from raw once the pups are with their new owners.
Bon appetite :)
One of the great benefits to a raw diet is the drastic reduction in stool size and odour. Jess has been on a raw diet since a puppy so I've never seen the sort of poo from jess that she was producing the past few days with all the processed wet food I was using to try and get her to eat. Huge, soft, smelly poos - on a raw diet her poo is small, hard and almost odourless. To me this is one of the best indicators when comparing a raw diet to a conventional processed one. Processed food (especially kibble) are high in carbohydrates (maize, wheat, rice) that are basically used as "fillers". Carbohydrates in this form are largely useless to a dog and indigestible, hence the large amount that comes straight back out ! On a raw food diet, their poo is mostly undigested bone (which is why it turns white if left in the sun for a few days) - everything else is put to perfect use and digested :)
While I don't want to spend too much time discussing the benefits of a raw diet (and the disadvantages of a commercial, highly processed diet) , I would like to say that additional benefits of a raw "prey-model" diet are :
- healthy, shiny, thick coats
- no doggy odour
- no doggy bad breath
- no teeth problems
I would encourage people to at least take a look at the following reference sites - the last one "myths" is particularly good.
http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=175912
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/honest.html
I will be feeding all our puppies on a raw diet but also giving them some puppy kibble as well as I realise raw feeding is not for everyone and it could possible cause stomach upsets to switch to pure kibble from raw once the pups are with their new owners.
Bon appetite :)
More than 6 hours sleep
Last night was the first time in a week and a half I've managed to get more than 6 hours sleep ! Jess is doing such a good job as a Mum so we decided it was not needed to sleep beside her any more. Morag and I were sharing night time vigils but now we're confident that Jess has it all well under control :) The alarm is still set for 230am to get up to check everything is ok and let Jess out for a pee - only last 2 mornings she hasn't been interested in a 230am pee so we might give up on that as well !
Her appetite is back with a vigour - she seems keen to eat constantly ! Of course with her being a Labrador we've been well used to this behaviour ;) A lot of the literature around lactating mums (especially between weeks 2 and 4) suggest that the she should be fed as much as she wants - I'm not sure they wrote that with a Lab in mind ! According to the book of the book calorie schedule which I have pinned up on the notice board, weeks 2 and 4 require energy consumption around 3 to 3.5 times that of maintenance levels, which is basically what I'm giving Jess now. Unfortunately it's impossible to distinguish between hunger and greed - at 1.5 kg of meat a day she can't possibly be hungry tho :D
Her appetite is back with a vigour - she seems keen to eat constantly ! Of course with her being a Labrador we've been well used to this behaviour ;) A lot of the literature around lactating mums (especially between weeks 2 and 4) suggest that the she should be fed as much as she wants - I'm not sure they wrote that with a Lab in mind ! According to the book of the book calorie schedule which I have pinned up on the notice board, weeks 2 and 4 require energy consumption around 3 to 3.5 times that of maintenance levels, which is basically what I'm giving Jess now. Unfortunately it's impossible to distinguish between hunger and greed - at 1.5 kg of meat a day she can't possibly be hungry tho :D
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Vet check
Yesterday we took the pups and mum off to our vets for a checkup of both mum and the puppies. Each puppy was checked by the vet for any inherited defects - checking mouth, feet, anus, chest sounds and a quick once over. All the puppies are doing very well, putting on lots of weight and in good health :)
For poor Jess, the story wasn't quite the same though. She has really been off her appetite which was worrying us - I know a lot of dogs get quite fussy just after whelping so I had thought that was the main reason and we were trying her on anything we could think of (never used to any sort of appetite issues from Jess before !) Thankfully she was still drinking plenty - and I was mixing tons of glucose powder in with her water. Her vaginal discharge, which normally continues for the first couple of weeks after whelping, was a little pussy and "dirty" (vets words!). She also had a high temperature. The vet believed she had an infection in her uterus so prescribed her a course of antibiotics. After one day of tablets what a difference ! Her appetite, while not completely back, was definitely heading in the right direction. When Morag came down to relieve my puppy vigil at 4am Jess wolfed down a whole tray of natures diet puppy food along with some other treats :) Yay, seems antibiotics are working very effectively (and quickly) which I hope is a sign that the infection was not too bad. It's a five day course of antibiotics.
Started to take Jess on slightly longer walks and staying outside with her a bit to give her a break from the pups ! She will come back in and stay out of the box for a while but if there's too much noise coming back from the pups, she's back in and they're all feeding off her within seconds ! It really is incredible to see her mothering instinct.
We're back to the vets in 10 days time to start the first round of worming - 3 days treatment at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks.
Costs : Second treatment of oxytocin during whelping at our vets £34, xray before oxytocin £50, puppy and jess check up £26.50, antibiotics £22
For poor Jess, the story wasn't quite the same though. She has really been off her appetite which was worrying us - I know a lot of dogs get quite fussy just after whelping so I had thought that was the main reason and we were trying her on anything we could think of (never used to any sort of appetite issues from Jess before !) Thankfully she was still drinking plenty - and I was mixing tons of glucose powder in with her water. Her vaginal discharge, which normally continues for the first couple of weeks after whelping, was a little pussy and "dirty" (vets words!). She also had a high temperature. The vet believed she had an infection in her uterus so prescribed her a course of antibiotics. After one day of tablets what a difference ! Her appetite, while not completely back, was definitely heading in the right direction. When Morag came down to relieve my puppy vigil at 4am Jess wolfed down a whole tray of natures diet puppy food along with some other treats :) Yay, seems antibiotics are working very effectively (and quickly) which I hope is a sign that the infection was not too bad. It's a five day course of antibiotics.
Started to take Jess on slightly longer walks and staying outside with her a bit to give her a break from the pups ! She will come back in and stay out of the box for a while but if there's too much noise coming back from the pups, she's back in and they're all feeding off her within seconds ! It really is incredible to see her mothering instinct.
We're back to the vets in 10 days time to start the first round of worming - 3 days treatment at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks.
Costs : Second treatment of oxytocin during whelping at our vets £34, xray before oxytocin £50, puppy and jess check up £26.50, antibiotics £22
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Photos on Flickr
I will be putting lots of regular photos up on Flickr - you can see them here
Currently the first set that is up are all taken on day 1 :)
Currently the first set that is up are all taken on day 1 :)
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