What do I need to do before the puppy arrives?

Five weeks tomorrow until our puppy comes home!!!

We are still to choose which one will become our little man but now at 3 weeks of age they are starting to become a whole lot more active. In the next two weeks we will be able to narrow it down and hopefully in 3 weeks time I will be able to tell you which one will be ours!!

With only five weeks to go, my brain is ticking, there is a lot to do to get ready for the arrival of our little man.

But where should I start??

Here is a little checklist that I have put together of the things I need to do or organize before our pup comes home.

What do I need to buy for the puppy?

·       Bedding

·       Puppy food

·       Collar, lead and name tag with your details engraved

·       Water and food bowl

·       Chew toys

·       Grooming equipment

What do I need to do to prepare the house?

·       Doggy door

·       Puppy proof your house

·       Puppy proof your garden

·       Baby gates – minimise the pup going up and down our stairs

And what else do I need to do?

·       Decide where the pup will sleep

·       Decide what areas of the house the pup will be allowed to go

·       Take something to the breeders – an old towel or blanket– that way when you take your pup home you will have something that smells familiar – it will make pups first night away from his mum and litter a little easier

·       Decide what you will feed your pup

·       Book your pup into a puppy school – socialization is crucial at a young age

·       Pet insurance

·       Choosing a vet – you should always take your puppy to the vet for a routine check soon after taking him home

·       Let the neighbours know you are getting a pup and they may hear some crying the first few nights.

In next weeks post, I will go in to way more detail on puppy proofing your home and garden as they are very important steps for you and your puppy’s health.

3 weeks old and growing!

How do I choose between a male or female dog?

So you’ve chosen to get a dog, you’ve chosen the breed and the breeder. Now it is time to choose which sex to get…

Some people just have a preference. Jase and I have decided to get a male. Jase has always had female dogs and wants a change and I have always had male dogs and want to stick to that! It has nothing to do with us liking boys anymore than girls; it’s just our personal preference right now.

It is important to know that there are some characteristics that are common in females and other characteristics that are common in males. Before choosing your puppy it is important to evaluate these characteristics and determine which sex would fit in best with you and your lifestyle. Additionally, if you already have another dog at home, choosing between a male and female is also important.

General differences between males and females:

Male dogs tend to be more demanding of attention, affectionate, play, and focused on human beings than female dogs, who generally are more independent and inconsistent in their focus on their human companions. A male is also more likely to be fun-loving and outgoing throughout his lifetime than a female. Females can be every bit as loving but after a while they may prefer to go off on their own, whereas males are likely to accept as much attention and pampering as you are willing to give them. It is also important to note that if you do not de-sex your female she will come into heat at approximately one year of age and roughly every six months after. During this time, there will be some bleeding as well as a change in mood or behaviour. Female dogs also tend to become more reserved as they age, where’s male dogs seem to maintain more puppy-like exuberance throughout their life.  

What if you already have a dog?

If you already have one dog, your next one should ideally be of the opposite sex, since dogs of the same sex are more likely to compete for dominance in the family. This has been found to be more common in females. 

(The information above is general in nature and will vary depending on dog and breed.)

So how do you make the decision?

Unless you are planning to breed puppies in your own home, there really is not that much difference between a male and a female dog. And of course, if you already have a dog at home you should probably look at the opposite sex for your next dog. But truthfully, the choice should be based on your own personal preference the sense of connection you feel with an individual dog.

Jase and I are about to head to David and Kerryn's house to help worm the puppies. Look out for my next post as I am sure we will have some good stories from today!!

The first 8 weeks of a pups life

So I haven’t really come back down to earth since last weeks high!! Being there for the birth was just so incredible!! Jase and I now have to wait until the pup is 8 weeks old until we can take him home. The first 8 weeks of a puppy’s life are so critical for its development that they must stay with their mum and littermates.

The pups will learn so much from Lara during the first 8 weeks. She will (hopefully) teach them basic 'canine manners’, which the pups will naturally imitate. The way Lara reacts to the people and situations around her will inherently help to shape the puppies’ personalities. In general, a calm, well-behaved mum will usually raise calm, well-behaved pups.

Lara is such a happy mum

Lara toileting the pups

At birth, the pups are blind and deaf, they only have their sense of smell and touch. For the first week or two, all they do is sleep and eat. This is a very critical stage of puppy development as all that sleeping is when puppies do most of their growing. During this time the pups can't pee/poo on their own, they need their mum to help stimulate them by licking their genitals. As Lara had a cesarean, she struggled with her maternal instincts during the first 48 hours of the pups being born. She fed them happily but she wouldn’t toilet them. David and Kerryn had to help stimulate the pups to toilet them in the first few days – but thankfully Lara’s maternal instincts have kicked in and she is now being an incredible mum.

Feeding is tiring for mum and pups

Sleeping pups after a big feed

The pups grow so quickly that you can actually see their progress each day. Towards the end of the second week the pups will begin to open their eyes and then at about three weeks – their ears open up and then their little teeth will start to come through. The puppies’ also learn so much from their littermates in the first 8 weeks. By the time the pups are three weeks old they are waddling around and trying play with their siblings, they also start to feel the urge to pee/poo without stimulation from mum. The pups will get weaned off Lara’s milk around three to four weeks and David and Kerryn will start introducing them to more solid foods.

The pups love snuggling

During these 8 weeks it is critical for the puppy’s development that the breeders expose the pups to all sorts of sounds, smells, textures, people, dogs, and other animals.

Before the pups come home a vet will come and give them their first set of vaccinations and they will be wormed and micro-chipped.

The pups are one week old today! Thankfully David and Kerryn are kind enough to let Jase and I visit them every weekend. So stay tuned for lots more photos and stories!

One Week Old

The pups have arrived!!!

Wow what a day!! What a high I was on!!

At 8.30am this morning Lara had her 7 healthy pups by cesearean – 4 males and 3 females.

I met David and Kerryn (the breeders) at the Monash Uni vet and they let me be apart of the whole thing!!

I had never seen a bitch have pups before, let alone by cesearean.

Lara was a trooper as they prepped her she was so chilled and happy. Lara was given some ‘happy drugs’ and put to sleep. We watched them make an incision in Lara’s belly. And then the uterine horns were pulled out – I think that’s what it’s called – it looked like a big sausage sac filled with puppies. The nurses were all standing around getting ready to catch the puppies and tend to their immediate needs and revival. The nurses had to act fast as ALL puppies are born within about minute.

As I was a fist timer to all of this – it was incredible to see them all swing in to action to work on these pups. I learnt that some pups born from cesarean can be slow to come around. As they came out, the nurses removed the sacs, cut the cords, and then we all (including David, Kerryn and myself) began the attempt to get them all breathing. We did this by giving the pups an aggressive rub-down with warm towels, and a the vet nurses used a suction device to make sure all the liquid was removed from their lungs.

It was stressful! Two of the pups took longer then the others to come around – and one of them was the one I was rubbing. I have to admit I was a little scared for a moment. But once those pups started to breathe and we heard a little noise from them, we were all relieved!! All the pups were weighed, checked and put in an incubator to stay warm.

Once mum was all stitched up, the nurses put her in a room on hot water bottles and as she woke up slowly, we started introducing her to her pups. It was crucial that she bonded with the pups before we left the vet. It was a special moment. Lara was still quite groggy but we know she will be a beautiful mum. She is now home safe and sound with the puppies and they are all feeding well.

Jase and I are over the moon!! We haven’t chosen our baby yet – we will wait until the pups are about 5 weeks old so we can see a bit more of their personalities first. And then we need to wait until the pups are 8 weeks old before we can take ours home. Thankfully the breeders are awesome & don’t mind if we visit every weekend!! I hope they don’t get sick of us!