Countdown is on...
Puppies will be
beginning to leave to their new homes, between 8 and 12 weeks. By 8 weeks
puppies are usually ready to leave their littermates, and are ready for
individual attention. Many breeders choose to keep some breeds longer to
temperament test them, as dominant and subordinate behaviors start to develop,
and depending on the breed, this is an important factor when placing puppies.
Some pets are kept longer for show potential assessing. Some are kept longer
until they are older for shipping. Some are kept until they can be altered or so
genetic testing can be done. There are many good reasons a breeder will keep
puppies past 8 weeks, and no good reasons to send a pup off earlier than this
age. Pups are also ready to begin their housetraining at 8 weeks. Make sure your
breeder, knows a little about your lifestyle, family, and dog experience, as she
will need to know some things about your family, to properly place the correct
temperamental puppy, with you.
They get a nice bath before they go.
They do not really need an ear cleaning, but I do this after every bath, as
the product is also a drying agent, that will dry up any water you may have
gotten in their ears. All dogs love a good ear massage and cleaning.
cuddles
and blowdry
Their nails are done
one last time. Be careful not to cut the quick, or your puppy will not be so
trusting to just let you do it routinely. Frequent trimming will make the quick
retract and enable you to keep your dogs nails short. It is nice to cut them as
short as possible, as this makes the quick retract. Also have QUIK STOP on hand,
in case you go to short.
Your puppy should be totally relaxed on his/her back in a submissive
position. This puppy is totally trusting, and relaxed, which makes nail trimming
easy. If your young puppy will not stay willingly in this position, Make
him/her. You must be the dominant one, and win their trust and respect. Some new
puppies, that haven't had proper socialization from original breeder, or just
those puppies with pushy attitudes, that do not want to lie on their backs, may
need some work to get them used to this position. A good technique is to put
them on their back daily. Start with foot massaging, then go to individual toe
massaging. Progress to pretend nail trimming daily and then on to the real
thing. I have heard from some new owners that it takes 2 of them to hold the
puppy down to trim nails and some even need to give a tranquilizer before
grooming. It would be nice to attempt to make the puppy enjoy the grooming,
rather than having it be a constant unpleasant experience for both dog and
owner.
Have more than one person practice lying each puppy on their back, and teach
the pup to be trusting of people to willingly lie on his/her back. This will
make future Vet examinations and grooming much easier on both dog and owner.
Picture of Emma lying happily and willingly on back for Stan.
With this breed (Havanese), their hair grows and
causes "slipper feet", so I trim the hair from the bottom pads of their feet.
This will be something the new owner will need to continue, along with routine
combing, ear cleaning, ear hair plucking, and nail trimming. Some owners will choose to grow hair
long, and some will prefer a shorter 'puppy cut'. Some will take their pups to a
professional groomer, others enjoy the grooming themselves.
Your puppies socialization started with the breeder, but now it is the new
owners responsibility to continue the process. The socialization that your puppy
receives up to 12 weeks of age, is the most important, as that is the time when
he/she forms his/her impressions of the outside world. 8 to 10 weeks is classed
as a fear period, but I have seen puppies totally skip this fear period. For
those puppies that are a little unsure of themselves, at this age interaction
should be gentle and reassuring. Do not overwhelm puppies between 8 and 10
weeks. That is the age to explore their new home. They are not ready for the big
world yet and besides, they haven't had enough booster shots to be taken out
everywhere. LACK of socialization after 10 weeks can display itself in fear and
aggression as the dog grows up. Improper socialization with rough unsupervised
children can also form negative behavior. Make sure all child puppy play is
supervised. Not only could the child hurt the puppy, but an over exuberant puppy
could accidentally nip a child.
INCLUDE lots of human contact of all ages, affection, handling in all different
positions (including the down on back position frequently), grooming and
exposure to other animals. Put your head down near the dish as if you are going
to share dinner, get all family members to do this. The Dog should NEVER growl
to protect his dinner; Nip this quick if you get growling. A dog is a pack
animal, and needs to have a leader. If he doesn't, then he will become the
leader. For more info on growling read Top Dog.
Lots of play on their back...
Emma at 10 weeks... Puppies can be so cute, that it can be hard to establish
dominance, however you have to. You will NOT break their spirit, you will
earn it. Puppies have to also learn that it is okay to spend time alone, she doesn't whine anymore when alone, she
has learned that being alone is Okay. She doesn't like to be alone, but is
not afraid or anxious when she is left alone.
