Mixing Kibble With Raw? Here’s the Problem

Please don't mix kibble with raw if you are trying to transition to raw. Great information below, please follow link to read more.

Source: Dogs Naturally - https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/can-you-mix-raw-dog-food-with-kibble/?utm_campaign=CONTENT%3A%20Mix%20kibble%20with%20raw%20%28U7E6ug%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=klaviyo&_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJrYXJlbkBtb29ubGlnaHR2aXpzbGFzLmNvbSIsICJrbF9jb21wYW55X2lkIjogIkM0WXlWOSJ9

And then there were NONE!

And then there were NONE! Last but not least, Bradley/Orange Boy 🧡 is now "Briggs"! This cool little dude had zero issues making a 3,300 mile road trip to join Katie and her Vizslas, Landon & Halle in Southampton, NY. Huge thank you to everyone who helped transport this pup from San Diego>>Denver>>Camp Rhapsody, NC>>Southampton. "Briggs" is named after "Sky Briggs" a character in the James Bond movie "GoldenEye 007" and the name is a nod to his Great-Grandfather "JB" (https://bit.ly/35udY4E) who we all loved and adored. We are looking forward to seeing Briggs in the Show ring, and other Performance events and he will be a service dog for Katie. There were some tears sending off this puppy, but I know I will see him again! Bye bye Briggs, we will miss you! 😘

"Briggs" (Jett/Emery)
Moonlight Reason to Believe

📷 Michelle

Socialization and Social Distancing

(c) 2020 Alissa Mosier CPDT-KA. All rights reserved. Used by permission

With puppy classes on hold, and people practicing social distancing I have had a few clients reach out and ask what they can do to keep their puppy socialized, and to expose them to new things. I did my best to put together some things to do, this is not a definitive list, it is a list of things to try, things to do, and ways to keep busy. If you think of something else, feel free to give it a try, or if something is just not for your puppy, skip it!

First though, a warning. Socialization is about quality, not quantity. It is also about creating quality experiences for your puppy. You want to go slow, at your puppy’s speed, and make sure you are not overwhelming them. Watch their body language, are their ears shifting back, are they lip licking, is their brow furroughing? If they start to worry watch and see if they can resolve it, if they cannot back them up, can they resolve it with more space? No, then go on home, or stop, and try again later. Sometimes if a puppy has already done too much they just cannot handle another thing, or, sometimes they are tired, or sometimes they are worried. Forcing them through something will not make it positive though, and in fact it may make it worse. If you want to learn more about socialization and how to help your puppy I suggest watching the seminar Mindful Socialization by Suzanne Clothier. I was involved in the production and it was incredibly helpful to me as a trainer, and a dog owner.

Second, bring treats. If your puppy can enjoy a snack as things go on around them – yay! What a great day for a puppy. The treats may also help you work through a sticky point, or be needed to manage an over-excited or worried puppy and lure them out of a situation. If you are in a spot without treats, and things get scary, and your puppy is unfocused and barking, that may be experiences we have to undo later, so, use food and make it awesome as much as possible.

Here is a list of some suggestions:

• If you cannot get your puppy around different types of people, wearing different types of clothes, become those different people for your puppy! Start wearing hats, sunglasses, coats, wigs, Halloween costumes, masks, whatever strikes your fancy! Put on any weird thing around your puppy and make it seem totally normal.  Just please do not startle your puppy. Do not put on a Batman mask and jump out at your puppy, sit in front of her and let her see you put it on and take it off a few times. Same with the glasses, or hats. Let them see you change and realize that sometimes people look different, but they are still people.
• Show them seasonal clothes or stuff they would not see everyday! Put on a rain coat, open an umbrella, break out your pancho, roll a suitcase around, go outside and show your pup a wheelbarrow and a hose and a rake and whatever is in your garage!
• Break out some throw rugs, cardboard boxes, metal cookie trays, measuring cups, metal spoons, bells, balls, any weird things and put them on the floor as your puppy plays. Ask them to walk over weird stuff, to play with weird stuff and get used to different materials under their feet and in their mouth.
• Break out toys that make sound have flashing light, let them check those out. If you have ones that move or dance, all the better!
• Take out your lawn mower, rev it up, take out the weedwacker, rev it up. Chainsaw – sure! Let the neighbors think you are crazy (and feel free to send me video please – ha!). Inside use your coffee grinder, your blender, a food processor, vaccuum, carpet cleaner, whatever is different. You want to get really brave, put the fire alarm very, very far away and set it off and give your puppy treats while it happens.
• Just because you have to stay apart does not mean you cannot see people. Drive to the grocery store, go to the back of the lot where there is no one close, and people watch with your dog. You can also do this with the vets office or a pet center to watch the dogs come in and out.
• Bored neighborhood kids? Talk to their parents and ask them to ride their bikes by your house at set times so you can have your dog see them from a distance. Have them use scooters, throw footballs, bounce basketballs, ride a skateboard, make noises and be kids! Really want to go nuts? Ask them to wear costumes or hats and really give your pup some new things to see. From a distance! Don’t have kids? Go on YouTube and find some video of kids laughing, crying, screaming and being kids and at least play those sounds for your puppy, all while sharing some awesome snacks.
• Take a drive to the country, check out cows, horses, sheep, llamas.
• Drive your pup to a boat lock, look at the boats, walk on the weird surfaces. Go to the gas station and have them wait in your car as you pump gas. Take them to a drive through for coffee (well, coffee for you, puppies do not need caffeine!). Go to the places you hope to go when they are older, even if you cannot go near people, or you may not be able to inside, you can get them used to the ride and the area.
• Remember, quality, not quantity. Use the check-lists below if they help. Make memories, create positive experiences, have fun and take pictures. Puppyhood does not last forever and while this one will be a little non-traditional, it is still going to be awesome and you will miss it when they are big (minus the house training part).

https://suzanneclothier.com/guest-social-distancing/

Stainless is best but keep it slime free!

Ever rub your fingers on the inside of your pet’s water bowl and you feel a slippery slime of sorts? Well that invisible goo is called Biofilm.

Biofilm is a collection of organic and inorganic, living and dead materials collected on a surface. It is made up of many different types of bacteria bound together in a thick substance that acts as a glue to both hold the bacteria together and adhere it to a surface.

Biofilm can often be good bacteria but there is also the bad!

To learn more about good bacteria- click here!

Biofilms provide a safe haven for organisms like Listeria, E. coli and legionella where they can reproduce to levels where contamination of products passing through that water becomes inevitable. Bad Biofilms have been found to be involved in a wide variety of microbial infections in the body such as urinary tract infections, middle-ear infections and bladder infections.

How to reduce Biofilm:

1. Remember to clean your pet’s water bowl at least once a week if you can and change water daily.
2. For pet daycares where a host of different bacteria float around in water bowls, wash daily!
3. For best results, run your water bowls through a hot cycle in the dishwasher with an eco friendly, non-toxic soap to really clean out the biofilm!

(P.S. – I am going to get lambasted over the “wash once a week at least” concept. However, after a wonderful discussion with a well known pro-active veterinarian/scientist, when she studied the bacteria looming in pets’ water bowls she found if you have a healthy beast, biofilm can actually be full of wonderful, healthy bacteria. It’s like playing in the mud as kids and having good bacteria all over you! So sometimes cleaning regularly can wash all the good stuff away.)

Socializing Puppies During The Coronavirus Pandemic

Let's talk about the question that has to be foremost in any breeder's mind right now...socialization during the coronavirus pandemic. I'm in this situation myself with a 12 week old puppy in my house that normally would be in the midst of daily exposures to important things. I've taken a hard look at my past research on socialization and viewed that in light of the US government's call for measures to stop the spread of the virus, and I have, if not a plan, at least a distilled version of the considerations, with some definite "dos," some definite "don'ts" and some definite "it depends." But I will say at the outset this is all very fluid so, in the end, you have to be alert to changing facts and use your own judgement.

Update Friday, March 20, 2020:  The governors of California and New York State have ordered 100% of non-essential workers to stay home.  Notwithstanding anything in this article, please comply with all federal, state and local laws.

Back in the day, (like, last week) socialization was a pretty straightforward weighing of risk benefit based solely on risk to the puppy- bottom line, wait until an appropriate age and vaccination status, stay away from high risk areas for canine infectious diseases and advocate for your puppy so that every encounter is a positive one:

But in the space of a week, coronavirus has changed everything and now governments in virtually every country are asking us to practice "social distancing" which is, on its face, contrary to socializing puppies.  So now the puppy socialization diagram looks like this:

With that big, fat question mark on the bottom.  The good news is that, although the safe space for socializing puppies has just gotten a lot smaller, it's still there.  So let's look at what we CAN do and what we SHOULD do.

Two points to consider regarding our normal assumptions about socialization of puppies:

• In their seminal work on socialization, Scott and Fuller accidentally discovered that puppies just seeing a person standing passively from the shoulders up behind a fence did in fact become at least partially socialized to humans.  So actual contact with novel humans and things may be optimal, but a lot of benefit can still be had from a puppy just observing stuff.
• Dogs relate to their world much more through their sense of smell than any other sense.  As primates, we are focused on touching, holding and caressing, particularly front to front contact.  Dogs naturally prefer to pick up information via scent, and that sense of smell is astounding - from Nova's article, "Dog's Dazzling Sense of Smell": 
  • "Dogs' sense of smell overpowers our own by orders of magnitude—it's 10,000 to 100,000 times as acute, scientists say. "Let's suppose they're just 10,000 times better," says James Walker, former director of the Sensory Research Institute at Florida State University, who, with several colleagues, came up with that jaw-dropping estimate during a rigorously designed, oft-cited study. "If you make the analogy to vision, what you and I can see at a third of a mile, a dog could see more than 3,000 miles away and still see as well.'"

These two points add up to meaning that your puppy can still get lots of beneficial socialization by seeing things and smelling them while you maintain a safe social distance.   With that amazing sense of smell,  you can stay quite far away from other people and your dog can "see" them with his nose very clearly.

What is social distancing, anyway?  Good question.  The answer is something of a moving target but in sum it's minimizing non-essential contact with other humans to slow the spread of the coronavirus.  For healthy adults with no risk factors either for having been exposed or being at risk because of a health condition, the President has issued the following directives:

• ​Work or engage in school at home
• Avoid eating or drinking at bars or restaurants (use drive through, pick up or delivery)
• Avoid gatherings of 10 or more people
• Avoid discretionary travel
• Avoid discretionary shopping trips
• Avoid discretionary social trips
• Do not visit nursing homes or similar
• Go into public only if necessary
• Remain 6 feet away from anyone in public (which, by the way, only reduces, not eliminates, your chances of spreading the disease)

 

• Social distancing is not something you can ethically choose to ignore. The US government and governments around the world have called upon us directly to slow the spread of the virus. "Flatten the curve" means that, while we can't completely stop the spread of the virus, we can keep the serious case numbers low enough so that our hospitals have enough ventilators and staff to care for the critically ill.  So that hospitals don't have more people needing ventilators than are available.  So that medical staff does not have to make decisions about who gets to live and who gets to die. Like in Italy, this week.
• ​Currently, the US government is asking us for serious social distancing for 15 days.  There's more than enough you can safely do to keep you and your puppy busy and moving forward during that time, after which any puppy should still have at least a flexible period for more "hands on" socialization. That period may or may not be enough to adequately slow the spread, but let's take it one step at a time and do the right thing now. Update Friday, March 20, 2020:  The governors of California and New York State have ordered 100% of non-essential workers to stay home.  Notwithstanding anything in this article, please comply with all federal, state and local laws.​

---

Based on all of these considerations, I've come up with three rough categories for socialization protocols:

• Green light, meaning go right ahead
• Yellow light, meaning OK under the right circumstances
• And red light, meaning not advisable

 First, the green light activities:

• Drive to new places and allow your puppy to watch the outside world from within the car with the windows rolled up.  Have your puppy ride safely in his crate to each location and then take him out of his crate but stay inside the car when you arrive.  Be ready to give your puppy treats when people approach the car to wave though the glass.  This may also present an opportunity for you to counter condition any budding barrier frustration or car guarding your puppy might have. 
• Work on recalls and creating good conditioned emotional responses (CERs) to barrier frustration, fence running and moving objects on your own property
  • ​Human household members walking on the other side of the fence
  • Household dogs walking on the other side of the fence
  • Motorized equipment and vehicles
• Work on leash frustration by parallel walking on your own property with another household dog handled by a household member
• Power up generalized positive responses to "weird sounds" using Susanne Shelton's protocol - here is a link to a previous live event where she explains everything, it's pretty amazing!
• Attention is the Mother exercises at home using various distractions:
  • ​Household members approaching
  • Other dogs handled by household members approaching
  • Household members touching - foundations for stand for exam
  • Sound distractions
• Sound socialization recordings
  • ​Passive habituation to sounds
  • Active training and performing learned behaviors for reward with sound in the background
• Free shaping interaction with novel surfaces and unstable surfaces - something as simple as a large diameter magic marker taped to the bottom of a piece of plywood.  Half a tennis ball glued to the bottom of a yoga block, a snow saucer - this does not have to be expensive or fancy equipment!
• Free shaping multiple behaviors, both indoors and outdoors on your own property and in as many different rooms as possible.
• Dress up in various outfits including hats, glasses, wigs, different shoes, etc.
• Have other dogs in the household wear head cones and bandages
• Play with other dogs and people in your own household

Whew!  If you're lucky enough to have at least one other household member and one other good dog, you can keep extremely busy with this for the next two weeks and, who knows, all this emphasis on ignoring and emotional regulation just might be as good or better than if your puppy actually interacted with other people and dogs in an unregulated fashion during this time.  At the very least, you'll be removing the possibility of having a negative experience with another dog or person which is a very good thing.

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Next, we'll talk about "red light" activities that are no longer advisable: 

• Non-essential vet visits
• Dog shows and dog sport venues (which are all cancelled, anyway)
• Group Puppy Class
• Public Transportation - even if you HAVE to take public transportation for some reason, you don't want a puppy magnet with you, inviting people to violate your safe distance
• Non-essential shopping trips
• Socialization visits to other people's houses
• Play groups - even if you think you can keep your distance it will be remarkably difficult to wrangle puppies and do the safe and productive thing for them and keep your distance from the other pet parents.  There will be times when you all have to go in and get your puppies and be super close to one and other.
• Any other activity that puts you in a position where you might have to come in contact with other people - contact being defined as closer than 6'. 

---

Finally, let's talk about the "yellow light" areas.  I can't make a decision for you about these items, but I can give you thoughts about making your own decisions.  

• Your puppy's age and previous socialization experience will come into play, here.  What is discretionary for one puppy may be essential for another.  For instance, I would not bother with most of these activities because my 12 week old puppy has already had a lot of contact with the outside world and she rocked it out with no hesitation. It's just not worth the trouble for me to take the necessary precautions to do most of these activities.
• But if I had a younger puppy, or a puppy that had more difficulty with her previous socialization, I might avail myself of more of these "yellow light" activities.

So, here are some ideas which I present to you, but I advise a great deal of caution with them:

• If you have to make an essential trip to a dog friendly venue, you might bring your puppy. But keep in mind that your puppy will attract people to you.  Are you able and prepared to tell people to keep away?  Do you really think you can maintain that safe 6' social distance with an adorable puppy in your arms?  How crowded do you expect the place to be?  If it's a sole proprietorship you might be able to call ahead and explain the situation.  If it's a big box store you're unlikely to be successful in keeping people away.
• Neighborhood walks if safe from off leash dogs and you will not encounter any pedestrians that you cannot avoid.  See above regarding the difficulties of fending off "puppy fans."  Furthermore, I generally don't love taking my puppy anywhere with any chance of an off leash or "invisible fence" encounter.  Even in regular times, I feel the risk is too great of emotional damage from walks in the neighborhood to justify this activity with a puppy in suburban areas, and you will have difficulty avoiding people in more urban areas where the risk of off leash dogs is less.  For me, this is a no-go but you can make your own decisions based on your particular circumstances. 
• Visit farm/livestock in rural areas - same considerations as above - can you guarantee there will be no loose dogs or "puppy fans" that you can't fend off?  A nice compromise might be to do a safari where you park, stay in the car, hold the puppy on your lap and roll the window down so he can hear, see, and smell everything
• Nature Sniff N Strolls - You could take your puppy on a sniff-n-stroll in a natural area where there are steep slopes that keep the "sunday driver" pet owners away and very few people care to go.  But that is really above the paygrade of most puppies (see our Puppy Exercise Article) so it's logistically difficult.
• Drive to a venue, park your car, keep your puppy in  his crate and open the hatch or door so he can see, hear, and smell everything going on.  Post office, store parking lot, bank parking lot.  Same issues with keeping people away as above, but this is the one I would be most tempted by and probably worth the effort to keep your distance.  You might even set up an exercise pen around the open portion of your vehicle to keep people at a distance, if feasible.
• Using visitors and visiting dogs on other side of your fence at least 6' away
  • ​Practice recall and CER to leash and barrier frustration
  • Use as distractions for Attention is the Mother protocols
• Rent a training building - virtually all group classes have been cancelled so you should not have a problem getting a rental.   But keep in mind that this is still a public place so use appropriate biosafety precautions - don't touch your face, wash your hands, wipe down anything before you touch it.  And I'm assuming you are not in the epicenter of an outbreak...the actual risk will depend on your local outlook
• Go to the drive through and buy your puppy a cone - I would feel comfortable doing this as food in general is not a good vehicle for the virus, but use these precautions with your take out food. I would bring my own napkins and remove any paper from around the cone. 
• Private lessons maintaining a 6' distance, preferably outdoors on a warm, sunny day- Again, assuming there are no other risk factors, you should be able to take a private lesson if you and your puppy remain inside a closed ring and the instructor remains outside the ring and maintains the 6' distance no matter where you are.  Coronavirus will have a harder time living on the more porous surfaces outdoors that are exposed to sun and warm temperature.
• ​Closed System Socialization - if you have a friend that you trust, and that friend has a dog or puppy that is suitable for socializing with your puppy, and both you and your friend have truly been in isolation for two weeks and plan on remaining that way, you might actually do a playdate.  I don't actually know anyone who fits this category, but I imagine there might be some out there.
• Curbside drop off - Some dog schools and daycares are offering curbside drop off - the puppy gets socialized by the instructors and the owners do not attend class.  Similarly, some puppy owners are doing puppy swaps with curbside drop off, again, so that the humans never need to come into contact with each other.  I'm really not sure about this as a coronavirus hazard - my yellow light with this is more that I would find it very hard to entrust my puppy to another person this way. We can't lose sight of the fact that it's better to do nothing at all than to have something bad happen to your puppy.  I could definitely warm more easily to doing a curbside drop off to or from a trusted friend or trusted trainer who was going to be working with my puppy one on one with dogs that I also know and trust. ​

Getting a cone at the drive through has always been a rite of passage for our puppies, and it's still safe to do.

So, what am I doing with my 12 week old puppy? Well, as luck would have it, I just got back from Australia on Tuesday so unfortunately I don't have a lot of options.  Australia is generally much safer than almost anywhere else in the world, but I had to pass through three airports to get home.  I'm feeling great but I'll be staying put in my house for two weeks from the time I travelled, just to be sure.

Fortunately for us, Alana really did so well with her first off premises socialization that we're not in a rush to push things for the next two weeks. We have a house full of dogs, up until this week we had a house full of people each day, and I did do a lot with her early on.  I will probably do some "closed car" things, but, other than that, I don't see the need to go off premises right now and will concentrate on my "green light" list. 

Once I've been back in the country for two weeks, I'm going to set up some private agility lessons, preferably at my outdoor facility but even indoors I feel we can conduct the lessons safely.  I feel that getting Alana out to understand that novel places mean we train and work together is very important, so that will be a priority for me. I may also be renting a building for training. I have no current plans for socialization with outside dogs or people, but it so happens that because Alana was a singleton I've done a lot of that work with her already - much earlier than I would ever do with a litter, so she has that in her favor.

I think you see how personal these decisions become, based on your unique situation and your puppy's unique set of circumstances. The takeaway from this article is that, at the end of the day, any socialization where you can ensure social distancing, yet still control and curate your puppy's experience, is fine. That can look very different, depending on the circumstances, and I don't pretend to have every possible scenario covered here, but I think now you have some good guidelines for making decisions.

All that having been said, as I mentioned at the beginning, it's important to remain fluid and responsive to risks in real time and comply with all federal, state and local laws.  I will be updating this article as necessary but in the meantime, be safe, be careful with your puppies, and be kind to the community!

https://www.puppyculturestories.com/read/socializing-puppies-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic?goal=0_b25a3d5b55-2472637bbd-118394753&mc_cid=2472637bbd&mc_eid=b329c49a28

Play Biting is NORMAL

PLAY BITING

Puppy teeth – yes indeed they do hurt! Puppy biting is a perfectly natural behavior. Puppies use their mouths to explore their surroundings; nothing is sacred from puppy teeth. They also use their teeth when playing. Fortunately this is something they usually grow out of when they lose their puppy teeth at around sixteen weeks. Puppies themselves learn that their teeth are sharp when they are still with their mother and littermates. They begin to hurt their mother’s teat when feeding and she will get up and walk away. The pup learns there is a consequence to using teeth. They also learn the consequences of using their teeth too hard when playing with their littermates. If they use their teeth too enthusiastically the game will end one way or another. Either their littermate will yell in pain and stop playing or they may end up fighting.

Remember that dogs only have one defense if they are in pain, frightened or cornered and that is to use teeth. This does not make a bad dog it is simply dog behavior!

Your job is to teach the dog that teeth on human skin are not allowed! You also need to teach him to have a soft mouth. To help him learn to inhibit his bite you need to act like a playmate. Never use your hands or body as a toy when playing with your puppy. Instead use a suitable toy.

If your puppy catches your skin or clothes when you are playing yell ‘ouch’ – a good high pitched yell is needed as though he really hurt you. Get up, move away from your puppy and stop playing. Redirect his teeth onto something more acceptable, a stuffed Kong, the cardboard innards of toilet roll or kitchen roll, a toy or a nylabone or chew. (Don’t give your puppy cheap plastic toys to chew, as they can be dangerous if swallowed.)

Many puppies under 14 weeks will back off when you yell then come back and lick you. Praise and redirect the play onto something appropriate. Some puppies will see the yell as a cue to lunge at you even harder. These puppies are usually over stimulated, over tired or perhaps Terriers! Do not shout, do not use a water pistol, do not scruff or shake, simply remain calm, get up and walk away. Ensure your puppy is getting enough rest during the day – especially if you have children.  Place your puppy on a good diet as some diets have been implicated in effecting behavior. Make sure that everyone in the household treats your puppy the same way. Children should always be supervised when they interact with your puppy, as young children tend to flap their arms around squealing, which only excites the puppy.

Stopping a puppy play biting takes time and consistency. Puppies will latch onto to anything that moves – your trouser leg, the bottom of your dressing gown and your toes! Why, because it gets a reaction from the owner. If this happens, stop walking. Do not get into a game of tug with your trouser leg or dressing gown. Try and redirect your puppy onto something more acceptable.

Being proactive instead of reactive will safely teach your puppy where and when he can use his teeth.

www.apdt.co.uk

Add to your Puppy Supplies -- a Pooper Scooper!

Forgot to add this to my MV Puppy Supplies handout! A must have -- the pooper scooper with rake! Rake helps get the poop off the grass. I wish I had a $1.00 for each BB poop I've picked up over the last 7 weeks!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/PUPTECK-Pet-Poop-Tray-Rake/dp/B07L3RK2WR?ref_=s9_apbd_otopr_hd_bw_b3KZcaB&pf_rd_r=V7GJ4BPEJ3BNGK6KHVZ7&pf_rd_p=40137ee4-bc42-5670-a8dc-a0aa32dd9069&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-10&pf_rd_t=BROWSE&pf_rd_i=3052415011

Info on puppy pen setup for your new best friend

Puppy management is the best way to ensure success for your new puppy. This includes, gates/crates and setting up the puppy for success by providing a potty area or 24/7 "two eyes on the puppy" to take pup outside to potty. 

If you need to contain the pup while doing something else, below is an example of great setup. 

Future Owners: feel please ask me for clarification on how best to organize your puppy pen. Note - artificial grass is preferred. 

A lot goes in to bringing home a new puppy, including setting them (and you!) up for success as they learn what behaviors are ok when they live in a human house! 

One of those successful set-ups is a puppy playpen! This area will be a safe place for your puppy to spend time during the first few weeks after they arrive home.

A few things go into setting up a good puppy playpen, including where you position each station! Here is one idea for what this playpen might look like, although your individual house set-up should inform exactly how your pen is put together.

The bottom line is thinking about the behaviors you want your puppy to do (or not do), and setting up their environment to facilitate those good choices as much as possible!

Credit: https://www.facebook.com/summitdogtraining

Are you ready to get a puppy?

Are you ready to get a puppy?

Sharing from Vizsla Puppies Facebook group -- A MUST READ!

Ready everyone??!! Before you buy your first puppy, take this test to find out if you can cope with living and looking after your puppy:

This test is best taken in the autumn or mid winter!

1. Buy a lead and tie it to a big stone, walk around dragging the stone behind you

2. Get up at 5am, go out in the pouring rain and walk up and down a muddy path, repeating good girl/boy, "wee wees...poo poos, quickly please"

3. Stuff your pockets with plastic bags and pick up all the dog poo you can find, obviously not your dog's as you have not bought it yet

4. Start wearing your shoes indoors, especially during muddy times

5. Collect leaves off the ground and spread them on the floor

6. Carry sticks and branches indoors and chop them up on your carpet

7. Pour cold applejuice on the rug and floor....walk barefooted over it in the dark

8. Drop some chocolate pudding on your carpet in the morning and then try to clean it in the evening

9. Wear socks to which you have made holes using a blender

10. Jump out of your favorite chair just before the movie ends and run to open the back door

11. Cover all your best clothes with dog hair, dark clothes with blond hairs and light clothes with dark hairs

12. Tip all just ironed clothes on the floor

13. Make little pin holes in all your funiture, especially chair and table legs

14. When doing dishes, splash water all over the place and don't wipe it.

15. Spread toilet paper all over the house when you leave the house and tidy up when you get back home

16. Forget any impulse holidays and/or breaks

17. Always go home straight after work or school

18. Go walkies no matter what the weather, and inspect every dirty paper, chewing gum and dead fly you might find

19. Stand at your back door at five in the morning shouting "Bring Mr Bumble and Mr Lion in, it's raining!"

20. Wake up at 3am. Place a bag of flour on top of yourself and try to sleep, while wiping your face with a wet dishcloth, which you have left next to your bed in a bowl last week.

Repeat everyday over 6 months and if you still think getting a puppy sounds like a good idea, congratulations, you might be ready to get your puppy! 😆😆😆

Things Vizsla Owners Wish They Had Known Before Getting Their First Vizsla

Zene, Lyra, Emery, Annie and Csilla (back row)

About Vizsla ownership, you might have heard, "You will never go to the bathroom alone again".

Well, its true! 

Check out the entire article "Things Vizsla Owners Most Wish They Had Known in Advance of Getting Their First Vizsla" (from a poll of VizslaTalk list members).  Link:  

http://vcli.net/the-breed/things-v-owners-wish-they-had-known-before-getting-their-first-vizsla/

5️⃣ things for successful dog ownership . . .

Five things that we want pet owners to know about successful dog ownership: 

• Crate train. Even if you leave your dog out when mature, crate train. Most issues with destruction, eating things dogs shouldn't, and many other issues are solved by crate training. And consider transporting your dog safely, stay overs at a boarding facility or the vet's, or needing to leave them in a room with a raw steak on the counter. Crates are the answer for that too!

• Socialization isn't about meeting other dogs and people. Really. It isn't. It's about exposing your dog to the daily world and teaching them to focus on you. Would you believe me if I told you my dogs have never been to puppy play groups, they never ever say hi to other dogs on walks, and they certainly don't say hi to people either unless permission is asked and given? That's actually normal! Let your dog have one or two friends and that's seriously good enough.

• Dog parks- we don't use them, but if you must, use extreme caution. Seriously. Go ask a long time breeder, sport handler, or working handler what they think of dog parks. If you absolutely can't imagine life without them, take precautions!

• Keep your dogs away from other dogs out and about. We don't care if they are friendly, and we don't care if they won't hurt anything. You and your dog don't have the right to interact with others, and you never know when a dog is sick, injured, training, working, or reactive. Use the leash, and don't come within 30 feet without asking first.

• All dog owners should learn the basics of body language. In my opinion, this is far more important than teaching a dog to sit. You need to know how your dog feels about things and you need to be able to read a situation.

• Bonus: Don't let your dog stare at other dogs. Bad plan. Even with the little ones. People always wonder why my dogs hackle at the little ones yapping and pulling at the end of the leash- those little ones are being confrontational. Help other dog owners by making sure your own dog is acting appropriately and focused on YOU.

Source: Manitoba Dog Training and Ethical Breeding Education

PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION: DAY 20-WEEK 6

The BB's are going to be 5 weeks old tomorrow (March 2nd).

They have moved from the whelping box to their Puppy Party Palace (they actually have two) which is a linoleum lined gated area with potty, bed and play areas. They are learning to use the potty box area but with eight there are bound to be mistakes. Most of my free time is being spent as the sanitation worker trying to keep the area as clean as possible in the hopes they will eventually potty in a designated area (cross your fingers for me!). 

They are sleeping on a Kuranda raised bed covered in blankets and there are soft blankets on the floor (and pee pads) for traction and wetness control (urine). They also have a hard plastic crate to nap in if they choose (eventually there will be eight crates). 

They love the Puppy Toy Mobile (with hanging objects) and are having fun with each new toy/experience per day. 

For those familiar with Puppy Culture the puppies have done the "barrier challenge" to learn to problem solve for themselves which reduces frustration in adult dogs. Future puppy owners -- please be sure yo are watching the Puppy Culture DVDs (thanks!). 

PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION PERIOD: DAY 20-WEEK 6

The first socialization period begins at two-and-a-half weeks of age and lasts until six weeks of age. This is when the puppies learn how to be dogs, so to speak. They become familiar with all the species-specific behaviors that allows them to live and communicate with other dogs, such as different body postures and vocalizations. They also learn how to bite and what it feels like to be bitten. This is an important lesson for puppies to learn when they are young, so they do not hurt other dogs and people as adults. The mother also teaches the pups very important lessons on discipline and dog-manners. Puppies will also begin to move to specific locations to potty, preferring not to mess up the den or whelping area.

Puppies Learn How to Love Management - VIDEO

Puppies (and adult dogs) should learn how to accept and enjoy management as a skill. Regardless of our lifestyle, our dogs will need to be separated from us at some point. When we teach it as a skill, it gives us the ability to use it to help prevent naughty behavior like counter surfing, dumpster diving, and inappropriate chewing from happening and teach calm behaviors instead. Here is an easy training set up you can do with an x pen or a baby gate to help your dog learn that quiet, four on the floor, and independent play are all good things to do when confined. I recommend doing this exercise on its own before incorporating it into your normal routine! 3-5 minutes a few times a day can help your puppy learn quickly that confinement is great! Then, stick some treats in your pocket and reinforce your pup as they hang out in their safe place as you move around the space. 

For more information visit us: www.pawsitivefutures.com 

www.facebook.com/pawsitivefutures 

Instagram: @pawsitivefutures

Preparing for Puppy!

I am super excited about the awesome families selected for the BB's and we have been discussing preparations for when the pup comes home.

This link was shared in the Puppy Culture Facebook group and it is an excellent setup for a new puppy if you need to leave them unattended for any length of time. Please go the entire link for details:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=766465327095211&id=595861667488912

Below is a snippet - credit to Pawsitive Obsession

"Litter box is stationed in the back corner so that it is away from resting area and not in a place puppy will be walking to try and access us.
The ex pen and litterbox are for times that there isn't anybody available to supervise the puppy so she doesn't practice having accidents in the house but also isn't confined to a crate and forced to hold it or go to the bathroom and lay in it. My new puppy and I are very fortunate to have a breeder who works so hard to help her puppies learn to be clean and know how to use a litterbox from a very young age!!
I will need to get another water bowl because this one will tip over easily, so for now I have it placed as much out of the way as I can and a washable puppy pad under it to soak up any spills."  NOTE: The BB's are being litter box trained on fake grass. 

"The red sheet is hung up in the corner that has the litterbox, this sheet will stay up as long as the litterbox remains in the ex pen. This sheet will help to guide the puppy to another part of the ex pen to watch activities going on in the living room so she's not walking through the litterbox.
The brown sheet will only go up if what is going on in the living room is too much for her, or it is time for her to nap. "

Currently, eating . . .

The puppies are hungry! They've started on goats milk and Honest Kitchen Grain Free (Chicken or Fish) as well as some of my recommended probiotic supplements. They also had a taste of minced raw chicken and will be weaned onto premade raw as well as oatmeal and their current diet. So far they are LOVING IT!

Emery is a fastidious mother and still wants to feed them but she is having a hard time making enough milk for the eight babies. She is currently eating around 5 lbs. of food which includes raw, cottage cheese, Honest Kitchen, cooked lean meats, veggies and whatever else she can get her teeth on!

Example: She pulled a cooked spaghetti squash off the counter which was intended for human consumption. There is no way I can be mad at her!!! 😘

The 10 Most Important Things to Teach A Puppy

WDJ is an excellent resource for all things dog! Another great article below... (see link):

It shouldn’t surprise me but it does, still, that there are far too many people out there who don’t seem to have a clue about how to properly raise a puppy. Whole Dog Journal readers are not likely to fall into the “completely clueless” category, but in case you haven’t had a puppy for a while – or ever – and recently adopted or are thinking of adopting, here’s a refresher course for you on the topic of the 10 most important things you should teach your puppy.

The 10 Most Important Things to Teach A Puppy https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/puppies/pre_puppy_prep/the-10-most-important-things-to-teach-a-puppy/

Calmness is a learned behavior 😇

This video is a tutorial on how to teach your puppy or dog to be calm.

Some dogs need help to learn how to relax. Calmness does not come naturally to some breeds .By reinforcing your dog for being calm, your dog will start to choose calmer behaviors in the future and actually enjoy being calm.

Tips for teaching a Default Settle:

• Don't drop treats if the dog looks up at your hand as you move to give the dog the treat, instead try again later.
• Don't cue the dog "down". It works better if the dog figures it out on his own and CHOOSES to lay down.
• Use high value treats like real meat or cheese for such a wonderful behavior.

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A wonderful friend and fellow Vizsla Breeder, Janet Galante, owner of Sit! Stay! Play! in Tucson, AZ posted this lovely photo and comments.

"People often ask me "how do you do that" when they see dogs happily in free play without barking or resting quietly without restraint at Sit! Stay! Play!. There are lots of reasons including the creation of a low stress "culture", but the main reason is having dedicated, intelligent, caring, and well trained employees like Tracie Brennan. We have been moving our nap periods to the play floors and teaching the dogs it is time to take a break has been a process. I am so proud to have so many talented people working with me."

We're THREE Weeks Old!

The BB's are THREE Weeks today! They are navigating and exploring the whelping box and are mouthing each other and have been introduced to a few toys. As the weeks progress, they will be introduced to a "novel" item each and every day as part of the Puppy Culture socialization process.