Here is some big news. After 10 years of breeding dogs I finally kept one of my puppies! People are rather astonished when they hear this. Why would you buy a dog from someone else when you have such wonderful puppies of your own? Well the answer is quite simple To keep one of my puppies as part of my breeding program would require me to have a different stud dog with a totally different genetic background then her father.
So the exciting news is that we have a new Red Miniature Poodle named Jasper...Jazz for short. So I have a second stud, and I have kept one of Winnies girls for my own. That puppy is Ginger, from Winnie's litter, and I am excited to share her story of how I raise her with you!
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| Ginger at 14 weeks soon after her first "puppy cut". |
Given the fact that my kids attend 4 different schools, ( grade school, middle school, highschool and college!) we had kids starting at all different times through the month of August, and it was a super busy time for me. So I wouldn't say it was the best time for me to start training an 8 week puppy, but like many of my customers....life is busy, and you need to do your best.
I thought it would be helpful to all our new puppy customers as well as potential puppy customers to outline the training and socialization that I have done with Ginger to possibly give you some ideas of how to incorporating a new puppy into your life.
8 Weeks:
Between 8 and 9 weeks of age, all of Ginger's litter mates were going to their new homes. It was time for Ginger to start the next phase of her life too as an official member of our family. As soon as Ginger turned 9 weeks of age, I took her to the veterinary for her second set of shots (3 weeks apart from the 6 week set of shots). With those shots taken care of my comfort level with taking Ginger out in public would be much greater!
9 weeks
Unfortunately, my family was scheduled for a week vacation at the beach on Aug 4...and I had not counted on a new puppy at the time that we booked the house. So just like many of my puppy families during the month of August, I was scrambling in my head to think of who I could trust with Ginger. I already had a college student lined up to house sit, and watch my adult dogs.....but I did not want to overwhelm him with the responsibilities 4 adult dogs....and a 9 week puppy.
Lucky for me, I have a friend who has a lot of experience with dogs who was able and willing to take Ginger for a week. So at 9 weeks of age Ginger was starting fresh with a new family, just like her litter mates. During the week at my friends house, she had quiet time in her pen with her Ugodog, as well as outdoor potty breaks and playtime out on the lawn with my friend and her other pets. When I got home after the week, Ginger was thrilled to see me! It felt so good to be loved and remembered! I was not sad that I had left her. Because I knew she had had a really great week experiencing a new place, with new people and new pets. Her socialization time (after her litter life) was off to a great start!.
10 Weeks:
My puppy was now a week older.....I could see that during my week away, Ginger had made great strides in her outdoor potty habits. She was going potty as soon as we took her outside, and was doing great holding it inside during playtime. She had also got really good at climbing out of her pen, so I immediately ordered a pen with a lid so I had a secure spot to leave her when I was away from home. During the day Ginger prefers a 24 inch wire crate that I keep in the kitchen. She settles down happily in the crate and watches the family go by, or naps until it is time for her to go potty again.
Car Rides: The car rides are very short at 10 weeks. I drop my son at the bus stop, so we are home in less than 10 minutes. Its a very gentle way to make her very comfortable in the car.
Potty Training
I have Ginger on a Outdoor Potty schedule. She can use her Ugodog in her pen, when she is there, but mostly she would rather go outside. She will cry pitifully if she needs to go potty. And I immediately take her outside and she does her business roght away. After that I can let her run around the kitchen with the big dogs for 30 - 45 minutes...I still supervise her playtime.....and then she goes back to the crate for about an hour.
At night time, I put Ginger's crate next to my bed. She used the potty tray until she was 11 weeks old. But by then she was easily climbing out of pens. So it was just easier to keep her in a wire crate where she could not escape. By 11 weeks she was also holding her bladder from 11 pm to 6:30 am....so I was Ok with taking her outside to potty. If I want to sleep in...I take her to use the potty and then put her back in her crate and go back to bed. She doesn't start her day officially, until I start my day. And she sits in her crate quietly watching me get ready. She is so good. She lets me take all the time I need to shower and get ready in the morning. She doesn't make a peep. When I am ready to go down and start my day, she comes along with me.
Commands
This week I am training Ginger to SIT. I give a hand signal and lift the treat slowly over head. When she sits I give her the treat. I will train her with the hand signal first and then add the word "sit" when the visual cue is already learned.
Leash Training:
I got Ginger an Harness in size Small. It is better for her not to be jerking her little neck in getting use to the leash. I do not drag her along on the leash. I patiently wait, taking a few steps until she starts to follow me. I do not drag her along or yank her. There is no rush here. If I have to get somewhere with her, I pick her up. Usually I do some time letting her follow me on leash and some time walking with her in my arms. My first trip to Petco was an uncomfortable place for her. She would just sit down or try to pull away. I just picked her up for a few minutes. And went about my business. A few minutes later I let her walk some more. When she stopped and sat, I picked her up for a few more minutes. It was fine. She was developing a comfort level with the new place and it requires patience.
Grooming:
I have trimmed Gingers nails several times over the weeks. I gave Ginger her first puppy cut at 10 weeks of age. (Sept 9) I did not cut the fur too close. It was a super quick trim with the shears. She didn't like it too much and tried to gnaw on the grooming shears...which is what puppies do. But it was not agressive biting...just the puppy play biting. I had my daughter hold her still and did a very quick all over trim of her body and legs. (the photos are of Ginger after her puppy cut) I gave Ginger her hair cut, to get her use to the grooming process. After I was finished, I missed her fluffy puppy coat. If I had it all to do over again, I would instead use a large attachment comb on the shears to give Ginger the grooming experience without taking off any of the fur. Oh well, she is still cute...and fur does grow back pretty fast.
SOCIALIZATION: It is super important that you spend the first few months with our puppy exposing her to as many new POSITIVE people, pets, places and experiences as possible. At this age everything is new for Ginger and I watch her closely to make sure I am not presenting too much too soon. If Ginger appears stressed by whining, yawning or hiding, then I pick her up and take her to a more comfortable situation.
The list below what I documented for this week with Ginger:
The Car: Short Car Rides to the bus stop daily
The World: Visit to Parking lot, and Petco store: 4 adults, 2 children.
Kid Playtime: 4 children from the neighborhood come to play with our puppies regularly. I also visit the play ground regularly so she can meet a ton of new children.
Adult Playtime: I have had 10 adults and 4 teens come over to the house week and interact with the puppy..
Puppy Play time at Petco: 2 adults 1 child and 1 other puppy (4) months old Collie)
Field Hockey practice at the park - 4 adults, 6 teens, an Puppy meets a dozen people and experiences a new place
Pet Store: 3 adults and 1 other puppy (10 mths old Golden Retriever)
Ginger still has a lot of training for the months ahead. I hope that this blog post encourages you not to waste anytime socializing your puppy while he or she is still young.
