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I am by no
means an experienced breeder and having been a part of Esta’s 3
litters has not turned me into one. There were many times especially
during the weaning of the puppies that I would have liked to have
had contact with other brood bitch holders, especially those with
German Shepherds, so as to find out how they brought up their pups.
So these pages are to share my experiences and to give newcomers an
insight into the wonderful world of breeding Guide Dog puppies.
I learned that as with most things in life, bringing up puppies is
not an exact science. As there are lots of different ways of
nurturing and bringing up children, there are lots of different ways
of nurturing and bringing up puppies. Puppies from different breeds
may behave slightly differently; German Shepherd puppies tend to be
noisier than Labradors and can be more fussy about their food. With
each litter I had different experiences and they were all purebred
Shepherd pups. Therefore there is no right or wrong way to bring up
a litter, as long as both the bitch and her puppies are healthy,
contented and thriving. You want to feel that you have given them a
good start in life. So don’t consider these pages to be the right
way to bring up a litter, this is just how I did it, and how I
experienced being a Brood Bitch holder.
Breeding puppies can be stressful at times especially for the first
couple of weeks. You worry about them all feeding well or getting
accidently squashed by their mum as they seem so small and
vulnerable. Hence I slept on the sofa for the first 2 weeks, which I
am sure was not necessary! When the pups have to be de-wormed you
worry that they might get diarrhoea, which mine never did!
With the first litter I had to remind myself to sometimes just sit
and enjoy them, to spend time watching them and getting to know
these little ones’ characters. The fun part is when the socializing
starts and family and friends arrive with their children to admire
the pups and play with them. You end up making copious cups of tea
and everybody takes hundreds of pictures!
The most relaxing thing about breeding for the Guide Dogs is that
you have their total back up and support. All the pups will go to
their puppy walkers, who have been lined up long before the pups are
born. And of course the most rewarding and exciting thing of all is
when you receive the news that after a couple of years of intensive
socializing and training some of these pups eventually qualify to
become fully fledged Guide Dogs and will transform somebody’s life.
These are some of the main points I learned from Esta’s litters:
●
That drinking Coca Cola helped keep me awake during whelping. I
never drink this at any other time!
● That after 2 weeks sleeping on the sofa, a
bed becomes luxury!
● That playing & doing some fun training with
Esta every day during lactation helped make her a more relaxed
mum.
● Only ever try to weigh a puppy when it is
asleep!
● When a pup turns away from its food on the
saucer, it maybe because it dislikes the saucer and not the
food!
● That crumpled newspapers are a complete pain
in a puppy pen, as they start going underneath them or worse
still retrieve them and drag them around; so only use ‘ironed’
newspapers!!
● When they are 4 weeks old don’t try and
clean the pen in the morning with the pups in it, you get bitten
and covered in ……….!
● Feed the pups in a different area and clean
the pen before you put them back in.
● Prepare breakfast without making a sound, so
the pups don’t know you are there and won’t scream!
● Never walk into a puppy pen with a tray in
your hands as you are likely to step on or fall over one of
them. Put the tray down before you enter.
● Don’t bother too much with fancy toys as
they much prefer to play with each other, cardboard boxes,
plastic tubs and flower pots.
● They love to climb onto, into and over
things like logs and low obstacles.
● That a Summer litter is much more fun than a
Winter litter!
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