Buying a new Puppy
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT A DOG?
Article written and in memory of Joyce Stranger
For thousands of people there is nothing like a dog in the home. It is a treasured companion, valued by everyone and it is devastating when it dies, as dogs have much shorter lives then we do. The dog becomes part of the family, and life without is unthinkable.
Others may see the beautifully behaved dog, envy the relationship and think that they too would like to find a canine companion. They do not realise that care has to be taken in the pup’s selection. They do not realise that dogs are not born with perfect manners. Like children, they have to be taught. The reality comes as a considerable shock.
Every year, thousands of puppies are born. These are all charming little animals, appealing to everyone. People who had never thought of having a dog see one and think how good it would be to have it as a companion.
There are several sayings that have come down through the ages, and these still apply.
We hear that somebody ‘has been sold a pup,’ meaning that they have been caught out
in some way, and the purchase is not what they wished for.
The second saying applies to dogs as well as to other walks in life.
BUYER BEWARE
There is a third saying, that it always the owner that is at fault, not the dog.
This is often true, but it is not always so, as some puppies are doomed from the start. Owners try desperately to civilise them but are playing with loaded dice.
Others may have a mental problem. Dogs also have brain tumours, some breeds being more susceptible than others.
It is wise to ask questions and to find out as much as possible about the pup’s background. It pays to find out where they were born, as puppies confined to barn or shed or garage may not be well cared for, and may know nothing of the world outside.
Not all breeders are scrupulous.
One pup turned up at a dog class with an owner saying it was a very special breeding and had cost around three times the normal sum for pup of that breed.
The owners had recently lost a well loved old dog of the same breed. Desperate to find a replacement, they had looked in the local paper and found that pups were for sale.
They drove over at once and told the breeder they were very anxious for a puppy, having just lost an older dog.
They were told that, sadly , all were now sold. There were would be more pups in a few weeks. If they liked to see what was being bred they could come and see the breeder’s own pup from the last litter, brought indoors to live as a household pet.
The pup was on a white rug in a dog bed beside the fire. He was delighted to see people and came to greet them. They were given tea, and invited to stay as long as they liked.
Couldn’t they take him home?
No, they were told. He was definitely not for sale. They offered double the price. At three times the usual selling price the breeder agreed to let the pup go home with new owners. Luckily he proved a reasonable acquisition, though he certainly should not have been sold at such an astronomical price. It is as well not to confess to a need to have a pup after a dog has died as at such a time owners are very vulnerable.
The same scene can be played with inexperienced buyers who are unaware of the usual price of pups of the breed they have chosen.
There is no law against this, but it is as well to be prepared.
If possible look at both parents, known technically as the sire and the dam. Often the stud dog is some distance away but the mother should be there and available to meet the future buyers of her puppies. If the mother barks and shows signs of not letting you anywhere within her territory, she may have taught the pups to be distrusting and they are very likely to be unfriendly little animals.
Sometimes accidents happen when the pups are born. The mother may die, or have so many pups she cant rear them all. So some are hand reared. This makes for problems later as the puppy does no mix with other dogs, only humans and has no idea how to react with them. When he goes out and meets dogs for the first time he may well be so frightened he attacks them, and then there is trouble.
Many pups are carefully bred and reared to make ideal companions. Others are bred
by people who are only concerned with making money. These will be fed as cheaply
as possible and sold as soon as possible. They may not be easy or happy as little
has been done to provide them with all they need in those first critical weeks. The
pup’s time in the nest influences the rest of his life. The wrong treatment can result
in a very unhappy dog indeed, needing a great deal of time and knowledge on its new
owner’s part to eradicate those mistakes.
Not all owners have the time to spare to make sure the pup becomes sociable and easy to manage. If it is badly disturbed, that is a long process, and can’t be done overnight. A puppy like this will be a disaster in a busy household, or for someone out at work for a great part of the day.
Many litters are accidents due to owners who did not take care when their bitch was in season. Either she escaped or the local wandering Romeo came to call. This may well produce pups with undesirable temperaments.
There are households with two dogs that were brother and sister and the innocent owners were sure that nothing would happen. Or they did not realise the bitch was in season and did not separate her from her male companion. No matter how closely they are related, dogs do not think as we do. They do what comes naturally. Experienced dog owners would not take on a puppy from such parents. Closely bred dogs are often extremely excitable, and this is also when inherited faults show up, as they occur in both parents.
In such circumstances the bitch is often too young to have puppies. Immature bitches may not make good mothers, which gives the puppy a disadvantage from the start. She will not have not finished her growth by her first season. . The pups will take much needed sustenance from the mother, so that she will lack nutrients that should have gone into her own development.
The bitch about to produce unwanted puppies is unlikely to be given the extra care that she needs, or the diet that will produce strong healthy pups. Some owners dont even realise she has put on weight because she is due to produce a litter. Suddenly there can be up to ten or more puppies in the house. They produce a lot of noise and mess, and need care and attention. They may not be healthy, as nobody realised that a great deal of care is needed to produce a strong litter.
For example one pedigree bitch was bought with every good intention. The family had never had a dog before and they found a dog around the house was a nuisance as they did not bother to teach her manners. They were not well off, so made a very makeshift kennel for her and chained her so that she couldn’t escape but could go inside when she wished.
They did not consider the site of the kennel, which was at the foot of a slope. Nor did they consider the fact that other dogs could get into the garden. Inevitably a visiting dog mated her without her owner’s knowledge. They knew she was gaining weight but did not realise she was about to produce a litter. They fed her but spent little time with her.
The pups were born in a flooded kennel in a thunderstorm and all drowned. It did not occur to the owners to take her to the vet after such a traumatic experience. She died two days later. This is gross negligence, and the poor animal suffered a great deal through such casual behaviour on the part of her owners, who were horrified by both tragedies yet seemed quite unaware that they had neglected her needs.
Another bitch escaped and was mated and taken to the vet for an injection to abort
the puppies. Five days later she escaped again and mated again. The injection could
not be given twice and so the bitch had to continue with the whelping. Accidents
like this happen so easily and this particular bitch lived in a big family with several
children who failed to shut doors. 
Many of these litters end up in Rescue Centres,
as does the bitch, as she has proved too much of a nuisance.
Another reason for a good pedigree bitch being taken to a Rescue Centre is the mistaken belief that once she has had cross breed pups, she can’t be used for breeding. If, after a due period for her to recover from the stress and strain of a litter, she is mated to a pedigree dog of her own breed, all the pups will be pedigrees.
It is an unpleasant fact that, every year, many dogs are abandoned casually, dumped in the street, thrown out of cars, often on motorways, probably in the hope they will be run over and killed. Some have been tied to a post . Others taken into the country and left. This may be the result of an impulse buy, or of a dog being given as a present. Or maybe the pup was bought in good faith, with great excitement and high expectations but without the slightest idea of what was entailed, and the family tires of the time involved in its care. They do not want the expense of euthanasia.
One puppy was found tied to a tree in the woods. He was about nine weeks old. He had been there for at least two days before he was found and taken to somewhere where he could be given food and shelter. Someone had bought him and decided he was too much trouble. His abandonment was an act of great cruelty. There was no provision for shelter or food and drink. He was left to starve, was cold and wet, and would have died had he not been found by someone who heard him crying.
Some dogs are put down before they are two years old, as between around eight months and two all breeds go through a teenage phase. If the pup has been trained before that starts, it is much easier to manage. The old idea that dogs ought not to have any training until six months is not only long out of date, but is responsible for many abandoned dogs. They must be taught good manners.
A young puppy certainly can’t take the severe training that we saw in the Barbara Woodhouse days, but today’s training is very different, based on rewards and dog psychology. The new pup can be taught at eight weeks to sit, lie down, refrain from jumping up and from chewing human feet and fingers, and to come when called. All this is done as a wonderful game and pups adore it.
The Guide Dogs for the Blind organisation, who need dogs trained to a high standard, has done a great deal of research into the training of pups. They have discovered that the best time to start teaching them is between six and seven weeks old.
Wild dogs train their pups from three weeks old. The pup that does not obey his mother when she tells him to lie perfectly still when danger threatens is not going to last very long. By the time the pups are a few months old she has taught them all she knows and they are on their own, to learn more from experience.
Domestic pups trained from the time they first come home are far easier to manage when they reach puberty. This, in dogs, can be as difficult as it is with human children.
The puppy does not stay tiny and appealing for long. Within a few weeks he is almost full size, but his brain is still that of a baby animal. He needs teaching.
If not taught, the pup becomes unruly and wild around seven months old and many owners
find they simply cannot cope. The pup is not mature and sensible until around two
years old when the hormones settle. Nobody warned the owners about this phase. Many
find they can’t cope. Again, he is handed over for re-
There is nothing more upsetting than a Centre full of dogs nobody wants, sitting forlornly in their cages, their eyes pleading with visitors to please, take them home and give them a happy life. The majority of these places are so full that the dog only has seven days to live. Every day hundreds of unwanted pets are put to sleep, because the previous owners did not think hard enough before they bought a puppy, on impulse, without considering what is needed in its care.
A dog is a responsibility and also a commitment. He needs exercise. He needs to be let out to relieve himself., or there will be unwanted offerings on the floor because he can’t hang on for ever. No more lazy Sunday mornings lying in bed.
He needs more attention than just a walk on a lovely day when the sun is shining. On scorching summer days it is best to walk early in the morning or in the evening, as the full heat of the day is exhausting. He has to go out in rain, in snow, or in howling gales, when it would be much more pleasant to be indoors in the warm.
He needs somewhere where he can empty himself without causing offence to others and where it is easy to remove. If he fouls the street, owners can be fined a considerable sum if it is not cleaned up.. A strong polythene bag to deal with an emergency is the constant companion of all good dog owners. Dogs can be taught not to foul pavements or living areas.
The dog needs to be stopped from constant barking, which will upset neighbours. He needs to be taught not to rush at strangers and alarm children. Under the Dangerous Dogs Act, a dog owner can be prosecuted for having a dog that is out of control in a public place.
He needs to be kept free from internal worm infestation and external flea infestation. He needs grooming. The short haired dogs are relatively easy to keep and dont need much time spent on keeping them in good condition and their fur dust free. The long haired dogs need far more time spent on them and those long coats must be groomed daily, or they turn into matted clumps which may need expert attention.
This can be another burden on an owner without much spare time. The dog will suffer from an uncombed and matted coat which proves a wonderful harbour for parasites such as fleas and ticks.
He may need nursing and will undoubtedly need a vet at sometime in his life.
He needs games to play and to interest him, or he will be bored and invent his own interests, which may be very undesairable from a hyman viepoint.
A young pup needs four meals a day for two weeks, then three meals a day until he
is six months old, when he will need two meals a day. This is usually kept on for
the rest of his life, as one big meal can cause problems such as bloat and torsion.
Two smaller meals are much easier to digest. he shouldneo be fed before strenuous
exercise. 
. It is far from easy to take on a puppy if the owners are out at work for a considerable part of a day. House training is not possible unless someone is there to take care of the pup’s needs. He needs those three meals. He needs to go outside. He can’t hang on for hours.
When wet, the dog needs to be dried. Muddy paws, if not washed, leave marks all over the house that also have to be cleaned up. Most dogs shed fur, not just once or twice a year, but constantly.
If at the end of reading this you still want a dog, you are at the beginning of an adventure. There is nothing like a well trained companion to make life far more fun. The dog becomes part of the family, treasured by everybody if he is taught well and controlled.
Dogs, if treated well, are creatures of great joy. They love to see you each day. They greet you as if you have been away for hours when you have just gone in and out of the room. They walk with you, play with you, and generally enhance daily life. For those living alone they are valuable companions, providing so much pleasure. They dont care if you are the Queen or one of her most lowly subjects. Both receive the same loyalty and affection.
We have all seen the signs that say ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’. In spite of this many people fail to realise that the pup they buy now is going to grow into an adult dog within a few months, and dogs these days happily live to their late teens.
A dog can be a great companion, or, as one owner described hers when she came for help, a headache on four legs. All dogs, whatever their size or breed, need to be taught manners. Care in buying the dog, and time taken in teaching the dog to be civilised, will result in the companion of a lifetime.
WHEN NOT TO BUY A DOG.
Some people choose the wrong dog for their circumstances. The dog they have is a disaster, but they not realise it is not their fault, or the dog’s. In another home with owners with a different life style, he would be a very easy dog. They chose the wrong breed
. A pup that is better suited to their lives would be a great companion.
There are guides to the right dog for the right owner and it is well worth consulting them before deciding to buy.
Owners need to be very responsible.
Even the time of year at which the pup is bought can make a difference.
It is much easier to take on a pup at the beginning of summer, with long light evenings ahead for house training. Going outside in the cold and dark, or gales, snow and ice, will put a puppy off doing anything. He is shivery and unhappy and wants to get back in the warm. Unfortunately as soon as he does, he relaxes, and then there is trouble. If scolded at this point, he will be even harder to train as he is now afraid not only of performing his natural functions, but also of his owner.
It is never a good idea to buy a puppy and bring it home at Christmas or on a birthday when there is to be a party. The noise and jollity, high voices of excited children, balloons that may burst, and the bang of crackers, will terrify him.
People rushing around may tread on him. He will lost in a sea of legs, and as disturbed as we would be if kidnapped by giant aliens and taken to a strange place full of immense noisy people where we can’t even understand what is said to us.
Busy people forget to take him out and there are puddles and messes which get trodden in and then the puppy is blamed, when it wasn’t his fault at all. Well meaning people give him unsuitable food and he is sick.
He has lost the peace and security that he knew with his mother and litter mates that was provided by an experienced breeder who understands the puppies’ needs. He is fretting for them and homesick and nobody has time for him.
He needs quiet, and people to help him to adapt to this new way of life, to teach him the rules he now has to obey. These maybe quite different to those in his first home. It is essential to make sure he is not accidentally hurt by rough hands, as he may protest by growling and snapping. He has no other way to communicate and say he is being hurt. He also needs somewhere quiet to sleep as little pups have short bursts of energy and then collapse, exhausted.
If no allowed sufficient rest they become as irritable as a small child who has been kept up too long.
It is better to give the lead and collar and feeding bowls and blankets, as presents and bring the pup home when the festivities are over. Then the first days can be spent peacefully. helping him settle in and showing him how to behave.
There is no doubt that a dog will change lives. Sometimes people buy at the wrong stage of their lives and the result is disaster. One couple, longing for a dog, bought one three weeks before their first baby was due. They had no idea that a puppy is hard work, and a baby even harder work.
That puppy was re-
It can be difficult to look after a first time puppy when there are very young children in the family. Babies are not mobile for the first few months but problems can begin when the infant starts to crawl. The puppy takes the child’s toys and may destroy them as he is teething and will chew anything available. The child takes the dog’s toys and sucks them, which is far from desirable.
An older dog can often live very happily with a large young family. The dog has already
been taught to behave well, and got over the puppy stage and the adolescent stage.
It is very difficult for the mother of several young children to add a new puppy
to her many chores. House training may be hit and miss, with missing more often than
hitting. Then there is a major problem as small children play on the floor, and crawl
through the mess or drop their toys in it or walk it and spread it round the house.
Small children suck their fingers.
Toddlers may pull tails and ears, with the result that the pup gets snappy, warning the child off by growling because he is being hurt. Untaught pups are boisterous, rushing around.
One small girl of two was constantly knocked over by their ten month old Labrador, as he rushed to get through doors before her. . This stopped when the child and the dog had lessons together and the little girl was taught how to prevent this. The dog learned faster than the child and soon learned he must not jump at her or push her..
If dog and child are taught together, many youngsters can manage the dog better than their parents. The child gains enormous benefits from the right relationship. Many adults will remember the family dog as companion and confidant and a comfort if things went wrong at home.
Children, especially boys, may tease. Or they may wrestle with the dog which will then assume they are litter mates. Pups play bite which does not hurt when there is dense fur. Children dont have fur. They may excite the dog and over stimulate him and not allow him any peace. A tired dog may well become bad tempered, and then there are real problems. Many a dog has been put to sleep for biting when the actual culprit was the child, whose possibly innocent actions, which nobody checked, were in fact cruel. The dog had no other means of protesting or stopping himself being hurt.
Dog bites are relatively rare, but the statistics show that boys are bitten far more often than girls. Boys can be rough, and having not yet learned how to moderate their actions, may be very heavy handed without even realising that. Girls are not perfect, and sometimes a child is jealous of the dog, sure that mother prefers him to their own children, and pull ears or tail when nobody is looking.
Most dogs do tolerate an amazing amount of ignorant treatment, but there are those who dont and then there may be a very serious problem.
Games need to be supervised. The children must also be taught to be gentle and considerate.
One grandfather felt that his daughter’s children were too rough with the dog, a charming little collie cross. She was becoming snappy and irritable. He confiscated her, taking her to live with himself and his wife. After an initial period of bewilderment she became very contented and happy, having great fun learning all kinds of things with an owner had time for her and who understood her needs. The children visit for short periods and grandfather has laid down a set of rules which they must obey. She is now a very different dog.
There are many households which fit themselves around the dog, who is very clever at bossing everyone if he is not taught his place. He will discipline his family, perhaps with wile and guile, which nobody recognises, so he manages to persuade everyone to do as he wants, when he wants. Life revolves round the dog. Some owners will tolerate this. Others tire of it and another dog is looking for a new home.
One dog was bought by a couple who both work. They come home, take the dog for a
short walk and feed it, and then go out again. The dog is put in the shed when they
are not at home, and leads most of its life cooped up, and alone. It was bought after
they were burgled, but it is not going to protect the house when locked in a shed.
Nor is it fair to keep a dog under such conditions. It is a very lonely and unsatisfactory
life for him. 
Often devoted sons and daughters can cause problems when they decide to buy a dog for a newly widowed mother. Sometimes they dont even ask if she wants a dog, and her vision of freedom to do as she wants is abruptly terminated, as now she is tied by the pup’s needs , and does not like to refuse it. Totally free for the first time for many years, she planned a new life for herself, going off for weekends with friends, or long days spent shopping with perhaps a theatre or cinema afterwards, or an impulse invitation to come and have a meal. That is now impossible.
The dog can’t be left for hours on end and needs exercise and feeding.
Sons seem invariably to buy a large dog, such as a German Shepherd, or a medium,
but very active dog such as a Springer Spaniel. Mother is very elderly, has arthritis
and can’t walk long distances, and has not the energy to cope with what seems to
be a tearaway once it begins to grow. The dog may be re-
The dog is expensive to keep and eats into what can be a very small pension. She may take it to dog club and find that difficult as the dog wants to play and is so strong she can barely hold it, let alone teach it. So it does as it chooses, and friends cease to visit as the dog is so badly behaved. The owner leads a very restricted life.
If the dog is chosen carefully, is of the right breed, and is biddable, there is a very different result. The dog is great fun and a happy companion can keep an elderly owner in far better health and state of mind than if he or she lived alone.
It is a good rule never to give a dog as a present without first asking if the recipient actually wants a dog. Sometimes fond aunts and uncles produce a puppy for a birthday or Christmas without asking the child’s parents if they wish to have a dog, or a family friend has an unwanted litter and is unscrupulous about persuading friends to take one for nothing..
The dog proves a tie. That well meant gesture has turned life into a nightmare.
It is a very different if the future owner says, ‘ That’s wonderful. I would love a dog, but I can’t afford the breed I want.’
The family can then combine to buy the puppy, and make sure the future owners are involved in seeing it and choosing it. Many people say that when they saw the litter or they went to the rescue home, the dog chose them. This is always a good start for a future relationship.
Before buying a pup it is as well to consider the family. A big dog may be a hazard with small children, especially as it reaches eight months or so. They are not trained in an instant. It may be too boisterous and frightening and there is nothing worse than children terrified of the dog. Sometimes the mother is also afraid of him, as he considers her an unimportant family member and will not obey her.
Sometimes the man in the family will bring home a puppy. He has always longed for a big dog to train and walk with. Unfortunately he hasn’t realised that he hasn’t the time. His partner is small and not very happy about a dog being added to her many chores. Most dogs end up being cared for entirely by the woman in the family. Men and children may say they will look after him, but it is usually mother who trains him, feeds him,, takes him out, and looks after him when he is ill.
The dog grows and becomes a very powerful animal. He wants to greet people they meet when out, to run off and play with other dogs. Walks become a misery, with a dog that pulls on the lead, lunges at every dog and person he sees, and his female owner is quite unable to cope with him. Again that dog may end in Rescue, or being confined to a kennel and never taken out.
All dogs need exercise and something to occupy their brains. A dog kept like that has a very frustrating life.
The family would have been far better off with a much smaller dog, though those too must be taught to behave well. If one partner stays at home, and does not want the dog he may well be put into the garage as soon as the other partner has gone to work.
Or it may, like one very unpopular dog, be let out into the street soon after the
front door has closed behind his male owner, to do as he chooses all the time.
That, in his case, included chasing bicycles, children and cats; stealing from bird
tables, and attacking on-
All dogs tend to jump at people unless taught otherwise. Big ones, when jumping, may knock people over. This can lead to injury. A large stray Labrador wandered into a garden. The owner tried to put him on a lead to make him safe for the dog warden who was called as no one knew where he belonged.
The dog was delighted to find someone friendly and leaped at his finder, knocking
her over. She lived alone except for her own dog. The result of that was a dislocated
shoulder and several weeks of being unable to look after herself or walk her dog.
Several friends helped, interrupting their own lives. The owner of the stray had
no idea of the cost of that piece of carelessness as no-
One family thought very carefully indeed before buying their dog. He was a cross, the mother a Collie and the father a Labrador, both breeds contributing to a considerable intelligence. The dog was a family member. The father of the children worked at home, so the dog always had company.
The mother and eldest son took the dog to training classes. He was easy to live with, beautifully behaved and loved playing games with the children. He was the kind of dog everyone else wanted, but it didn’t just happen. The family all took care to ensure that the dog did not cause anyone problems. Without teaching he could have been as much of a problem as any other dog.
A great many people can manage a dog and help him become sensible without even realising they are doing so. They have set rules, maybe without even thinking about them, and everyone sees that the dog knows what is required of him. This means a much happier dog, as he seldom makes mistakes.
Little dogs are not always suitable in a family where someone is very old, unsteady or their feet, or has had a stroke.
So many problems can be prevented if those buying a dog consider their circumstances. It might be wiser for those out at work to wait till they retire, when they will have far more time and can give the dog a far better life than if he were left alone all day.
Sometimes those out at work may have parents living near, or other relatives or a neighbour who would love to have the dog all day, or call into take him for walks. with This can be ideal, as it may give a lonely person all the pleasure that they couldn’t otherwise afford. Or perhaps they are afraid the dog will outlive them, so won’t buy one.
This is another aspect of dog owning. Many people make provisions for their dogs in their wills, ensuring that someone else will be willing to give the dog a home. Failing that they can contact the Cinnamon Trust which provides homes for dogs whose owners are having an operation, or in long term care, or after death. Then in spite of their age they can continue to enjoy the benefits of a dog in the home without worrying about the future.
The Cinnamon Trust also has a list of Homes which allow their inmates to keep their
own pets,whetehr it is a cat, a dog, or a bird.
CAN YOU AFFORD A DOG?
There are great many hidden expenses where a dog is concerned so it really is necessary to consider these.
The main expense is food Small dogs cost comparatively little to feed. A dog such as a Mastiff will cost several pounds a week.
The dog needs a lead and a collar. These need to be strong and well made as flimsy leads break. The pet shop may insist you buy a chain collar. These are no longer regarded as acceptable as, wrongly used, they can cause damage to the dog’s neck.
The extendable leads can be risky, especially in busy street as the lead may lengthen and allow the dog to run into the road. They are not easy for arthritic hands to operate, and they break easily if a strong dog suddenly lunges.
He will need a dish for his food and another for his water, as they need access to that at all times. He needs a blanket to lie on, and a spare for when it is washed. His first bed can be a cardboard box, but later it is useful to have a place that the dog can call his own, out of the way of everybody in the house.
He also needs a brush and comb for grooming. A special grooming glove made of rubber is very useful, especially with long haired dogs. Nail clippers are useful as if the owner can clip the dog’s nails it saves expense. Those walked on pavements rarely need their nails clipped, but the claws of those that are exercised on beaches or grass often grow too long.
There are extra expenses which are very worthwhile. An indoor kennel ( known as a crate) is a boon when bringing up a puppy. It is a safe den for him to retreat to when the house is full of people, or there is a birthday party. He can go to sleep there out of the way of the family, when he needs peace. The crates are made of strong wire, and are not enclosed so that the pup is still part of the household, though safely tucked away where he can’t harm himself or others.
They are not cages, and dogs love them. They regard them as a den, their own special place where they can escape the family hurly burly. Once they are used to them they often retreat to them with the door open.
Pups can cause damage and this is avoided if the puppy is given a crate as sanctuary when no one has time to watch him. One owner had a pair of valuable Queen Anne chairs, until the puppy thought it a good idea to use the legs as teething rings. Another pup snacked on a first edition of plays by J.M. Barrie, which she removed from the bookcase. One owner is still walking round, long after the dog has become a memory, with the chewed camera case that she could not replace. Luckily the camera itself was undamaged.
Some dogs need a cage in the car, as they may chew the upholstery or seat belts. The best behaved dogs can do this unexpectedly . A blind man’s six year old Guide dog chewed the car seat belts when her owners were in church for a wedding and she was left alone in the car. She had never done any damage before.
A five year old police dog was given a lift home, with his handler, in a patrol car when the dog van broke down. The handler sat in the front seat and put the dog on the back seat. On arrival at their destination they found the dog had made a tasty snack of the back seat cover and all the buttons off a spare uniform jacket.
Most dogs are safe in the car and not destructive, but you can never be sure. A fright
might make the dog uneasy, so that he chews whatever is near, much as we might eat
a piece of chocolate if we felt unhappy. The dog may be on his own outside a shop
while the owner is inside. Schoolchildren come out and some stupid boy bangs on the
roof and miaows at the dog, which is guaranteed to make the best behaved dog try
to retaliate. He can’t get at the child so he wreaks his anger of the upholstery.
One dog tormented in this way would pick up her rug and shake it violently as if she were killing a rat. This did get rid of her frustration but she was never safe with boys of the age of those who teased her. The teasing was not discovered for some months as they were careful to run off before her owner came out of the shop. A passer by told the owner what was happening.
Some dogs can travel safely on a harness in the back seat. Many have a dog guard, but this needs to be strong, well made and well fitted. One driver, doing an emergency stop as a fox ran across the road late at night, had three large dogs behind a guard . She was trapped by the neck over the steering wheel as it fell when their combined weights hit it, and the dogs were all thrown over the back seats into the front. There was no one about, it was pitch dark, before the days of mobile phones and it took nearly an hour to for the driver to free herself and deal with three extremely distressed panicking dogs.
A guard needs to be substantial, well fitted, and very secure. The kind which have three bars will not keep a puppy in the back. Small dogs can wriggle through them and turn up when least wanted, as when the owner is driving fast on the motorway .
One pup wriggled through while the car was parked outside a shop while her owner paid the newspaper bill. The owner came out to find the pup had climbed up the passenger seat and tried to get through the window.
Luckily she stuck and was half in and half out. Had she managed to climb out she would have fallen onto the road and undoubtedly been run over.
Often a dog may be seen with his head of the window as a car passes. A sudden swerve and the dog may collide with a lamppost. There are lattices that can be put in the window to prevent this.
One owner travelled his little dog on the back window ledge, where he loved to watch the traffic, till the summer day when thedriver did an emergency stop and the dog shot through the open window, luckily on to a grass verge. He was too stunned to run off, and was not badly hurt. But he might have taken off in fright and been run over.
Another dog, when the owner did an emergency stop, hit the hatchback which flew up and he fell out into the road. Again he was too startled to run and fortunately there was nothing behind them. It could have been a very different story All these dogs travelled in cages after those incidents.
Cages are desirable to prevent further damage or problems, but they are expensive.
Veterinary bills are rarely less than £20 for a simple health problem. Most vets charge an initial consultation fee of around £10 at present, whatever the problem. Injuries, and inherited problems such as blindness, bad hips, epilepsy or some other fault can be passed on by the pup’s mother or father. Their treatment can run to hundreds of pounds. Sometimes insurance firms won’t take on a dog with a known inherited problem.
If the dog has a recurring problem that has had to be treated before insurance is taken out, that is not covered either, though other problems will be covered.
Insurance is costly, but vet bills can run into thousands of pounds so that it can prove a boon. Those on very small incomes can register with a vet who is affiliated to the PDSA ( Peoples’ Dispensary for Sick Animals.) This costs £10 to join but further treatment is paid for by the organisation.
Sometimes very unexpected problems can occur. Recently a number of dogs given pigs’ ears to chew became very ill .One was so ill he had to go to a veterinary hospital for some weeks for nursing and investigation into the cause of his illness. It was discovered the ears were imported from China and had brought in with them an very nasty infection that was not known here.
The dog requiring hospitalisation now has severely damaged kidneys and a very short life expectation. He is only two. His vet bills so far have come to over £4000 and he isn’t insured.
More veterinary attention is often needed as the dog ages. My last German Shepherd had a major skin problem in her last two years and the vet bills came to considerably over a thousand pounds each year. Insurance can help with this, but most insurers expect you to pay the first £50, and, when the dog is over ten, if they will still insure at that stage, the compensation is halved.
It is dismaying to buy a dog and then find that he is too expensive to keep.
WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
It is not easy to bring up a puppy in a flat unless it is on the ground floor with easy access to the garden. Pups need to go out as soon as they wake, immediately after they are fed, when they get excited and times in between. It is bad for their hips to go up and down stairs and this, done too early, may result in expensive leg problems and frequent visits to the vet
The toy breeds can easily be carried up and down but this is still time consuming.
If there is no yard or garden the dog will have to be walked to a suitable place to relieve himself. This has to be done several times a day, and n all seasons, in all weathers.
No matter how small or large the garden it needs to be very thoroughly fenced. Puppies can escape through remarkably small openings. They can also dig under a fence. As they grow up they can be very imaginative. Several dogs have discovered that they can push things round and stand on them to get over a fence.
One proved a real headache as he could push a chair to enable him to get on to high counters and steal food. He could also open the refrigerator door and every door in the house. There are many homes which have had to put bolts on the refrigerator door. One house has all the door handles upside down because the owners had two born escapees. One was a cat who could open the door for the dogs to get out.
Eager noses and determined paws can lift latches easily.
There are dogs that can also open car doors unless locked. One of these saw another dog at the traffic lights and opened the door and jumped out to play with it, causing a considerable problem to those around.
Problems can arise in a very isolated home where few people visit, and there is no time to take the pup out and about to meet all kinds of people and situations. The likelihood is that a puppy brought up like this will tend to be wary, if not aggressive, with people and other dogs.
When the doorbell rings he may well become almost unmanageable, trying to warn away this intruder, so that again he needs to have visitor manners taught from the first day. He is best put on his lead and taken quietly to the door to greet whoever comes .
Most people like a certain amount of barking when people come, as this warns off undesirables. It is not easy to get a good balance, and is far less easy when visitors are rare.
It is wise if you live in a home like this, to take the dog out and about to as many different places as possible and make sure he is not afraid of traffic, people, other dogs, or strange situations.
Sometimes, if a dog has bitten someone, the owners prove to have a small holding with several acres, and allow the dog to run wild during the day. The dog will defend his property against strangers he regards as a threat. He may be allowed to wander in the garden unsupervised and bite someone coming through the gate on to his patch.
Dogs tethered on chains can become territorial and may be unsafe when tied up like this. They feel threatened by visitors they see as intruders and may attack. It is different if the tying up is temporary so that the dog is safe while the owner is busy gardening and is present and nearby.
If the dog is not a house companion he should have a kennel and large enclosed run, so that any visitor is safe. This needs to be in a shady place so that the dog is not exposed to midsummer sunshine without relief. It must be big enough for the dog to be comfortable and have room to stretch out and stand up. It needs shelter from rain and bad weather, and if it is to sleep there needs to be not only weatherproof but warm enough in freezing conditions. It also needs to be escape proof and padlocked. Many dogs are stolen from kennels every year, and some from back gardens where the dogs were left alone all day.
Dogs who live on housing estates, if well looked after and trained, are usually happy to meet people and dogs and pose few problems. But they do have to be taught not to bark continuously, or neighbours will, justifiably, complain. A complaint to the local Council can result in an investigation and an order to keep the dog from continuous barking.
Those living in a house where the front door opens straight on to the street have to make sure that the dog is never able to race out and on to the main road. Great care has to be taken by everyone to keep the pup safe. If there are children in a home like this it is wiser not to have a dog, as someone is sure to leave a door open, and it will escape into the road, and injured, if not killed.
Properly cared for, with their needs considered, dogs can be kept successfully in any kind of environment, providing that everything is done to ensure the safety of the pup, and to make certain that it is not a nuisance to the neighbours. Also the owners must make sure that he has plenty of exercise and changes of scene.
WHAT BREED?
This requires a great deal of thought.
So many pups are bought on impulse. Maybe the family were out for a drive and saw a notice on a gate. Or perhaps an advertisement in the paper. Maybe the children have seen 101 Dalmatians.
This film has resulted in a big demand for the breed and a large number of cowboy breeders cashing in on a trend. This bred is troubled by blindness and deafness as well as somewhat dizzy behaviour. Reputable breeders have been working to eradicate these faults, and their dogs are very different. But the unscrupulous dont care and as a result buying such a breed without careful research is risky. coming back. One pup was recently returned at twelve weeks as he was completely deaf and beginning to go blind.
Often Dalmatians start lessons. Few come for more than three weeks. Then comes a phone call. ‘I can’t live with this dog. It is so wild.’ None had come from reputable breeders. They were bought because they were cheaper than the best puppies. Often they were sold at far too young an age and that in itself causes problems afterwards.
Maybe the children see the Andrex advertisement and must have a puppy of that breed. Sadly, those TV advertisements and films like Lassie can bring many problems, due to people trying to cash in on a popular trend.
It is impossible to list all the breeds, as there are so many.
There are breeds that simply do not make good companions as they were bred to work, and come from working stock. Many people see collies in all the competitions at Cruft’s, and think they are easy to live with and to train. They are easy to live with if they are given plenty of exercise and occupation. If you want a dog that is happy to spend much of his time doing nothing, they are not the right breed.
Farm bred collies and working sheepdogs are intended to spend all day with the sheep. Left to themselves they will try to herd anything that moves, which includes people, horses, cars, bicycles, and even the children. The collie Rescue Centres are always full. So many people buy and then, as the dog grows, find it impossible to cope with all that energy.
Others are intrigued by the thought of winning easily in Obedience competitions. Not all dogs are capable of this and a disappointed owner decides the dog is no good as it hasn’t won and passes it on. There are no guarantees that any breed will produce constant winners.
Hunting dogs such as the Deerhound or the Afghan, and dogs like the lurcher, and the beagle, aren’t really suited to city life. They need space to run, and will do their best to escape if penned up. Greyhounds, surprisingly, are dogs that dont need a lot of exercise and are very happy to spend their time curled up by their owners. They are placid easy dogs, though their urge to chase can take over if they see a cat or a rabbit running.
. Dogs like the Malamute, the Samoyed and the Husky prefer to spend as much time as possible outside, even in snow, as they originate from countries with cold climates. They all have dense coats that require a lot of grooming.
Labradors, which may be yellow, chocolate or black, and Golden Retrievers are hunting dogs, but they adapt well to life as companion dogs, provided again they Are given plenty of exercise and training. Both breeds make good family dogs, but are not always manageable by frail elderly people. They need active owners.
Dogs like the Setters, the Weimaraners and Dalmatians are often difficult in a small home environment, as they are very excitable if not trained and exercised well. A well trained Irish Setter is a joy. One left to his own devices can find himself, at around a year old, advertised as ‘free to a good home.’ It is very necessary to do some research and find out why.
Many dogs are not suitable for those who are frail, or unable to walk long distances. They are boisterous if untrained and will jump up, and they are powerful
. Among the large dogs that can make very good companions are the Mastiffs. These are usually very gentle and biddable in spite of their size. Anyone choosing a Dogue to breed from may find that the heads are so big that the pups have to be born by Caesarean section, which is a very expensive procedure.
Among the smaller dogs is the King Charles Spaniel. This is a breed that has been known for centuries. One was owned by Mary Stuart, and helped to make her imprisonment easier. They make good pets where there are children. They can make as much noise as a big dog when they bark and put off would be burglars as well as any of the larger breeds.
Many small dogs, such as the terriers, need constant coat clipping, some as often as every six weeks, or their growing fur becomes unmanageable.
Flat faced dogs like the Pug and the Pekinese can have breathing problems and also eye problems.
The Shar Peis can have skin problems with infections in those folds on their faces. They are usually good companions but can have temperament problems.
There are breeds that adore being with children and will protect them, sometimes to an undesirable extent so that this has to be watched or parents may find that if they cuddle the child, the dog thinks his small protege is being attacked.
Any of these, well chosen, will prove a joy but sometimes the wrong person chooses the wrong breed. The house proud will not be happy with a dog that constantly sheds his fur. The fastidious will not enjoy a breed like a St Bernard, that drools copiously and needs a bib to keep his coat immaculate. It is well to stand far away when he shakes his head as that spittle can travel an amazing distance. It is always noticeable that any owner of such a breed keeps a roll of kitchen paper close at hand.
All dogs dribble if they see or smell food, but the amount that can be produced by these big dogs has to be seen to be believed.
. Poodles do not shed fur in the same way as other breeds. However, that coat needs constant clipping, It is a dog that can usually be kept if one of the family members is allergic to dogs as the coat does not cause the same problems as those that shed constantly.
Poodles were originally hunting dogs and are among the most intelligent of the breeds. Training them can provide enormous fun for owner and dog. The toy poodles make good companions for the elderly, though if not taught their place in the family they can be temperamental, demanding attention all the time.
The Standard Poodles are big intelligent dogs that are still used as gundogs in the United States, though few use them for that purpose in the UK.
With the right people they make lovely pets as they are good tempered and gentle. and good with children.
Terriers such as the Skye Terrier, the Yorkshire Terrier, and the Australian Terrier do make very good companions for those who live in small home, or in a flat. All these are intelligent dogs that love being trained, and can be as rewarding as the bigger breeds.
Often people dont bother to train small dogs, as they can pick them up easily to avoid trouble.. They miss so much as they are enormous fun when taught a few simple commands. Before the collie take over in Obedience competition prizes were won by cocker spaniels, Basset Hounds, Jack Russells and many of the terriers.
At one Working Trials, when the dogs had to follow a track, which is the footsteps or someone walking cross the ground, the only dog that managed to complete the performance was a Yorkshire Terrier. He beat a large number of police dogs and many of much bigger breeds.
Another successful competitor was a Papillon, another tiny dog that is also capable of being trained to high degree.
Shetland Sheepdogs do well in agility competitions, in spite of their small size. Cross breeds make ideal companions, are very hardy dogs, and extremely intelligent. There are fewer around now as mostly dogs are kept with more care, but a puppy of mixed parentage is as good as a pedigree in terms of fun and companionship. he will also cost far less.
One snag is that the crosses dont always turn out as you expect. Those tiny pups from that small bitch could have been sired by a very large dog indeed. In no time at all what the owner thought was a little dog proves to be almost the size of a mastiff. One was a cross between a Labrador bitch and a Pyrennean mountain dog. He was a wonderful dog but when he grew up he was almost as big as Shetland pony and would certainly not have fitted into a small house.
Two other breeds that do well and are fun are the Tibetan Spaniel and the Tibetan Terrier. The terriers (which is not a terrier) originated in Tibet where it is said to have been bred by Tibetan monks, who regarded it as a good luck symbol.
They are very good family dogs, and are easy for the very elderly as they dont need a great deal of exercise.
The Discover Dogs areas at big dog shows and at Cruft’s give a lot of guidance as you can see all the different breeds and talk to their owners.
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WHERE TO BUY
Pups may be found in most unsuitable places. One of these is a pet shop. Often a whole litter is handed over for sale, probably at too young an age. The breeder did not mean to have pups and can’t get rid of them fast enough. The puppies are put in cages together and may well not be adequately fed. They certainly won’t have had time or attention lavished on them.
Pups from this source can turn out well, but many dont. They may be sickening for some illness. They may not have been wormed. They may have been bullied by other puppies and become timid. If people stopped buying from these sources, then pups would no longer be sold and would not suffer as these do in their first days away from their mother and litter mates.
Another source is the dealer. These people buy up dozens litters, often collected from the other side of the country. The pups are crowded into rabbit hutches, piled one on top of another, and travelled across the country. A puppy that originated in Hull was sold, at five weeks old, with the rest of his litter to a dealer in Manchester.
The buyer saw him in a cage with a number of others of the same breed. He paid £300 for him as that was cheaper than a pup from a good breeder. By then he was twelve weeks old and had spent all that time in a big cage. The buyer was given a pedigree form but whether it was the right one is anybody’s guess, as a number of pups from different sources were all together.
The pup had never been anywhere apart from his first home, then he had to suffer a terrifying journey when he was far too young to be taken away from his nest, and then spent the next weeks in a cage in a big building which was very busy by day and completely deserted at night.
He was a disaster. He was frightened of everything that moved. He was afraid of people and of other dogs. He bit every member of the family and bit badly. He lasted eight months in his new home, while they tried desperately to help him overcome his fears. They spent endless money on advice from all kinds of people. They tried very hard, but nothing could overcome the terrible start he had in life.
When he was eight months old he bit his owner’s mother very badly indeed and after a long consultation with the vet and a number of other people, his short and unhappy life was ended.
Another undesirable source is a puppy farm. These usually have dozens of dogs of different breeds instead of specialising on one or two breeds. The bitches are bred every six months, living their lives in kennels, with no company. When worn out, they are put to sleep, or worse, may be abandoned or passed on to a Rescue Centre.
Few dogs from puppy farms prove good pets, and often they are sickly animals requiring a lot of veterinary care. These are the places that are seen on TV occasionally, shut down by the RSPCA because of the conditions.
One little bitch came from a place that had been closed down. She was one of 108 dogs kept together in an old barn in appalling conditions. They were half starved and the place was not cleaned. She came to her new home from Rescue at, they thought, about thirteen months old. She had already had a litter, and had not yet lost the signs of it. No one knows what had happened to her pups.
At first she was afraid of people in the room with her when they moved their hands or feet. She shied away when her lead was picked up and had a panic when she saw a walking stick. Luckily her new owners were determined to make her happy and after about six months with them she began to come out of her shell.
Her eyes lost their agonised look, her tail came up from being clamped firmly under her tummy, and she now greets people she trusts with pleasure. She is still very wary of strangers. She is just beginning to put on weight, but will always be undersized through that very bad start to her life.
It is far better to look for a pedigree dog or bitch from a really good source.
There are many good breeders of all dogs. The best place to ask is the Kennel Club, who will put you in touch with the Breed Societies. They give good advice and know who is breeding responsibly and who has come into breeding because they knew there would be an increase in the number of people wanting a dog like the one on the telly.
There are also two good weekly dog newspapers, Our Dogs and Dog World. They have informative articles and pages of Breed notes. Those who write the notes are very knowledgeable and would also give advice on buying a puppy and good places to buy from. Litters maybe advertised here, but it is as well to follow that up and enquire about the seller and the pups bred.
A good place to do this is a big dog show. Pick out the bred you want and find out which ring they are being shown in. Stand and watch and talk to anyone who has a dog of that breed. Ask where he was bought and find out as much about him as possible.
Those names on the pedigree are not just names. They are a complete history.
A dog may be a champion because he looks right, not because of what is inside his head. A pedigree can tell so much to those in the know. X passes on epilepsy. Y passes on blindness, and pups can be blind from a very early age if the mix of the parents’ genes is unlucky. Z’s pups are liable to have bad hips.
Once blindness was common among Golden Retrievers, Poodles and Red Setters
German Shepherds have suffered from haemophilia which came into this country from an imported dog. Those who know the names in the pedigree know which dogs carry it, and avoid them. It is now very rare, but again unscrupulous breeders who dont bother about the ancestry of their stock, may well produce a faulty dog. The worst affected pups usually die at birth, but some have it in a milder form and survive. It is still not easy to cope with it as if injured they bleed copiously and may need veterinary help to stop that.
Those who know are very careful in picking out the mother and father of the pups they are going to breed. The Breed societies do their best to stamp out problems and have been very successful. Many breeds that once had major problems now have almost eradicated them. But an unlucky chance, and someone who doesn’t care, and back they come.
Good breeders in the affected breeds have eyes tested and hips X-
. There may be problems due to an unfortunate throwback. That can’t be avoided, and the breeder is not to blame. If a fault does occur it is alway tell the breeder, with backing from your vet. Those who really care about their progeny will be only too glad to know, so that they can avoid the dogs that produced the problem and rectify matters in future litters. If the breeder refuses to believe you or is angry, you have made an unlucky choice.
It is not necessary to have a large array of champions in the parentage. This might be a drawback. A good stud dog maybe used over a wide area so that there are too many related pups and the gene pool is too small. This can lead to health problems.
Many good dogs never reach the show ring. Showing is time consuming and very expensive and some of the best breeders have only one or two bitches, but they own stars. A pup from one of them is a gift from the gods.
Dogs are bred for different purposes.
A policeman wants a bold dog with lots of courage who isn’t fazed by anything, is easy to train and can work for hours without tiring. Put a pup like that into a family home with a first time owner and there may be a disaster. A bored dog can find remarkable things to do. A dog like this does not make a good companion for the average owner.
The household pup does need to be teachable, but he also needs to be gentle, biddable, and preferably not too intelligent. The very bright dogs need an awful lot of teaching, and can appear defiant as they dont see the point of all that they are expected to do. Taught in a way suitable for them, they become very good dogs indeed.
People know the aims of training. The dog doesn’t. For those with plenty of time who love a challenge, one of these dogs is a joy. It is also an education, sometimes surprising. A dog like this is not for someone wanting a quiet life with a good companion who will not be too energetic.
The best breeders take a great deal of care to ensure that the first few weeks of a pup’s life give it a as much experience as is possible.
Pups born in one breeding kennels are reared till they are eight weeks old in a purpose built block beside the kitchen door, where they will see people coming and going. There is a whelping area, safe for the pups, with an infra red heater to ensure they did not get chilled if it was cold. Beyond it is a large roofed yard which protects them from the rain. They then have plenty of room so that they can play as they grow and begin to explore. Beyond that is an outside run for fine days where they could play and see the world, and learn about grass and wind and trees.
The house is in a farmyard where the pups can see lorries delivering animal feed, visiting cars, bicycles, motor bikes, and tractors. They learn about traffic noises, but are safe from harm.
There are livery stables with people coming to groom horses, saddle them up and ride them. There are cattle in the field beyond them. Visitors are invited to cuddle the pups and play with them. Great care is taken to ensure they are not frightened or upset in any way by stupidity.
Pups hate being grabbed by someone they have never seen before the while loud voices make noises at them. It is very frightening to be hoisted high into the air by an unknown giant. Carefully supervised children visit, and hours are spent with the pups in the garden playing with them and calling them so that they came when wanted.
It is an ideal situation and upbringing.
Another breeder has a washing machine and deep freeze as well as a radio in the whelping kennel, and electric lights that can accustom the pups to darkness and sudden light as well as the noise of machinery. There is also a radio left on day and night, softly. There is, of course, an infra red lamp to ensure the pups dont get cold.
Again there is a covered yard for wet days and a garden pen for fine days. There are always plenty of toys for the puppies, to enlarge their experience. There are soft toys to carry, old socks to tug with, hard quoits to chew on. Each toy is carefully inspected to ensure it is safe for the pups.
Pups spend half an hour each daily with the breeder, in the house, alone, so that when they are sold, they are not, for the first time, isolated from their mother and litter mates.
Life today is not as easy for breeders as it was in the seventies, when most Kennels had several people employed to help. There was plenty of time. Today few have much help so that breeders are very busy. Their day begins at five a.m and ends at midnight as there is so much to do for the dogs, as well as all the normal chores in any household.
A good breeder will have a waiting list for pups. Anyone buying will undergo a questionnaire. Why do they want the dog? Do they have time for exercise daily? For grooming? Veterinary care is expensive, and so is dog food. Are they aware of that?
What about holidays? They need to find a good reliable boarding kennels, as some of those too are not places in which I would leave my dog. The good ones book up early so plans have to be made.
Only if the breeder is satisfied will the puppy change hands.
Some breeders have the pups tested at seven weeks old. The tests can identify the brash pup, that can take a noisy family, the timid pup, that needs care and attention to bring him out of his shell, the easy pup that will become a good companion for someone elderly, the teachable pup that will enjoy being trained for the various competitions and the independent puppy that will never want to do anything but what he wants on his own terms. These do need experienced owners.
The tests are simple. The puppy is brought into a room he has never seen before .. Does he look around, sniff curiously, come to anyone sitting there, or does he freeze and hide? That is a nervous pup and won’t be very rewarding. He will need to be coaxed and have his confidence built up. If he runs around and refuses to come, that’s acceptable. Coming when called is easily taught, done properly, and this type of puppy is confident and happy in a new situation.
Can he be picked up and held still? Some may struggle for a moment or so and then relax. Some cuddle up, adoring contact. Some struggle violently, wanting only to get away and do their own thing. These are very independent puppies who may never give you the allegiance you want. They are rare, but are from easy to keep and train.
How do they react to toys? Roll a ball, pull a string...a pup that chases at once may be a bit of problem as he will run after anything that moves, from rabbits to bikes to joggers. The pup that is intrigued and just follows, is ideal.
Throw a rolled up pair of socks. Does the pup run away with them? Or nose them and walk away? Or pick them up and come to you? If he does that, buy him at once, as he is biddable and will be very easy to teach and love to involve you in his games, rather than seeking to play his own version, which may result in disobedience.
This is the test that those choosing Guide Dogs for the Blind use. They breed from dogs that have this characteristic, so that their success rate is high and few pups from their litters prove unsuitable for the job for which they are intended.
Pups should not keep away from people, hide behind furniture, or sit in a corner, refusing to come out and be seen. A puppy like that is going to need a great deal of time to build his confidence. He may well have other problems if this is not done, as fear can make dogs aggressive. Sometimes with inherited nervousness, only limited success is possible, and the owners lives will be restricted because they have to consider what they can or can’t do with their dog.
When looking for a pup look at the surroundings, and at the litter. The pups should be active, healthy and bright eyed. It is better to find out when they are fed and visit just before the next meal, as when fed they will want to sleep and appear inactive. Pups and floors should be clean. . There is usually a whelping bed with a soft rug in it, and once the pups can move around they leave the nest for an area outside which is covered with newspaper. This is easily picked up and replaced. Any stools should be solid, not runny. There may be one or two small messes, but any sign of lack of care in cleaning up should mean leaving the pups behind.
Neglect in one area may well mean neglect in others.
THE PUP’S FIRST DAYS IN THE WORLD.
Pups are born nine weeks after the bitch is mated. .
They are blind for the first ten days. They are deaf for three weeks. They begin to crawl at about three weeks, and have to learn to manage their small bodies, and not fall over. They are unsteady when they begin to run about but should soon be up and moving well by seven weeks.
.Pups sold at five weeks old lose the learning period of interaction with their mother and their litter mates. In this time they learn not to bite hard, not to be too pushy, and to accept discipline from their mother. A good mother stands no nonsense from her brood.
The pup brought up by humans and hand fed is likely to know nothing about dogs and may suffer when he first meets a strange dog. He hasn’t been taught how to react. Often these pups are very nervous and as a result try to fight off any dog they meet. It can be a help if there is another dog in the house, but an older dog does not always accept a new puppy. Several pups have had to be returned to the breeder within a few days because the resident dog had no intention whatever of accepting an intruder into the territory.
Not everyone agrees about the right age for the puppy to change homes. I like them to be at least seven weeks old. Litters tested at six weeks have not developed character. The pups may be lovely and friendly and outgoing but there is no sign of their future behaviour.
It is a good idea, if it is possible, to visit several times so that the puppy can get to know you before he is taken away. It makes the change of home far less traumatic. It s an enormous step for such a tiny dog, and it is necessary to avoid as much stress as possible.
By seven weeks it is much easier to see which is bold and which is shy, which is going to be rewarding to train, which is dominant and may cause problems if not taught well. Also by seven weeks the puppy is beginning to explore and is not so dependent on his mother. He will attach quickly to whoever takes on his care when he changes homes.
Good breeders never sell two pups from the same litter to the same owner. All may
be well for some weeks, but as the pups mature they may begin to vie for pack leadership.
This often leads to very bad fights in which both can be severely injured. In many
cases it means that one must be re-
Occasionally it does come off, but more often than not it doesn’t.
Experienced owners are sometimes successful with related dogs, as they know the signs of trouble and can stop it before it starts First time owners starting with two dogs can be in trouble very soon, as there is so much to learn about the way dogs behave. Often mistakes are made through lack of knowledge, not from unkindness. It is as well to beware of ‘knowledgeable’ neighbours who offer appalling advice, such as rub the pup’s nose in it if he makes a mess.
Or hit him with a rolled up newspaper.
All this is likely to do is make him decide you are a very nasty person, and will prevent him from developing the necessary bonds with you. Not surprisingly pups brought up by people who do this rarely come when called. They are too afraid of an angry reception.
But you are the ideal owner.
You have found a good breeder and chosen your puppy.
How can you make life much easier for it when it changes home?
