Raising our puppies
Essentially, as we all know, new life begins with the fertilization of the egg cell. We learned in school how cells divide and a new life form in the mother's womb.
In dogs, this takes between approximately 58 and 65 days.
Then the female dog gives birth, and blind and deaf puppies are born.
Even the gestation period is an important phase for the puppies. The puppies are influenced by the mother's experiences and feelings.
Impact of stress:
Mild stress in the mother dog leads to puppies that are more resistant to stress and illness. Therefore, the mother dog should not be completely pampered and kept away from everything.
If a pregnant dog experiences significant stress, such as heightened anxiety, even if she is not normally anxious, this will very likely affect the puppies. This is because the puppies' nervous systems begin developing in the womb. The nervous system is controlled by a multitude of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. These are released at the nerve endings and transmit the electrical impulse to the next nerve, or to a muscle, depending on where the nerve terminates. This highly complex system is already being formed in the puppies during gestation. However, it will not fully mature until much later. It is hardly surprising that the mother's nervous system plays a role in this, as her bloodstream contains many messenger substances that are closely connected to the nervous system. Thus, the puppies receive information about their mother's life through her bloodstream. If a stress response occurs in her body, the puppies will also be "infected" by it, and their nervous systems will become more sensitive to these stress receptors.
This means that a stressed mother dog gives birth to puppies that are more susceptible to stress than a relaxed mother dog. This stress sensitivity directly influences the puppies' later behavior. But as mentioned at the beginning, mild stress is actually beneficial and leads to stress-resistant puppies. This makes sense, because if the mother dog finds a situation stimulating but not threatening, it triggers completely different reactions in her nervous system than a frightening situation or chronic, debilitating stress. "Mild stress" therefore doesn't mean that the mother dog can't be frightened occasionally, but rather that she can tolerate a certain amount of positive stress.
Important to know:
Important things happen even in the womb, and the mother dog should not be subjected to excessive stress, but neither should she be overprotected. This results in the most relaxed puppies.
Newborn phase:
The newborn phase lasts from birth until about the 11th day of life.
In the newborn phase, not much changes. The puppies are completely dependent on their mother. Their legs don't yet support their weight because their nervous system isn't fully developed. Their front legs can make paddling movements, and the puppies crawl on their bellies. They can feel their temperature and sense whether they are alone, with siblings, or with their mother. They also already have a certain sense of balance. But their eyes and ear canals are still closed.
Soon after birth, the puppies set off in search of their mother's milk. The first milk, called colostrum, contains a particularly high number of maternal antibodies, giving the puppies an immediate health boost.
Initial successes:
Even this initial search and the success of finding the teat, the feeling of warmth and security, are important experiences for newborn puppies. Normally, they shouldn't be placed at the teats, but rather allowed to search and find them themselves. Every single step is naturally important for their overall development. Only if there are a very large number of puppies, and one or more are consistently neglected, is intervention necessary.
The mother provides food and warmth, and she stimulates digestion by reflexively licking and massaging the puppies' bellies. The puppies cannot yet control their digestion and elimination on their own.Their activities are limited to sleeping, nursing, and, if necessary, seeking warmth or, if an infrared lamp is used, perhaps a cooler spot.It is advisable not to heat the entire whelping box uniformly, so that the puppies have these options.
These are precisely the things that can be described as "mild stress." When puppies experience that they can create a pleasant situation through their own behavior, they have learned something important. Whoever moves from coolness to warmth has won and feels that way too.
Whoever is hungry and finds the teat has won and feels wonderful. They learn that it's worth setting out on the journey.
Pick up a puppy:
Further mild stress can arise from the breeder frequently handling the puppies. This often happens simply through daily weighing. Puppies can even fall asleep in a warm hand and simply lie there for a while, feeling warm and secure. This also promotes their sense of balance. If a breeder performs such exercises daily with a litter of, for example, eight puppies, for approximately five minutes per puppy spread over several times a day, then they are already occupied for almost an hour a day. This time is well spent and makes a significant difference between a good and a bad start for the puppies.
Important to know:
Their senses of sight and hearing are not yet fully developed, so the puppies are still protected from negative environmental stimuli. As breeders, we can already promote the development of their senses through appropriate training exercises.
Excessive enrichment programs can be just as harmful as excessive care (heat lamp, constant nursing). While one causes too much stress, the other deprives the puppy of the opportunity to learn how to cope with stress. As breeders, we can therefore contribute significantly to ensuring the puppies grow up optimally, even in the first few weeks.
Feeding our puppies:
In addition to puppy porridge, we give the puppies some raw meat, egg or quark to gradually get them used to BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food).
Immediately after birth....
BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) isn't an option for the puppies yet, as they receive only their mother's milk for the first 3-4 weeks of life. Around week 5, the puppies begin to show more interest in their surroundings and, above all, want to see what their mother has in her food bowl. As their interest in their mother's food increases and her nursing frequency decreases, we start introducing solid meals for the puppies. These aren't true BARF, but rather an almost liquid gruel, supplemented with some lean meat from BARF (puppy food). Ground beef or turkey are particularly suitable. Once the puppies' milk teeth are fully developed (around week 6), we can begin giving them easily chewable, meaty bones, such as chicken necks. (The "All Ready-Made" option is not available.)
I'm using the Barfers Junior Beef and Chicken package. It's especially important to me that my puppies are fed a species-appropriate diet, i.e., a raw diet, from the very beginning. Starting in their fifth week, I gradually introduce new foods alongside their milk feeds. I have my own tried-and-tested approach. First, they get cottage cheese, perhaps with a little honey, then ground beef, and after about 1.5 weeks, a raw egg. I maintain each stage of food introduction for about three days to closely observe how the puppies tolerate it. After the ground beef, I start with the Barfers BARF Junior menu. I always feed them small portions every three to three and a half hours. This has two advantages: Firstly, it reduces the stress of feeding my mother at the milk bar, and secondly, I can better gauge when the puppies need to relieve themselves. I then try to train them, step by step, to find the best spot to do their business. When the puppies are taken to their new owners, they are usually already almost house-trained.But what if the opposite is true and the new owners prefer to feed the puppy a complete and balanced food? That's perfectly legitimate, of course, and you can also feed your puppy a healthy and species-appropriate diet with high-quality wet or dry food. Ideally, you should talk to me about it in good time, and we can discuss together how to make the transition to the new puppy food as smooth as possible. Perhaps I could start mixing your chosen junior food into the BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) a few days before the puppy leaves. Or you could continue feeding your puppy BARF for a few days and gradually switch to the new food.
With our food from Barfers and Markus Mühle (see under our feeding), our dogs are completely well cared for.
Deworming the puppy:
Most people probably wouldn't think of worms in this context. However, puppies can indeed be infected with these troublesome parasites from birth and, due to their weak immune system, can even suffer permanent damage.
Puppies can become infected with worms in the womb and through their mother's milk.
Because puppies' immune systems are not yet fully developed, worm infestations are particularly dangerous for them. Puppies should be dewormed for the first time two weeks after birth. We deworm our puppies every two weeks until two weeks have passed since they last nursed.
The benefits of deworming outweigh the risks.
We clearly explain the potential side effects of deworming treatments in puppies. We also take care of deworming the mother. Administering certain deworming medications during pregnancy and after birth can help improve the puppies' protection. Our puppies receive their first vaccination at 8 weeks of age before leaving for their new homes.
Other vaccinations:
Our vaccination schedule includes vaccination between the eighth and ninth week against parvovirus (P), distemper (S) and hepatitis (H), which is repeated in the 12th or 13th week.
The rabies vaccination is scheduled in this plan only after the twelfth week. This vaccination should then be administered individually and not in combination with other vaccinations, and a preparation should be used that requires a booster after three years following a single vaccination.