July 26, 2008 by Bob.

I originally wrote about the following topic on the post ‘Buy Now, Pay Later,’, but I thought some more clarification was in order, being that this is an important issue, so here we go.

We all know that, in the human world, babies who are well cared for and most always grow up to be healthy adolescents and adults. I don’t have hard statistics for you, but as I said, we all know that this is true. We also know that an infant raised on crappy sugar based formula, tons of carbohydrates soon graduates to Pepsi and by the time he is twenty, may develop diabetes, or worse.  

The same is true for canines. A pup comes out of the womb and if it is healthy at birth, should thrive, given the fact that the mom has adequate milk, the milk is good, meaning not infected or infiltrated with some harmful bacteria. Okay, given that, the pup should get off to a good start.

Here are some examples of getting a pup off to a bad start:

1. If the breeder fails to keep the whelping box clean, the pups are liable to develop coccidiosis, a very contagious and very deadly intestinal infection, if not treated immediately.

2. If the breeder fails to worm the pups early on and doesn’t continue to worm the pups as a preventative until eight weeks, the worms grow to adulthood and the pups develop enteritis and could possibly die if not treated. If they survive, they may have health issues later in life, I assure you. By the way, all pups are born with worm larvae. The mom passes them on, always. Go and ask your vet if you don’t believe me.

3. Feeding a cheap, low protein food when weaning will also be a cause of problems, just like the human baby formula example I mentioned earlier. Purina Puppy Chow is not what you feed a pup who is undergoing the stress of growth, weaning, socialization etc.

4. Weaning too fast may also cause issues, both physically and mentally for the pup. They need a nice, slow weaning runway so they can be done with mom and have their gastrointestinal tract fully adjusted to solid food.

Okay, so everyone nowadays is a breeder. A person with a male and a female canine is somehow qualified to call themselves a breeder, just because they have AKC papers on both dogs. I think some folks think this is some kind of cash cow that automatically makes money hand over fist and because they don’t really care about the breed they are dealing with, they do stupid, careless things and soon they are out of the breeding game. Successfully reproducing livestock is hard work, requires a thorough knowledge of the breed or species and several years of experience learning animal husbandry skills. 

If you buy a discount pup from someone who knows nothing of this stuff and has done nothing to prepare the pup for the outside world, will you care? Even if you pay for double the difference in vet visits over the next few years?

 Okay, this was ‘I told you so’, Part Two…

Best,

Bob

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July 5, 2008 by Bob.

This is another little piece of false information floating around that I just have to comment on, considering that this is an all too common concern amongst pet owners.

I call it the eight week rule. Basically, this is the rule which states that a pup is only valuable at eight weeks old. There is apparently some kind of expiration date whereby the pup who ages one day past eight weeks is no longer viable as a potential companion animal and should more than likely be euthanized.

Well, let us examine the facts about this to see whether or not it is true. You can then draw your own conclusions:

1. An eight week old puppy is easier to train than an older pup.

This may have its merits, let’s say, if you were considering training the pup in competitive obedience. This would give you extra time to imprint the dog and begin it training for trial work. But, for the average pet owner? An eleven, twelve or even sixteen week old pup is no worse for wear, with this one exception: if the breeder has failed to do any socialization with the pup, there could be problems ahead. But, then again, if the pup wasn’t socialized prior to eight weeks old, you will have problems as well. So, the rule is, find out if the pup has had rudimentary socialization and is comfortable around other animals, humans, things, etc.

2. It is harder to housebreak an older pup.

No, this is not true. Pups are very eager to please and are very teachable, even at a year or two old. This is not a case of arrested development. You teach a dog what you have to teach them, as the need arises. Crate training is no exception. As a matter of fact, an older pup is somewhat more aware and has better learning skills than an eight week old. I have personally placed no less than six pups who were eleven weeks or older to pet homes, with no problems whatsoever occurring in their housebreaking.

3. Faults are more noticeable on an older pup.

This is true. So, why is that a bad thing? If you want a more realistic picture of what your pup will look like at adulthood, then seeing him at eleven or twelve weeks is a more reliable picture than at eight weeks.

4. An older pup will have more issues bonding with family members

No. I have no idea where this one came from, but it is simply not true. Both dogs and people have the uncanny ability to bond with each other, regardless of age. Sometimes, it takes a bit longer, due to one or the other being obnoxious, but that is a personal dog/human issue, not an age issue. I have placed dogs as old as one and a half years old in homes with young children/newborns and had zero issues with bonding. It takes around a month for the bonding to take effect, but at that point, the pup has forgotten his prior life and has fully embraced his new family. Haven’t you ever rescued a dog from the pound and had them fit in with your family rather quickly? Okay, then, why is it different for purebred dogs?

5. If a breeder has an older pup, then something must be wrong with it.

Not true. Remaining pups are going to exist relative to time of year (some seasons are slower than others), how many pups were in the litter and what criteria pet owners used in choosing pups from that litter. I was told this many years ago by a Rottweiler breeder who had spent over twenty years in the business of showing and breeding: The first pick is not always the best pick. As a matter of fact, whenever I have selected out a female for a brood bitch, I never, ever take what is considered the first pick. Of course, disclosure and honesty on the breeder’s part are a must, but finding an outstanding pup that is over eight weeks old is more common than you think.

Best,

Bob

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