Puppies, Puppies,
Puppies!
It’s been a long time since we had a puppy here, but we have
one now. She’s three months old
and cute as blazes and we’re enjoying her thanks to Kathy and Jerry
Zehetner. Leash breaking,
grooming, trimming nails, and feet are all part of her education and it reminds
me of how important these things are.
Puppies are the fruits of any breeder’s dreams and they represent the
future if things go well.
If puppies are the fruit of our labor and dreams, then the
sires and dams are the foundation we build upon. The dog and bitch that we use to produce our next generation
will determine it’s success or failure.
As has been stated many times the two cornerstones for success in a
breeding program are health and temperament. You may achieve some short term success with dogs that fall
short in these areas, but sooner or later your house of cards will tumble down.
People sometimes get on the stud dog kick. Van Dyck used to call it the “who’s he
by” syndrome. The truth is that
your brood bitch is just as important.
The people who spend a lifetime trying to upgrade mediocre bitches by
breeding to top studs are legion.
People used to ask me how the puppies I had by my studs were often the
best that they produced. My answer
was simply that my bitches were top of the line and I knew what kind of bitch
worked best with those studs.
Don’t ever forget that “good mothers beget good
mothers!” The stud dog certainly
has major influence on those puppies, but in addition to her genetic contribution
the bitch contributes mothering that includes producing strong puppies, lots of
good milk, and calm temperament.
Years ago my mother bought a tri bitch of impeccable breeding and a real
looker. We bred her to Ch.
Windsong Dealer’s Choice, our first champion, and she had a lovely litter of
tris and blues. I whelped the
litter and got to endure this bitch laying on the pups until only two were
left. I sent her home to my mother
to keep me from killing her. Other
qualities not withstanding, she was worthless.
You plan your breedings carefully and use individuals that
can be expected to produce well.
You feed a good ration and provide the bitch with exercise so she comes
to whelping with sufficient muscle tone.
She will be up to date on all shots and free of worms, heartworms, and
all external parasites. You will
provide her with a place to whelp that is quiet and removed from activity both
human and canine. You will
introduce her to this area at least a week before her due date and two weeks is
better. Now all you need are the
puppies!
There are so many things that happen once the puppies are
whelped. Routine things such as
worming, shots, and good food and water are a given. If they’re not you shouldn’t have bred a litter at all. There are other things that you need to
do as well, but what works for me may need some tweaking to work for you. My puppies started having nails trimmed
at one week and it was done weekly the rest of their lives. They get a gentle, rudimentary brushing
several times a week as well. The
brushing and nail trims were done in my lap at first and later on the grooming
table when they could stand. They
also had a lead put around their necks on the grooming table and little tidbits
of steak. They always were groomed
and handled when due to get a meal to make sure they were hungry and in the
evening on hot days.
A puppy who has been fed and groomed on the table learns
it’s a nice place. When you set
them down they readily follow some food in front of their nose and are lead
broken in short order. Teaching
them to pose takes some patience, but it’s important to show a Collie on it’s
four good legs, not have them stacked like a Dobe. Any dog I judge is asked to come to a natural stop when
finishing a down and back.
We used to have match shows, both specialty and al-breed, to
use for training our puppies. They
duplicated the experience of going to a show and helped training
tremendously. Matches have gone
the way of the Do-Do bird and it’s too bad because they were very
beneficial. I guess we’re so busy
going to point shows we don’t have time to support matches. Everyone’s in such a hurry to take
points, they forget how to prepare.
Admittedly some people used to show too much at matches and
that’s a case of overkill. Occasional practice at home and a few shows are all a puppy
with good disposition needs. I
never showed puppies too hard since every day a pup is at a show is a day it
doesn’t eat and exercise normally.
They need to do both to grow properly. Don’t let’s be like the owners of Thoroughbreds who race two
year olds rather than let the horses mature. If we’re breeding dogs that have to do their winning as
puppies, we may be breeding the wrong kind of Collies.
Think about it!
