A windy afternoon.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Things You Should Do Daily
1. Try to take your puppy on a daily “field trip” to local parks, to neighbors’ houses, shopping centers, to visit your neighbors’ kids, etc. Controlled new experiences are essential for good mental development. Look on my website for the puppy scavenger hunt.
2. You should have a buckle collar for your puppy to wear when “traveling” on his field trips. You can walk your puppy on a flexi-lead being very careful to NOT give him a correction. It is most important to NEVER allow any bad experiences to take place.
3. Establish proper pack order early on in the relationship with your puppy.
4. If you are going to visit other folks, suggest that they stoop down to the pup's level, not hover over him. Puppies can find big people intimidating and it's your job to help him gain confidence.
Take a look at Mike Ellis's comments about puppies here
5. Remember your puppy is still a baby with no experience or fears. Be careful to imprint positive experiences only! If a bad experience occurs or your puppy becomes frightened, try to redirect your puppy to something different and possibly exciting. DO NOT pick your puppy up. You will be reinforcing his fears. Redirect his attention in order to get his mind off the bad situation. Never make a big deal out of a mistake. Brush it off and go on to the next thing.
6. If possible, and you have a friend that is dog saavy, allow your puppy to spend overnight or up to a few days with them. This experience must be a positive one and it will allow your puppy to realize that life can also be good away from home. If you fail to do this, your puppy may develop separation anxiety and feel that “without you, I’m nothing!” An ideal situation would be to trade puppies with someone 3-4 times within the first six months of your puppies’ life. This experience will insure a well-founded, socialized puppy.
7. If your puppy is not confident at first, be patient. He has left a secure environment with his mom, brothers and sisters and me and our quiet rural lifestyle and needs time to adjust.
2. You should have a buckle collar for your puppy to wear when “traveling” on his field trips. You can walk your puppy on a flexi-lead being very careful to NOT give him a correction. It is most important to NEVER allow any bad experiences to take place.
3. Establish proper pack order early on in the relationship with your puppy.
4. If you are going to visit other folks, suggest that they stoop down to the pup's level, not hover over him. Puppies can find big people intimidating and it's your job to help him gain confidence.
Take a look at Mike Ellis's comments about puppies here
5. Remember your puppy is still a baby with no experience or fears. Be careful to imprint positive experiences only! If a bad experience occurs or your puppy becomes frightened, try to redirect your puppy to something different and possibly exciting. DO NOT pick your puppy up. You will be reinforcing his fears. Redirect his attention in order to get his mind off the bad situation. Never make a big deal out of a mistake. Brush it off and go on to the next thing.
6. If possible, and you have a friend that is dog saavy, allow your puppy to spend overnight or up to a few days with them. This experience must be a positive one and it will allow your puppy to realize that life can also be good away from home. If you fail to do this, your puppy may develop separation anxiety and feel that “without you, I’m nothing!” An ideal situation would be to trade puppies with someone 3-4 times within the first six months of your puppies’ life. This experience will insure a well-founded, socialized puppy.
7. If your puppy is not confident at first, be patient. He has left a secure environment with his mom, brothers and sisters and me and our quiet rural lifestyle and needs time to adjust.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Between showers, the pups are taking a little air up near the kennel. My friend Nancy gave me the little dog walk a few years ago and I"m happy to see that, once again, the pups are not intimidated by new objects but rather embrace and investigate them. They are just beginning to eat dry kibble this morning.
Some Bouvier History
The Bouvier des Flandres is a herding dog originating in Flanders. They were originally used for general farm work including cattle droving, sheep herding, and cart pulling, Today Bouviers are used as guard dogs and police dogs, as well as being kept as pets. The French name of the breed means, literally, "Herder of Flanders", referring to the Flemish origin of the breed. Other names for the breed are Toucheur de Boeuf (cattle driver) and Vuilbaard (dirty beard).
The monks at the Ter Duinen monastery, in Flanders, were the Bouvier's first official breeders. The Bouvier was created by breeding imports such as Irish wolfhounds with local farm dogs, until a breed considered to be the predecessor of the modern Bouvier was obtained. This became a working dog able to perform tirelessly, herding and guarding cattle and even pulling cargo carts, thanks to its strength and temperament, and to withstand the local weather conditions due to its double coat .World War I nearly disappeared altogether, due to the devastation in its region of origin. Nic de Sottegen, considered to be of ideal type was one of the main dogs used to revive the breed after WW I and is considered to be the founder of the current Bouvier des Flandres breed in Belgium. A unified Bouvier des Flandres standard was created in 1936 by a joint French-Belgian committee. However, once again the breed's existence was endangered by World War II. Due to these setbacks, progress was slowed, and it was not until 1965 that the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) adopted the current breed standard.
The monks at the Ter Duinen monastery, in Flanders, were the Bouvier's first official breeders. The Bouvier was created by breeding imports such as Irish wolfhounds with local farm dogs, until a breed considered to be the predecessor of the modern Bouvier was obtained. This became a working dog able to perform tirelessly, herding and guarding cattle and even pulling cargo carts, thanks to its strength and temperament, and to withstand the local weather conditions due to its double coat .World War I nearly disappeared altogether, due to the devastation in its region of origin. Nic de Sottegen, considered to be of ideal type was one of the main dogs used to revive the breed after WW I and is considered to be the founder of the current Bouvier des Flandres breed in Belgium. A unified Bouvier des Flandres standard was created in 1936 by a joint French-Belgian committee. However, once again the breed's existence was endangered by World War II. Due to these setbacks, progress was slowed, and it was not until 1965 that the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) adopted the current breed standard.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Hi Folks,
A few pictures taken this morning. The puppies climb up and jump down from the little white 'bed' you see here. I just hauled the puppy playhouse down from the kennel and immediately they are exploring it! All of them climb on me looking for attention (and yes, they get it!)
The first few minutes after putting the playhouse in with the pups.
It works great for shade too!
Now is that a pretty pup or what?
The set-up!
A few pictures taken this morning. The puppies climb up and jump down from the little white 'bed' you see here. I just hauled the puppy playhouse down from the kennel and immediately they are exploring it! All of them climb on me looking for attention (and yes, they get it!)
The first few minutes after putting the playhouse in with the pups.
It works great for shade too!
Now is that a pretty pup or what?
The set-up!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunny's Bright Idea!
This morning I took the few flats of tomatoes out of the little greenhouse, dragged it to the front yard and set it up for the puppies. It's a gorgeous, sunny day here but they are, after all, still babies. The inside of the greenhouse is dry and very warm - they can venture outside (and over the sill...good for coordination..) and of course it is much more stimulating an environment than on the porch. I doubt we'll use it for more than a few weeks or they'll take to ripping it apart but for now it seems like a great thing!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Finally, some sunshine even though the wind is kicking up. The puppies toddled outside today but almost immediately wanted to go back in...which of course is just what we did after about 10 minutes of being outdoors! I am now feeding them soaked kibble as well as egg custard (all those eggs!!) and am pleased at how they are coming along. That is my husband Jim in his favorite old LL Bean barn coat ... probably time to get a new one!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Nothing like a boy and some pups! Here is my grandson Anthony who thinks Trouble's pups are fine, Birdie's are, of course, even better since they are 'his.'
The pups are now actively eating and have figured out that they can gum on toys and one another. Their teeth have erupted and Trouble now has decided to stand while they nurse...interesting idea...!
This litter is on the front porch which means a lot of traffic in and out this weekend!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
First Food!
Okay, it was a mess ~ most of the milk and egg custard ended up being eaten by Trouble but the pups were game to bathe in it!
Green Boy on the right
I think this is the Blue Boy
Pink means "Girl"
Red Boy
Red Boy again
Green Boy on the right
I think this is the Blue Boy
Pink means "Girl"
Red Boy
Red Boy again
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
As it was a cold, windy, damp day it seemed the perfect opportunity to weigh the pups who range between 2.5 and 3 pounds today...nice weights!
Also, check out the photo gallery we've set up on Smugmug - you can see a link to the left on the sidebar. I'll keep the photos up there as I take them. Video tomorrow!
Also, check out the photo gallery we've set up on Smugmug - you can see a link to the left on the sidebar. I'll keep the photos up there as I take them. Video tomorrow!
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