RAISING PUPPIES AT XA
I LOVED YOUR PUPPY FIRST...
When mama gets close to her due date, She is kept in an Ex Pen in our “puppy room” ie - office / home of the most uncomfortable couch in the world – when I’m not home to supervise her. I watch her via cameras while I’m at work and am able to be home within 10 minutes if something looks interesting or just needing my attention. In the final days of waiting for a litter to arrive, I sleep in there with her and make that my bedroom through the first weeks of the puppies lives. When whelping begins, I record time of birth, weight and description of puppy. I give mama calcium after each puppy and take her for a short walk if she is going more than an hour between puppies.
At 2-3 days old, I take mama and her puppies to our vet to get a wellness check on all of them and to dock tails and remove dew claws. At 3 days old, I start Early Neurological Stimulation “ENS” with the puppies and continue daily through day 16. Short explanation of ENS taken from the internet – this timeframe is a period of rapid neurological growth and development. Even though puppies are very immature during this time frame, they are sensitive and respond to ENS. The US Military developed this method designed to improve the performance and health of future military working dogs. When performed correctly, ENS is believed to impact the neurological system by kicking it into action earlier than would be normally expected, the result being an increased capacity that later will help to make the difference in its performance, according to Breeding Better Dogs. ENS is time sensitive and must be performed from the third to the 16 days of a puppy’s life. Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to ENS, including improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate); stronger heart beats; stronger adrenal glands; more tolerance to stress; and greater resistance to disease. In tests of learning, ENS stimulated pups were more active and exploratory than their non- stimulated littermates.
I keep toys in the whelping box from birth for them to crawl over or around, further helping those minds and muscles engage.
At 10 – 14 days, those beautiful little eyes start to open and that is always an exciting time for me. By 20 days old their ears are open and I am now playing desensitization sounds looped on surround sound for them while I am at work. I try to play every possible scary or trigger sound I can come up with. This goes a long way to helping them be bold and unafraid of triggers that other dogs may react to later in life.
Week 3 I do their first de-worming and I jntroduce puppy mash and a litter box . The litter box training always surprises me at how quickly they get it and it not only makes life easier for me but is a great help for their new families if they choose to use this method. I will also at this time start dropping pots and pans and anything I can think of that is not only noisy but that will give them a vibrational stimulant to continue desensitizing them.
Week 4, I replace their mash with moistened kibble and canned food. I still let them nurse whenever mom wants which seems to make both mom and them happy. Week 4 is when I start letting them spend outside time with supervision in their play pen. I try my best to think of sensory toys for them and include tunnels, sliding boards, wobble boards, see saws, ball pits, a merry go round, etc. They are so confident at this point that they go in there and onto, in, over every toy/obstacle without hesitation.
Week 5 I de-worm again. At week 5 I start taking them out individually to build their confidence away from their littermates and give them individual attention. I will take them to different places around the farm, let them play with their dad and my other adults with me supervising and even take them on short car rides. All of this boosts the puppy's confidence level for new places, new things, and new people.
Week 6 - If they have not yet had a bath at this point, they absolutely will get one now. I use a high velocity dryer on them after their baths so any pups that may go to a groomer in the future has been introduced to this. I clip toenails (which I do all along starting during their ENS exercises as newborns)
Week 7 is when I give them their first vaccination – Spectra 5 way. They also get their final vet visit for a last wellness check and health certificate. We do fecals at this time to make sure the de-wormings have cleaned them.
Week 8 begins the time I dread and love all at once. These precious lives that I’ve loved for 8 weeks will begin to leave me for their forever humans. Through the sadness of watching them leave, I find so much joy seeing their excited new families fall in love with them and knowing I’ve done everything I can to set them up to be successful, cherished members of their new families.
I am always here for any of my puppy’s lifetime and if there comes a day that you have to give your XA puppy up, for any reason, I will take it back, no guilt and no judgment.
There is never any reason for an XA dog to end up in a shelter.
Remember I loved your puppy first and I will love your puppy forever :)
I LOVED YOUR PUPPY FIRST...
When mama gets close to her due date, She is kept in an Ex Pen in our “puppy room” ie - office / home of the most uncomfortable couch in the world – when I’m not home to supervise her. I watch her via cameras while I’m at work and am able to be home within 10 minutes if something looks interesting or just needing my attention. In the final days of waiting for a litter to arrive, I sleep in there with her and make that my bedroom through the first weeks of the puppies lives. When whelping begins, I record time of birth, weight and description of puppy. I give mama calcium after each puppy and take her for a short walk if she is going more than an hour between puppies.
At 2-3 days old, I take mama and her puppies to our vet to get a wellness check on all of them and to dock tails and remove dew claws. At 3 days old, I start Early Neurological Stimulation “ENS” with the puppies and continue daily through day 16. Short explanation of ENS taken from the internet – this timeframe is a period of rapid neurological growth and development. Even though puppies are very immature during this time frame, they are sensitive and respond to ENS. The US Military developed this method designed to improve the performance and health of future military working dogs. When performed correctly, ENS is believed to impact the neurological system by kicking it into action earlier than would be normally expected, the result being an increased capacity that later will help to make the difference in its performance, according to Breeding Better Dogs. ENS is time sensitive and must be performed from the third to the 16 days of a puppy’s life. Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to ENS, including improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate); stronger heart beats; stronger adrenal glands; more tolerance to stress; and greater resistance to disease. In tests of learning, ENS stimulated pups were more active and exploratory than their non- stimulated littermates.
I keep toys in the whelping box from birth for them to crawl over or around, further helping those minds and muscles engage.
At 10 – 14 days, those beautiful little eyes start to open and that is always an exciting time for me. By 20 days old their ears are open and I am now playing desensitization sounds looped on surround sound for them while I am at work. I try to play every possible scary or trigger sound I can come up with. This goes a long way to helping them be bold and unafraid of triggers that other dogs may react to later in life.
Week 3 I do their first de-worming and I jntroduce puppy mash and a litter box . The litter box training always surprises me at how quickly they get it and it not only makes life easier for me but is a great help for their new families if they choose to use this method. I will also at this time start dropping pots and pans and anything I can think of that is not only noisy but that will give them a vibrational stimulant to continue desensitizing them.
Week 4, I replace their mash with moistened kibble and canned food. I still let them nurse whenever mom wants which seems to make both mom and them happy. Week 4 is when I start letting them spend outside time with supervision in their play pen. I try my best to think of sensory toys for them and include tunnels, sliding boards, wobble boards, see saws, ball pits, a merry go round, etc. They are so confident at this point that they go in there and onto, in, over every toy/obstacle without hesitation.
Week 5 I de-worm again. At week 5 I start taking them out individually to build their confidence away from their littermates and give them individual attention. I will take them to different places around the farm, let them play with their dad and my other adults with me supervising and even take them on short car rides. All of this boosts the puppy's confidence level for new places, new things, and new people.
Week 6 - If they have not yet had a bath at this point, they absolutely will get one now. I use a high velocity dryer on them after their baths so any pups that may go to a groomer in the future has been introduced to this. I clip toenails (which I do all along starting during their ENS exercises as newborns)
Week 7 is when I give them their first vaccination – Spectra 5 way. They also get their final vet visit for a last wellness check and health certificate. We do fecals at this time to make sure the de-wormings have cleaned them.
Week 8 begins the time I dread and love all at once. These precious lives that I’ve loved for 8 weeks will begin to leave me for their forever humans. Through the sadness of watching them leave, I find so much joy seeing their excited new families fall in love with them and knowing I’ve done everything I can to set them up to be successful, cherished members of their new families.
I am always here for any of my puppy’s lifetime and if there comes a day that you have to give your XA puppy up, for any reason, I will take it back, no guilt and no judgment.
There is never any reason for an XA dog to end up in a shelter.
Remember I loved your puppy first and I will love your puppy forever :)
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