My Hunting Dog Training Blog

A messy part of the puppy growth and development process is the weaning of the pups from momma dog. During this important transition from the mother's milk to solid foods there are several tricks that breeders use to make things go smoothly. Commonly, the first introduction to solid foods will be a heated mash containing puppy food, milk and water. The only problem with the popular puppy mash is that it is extremely messy. No matter what you do - the puppies seem to want to jump right into the mash and get it everywhere. This is how they learn that dog food is good to eat. But, I've found a way to help keep things a little cleaner.

A cool idea I found on the internet is a simple wooden feeder stall built to isolate the puppies to their very own food dish (Notice the blocker boards in the back of each stall to help keep the dish from flipping up if pup gets his paws up on the front edge of the dish). This helps to keep things a little cleaner and gives all the pups an equal chance at the food trough. You will still have to watch them closely because there always seems to be a pig in the litter who inhales food and moves on to the next food dish when his is gone. Or on the flip side, the timid puppy that may need a little extra encouragement during the transition to solid foods. The puppy feeder stalls seems like a good idea to me.

Posted by Big Bad Jon at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Later this Fall I hope to breed one of my hunting dogs and have a litter of puppies. With this plan in mind I have been gathering information and researching all aspects of dog breeding over the last couple years. In my research I ran across quite a few different ideas for whelping boxes to keep the puppies safe and sound while young.

This design is by far the cheapest to build and the simplest idea I have found. The whelping box is a plastic kiddy pool that you can get from Wal-Mart or Ace Hardware for less than $10. The side bumpers consist of a small section of 3-4 inch flexible plastic drain pipe. You can get it pretty cheap at Lowes or Home Depot. The drain pipe is attached by drilling holes and fastening to the pool edge with zip ties. The drain pipe should be suspended about 3-4 inches off the bottom of the pool. This keeps the puppies from being accidentally suffocated by the mother or laid on.

This is a square shaped box made out of 2x12x8 lumber. The bumpers on this design are constructed of 2-3" PVC pipe and fittings. The whole bumper assembly is glued together and can be reomved and hung on the wall when the pups get big enough. Some people line the whelping box with news paper or blankets to make clean up easier. The main thing is to be sure the puppies stay warm enough in winter or cool enough in summer depending on your climate and season.

This is a custom hexagon design that I really liked. It is only about 5 feet in diameter and the design has built-in bumpers along the inside edge of the whelping box. You can finish the wood and make it look nice to match your furniture if your litter is going to be born in the house. This is a great design if you plan on having several litters. I like the round or hex shapes better than the square design because there are no corners for a puppy to get trapped in.

Posted by Big Bad Jon at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Abby is entering her 2nd week of lock-down and seems to be feeling much better about life. She has gotten her appetite back and is eating well again. She is still spending most of her time in my shop with a few carefully supervised outings each day. She likes to go with us to feed the chickens and gather eggs. The chickens don't like it much but Abby thinks it is great fun to bark and threaten the chickens. I tie her to a post a few feet away from the chicken coop while I tend to the chickens with my kids.

When we put her back inside the shop she comes right to the window and begins to plead with us to let her out. She really doesn't like being inside all day. She would much prefer the outdoor kennel and the fresh air, but I can't risk any visits from fence climbing mongrels. Even though our rural Utah town has a leash law, it seems that only a few of us are abiding by the rules. Most of the dogs in town roam free all day and night. In the spring I hope to fence in a large portion of my back property for the dogs to have a little more elbow room.

Posted by Big Bad Jon at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday I thought it was a little odd that Abby barely touched her food. This morning I discovered the reason why she wasn't feeling like herself. She was spotting and her kennel mate "Jake" was paying unusually close attention to her. Turns out that she was going into heat for the first time. She is 10 months old and I was hoping she would give me a few more months to get Jakes kennel finished. This morning I moved Abby into my workshop until she gets through this first cycle.

After a bit of reading and research it looks like I will be keeping Abby in lock-down for a few weeks. I hope to breed Abby when she is 2-3 years old after I have time to get the proper health checks and screenings. In my reading I learned a lot about the heat cycle of dogs and when is the right time for breeding. Ten months old is definitely too young to have a litter of puppies. Poor Jake is a bit lonely out in the kennel all by himself. For not getting along very well, the two of them sure are showing some separation anxiety.

Posted by Big Bad Jon at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)