MILESTONES AND SOCIALISING A WEEKLY DIARY WITH RIDGEBACK PUPPIES

Having puppies is wonderful but it is also hard work. While caring for and enjoying my recent litter I decided to make notes of the milestones and weekly development. The things that I do and my thoughts, to give the puppies the best possible start in life. I have often received very positive feedback from puppy buyers - how easy and confident their puppy is. How it is just fitting in, no fuss, no issues. It is obviously music to my ears, and it prompted me to do this selfreflection on how I raise my ridgeback puppies. It is by no means a complete guide but rather some personal views and thoughts, hopefully of inspiration to others.

Week 1

In the first week after the big event of giving birth, the bitch is in general totally absorbed by caring for her puppies. She will spend all her time, cleaning and feeding them. It is not uncommon that you have to gently convince the new mom to go outside and do her own business, and to eat and drink, as it is not on top of her mind in the first couple of days after birth.

At this stage the mother of the puppies does all the work. Me as the owner, I just need to change the bedding, make sure everything is clean, and care for the mother.

Sounds like a small task but it is very important. And on that note, to be able to have full control of the mother and the puppies from day 1, I sleep next to the whelping box and also set up my laptop/workstation in the puppy room so that I can be there all the time. This enables me to pick up quickly if there is a problem. Also, in the weeks to come, the puppies adjust their day and night routines around my routines (i.e. human routines), and they are therefore very much in tune with people by the time they are going to their new homes. The main focus now is to keep the puppies warm at all times. Look out for and make sure that all the puppies

Week 3

have body contact with each other and/or with their mom at all times. I find myself constantly checking the whelping box to make sure that no puppy has “gotten lost”, i.e. lying on its own.

The other thing to check, to avoid an unpleasant feeding experience for the mother, is the puppies’ nails – they could be rather sharp and long from birth. I cut the puppies’ nails on a weekly basis.

Week 2

The first two weeks are a quiet time when the puppies only need their mother. I try to create a calm and quiet place for the mother and the puppies. The routine of eating, sleeping, and pooping should be nicely instilled by now.

At the end of the second week, the puppies’ eyes will start to open and they will then be ready to face the world. Before the eyes and ears are open, I believe in leaving them in the capable care of their mother and I will handle them as little as possible.

At the age of 2 weeks, I deworm all the puppies as well as the adult dogs in the household.

In this week the activity level will increase slightly in the whelping box, but the most important change is that they will start teething. Once the teeth are showing it is time to introduce solid food.

This is exciting as it will start to take the feeding pressure off the mother. The first couple of times eating solid food is normally quite messy, but they learn quickly.

Since the puppies can now both see me and hear me, I start handling them, picking them up, talking to them and touching them.

The weekly nail cutting is a good way to get them used to touching the feet. I will bring in a few soft toys in the whelping box and although the puppies don’t actively play with them, you can see that they are intrigued by the colours and textures of something new. They will most probably “taste” the toys.

I’m also very pedantic with cleanliness from day 1. I make sure the whelping box and later the outside area is cleaned constantly. The whelping box has a thick soft wetbed and next to it I put towels. It’s amazing to see how the puppies from an early age will waddle over to the towels to do their business and then make their way back to the bed and continue sleeping. Ridgebacks like to be clean and given a chance they will not soil close to their bedding.

Week 4

At this point, it is time to introduce them to the outside world. The puppies are often very scared the first couple of times that they go outside but they learn to appreciate it quickly.

The puppy brain is most inclined to accept new experiences between 4 and 12 weeks of age. I therefore make an effort to introduce and familiarise the puppies with new experiences –including people, places, objects, and other animals. The puppies learn how to respond to and interact with these experiences appropriately and without fear.

I work on the principle that by the time the puppy is 8 weeks old it has experienced 8 of everything you can think of… see below “Puppy’s rule of twelve” for inspiration.

This is also the time to give them the first parvo vaccination –the new Dp Plus that doesn’t interfere with the antibodies from the mother’s colostrum. At the same time, they will also get dewormed again.

Week 5

We are now dealing with a gang of hooligans, they eat, sleep, and play wildly.

They have mastered eating solids, but they still enjoy a drink of milk – if mom allows. They play rough, they growl, their teeth are razor-sharp, and they remind me of gladiators.

I introduce more toys and activities in the garden on a daily basis, such as a tunnel to run through, balls in a bath, empty toilet roll inners, puppy toys as available from retail stores, sticks and wood to chew on, empty water bottles are fun to chase, and they make a lot of noise as well, a swing or a balance board is good for the core strength. Being outside during the day also means that my other ridgebacks in the pack have free access to the puppy pen. So, from an early age, the puppies get to interact with other adult dogs, not just their mom. This is so important as they learn dog language, respect, and how to interact with other dogs. Their own mom will start growling and shouting at them as she tells them off when she doesn’t want to feed them. This may seem harsh but it’s important lessons of dog behaviour and language.

Week 6

This is when I have the puppies microchipped, vaccinated and dewormed again, which means a car trip with all that goes with it. My vet will vaccinate and examine the puppies while still in my car, to minimise potential exposure to bacteria and viruses at the veterinary clinic.

I like to start evaluating the puppies at this age, taking photos, looking at them playing, looking at them moving, and taking note of their personalities.

I introduce the puppies to different surfaces and sounds. I put the radio on loudly on a Sunday afternoon and I will pick up a puppy and dance with it. I’ll take the puppies for a walk in the bigger garden, open/close an umbrella in front of them, make load noises with pots and pans etc. Visitors are becoming more frequent in the puppy pen as the day of bidding farewell approaches. Families, young people, old people, children – everyone is welcome, as long as they have sanitised and removed their shoes.

Week 7

By the time the puppy is 8 weeks old it will have been exposed to 8 different surfaces, played with 8 different toys, been to 8 different locations, and met 8 different people. The rule of 8 also goes on to propose that the puppy should have 8 different experiences in a variety of situations. For example, the puppy should be exposed to 8 challenges, eaten from 8 different types of containers, been fed in 8 different locations, and so forth.

There is a very nice description of the rule of 7 and the rule of 12 on the internet.

www.smalldogplace.com/how-to-socialize-a-puppy.html

Week 8

The puppy is now so ready to go to their new home, it can’t wait to meet its new owners and bond with them.

Saying goodbye is never easy but seeing the happiness that the puppy brings to the new family is priceless.

And this is where a new chapter starts. I have a WhatsApp group for every litter and I thoroughly enjoy updates and photos of the pups for years to come.