Where Your Puppy Is Born
Our litters are born in our living room. One of us is always present when the puppies are born to make sure if there are any problems, we are there to deal with them immediately. Our vets are on call for us and are only 5 minutes away from our home. When the puppies are born we cut the cords, remove the sacs, make sure the pups are breathing properly and weigh them. We have a heating pad under the crate that the mothers whelp in to assist with warming the puppies. We make notes during the whelping in regard to the birth process, the pups and the mother. We keep other dogs out of the room while the whelping is in progress to provide as little stress to the mother dog as possible. After the whelping appears to be over we take the mom to the vet for a post-natal checkup, the puppies remain safely warmed at home. The mothers give birth in a large plastic crate with the top removed. The crate has many positive aspects, it is very easy to clean, it has a lower side on one end so the mother does not have to jump in and out, has high walls on 3 sides for draft protection (when both halves are used we seal the windows on the top half), allows good heat transference from the heating pad beneath it and are the perfect size for the mothers and puppies to be warm, safe and comfortable. At first we use newspaper under the mothers, then when the birth process is over we use "fake sheep" pads and towels that are changed daily. The puppy crates are kept in the living room away from doors (and drafts) and are next to our desks where we can see them grow for the first weeks of their lives. In nice weather we open the windows for fresh air. We live in a single home on the very edge of the city in the hills of Buda, in a very quiet residential neighborhood. We have a very large garden which is fenced into several sections.
We spend most of our indoor time in two main rooms which are next to each other, the living room, which is also our "office" and our bedroom. There is a door from the bedroom to a totally fenced garden where the dogs and puppies are safe and free to play and roam. We can easily hear the puppies in the living room or in the garden from either of the rooms.
Here our Mudi girls are laying on the bedroom floor posing for the camera. Their basket of toys is always on the steps and they readily go and take out toys whenever they want to play.
This is our living room and "office" where our computers are, the puppies are born in this room and stay here until they are about 4-5 weeks of age. The wood floors are easy to clean. Our dogs are allowed in the house at all times and we have floor pillows in all the rooms for them to sleep on (in here they are under our desks). When the weather is warm they prefer the cooler wood floor. In the winter they sleep on the floor pillows (we have several more available in the winter) or our bed, yes the dogs sleep in the bed with us too.
From the time the puppies are born till they are about 4 weeks old, we weigh and "imprint" them. At first we weigh them 2 times a day to make sure they are gaining weight well. We make sure that all the puppies have the same chance at life, we do not let nature take its course as we feel nature was removed from dog breeding when the dog became domesticated and bred by the desires of humans. Dogs no longer choose mates, when to breed, where to breed, where to whelp or what to feed themselves or their puppies. Since nature is no longer responsible for dogs lives, humans have to be. In large litters the smaller puppies are not as able to displace the bigger ones for equal access to nipples. We make sure the smaller ones get enough to eat too. We do not cull puppies for any reason but deformity, therefore to let the smaller ones starve slowly to death is cruel in our opinion. So we make sure all have the same chance for proper and consistent nutrition. One of us is always at home when we have very young puppies to make sure they are cared for around the clock. As we sleep right in the next room, we can hear any problems that may occur, sometimes mothers can trap a puppy behind them when they reposition themselves and the puppy cannot climb out to eat, they cry as they are hungry, we get up and place the puppy where it belongs. This means interrupted sleep, but healthy puppies.
From birth we "imprint" the puppies with "Early Neurological Stimulation" techniques, we have done this since our very first litter. (http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html) We believe it gives each puppy the best chance in life to be the best adult dog it can be. We also believe the owner has the most influence over the ability of the dog, but we want to give the puppy the best start in life we can, so the owner has the best puppy they can hope for.
We can see and hear the puppies when they are out in the garden area that is outside of our bedroom. Chili is checking on her "charges" in the picture. She is a great babysitter. Once the puppies are old enough to be in the garden all the time, we put the crate outside for them to sleep in. It is right outside of our bedroom door and we often leave the door or the window on the door open so we can hear that they are safe and sound. We give the puppies a warm pillow made of sheep wool to sleep on in the crate and cover the crate with a blanket if needed. The crate door is removed so they can leave it to potty. They start to do this as early as 3 weeks of age even when in the house.
When the weather is nice, we put the puppies in the garden in pens once they are about 3 weeks old. We let the moms in every few hours to nurse them and clean them. We give them blankets and toys and some shady and sunny areas and they can choose where to play and sleep. Until they are 4-5 weeks old they sleep in the house at night, as well as in cold or damp weather. Once they are 5 weeks old, if the weather is nice enough, they stay outside almost all the time. All of the garden plants are safely fenced away from adventurous puppies and the outer fence is secure and the yard is totally puppy proofed before they are left in the yard unsupervised.
Puppies that are kept in a clean environment are much easier to housetrain. It is one of the things that makes a puppy from a breeder that raises puppies in clean surroundings superior to those that raise them in kennels, pens or dirty environments. Puppies that grow up in their own filth, soon become accustomed to living this way and lose the desire to be clean. We give our puppies every opportunity to be clean, both in the house and in the garden. We remove feces and scrub the potty spots with a disinfectant cleaner many times a day to keep the insect population down as well, this prevents spread of diseases. We keep the area free from hazardous materials and items so they will not be harmed. We provide them with many toys and areas to play in once they are old enough to do so safely (about 5 weeks of age).
We provide an enriched environment for them to grow up in as well, to see the next part of their lives with us, please visit the Where Your Puppy Grows page.
