Did someone say DINNER?

"Did someone say DINNER?"

Mommy "Zene" to the True Love Litter is doing a fabulous job caring for the BOYZ and they have put on 2-3 oz. every day. In addition to kibble* her meals are supplemented with cooked chicken, cottage cheese, plain yogurt, scrambled eggs, canned grain free dog food, tuna and she gets coconut oil daily (about 1-2 tsp).

* Holistic Select Grain Free Adult and Puppy Health Salmon/Anchovy/Sardine

Remember, it isn't a race . . .

Socializing Our Puppies is not about Quantity, but Quality

It isn't a race to see how many people they can meet, and how many dogs they can interact with. It is about how many quality interactions you can have with your puppy, while the world goes past him.

Don't aim for overwhelming crowds, or impossible situations. You need your puppy to see the world that we live in, and learns how you want him to behave as you coach him through the situations.

They need to see everything that they might ever see in their world, by thirteen weeks old. This includes wheelchairs, elevators, different floor surfaces, different types of transportation (get them on as many as you can), different types of people and animals, a different home, and people of different cultures and ethnicities. Come up with things that are relevant in your world, and would be relevant if your world changed.

And in the meantime, remember you want quality interactions and meetings, not quantity. And your job is to coach your dog how to behave in his new world.

Monique Anstee
Victoria, BC
www.naughtydogge.com

Our first Mani/Pedi

Vizslas are a relatively easy (wash and wear) breed, and the only regular grooming needed is nails and teeth.  NAILS SHOULD BE DONE WEEKLY.

Toenails are first trimmed at 2 days old (with child's nail clippers), and every 3 days thereafter. You would not believe how long the nails get and if left untrimmed they can scratch one another in the eye or tear up mom's nipples and teats.

At two weeks old the puppies are started on the dremel (on low speed). It is so much faster and easier than clipping! I use a cordless version for pups and adults, $40 on amazon.com, link to buy: 

Dremel 7700-1/15 MultiPro 7.2-Volt Cordless Rotary Tool Kit.  

Pups will be acclimated to the dremel by the time they go home and the owner is required on puppy "Go Home Day" to demonstrate their ability to trim the nails (and bring their dremel!).  This is a weekly requirement for each Moonlight Vizsla Puppy owner. 

If you can hear your dog's nails on the floor, they are already too long!

Photo from one of my puppy owners when the pup was about 6 months old.

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Helpful diagram showing nail care in the young/adult dog.

Bio Sensor Program

The puppies have started their early neurological stimulation exercises for the "Bio Sensor" a/k/a "Super Dog Program".  This program was developed by research showing puppies exposed to a variety stimuli at a young age are better equipped for life in the "real world".   This process begins with early neurological stimulation and socialization, and as they grow exposure to a variety of enrichment experiences.

On Day 3 (through 16) the puppies go through the following series of five (5) exercises:

1. Tactical stimulation (between toes)

2. Head held erect

3. Head pointed down

4. Supine position

5. Thermal stimulation

Here is an example of exercise 2:

Feel free to read the full article (pdf) by Dr. Carmen L. Battaglia here:
http://breedingbetterdogs.com/pdfFiles/articles/early_neurological_stimulation_en.pdf

Puppy Development: Neo-Natel (Day 1 to 2 weeks)

Several fans of the "Live Puppy Cam" have commented that the pups simply "eat-n-sleep".  Very true!

Below are some expectations from birth until 2 Weeks old:

• Newborn puppies cannot regulate their body temperature and must be kept warm. If allowed to chill they can develop infections, pneumonia and digestive issues.  The temp in the room is set to 76-80F degrees.  Puppies were born and spend the first three weeks of their life in a temperature controlled nursery (i.e. my spare bedroom).  
• Their eyes and ears are not open, and they depend upon smell and body temperature to find their mothers to nurse. 
• They sleep 90% of the time and when awake crawl in a circle, moving their heads from side to side to find their mothers. 
• It is paramount at this stage that the mother is not stressed so she can focus on the needs of her puppies. As you can see from the camera, Zene is a fabulous mom.  She knows it's ok to take a break from the pups to come visit the rest of us (and I encourage that) or take a quick spin outside to burn off some energy/go potty.  
• Newborn puppies can not relieve themselves on their own. Their mothers have to lick their bottoms to stimulate them to go potty.

The BOYZ are LIVE!

Puppy Cam is Live . . .

Today is "tails and dewclaws" day!

The Boyz are starting to look like little Vizslas after their tail docking and dew claw removal this morning. The vet at Yorba Regional commented on how plump and healthy they are (all over 17 oz. already) and passed on congrats to "mom of the year" Zene. 

Vizslas are docked 1/3 off and the vet puts a single suture in the end which falls out in a few weeks, and the front dew claws are removed (its not common for Vizslas to have rear dew claws). 

Way to go little Lover Boyz!