Abandoned Puppies – bringing up neonates

Hubble & Thebe

These abandoned puppies were given astronomical names, because of my love of Astronomy. Hubble after Edwin Hubble the famous American astronomer and Thebe, a close moon of Jupiter. We reserved 2 male pups from a breeder who had a Crufts winning miniature long haired dachshund which had got into the pen and mated with a Shih Tzu x Yorkie. A happy accident for us. But… we had a phonecall, a couple of weeks after we had reserved the pups.

Puppies Attacked!

A pregnant bitch had got into the whelping pen and attacked the litter of 4 pups. Two were killed, one of which was a pup we had reserved. The other 2, a male and a female, were badly injured.

Mum deserted the 2 remaining pups

Unfortunately, the mother deserted the two remaining pups because of the trauma. The pups were just 4 weeks old. The breeder asked if we still wanted the dog that survived. If so, he would not have time to look after him and could we take him now.

What a shock!

This was a bit of a shock. We asked what would happen to the female that was left. He said she was in a poor way and he was not sure if she would survive. We said we would take her also, thinking we had the time to look after them both. With our vet’s advice, we could hopefully help these two neonates recover from their injuries.

We picked them up that same day

We picked them up immediately and never looked back. The wounds on their necks and legs were extensive but to our surprise, healed really quickly. These little dogs were the most wonderful animals I’ve ever had. They were perfect from the start and never put a paw wrong throughout their long lives. They both lived to the grand age of 17 years.

No potty training needed!!

They didn’t even need potty training. There was never an accident from either of them, not once!  We took them out every two hours for a week or so and from then on they always asked to go out. We fitted a ‘catflap’ which they took to immediately. I often wonder if they were so good because we had them at such an early age. They may have instinctively considered us their parents or leaders and just did what we asked of them. They were also extremely well socialised, probably more so than most pups.

Socialisation?

But what about the socialisation? They both had sweet temperaments and were very friendly with humans and especially liked children. We did take them in the car to my Mum and Dad’s house at a very early age. Mum and Dad had a friendly black labrador cross called Ross and he and the pups played together from their first meeting.  They also met cats at a few weeks old. I think we must have done the right thing with these dogs. In other words, we did the right thing without realising it!

Observatory life

We lived in an observatory in Knighton, Powys, which we’d built over a period of 4 years. Having children and the general public in for tours and planetarium shows, the dogs had to be well behaved from the get go and they were. They had a chair they both sat on in the kitchen/dining room where visitors would have tea and coffee as a break from the tour. Children would do their level best to entice these pups off their chair, but they wouldn’t move. Nobody could get them from that chair except us. They were amazing with the public and especially children, but they would not move off that chair, until we told them to.

Disabled children

One time, we had a group of disabled children. One little girl, no older than 9 years, had a disability with her arms being stunted. She asked me if she could hold one of the pups. I passed her the smallest dog Hubble and she cradled him in her tiny arms. She beamed from ear to ear! It was amazing to watch. Both dogs were gently and calm and the children particuarly, loved to sit by their chair and talk to them. Half way through the tour, the coffee break was a welcome interval for the visitors. Of course, the two young dogs were the focus of attention for the children.

Habituation and socialisation is key

It has occurred to me that despite having these little pups at such an early age, they were socialised with us and from just a few weeks old, with children of all ages. They were also socialised with an adult friendly dog very early on and other animals including cows, sheep and horses. They were used to various noises in the kitchen area, cafe area and other areas of the observatory. When we didn’t have the public visiting, the dogs were allowed to roam the whole building which certainly had strange sights and sounds. They were also used to being in a car at an early age as we visited my parents regularly.

And then there was Jazz & Bandit

It was quite a shock when we had our two dogs Jazz and Bandit. They took much longer to house train, they seemed to be more nervous, unlike our previous dogs and they certainly need more training. They are now 3 years old and I still feel I have a long way to go. In fact, I realise that it is a continuous task to keep them well behaved and polite. They always seem to be looking to take advantage of a situation. If allowed to, they could be quite naughty! But I must be thankful that they are both friendly by nature and are not aggressive to us, children, dogs or other adults. They are, however, very reactive, the result of poor socialisation in their young life, before we acquired them.

The problems with Jazz

If allowed to Jazz would be a constant ‘space invader’ he would also bark at every person, car and dog passing by and often still does, although he has improved. He would be chasing anything that moves and he would be picky with his food. These prospective unwanted behaviours need addressing regularly. They are not bad, but they can be annoying. Before Jazz was neutred, he would cover in the house of any dog owning friends or family we visited, very embarrassing!

And Bandit

As for Bandit, he seems to have been born nervous and anxious. We have to constantly introduce him to new things, noises, sights and situations. He has a tendency to be obsessive so we have to take his squeaky toys away for a while, as well as his tennis balls. We don’t always throw the ball for him on walks. Sometimes, we don’t take the ball at all and tell him to ‘go sniff’. He takes some persuading to move off and go and do his own thing. He is also shy with strange humans and dogs and consequently we meet as many dogs as we can and introduce him to as many people as possible. We walk them in new places when weather permits and take them to the beach about once a month. Bandit will often growl at a strange dog when they come into the dog friendly cafe. We usually have a morning coffee before our walk. Bandit is just fearful and nervous. Not many people know how to read a dog’s body language. If they did they would realise Bandit is actually not aggressive.

Start the socialisation process ASAP

I’ve relayed this experience in a post because it is more common than you think for pups to be abandoned. If this happens to you and you’re forced to bring up those pups from any early age, don’t despair. Just remember to do as much socialising and habituating as possible. You cannot start too young to begin the critical socialisation process. In fact, it may be the start of a wonderful relationship if you are forced to bring up a very young pup.

Beware!

Unscrupulous breeders who put profits before the welfare of their young ‘stock’ are more common than you think. They often don’t even bother with the socialisation process before selling to an unsuspecting prospective owner. Be aware of breeders who have their breeding stock outside the family home, in a barn or outbuilding. I would also be suspicious of a breeder who is breeding multiple breeds. Carefully observe the mother as well as the pups when looking to buy. Look for signs of fearfulness or shyness or a pup that wriggles to get free when you pick it up. In fact sometimes, I wonder if it wouldn’t be better for knowledgable dog owners, to take puppies at an earlier age, as soon as weaned from mum.

Why so?

Why do I think this? Well, being a dog behaviourist, the most common problem that people come to me about is fearfulness. Fear of other dogs, strangers, all new objects such as umbrellas, people with big hats or carrying bags, high visibility jackets, pushchairs, bicycles, all traffic, cats, horses and other animals, vacuum cleaners, loud noises such as fireworks, the list is endless.

It used to be 6 weeks but now the norm is 8 weeks. Those critical 2 weeks will make all the difference. At least you can start socialisation and habituation immediately. I’m really not convinced that 8 weeks is necessarily a good thing. But if the breeder is completely professional and has the welfare of the pups’ future lives as their priority, I think 8 weeks is fine.  The later this socialisation process is left the more likely problems will occur, the most common being high reactivity and fearfulness. These problems can escalate to lungeing at people or dogs and even biting. If you have a dog that exhibits this behaviour, gain the help of a professional ASAP.

The best breeders

The best breeders are those that keep their dogs and pups in the family home. The bitch gives birth in the home so the pups start being socialised and habituated as soon as they’re born. Their sense of smell is there at birth and they can feel the touch of their mother and siblings. Handling a young pup gently will enable them to smell you as well as feel your touch. They can hear from around 2 weeks old. This is when you can introduce low level sounds, increasing them slowly. Puppies eyes are closed until around 16 days. They can see better in low light than we can. At around 3 weeks you can slowly introduce other small animals such as cats, rabbits and guinea pigs.

Reacting to strangers

Has your dog ever reacted to someone with a large hat on, or an umbrella. Perhaps a disabled person on crutches or with a walking stick. How about an ethnic person with flowing gowns or dark skin. Anyone with an usual gait will likely get your dog’s attention too. These are the everyday things they must be used to if you want your dog to be calm and inquisitive rather than excited and fearful. Look at it from the dog’s point of view. Clothes and other accoutrements, must be confusing to them.  Dogs look the same from day to day, (unless their owner puts clothes on them). Humans, on the other hand, can come in all sorts of weird shapes, sizes and flowing garments and they change their ‘skins’ so quickly and carry weird and scary objects. We must be like chameleons to them!

Back to the neonates

Hubble and Thebe saw many different things at the observatory before they were even 8 weeks old. Their whole life was punctuated with strange sights and sounds, different people, children, wheelchairs, pushchairs, animals, cats, umbrellas, strange lights, moving floors, the list is endless. But I’m sure that is why they were such special dogs.

We had to sell the observatory because of my husband’s illness. He needed a warmer climate for his health, so we lived in Spain until he died in 2006.   Despite the change of climate and country, the two dogs never reacted to the fireworks that the Spanish love to set off on a regular basis. They were inquisitive about the herd of goats they first saw walking past our casa. Even a wild cat walking up the lane didn’t phase them. The local farmer walked by regularly with his burro. They were also best pals with all the dogs in the nearby rescue centre run by a neighbour. One time a neighbour lost his pet breeding black rabbit. Thebe befriended it and looked after it until the owner turned up. These two amazing dogs were always friendly, always calm, always inquisitive, but never afraid.