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The
Litter's Early Life, Week 8
Note: The
following information, unless otherwise noted, is taken directly from
the Web pages Cathy created for this litter. It is reprinted here with
permission.
November
27, 2001
Week Eight (Days
50-56)
DEVELOPMENT
OF THE PUPPIES
- First fear
period
- Starts learning
name
Upcoming development
periods:
Fear Impact
Period (8 - 11 Weeks): Try to avoid frightening the puppy during this
time, since traumatic experiences can have an effect during this period.
As you can see, this period overlaps that of the previous definition
and children or animal should not be allowed to hurt or scare the
puppy -- either maliciously or inadvertently. It is very important
now to introduce other humans, but he must be closely supervised to
minimize adverse conditioning. Learning at this age is permanent.
This is the stage where you wonder if your dog is going to be a woosy
butt all his life. Also introducing your puppy to other dogs at this
time will help him become more socialized. If available in your area,
a doggy day care is great for this.
Week Nine
(Days 57-63)
DEVELOPMENT
OF THE PUPPIES
- Develops
strong dominant and subordinate behavior among littermates
- Begins
to learn right behavior
- Motor skills
improve
- Short attention
span
- Starts
focusing attention on owner rather than other puppies
- Start house
training
Seniority
Classification Period (13 - 16 Weeks): This critical period is also
known as the "Age of Cutting" - cutting teeth and cutting apron strings.
At this age, the puppy begins testing dominance and leadership. Biting
behavior is absolutely discouraged from thirteen weeks on. Praise
for the correct behavior response is the most effective tool. Meaningful
praise is highly important to shape positive attitude.
Flight Instinct
Period (4 to 8 Months): During this period puppies test their wings-
they will turn a deaf ear when called. This period lasts from a few
days to several weeks. It is critical to praise the positive and minimize
the negative behavior during this time. However, you must learn how
to achieve the correct response. This period corresponds to teething
periods, and behavioral problems become compounded by physiological
development chewing.
Second Fear
impact period (6 - 14 Months): Also called, "The fear of situations
period", usually corresponds to growths spurts. This critical age
may depend on the size of the dog. Small dogs tend to experience these
periods earlier than large dogs. Great care must be taken not to reinforce
negative behavior. Force can frighten the dog, and soothing tones
serve to encourage his fear. His fear should be handled with patience
and kindness, and training during this period puts the dog in a position
of success, while allowing him to work things out while building self-confidence.
November
27, 2001
Today we did
puppy evaluations. What a long day! Its almost a 2 hr drive to GraceFarms.
We got there at 9am, and pulled out of the drive at 3:30pm. The pups
were very good. I got to watch through a window. I was very pleased
with how they did overall.
Puppy Aptitude
Test
| Test and Purpose |
Score |
Comments
|
Social Attraction
Purpose: Degree of Attraction to people
Method: Place pup in testing area 4 feet
from tester, who coaxes puppy to her/him. |
Comes readily, tail up. jumps,
bites at hands ......................................................
1 |
Comes readily,tail up paws, licks at
hands .....................................................................2 |
| Comes readily, tail up..........................................
3 |
| Comes readily, tail
down .....................................4 |
| Comes hesitantly, tail down ...............................5 |
| Does not come at all ...........................................
6 |
|
Black Girl Yellow 2
Black Girl Orange 2
Black Girl Pink 4
Black Girl Red 4
Liver Girl Red 2
Liver Girl Yellow 2
Black Boy Blue 4
Black Boy Green 2
Liver Boy Blue 1
Liver Boy Green 4
|
Following
Purpose: Degree of willingness to follow
human leadership
Method: Stand up and walk away from
puppy, encouraging verbally. |
Follows readily, tail up, gets under foot,
bites at feet ...........................................................
1 |
Follows readily,tail up gets
under foot...............................................................2 |
| Follows readily, tail up.........................................
3 |
| Follows readily, tail
down ...................................4 |
| Follows hesitantly, tail down .............................5 |
| Does not follow at all .........................................
6 |
|
keep in mind this breed is not over exuberant
to strangers. Most pups just looked at the tester walking in circles,
and decided to explore the room instead.
Black Girl Yellow 6
Black Girl Orange 4
Black Girl Pink 6
Black Girl Red 6
Liver Girl Red 6
Liver Girl Yellow 3
Black Boy Blue 4
Black Boy Green 2
Liver Boy Blue 1
Liver Boy Green 6 |
Restraint
Purpose: Degree of dominance or submission;
response to social/physical dominance
Method: Gently roll pup on its back and
hold it for 30 seconds. |
| Struggles fiercely, flails,bites ............................
1 |
| Struggles fiercely, flails .......................................2 |
Settles, struggles, settles with
eye contact ...........................................................
3 |
| Slight struggle, then
settles ................................4 |
| No struggle, tail tucked .......................................5 |
No struggle, strains to avoid
eye contact ...........................................................
6 |
|
Black Girl Yellow 4
Black Girl Orange 4
Black Girl Pink 3
Black Girl Red 4
Liver Girl Red 4
Liver Girl Yellow 4
Black Boy Blue 4
Black Boy Green 4
Liver Boy Blue 4
Liver Boy Green 2/3
|
Social Dominance
Purpose: Degree of acceptance of human
social dominanace; how "forgiving" the pup is.
Method: Pup sit facing tester at a 45 angle.
Tester strokes pup and puts his/her face close
to the pup |
| Jumps, paws, bites, growls ................................
1 |
| Jumps, paws, licks ................................................2 |
Cuddles up to tester, tries to
lick face .................................................................
3 |
Sits quietly, accepts
petting,
nudges/licks hands ..............................................4 |
| Rolls over, no eye contact ..................................5 |
| Goes away and stays away ................................
6 |
|
Black Girl Yellow 4
Black Girl Orange 4
Black Girl Pink 5-6
Black Girl Red 4
Liver Girl Red 3/4
Liver Girl Yellow 2
Black Boy Blue 4
Black Boy Green 4/5
Liver Boy Blue 2
Liver Boy Green 4
|
Elevation Dominance
Purpose: Degree of accepting dominance
while in postion of no control.
Method: Cradle the pup under its belly,
fingers interlaced, and elevate just off the ground
for 30 seconds. |
| Struggle fiercely, bites ........................................
1 |
| Struggles ...............................................................2 |
| No struggle, relaxd, tail wags ............................
3 |
| No struggle, relaxed
.............................................4 |
| No struggle ...........................................................5 |
No struggle, frozen, tail/rear
legs tense .............................................................
6 |
|
Black Girl Yellow 4
Black Girl Orange 4
Black Girl Pink 4
Black Girl Red 4
Liver Girl Red 4
Liver Girl Yellow 4
Black Boy Blue 4
Black Boy Green 4
Liver Boy Blue 3
Liver Boy Green 2/3
|
Retrieving(Obedience and Aptitude)
Purpose: Degree of willingness to work with
humans. High correlation between ability to
retrieve and successfuk guide dogs, and field
trial dogs.
Method: Attract pups attention with crumpled
paper ball. When it is watching, toss paper 4
feet away. When pup goes after it back up 2
feet and encourage it to come back. |
Chases object, picks it up and
runs away .............................................................
1 |
Chases object stands over it,
does not return......................................................2 |
Chases object, picks
it up and
returns it to the tester..........................................
3 |
Chases object, returns without
object to tester ......................................................4 |
| Starts to chase, loses interest .............................5 |
| Does not chase ....................................................
6 |
|
Black Girl Yellow 3
Black Girl Orange 1
Black Girl Pink 1
Black Girl Red 5
Liver Girl Red 3 (tiny hold on paper)
Liver Girl Yellow 2/3
Black Boy Blue 3
Black Boy Green 3
Liver Boy Blue 3
Liver Boy Green 3 |
Touch Sensitivity
Purpose: Degree of sensitivity to touch.
Method: Take webbing of one front foot and
place between finger and thumb lightly,
gradually increasing pressure on a scale from
1-10. Stop as soon as puppy shows
discomfort. |
| 9-10 counts before response .............................
1 |
| 7-8 counts before response ................................2 |
| 5-6 counts before
response................................ 3 |
| 3-4 counts before response ................................4 |
| 1-2 counts before response ................................5 |
| Does not respond ...............................................
6 |
|
Black Girl Yellow 5
Black Girl Orange 2
Black Girl Pink 3
Black Girl Red 2
Liver Girl Red 5
Liver Girl Yellow 5
Black Boy Blue 3
Black Boy Green 2
Liver Boy Blue 4
Liver Boy Green 2
|
Sound Sensitivity
Purpose: Degree of sensitivity to sound.
Method: Place pup in center of testing area
and make a sharp noise a few feet away. A
large metal spoon struck sharply on a metal
pan twice works well. |
| Locates the sound, walks towards it.................
1 |
| Locates sound, barks ...........................................2 |
Locates sound, show
curiousity,
walks towards it....................................................
3 |
| Locates the sound ...............................................4 |
| Cringes, backs off, hides .....................................5 |
| Ignores sound, shows no curiousity ...............
6 |
|
Black Girl Yellow 4
Black Girl Orange 3
Black Girl Pink 4/5
Black Girl Red 4/5
Liver Girl Red 3/4
Liver Girl Yellow 3
Black Boy Blue 3
Black Boy Green 3
Liver Boy Blue 3
Liver Boy Green 5
|
Chase Instinct
Purpose: Degree of response to moving
object; chase instinct.
Method: Tie a string around a towel and drag
it in front of the puppy from left to right. |
| Looks, attacks, bites ............................................
1 |
| Looks, barks, tail
up, paws at towel ...................2 |
| Looks curiously, attempts to investigate, follows
no bite or contact ......... 3 |
| Looks, does not go forward, tail down ..............4 |
| Runs away, hides ..................................................5 |
| Ignores, shows no curiousity.............................
6 |
|
Black Girl Yellow 2
Black Girl Orange 2
Black Girl Pink 1/2
Black Girl Red 3
Liver Girl Red 2
Liver Girl Yellow 2
Black Boy Blue 2
Black Boy Green 1
Liver Boy Blue 1
Liver Boy Green 2/3
|
November
28, 2001
Today was the
trip to the vets for health checks. We went to Countryside Veterinary
Clinic in Carthage NY. During puppy wellness checks, the Veterinarian
will look in a pups ears, check for mites or excess wax. Look in the
mouth, check the bite, make sure the gums look pink and healthy. Look
for eye discharge. Check the pup for any hernias. Listen to the pups
heart to check for any heart murmurs. Also just take a look at the general
condition of the animal.
 
Here are some
of the pups being examined by Dr. Charles Allen.
Melissa
interjects:
It's
official! I talked to Cathy Lew today, and the blue collar black boy
will soon be SoftMaple's Pax Americana! This was my favorite pup in
the litter based on the information Cathy posted on her Web page.
Here's a recap of the information she posted about him:
- Fastest
boy to get off the cold cloth. Very relaxed when supine.
- First
male to open eyes.
- Growles
when I make noise near the box.
- Pulls
away when pinched, but no sound.
- Most
adventurous of black boys.
- Very
bold. Did more exploring than most.
The
person who did the temperament testing had this to say:
Good
retriever-brought paper right to me. Soft Mouth. lower prey drive
than the other male. Mentally stable. Not too submissive. Physical
medium in pain sensitivity. Forgiving. Great obed dog.
Here
are some pictures of my blue boy from the past few weeks:
  
 
Cathy
is shipping the pup to me, and she says she'll look into flights either
this weekend or next week. I think I'm going to explode with anticipation!
November
29, 2001
I spent the
day calling airlines and checking out possible flights. Didn't have
very good luck, as our Syracuse freight office won't be open on the
weekend. The first of the pups will leave this weekend when the new
owners come to see them.
Here are just
a few pictures of the pups playing with wings and crawling on my Husband.
Oh, and Orange girl has become a climber! She can escape from both the
Shark cage and the smaller X-pen! You catch her in the act, and she
looks so innocent!
 
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