Five week old Puppies

Well our gorgeous little boys and girls are growing up!

They really look like Tibetan Terrier puppies now, with curled up tails and fluffy to boot!

It's been difficult to find time to write the blog over the last few weeks, as I've been so so busy, puppy sitting (well, playing)..

The puppies were all registered to The Kennel Club at 5 weeks of age, and within the week, we've quite likely sold them all. I'm happy that as far as I can tell, their new homes sound wonderful, but I'm also a little sad that I may not see some of them again.

WORMING
Yes, what a delightful topic! At our vets, the worming place at 2/3 weeks and then at 5 weeks and 8 weeks, so this week I drove the TTs including mum, Summer, to our vets for their first of three day course of disgusting tasting worming mixture, which is fed via a syringe.  I then give them each a dose on day 2 (which was today) and again on day 3. Then next visit will be at 8 weeks.

GROWING UP

Week Five of looking after puppies has been great fun. Their characters have really developed... and so have their teeth!  TTs are know for slow cutting of teeth, but Sky (girl) has a full set of pincers (and I've experienced them..ouch!). Claude (white and black) has the next amount of teeth but still a few days behind Sky, and the two sables, are gummy with just the odd tooth poking through.

The puppies have learnt to escape. There is only one area outside of the whelping box that the puppies could possibly get through, so we have a long box running the length of the space. Except Claude has learnt that if he throws himself at the box, it topples over and he can get out. So clever!  I was sitting eating breakfast in the lounge (as the table had to be dismantled in favour of the dog box) whilst the puppies were sleeping this morning, and a few moments later, in trots Little Claude with a soft toy in his mouth... closely followed by Ryan. I wish I'd had a camcorder running!

Sky and Claude's hair is really growing. But all the puppy's hair looks lovely, and I've been brushing them everyday with a soft brush and a pin head brush, so they get used to it when they go to their new homes. We have Summer's hair cut as a "puppy cut", which suits our family life and she is happier with a light coat than a long heavy one. But for showing, their hair cannot be cut, and as this is what we will try with Sky, and possibly Sable (different owners), we will have an 'interesting' time with this long coat. I am told though, by a reliable source (Judy), that it should only take 30 minutes every day - but MUST be done every day.. or you end up with knots.

So puppies... how do they look now?

ONLY TIME FOR (LITTLE) CLAUDE TONIGHT...rest tomorrow..

 

This little puppy, known as Claude (just for now) has won so many hearts.

He is bright and alert, loving and calm.

Tibetan Terrier Puppies - 4 1/2 weeks old

Well what a week!

This hot temperature has been brilliant for drying oddles of 'vet bed', now our little Tibetan Terrier puppies - 1, 2, 3 and 4 - are weaning and then weeing and pooping, ALL over the place...

Above: Claude (left), Ryan, Sable (and Sky asleep in the back)

The Three Boys

Sleepy Sky

"I love my mummy" says Ryan!

Ryan (sitting), Sky and Claude (sleeping)

Summer with her chew. She wanted to hide it in the puppy play area! But ate it instead...

UPDATE

In the last week, the four puppies have not only leant to walk, but now run too! And they are just so funny!!

Eventually their little TT tails will curl over their backs, but for now the pups look a little like a fair ground bumper cars, with tails stuck straight up in the air and running backwards as well as forwards.

They can all escape from the open door of their whelping box and so we've turned the box around so they have a playing area, and have put some fencing up in front of one of the 'french doors' so there is a cool breeze blowing into the room.

Feeding Puppies

At just over 3 weeks, I started to wean our gorgeous puppies (named for now, Sky (no e), Claude, Ryan and Sable). We had managed to nearly get through 12kg of Royal Canin Starter Mother and Babydogs for Medium Dogs, and then couldn't buy any in the shops. The puppies had about four days on this, and really loved it, but then we had to find an alternative and decided on Arden Grange Weaning/Puppy.

The Arden Grange didn't go down quite as well, so I started making up a mixture of very diluted puppy milk - and now they all love it!  I also went for an Arden Grange Adult food, so that I have now started weaning Summer, their mum, off the puppy food.

But Summer is still feeding them, and cleaning up their poop!

I have to say though, that for all of them, they have scrambled egg for breakfast. Summer has an egg mixed in with her biscuit, and the TT pups have it on it's own.

The puppies can now stand up in front of a bowl, but they get distracted, so I sit with one at a time, making sure they eat properly, and enticing them if they try to disappear to play!!


Kennel Club Registration

We have finally decided on the Kennel Club names for all the pups. I'll tell you when they've been confirmed, but the paperwork has been sent off, and it's all in the hands of The KC now.

Puppies - Day 4

Every morning about 11am, Nicole or I weigh our Tibetan Terrier puppies. We'll keep doing this every day for two weeks, then most likely once a week if they've all gained well.

The girl (black with white front paws and tiny tip of her tail - born second), was born the heaviest, and remains so, but the boy we call "Claude" (white and black, born 3rd) is only 9 grams behind her.

The other two boys born 1st and 4th are similar in weight but a little lighter, so if we see they're starting to get hungry, we give them first choice of the teats nearest to Summer's tail, as the milk is richest there.

Today we started "The Puppy Plan", which was put together by The Kennel Club and DogsTrust. who set up a new initiative (I think last year), to give every puppy the very best start in life. It is a socialisation plan for the first eight weeks of their life, and can then be passed onto the new owner to continue.

TASKS (do for no longer than 5 seconds per puppy)

1.  Hold the puppy on its back in the palm of your hand
2.  Hold puppy upright
3.  Hold puppy upside down (Nicole didn't like doing this)
4.  Tickle him lightly between the toes with a cotton bud (cotton buds are too big at this stage)
5.  Lightly rub his ears in small circles (I enjoyed this)
6.  Place puppy on a cold, damp town (they all wriggled off very quickly!)

We do this everyday until our Tibetan Terrier pups are two weeks old, before moving onto the next stage. Oh, and we do, do it right in front of Summer. She helps when we do number 1. She licks their bottoms before we continue... aaahhh...

And here are some pictures from Day 4.

 

(above)  Mum, Summer, with her pups on Day 4

 

Left to Right - Sable/white, 'Claude', Sable, Black girl

 

Yes, there are four there, all drunk with milk!

 

It's not unusual for the girl (black) to just sleep on top of the boys who are feeding...

 

We like to see the sable TTs feeding, and girly loves to snuggle

 

This is the white/sable boy. He is curled up around Summers bottom,
and is under her tail like a duvet

 

Oh year baby! This is the life!!

Training and Treats

Summer our gorgeous black and white Tibetan Terrier was nearly nine weeks old in September 2009, when she came to live with us. She hadn't had her jabs so could only walk in the garden. 

We took Summer to the vets two days later for a once over and to also see that going to the vets doesn't have to be scary (would definitely recommend this!). Then a day or so later, we went back and she had her first jab. I think it was worse for me than her. The vet was very gentle and she hardly noticed!

I think we had to wait a few weeks before her second booster jab, when we also had her wormed and she was chipped (a necessity from 2014).

We had to wait a further 7-10 days to actually take her outside, so she could reap the full benefit of the jabs. By this time, it was obvious that our garden wouldn't be a sufficient play area for our TT pup, and I'm not sure who was walking the walls more, her or us?!

So it was with great excitement that as soon as we could take our Tibetan Terrier puppy for a walk and as we live close to town, that that is where we headed. And did she love it?! Lots of admiring faces and lots of cuddles, for our Summer...

I had also booked our puppy into training classes, which started immediately.

What fun we both had! I was a real dog owner novice, but I quickly learned that even though my puppy may want to walk for an hour, that it isn't good for their growing bones, and two or more half hour or less walks, is much more beneficial.  We both learnt about walking on the lead and bought one of our trainers "training leads" (which we still use nearly 4 years later). The group was great fun, and Summer and a flat haired Retriever, became the 'naughty kids', wanting to play when they should be 'training'.

But Summer passed the Kennel Club Puppy Class, and went onto also pass the KC Bronze and Silver grades. Unfortunately, we got a little stuck at Gold, which we tried three times. The first two times she passed everything except the remote isolation. I had to tie her up in a location where she couldn't see me. And boy did she whine! On the third attempt, we'd practiced so much, that she passed this with flying colours. And decided she'd fail on 'stopping at a distance', which she had had no trouble at all doing in the past (this is where I stood at one end of a field, Summer at the other. I would call her to me and make her STOP half way down the field...except she didn't...)!

Never mind! I decided that we'd tried enough, and were accepted into Agility classes.

I can't recommend taking puppies to classes as soon as you can. You learn a lot. The puppy learns an awful lot. It's socialisation for both of you. And if you're having problems, the trainer will ALWAYS have a whole list of ideas from experience, which you can try!

TREATS
Training in class and at home is made much easier if you have a food orientated dog, and even if you haven't, a nice smelly treat, really does help.

At training class, it was suggested that we make home made 'liver cake', and Summer loved and still loves, it!

RECIPE
One pack of livers (any type - price about £1.20)
Bag of plain rolled oats (bottom shelf of the supermarket's cereal section)

Liquidise in a blender, ALL the liver. Gradually start adding the rolled oats. You may wish to remove from blender into a bowl and use a wooden spoon. Keep adding the oats and mixing, so the oats are covered in the gooey mixture. When it becomes difficult to stir and/or there is no more liver to cover the oats, then stop adding the oats. All the oats should be well covered with liver slush.

Next you can start scooping/pouring the quite solid mixture into a pyrex pie dish or similar flat based microwaveable dish. The mixture should be about 1 1/2 cm deep.

Place in the microwave for about 7 minutes. At 7 minutes check the mixture, if it is more or less the same colour of brown all over the top, it is done. If the centre is looking bloody, microwave for a further two minutes. The end result is spongy, not crusty.

You can use the oven instead, but be warned, the aroma of liver will live in your house a lot longer! Cook for 10 minutes in a pre heated oven (about Gas 6 / 180) and check. Continue cooking until brown all over.

Remove cooked 'liver cake' onto a chopping board and slice immediately whilst still warm (it is easier than when cold). Cut the pieces so they are about 2cm square.

Once they have all cooled down, package up about 5 pieces in cling film. Put one package in your fridge to use, and the rest, place in their 5 pack pieces, into a plastic bag and put in the freezer.

To use, take a mini pack out of the freezer the night before use.

The dogs just LOVE it!

Good luck...

DAY TEN - Will there be Summer's Puppies?

Summer is still in season.

On Monday (DAY 8) I took her to Box Hill, Surrey, with Judy, and Summer's Tibetan Terrier "boyfriend", Harris. Rather than being totally subdued, as Summer has been for the last week, there were hints of her pre-season self, coming back. We were also able to see that Harris was still interested in Summer (he has been done, so no chance of puppies), as he climbed on her back and started to hump (she let him) - we didn't!  I know of a friend's dog who, having been castrated, managed a successful tie. Not a situation I'd want Summer to be in, even knowing there would be no end product!!

Back to 'Box Hill', I can't recommend this stunning area in north east Surrey enough as a place to walk a dog in season. You rarely meet other dogs as the area is so vast. Another favourite, is certain areas of the Woodland Trust's Surrey Hills above Wallingham.


DAY TEN (Wednesday)

Over the last few days we've started to notice that Summer isn't humping her big teddy bear quite so much, and that when road walking, she's not stopping to sniff quite so much either.  I'm thinking that her season is coming to an end.  We're meeting Harris again on Friday, so that will be the real telling sign!

Other than what I've mentioned, there have been no signs of pregnancy. Summer was very tired last week, but is a little more her usual self. She is more interested in going for walks, is taking me to the freezer to get her a bone and has started coming upstairs again. There has been no blood for about 5-7 days.

We're trying to come up with a KC pedigree breeders name. Each time we come up with something we all agree with, we check and find it is already being used. This really isn't easy!

She's in Season!

Summer (taken 16/04/13)

Our lovely Tibetan Terrier, Summer, usually comes into season every 10 months; just like her mother!  So we prepared ourselves for a November/December mating. 

But then January came and went, followed by February and March.  Had we missed the occasion? 

Thank goodness, no! Or we don't think we did...

On April 11th she came into season (started to bleed).  We didn't believe it at first, but after about 4 hours of checking, we could confirm she most definitely had.

GOING BACK 10 MONTHS

From May to October 2012, having decided we wanted Summer to have puppies, (as a pedigree dog) we had to have a series of tests done to ensure that she had no genetic defects, and that her puppies would be healthy.

Following the Kennel Club guidelines, the health tests for a Tibetan Terrier are:

1.  BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme

2.  BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme

3.  DNA test - PLL   (Primary Lens Luxation)

4.  DNA test - NCL   (Neruronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis)

For the Eye Scheme test we had to take Summer to a specialist vets in West Surrey. It was a very quick test  involving looking into the back of the eye and dye, and was painless and straightforward. We received a certificate immediately to show she was clear. Excellent!

The Hip Dysplasia test was much more involved, and meant that she had to have a general anesthetic. The x rays were taken at our local vets who sent off their findings for the scoring. The results did take some time, and unfortunately the results were lost (not at our vets) but the normal process we would have expected from x-ray to results was about 6-8 weeks.

The PLL and NCL were just simple swab tests. You pay and order the kits online, wipe where you're asked to (!) and send them off. All clear too. Fabulous!

So the conclusion of the tests was that Summer has NONE of the problems listed above, and next step was to find a mate..

A MATE FOR SUMMER

At Crufts in 2012, also a first for me, I got to talk to a number of breeders and asked lots of questions. I'd travelled there with my friend Judy (also a TT - Tibetan Terrier - owner), and the breeder of her dog, Harris, was there also.

I have to mention, and this was pointed out to me by Judy and her husband, Rob, before the show, that TT owners (generally) are very friendly and happy people, ready to give advice and support. I was pleased to report that this was my experience too!

I digress. With a few names of breeders in my hand as I left Crufts and also having spoken to the people on the stand of the Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme, I felt ready for the next step. To find a mate.

Now Summer and Harris (Judy and Rob's TT) are, what we say, "in love".  Boyfriend and Girlfriend. Love to be together, and play and protect like two dogs that live together. Same age. We take them out for walks together twice a week, exploring places like Box Hill, Headley and Nonsuch Park. 

Judy mentioned that Harris' breeder, showed Harris' brother, Claude, and thought he may be a stud dog, so I contacted them, and was so pleased to find out that he was. Harris is a gorgeous dog, laid back and happy. Summer is also a very happy dog but more sprightly and energetic. I suspect that Claude will be a mixture of the two, and what a wonderful combination of personalities the puppies could have!


A MATE IS FOUND

After a number of emails between myself and Rose at the Tyngeli Kennels, who breeds Pulis and Tibetan Terriers, and checking that the dogs were compatible through their breeding lines, it was decided that Summer (Margretas Desert Dreamer) and Claude (Tyngeli Mr Bojangles) could be a perfect match. Summer would have Harris' nieces and nephews!!