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The breeder you choose will be the most important decision you make when bringing a puppy into your family.
There are essentially three different types of breeders out there, the dreaded and horrific puppy mill, the widely accepted backyard breeder and the very rare professional breeder. I do believe that most all breeders fit into one of these three categories as defined below. We are all too familiar with the horrifying scenes emerging from puppy mills all around our country. Sadly, the Midwest is home to many puppy mills and some of the greatest offenders. So what makes a breeder a puppy mill? What makes a breeder a backyard breeder? What is different about a professional breeder? PUPPY MILLS: A puppy mill breeds dogs for no other purpose than financial gain. The dogs often receive the minimal care possible to keep them reproducing and to meet the laws of the state. Sadly the state laws in regards to breeders often support puppies raised in these situations as long as they meet the minimal space required per dog and have adequate housing, food and water as defined by the law. If you are purchasing a puppy from a pet store or a broker you can be assured that your puppy came from a dreaded puppy mill. When buying directly from a puppy mill breeder they most often do not allow clients on site and insist upon meeting somewhere else. They often require puppies to leave at 8 weeks of age, the youngest age a puppy can leave by law. To ensure that your puppy is not coming from a puppy mill, ask for references, ask for a Facetime or Zoom meeting with mom and the puppies when they are still young. Ask for references and take note of the number of litters that they are producing in a year. There are many puppy mills active on social media, but become easy to spot when you know what you are looking for! Puppy Mill breeders are easy to spot when they are only posting posed photos of puppies. You will note that there are not videos or photos of puppies having new age appropriate experiences and often theses puppies never see the great outdoors. Puppy mill breeders often have minimal or no information given on parent dogs on social media or on their website. BACKYARD BREEDERS: Backyard breeders may have the best of intentions, but they lack breeding knowledge and often have no direction for a program. Again the sole purpose for their breeding decisions is all to often financial gain. They have minimal or no understanding of inherited diseases and their prevention. (Also see our post on Health and Genetic Testing). Puppy parents are chosen because they are cute, or colorful. Not because of their exceptional temperament, structure or accomplishments. The dogs owned by backyard breeders are often unproven in regards to health and temperament testing. Just because someone tells you that a dog has an exemplary temperament does not mean anything. Look for proof. Look for temperament testing results, look for titles that prove the dog is as well tempered as the breeder claims. Backyard breeders are often not state licensed as the number of dogs in their care falls below the licensing requirement. Backyard breeders often do not provide the puppies with proper stimulation or socialization at appropriate times. With most backyard breeders there is a general lack of knowledge and application of basic canine genetics and development. As with puppy mill breeders, back yard breeders are often insistent upon puppies going home at 8 weeks of age or younger and often charge boarding fees for puppies that do not go home at that time. PROFESSIONAL BREEDERS: The Professional breeder has goals for their program. They are invested in the health and genetics of their chosen breed/breeds are well studied in the best practices and standards. Professional breeders are always seeking knowledge and are willing to make changes to their program as evidence of new and better practices emerge. Every litter produced by a professional breeder is planned and is produced for a specific purpose. Sires and dams are studied, health and genetic testing is calculated, pedigrees and temperaments are considered and analyzed. After hours of studying and countless considerations, the professional breeder plans a litter, clears their schedule and puts their heart and soul into raising a litter of puppies to the best of their ability. Making sure that every puppy has individual attention and age-appropriate challenges to ensure that every puppy will develop to their full potential. Professional breeders make education a priority. Educating themselves on health, genetics and development. And educating their clients on proper support of health puppy development and canine behavior. Professional breeders often do not send puppies home until 10-12 weeks of age as they have studied the developmental benefits of puppies remaining with the litter during that crucial socialization period. Raising a litter of puppies beyond 8 weeks is tedious, expensive and absolutely exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally. But professional breeders know that these weeks are critical to the puppies proper development and out of love for their puppies and respect for the families, the professional breeder dedicates the extra time and training to each litter. How to protect yourself: Look for puppies on reputable websites ONLY. We highly recommend Good Dog as the website does their own vetting of breeders that are listed. And while it is not fool proof, breeders are only listed on the site following a phone interview and submission of their dogs records. Ask for references! Ask for Facetime and Zoom meetings while the pups are young and with mom Ask for lots of pictures, ask for videos (pay attention to all of the puppies in the video, look at the surroundings and any adult dogs that may be present) LOOK FOR RED FLAGS: A lack of health and genetic testing A lack of temperament testing A constant production of new puppies and litters A lack of information and photos of puppy parents ASK QUESTIONS: Where are the puppies raised? What developmental age-appropriate experiences and activities do the puppies have? How are the pups socialized? What age do the puppies go home? Do they follow a curriculum? (Rule of 12's, Puppy Culture, Bad Ass Breeder, etc.) Ask to visit! And always, when possible, pick your puppy up on site where ALL of the breeders' dogs are present! (More and more, puppy mills and backyard breeders are setting up locations away from their day-to-day operations for buyers to visit and to pick up. The area is staged and the well being of the breeding dogs and general conditions are not known.
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At Prodigy Farms, we pride ourselves on fully health testing our parent dogs on the recommendation of the breed specific CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) program. The CHIC recommendations were formed for each breed after health testing data from dogs within the breed was collected and analyzed. The individual tests required by CHIC were chosen due to their prevalence or debilitating impact upon the breed itself. We invest in our dogs to make sure that your puppy will have the healthiest and happiest life possible. We want our puppy buyers to be informed and all too often we see puppies advertised as health tested when the puppy parents have only undergone a simple buccal swab DNA test. Too often people consider a dog to be health tested when it has ONLY had DNA testing done through Embark, Wisdom Panel, Paw Print, Genomia, or another similar lab. These DNA tests are essential in making wise breeding decisions for the health of future generations, but they are only one tool. A dog that has tested fully clear on it's Embark panel, can still have other eye issues that cannot be detected via a genetic test and can only be seen when a Certified Veterinary Ophthalmologist performs a thorough eye exam on the dog.
Below is a list of what full health testing should look like: FULLY HEALTH TESTED
A DOG THAT ONLY HAS A DNA PANEL IS NOT HEALTH TESTED We know that having a dog can be one of life's simplest and greatest joys. Please ensure that the companion that you choose has been given the best chance at life from the very beginning and ask for documentation of proper health testing. It is one of the simplest ways that you can protect your puppy's future before you even bring them home. Potty training can seem like a never-ending process, it can be a very stressful time for puppy and owner. Your puppy has been litterbox trained, to make the transition to potty training as easy as possible. Access to a litterbox has taught them from a very young age that there is an appropriate place to eat, sleep and potty. Again, remember that every interaction you have with your puppy they are learning, good or bad. When taking your puppy out of the crate, they should be picked up and IMMEDIATELY carried outside and told to “Go Potty”. Do not talk to your puppy and try to not make eye contact until they are out in the yard. Exciting a puppy that is coming out of the crate is setting them up for failure. Timing meals and trips outside is pivotal to successful potty training. I recommend feeding two meals a day, spaced as close to 12 hours apart as possible. But before feeding and watering, take your puppy outside to potty. Do not leave water accessible to your puppy, but be sure to offer water at other times throughout the day, not just at feeding times. Only give food or water when you can give them ample potty time. Here is an example of a schedule that we would recommend around feeding time.
6:00 Take puppy outside to potty 6:15 Give puppy ample food and water in a quiet area where they will not be disturbed (preferably their crate in the beginning). 6:30 Remove food and water and take the puppy out to potty. 6:45 Take puppy out to potty’ 7:00 Take puppy out to potty 7:30 Take puppy out to potty 8:00 Take puppy out to potty Potty training can be frustrating at best, but stick to a schedule and it will come as their body matures. NEVER leave a puppy that is not fully potty trained unattended in the home. At times, to ensure potty training success, I have kept the puppies leash tied to my belt loop while cooking dinner or navigating throughout the house so I could be sure to catch them if they were to have an accident. This simple trick also does wonders to train the puppy to become responsive to your body language. Continuing with litterbox training can come in handy even with adult dogs. We use washing machine pans and wood burning fuel pellets. We do not recommend the use of potty pads as this can lead to the dogs wanting to use rugs and carpet as potty pads. Puppies also tend to tear up potty pads, which can be harmful if ingested. Accidents happen and they will be frustrating at times, but this too shall pass. Keeping a consistent schedule those first few weeks and giving your puppy ample time outside will ensure success. Puppy Schedule
Like most babies, puppies thrive with routine! 6:00 A.M. OUT TO POTTY Pick them up out of the crate, do not talk to them or excite them until they are down where they are able to potty. 6:15 A.M. BREAKFAST We never recommend measuring your puppies' food, unless weight becomes an issue as they age. Puppies go through different growth stages and will eat more or less as needed in each stage. We recommend a 2-4 cup food bowl to be filled and left with the puppy for 10-15 minutes to eat and drink what they want at that time. Feedings should take place in a quiet place, free from distractions. The crate may be the best place for feedings the first couple weeks. 6:30 A.M. OUT TO POTTY We know mornings are super busy, but this is a great time to fit in a quick five minute training session. If you don’t have time for training, be sure to provide your puppy with plenty of toys and stimulation to start their day off right. This is also a great time to give your puppy their NuVet as a quick treat for successfully pottying or completing a command that you ask of them. 6:45 A.M. OUT TO POTTY 7:00 A.M. OUT TO POTTY 7:30 A.M. OUT TO POTTY 8:00 A.M. OUT TO POTTY If you are not available to take your puppy out frequently around feeding times as listed, we highly recommend having a playpen set up in your home on a hard surface floor with a litter box. Make sure that your puppy has ample opportunity to go out and potty for two hours after eating or drinking. DO NOT SET YOUR PUPPY UP FOR FAILURE!. They are really trying, but do not have the physical ability to hold their bladder or bowels for prolonged periods of time until 16-18 weeks of age. Morning is a great time to get out and about for an adventure! Your puppy is well rested, well fueled and ready to learn! Go out for a walk, take a trip to the store, get out the Puppy Socialization Guide and check off some boxes. But remember when they are young, a late morning nap time can be essential. We recommend putting your puppy in their crate for all of their naps. 12:00 P.M. LUNCH As your puppy grows, having two feeding times per day is recommended. But while they are still small, under 12 weeks of age, we recommend offering them a small snack and water around lunch time. This small snack can be an additional meal time or it can be a time for training with a small handful of healthy treats as a reward. There are a lot of great balanced dog food options that can be chopped and given as a healthy reward. Most large pet suppliers and even Target have a refrigerated dog food section. Dog food rolls are a great healthy treat! 12:15 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 12:30 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 12:45 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 1:00 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 1:30 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 2:00 P.M. OUT TO POTTY Mid afternoon, your puppy will be ready to settle in for a nice long nap! Make sure they have had ample opportunity to potty and then place them into their crate for a nice long nap. Nap time is essential for their rapidly growing mind and body, the crate is always the best space for a nap. Just remember if they are crying in the crate make them wait until they settle down to get out, do not reinforce bad behavior. A brief pause is all there needs to be when they are little. After a good nap, your puppy will be refreshed, this is a great time for further training and more adventures. Sometimes adventures are simply riding in the car to pick kids up from school. Getting your puppy out into the world on a daily basis is wonderful socialization for them. Remember, whether it is social outings or active training, short and sweet can’t be beat! 6:00 P.M. DINNER 6:15 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 6:30 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 6:45 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 7:00 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 7:30 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 8:00 P.M. OUT TO POTTY 9:00 P.M. BEDTIME We recommend making puppies bedtime the same as yours, it will ensure that you both get the best night's sleep possible. In our home, your puppy was used to bedtime being around 8 o’clock, same as our human children. Just make sure not to offer your puppy any food or water a minimum of 2 hours before bedtime. Also if you notice they are getting sleepy and crashing out on the living room floor, take them to their crate. Sometimes puppies want to take a nice long nap in the evening so they can be ready to party all night. Keep them active and stimulated in the hours following dinner so they are ready for bed. At times, puppies can be quite the handful, if you need a break, their crate is always a safe place and there is no guilt in taking their crate to a different area of the house for them to have their fit and make your night a bit more peaceful. Trust me we have all done it! Just remember each day they get a little older, they grow a little bigger, they learn a little more and it won’t be this way for long. Puppy Prep
Common Language for Training Words that your puppy is familiar with: KENNEL UP: Go into the crate/kennel/playpen GO POTTY: Go to the bathroom COME: Come to person SIT: Bottom on the floor Next level commands for your puppy: OFF: Take paws or body off of something DOWN: Lay down on the floor WHOA: Slow down WAIT: Hold position until released STAY: Remain in sit/down position until released The use of common language for all members of your household is essential for your puppy to learn and advance. Command words should be simple and clear. Never use more than one command word for the same action. For instance, if one family member is training the puppy to “Down” (lay down) while another family member is commanding them “Down” (get off the couch) the puppy will easily become confused. If you have a large family, as we do, family meetings are often necessary to orient everyone to the command words that the puppy is currently learning. We also train all of our dogs and highly recommend training to both voice and hand commands. Below are a few examples: SIT: Owner points index finger straight up into the air DOWN: Owner points index down to the ground COME: Sweeping motion with open hand from owners side to chest STAY: Open hand, fingers together We recommend starting all puppies with both hand and voice command, as they grow you can use them interchangeably. Training to hand commands once saved my dogs life. You never know when your training will pay off more than you ever expected! REMEMBER: Training should always be fun! Every interaction you have with your puppy, they are learning. Be cautious of what bad habits you may unintentionally be enforcing as well as being consistent with the good habits, like waiting to go through a doorway after you. Taking just five minutes once or twice a day to actively train with your new puppy will pay off in dividends later in life. As your puppy grows the training times can become longer, but we rarely work even our most seasoned dogs for more than 15 minutes in a session. I feel the need to preface this post with the fact that I break all the rules when it comes to feeding our dogs. But the way we feed works for us and has proven successful over decades of breeding and competing with our dogs. For years we have entrusted our dogs to two key sources of nutrition and more recently we have integrated greater portions of raw feeding into their diets as well.
Generations of our dogs have thrived on Purina Pro Plan kibble and free feeding. Free feeding works well for us. Our dogs are very active with our family and maintain healthy weights with free feeding. To reduce the risk of developing a protein sensitivity, we feed our dogs all three protein varieties of Purina Pro Plan. (Chicken and rice, the beef and rice as well as the lamb and rice). In an effort to raise our dogs more naturally over the years we have progressed to feeding a greater percentage of their diet from raw feeding. Raw feeding felt very daunting at first and slightly overwhelming. But with proper education and creativity, we easily integrated raw feeding into our lives. One of my favorite ways to feed raw is to use an ice cream scoop to freeze raw patties for our dogs. It is easy to portion out that way and requires making just one large batch of food per week. Our dogs raw diet incorporates a great variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, muscle meat and organs from a variety of protein sources including; beef, venison, pork, chicken, turkey and fish. We also add raw goats milk and whole raw fresh eggs (shell and all) to their diet. Our dogs are fed two raw meals per day as a portion of their daily intake. We highly recommend raw feeding over feeding conventional kibble. But we understand that with busy lives, kibble feeding has it's place. If feeding a raw diet, we highly recommend seeking the assistance of a canine nutritionist to formulate recipes that properly meet the dietary needs of your dog. If feeding conventional kibble, incorporating a percentage of raw into their diet will have great nutritional benefits. When it comes to feeding dogs, we understand that the needs of individual dogs and their families vary. But in the last few years we have seen a rise of boutique dog foods and grain free dog foods have received the spotlight. Many years ago, we tried several of these foods in our program including Orijen and Earthborn. What we discovered is these foods did not meet the dietary needs of our dogs. We found our dogs had issue maintaining healthy weights and noticed changes in their coats that were bothersome. Many of these foods have been linked to a lethal cardiac enlargement. If choosing to feed a kibble other than Purina Pro Plan, please do your homework on the risk of dilated cardiomyopathy and the correlation with grain free dog foods. At Prodigy Farms, we pride ourselves on fully health testing our parent dogs on the recommendation of the breed specific CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) program. The CHIC recommendations were formed for each breed after health testing data from dogs within the breed was collected and analyzed. The individual tests required by CHIC were chosen due to their prevalence or debilitating impact upon the breed itself. We invest in our dogs to make sure that your puppy will have the healthiest and happiest life possible. We want our puppy buyers to be informed and all too often we see puppies advertised as health tested when the puppy parents have only undergone a simple buccal swab DNA test. Too often people consider a dog to be health tested when it has ONLY had DNA testing done through Embark, Wisdom Panel, Paw Print, Genomia, or another similar lab. These DNA tests are essential in making wise breeding decisions for the health of future generations, but they are only one tool. A dog that has tested fully clear on it's Embark panel, can still have other eye issues that cannot be detected via a genetic test and can only be seen when a Certified Veterinary Ophthalmologist performs a thorough eye exam on the dog.
Below is a list of what full health testing should look like: FULLY HEALTH TESTED
A DOG THAT ONLY HAS A DNA PANEL IS NOT HEALTH TESTED We know that having a dog can be one of life's simplest and greatest joys. Please ensure that the companion that you choose has been given the best chance at life from the very beginning and ask for documentation of proper health testing. It is one of the simplest ways that you can protect your puppy's future before you even bring them home.
Proper grooming is essential to all dog ownership. Establishing a relationship with a professional groomer in your area as soon as your puppy comes home is highly recommended. Please put the time into ensuring that you find the right groomer for your newest family member. A professional groomer that handles the dogs in her care with kindness and grace is essential. Visit the grooming facility, meet the groomer and come home with a list of references to contact. Ask your chosen groomer the age of which she would prefer seeing your puppy. Typically we recommend waiting until after 12 weeks to take your dog to a groomer as they will have a second vaccination at that time. In the weeks that your puppy is with us, we have already started proper handling of your puppy for grooming. Beginning at just a few days of life, your puppy is first introduced to having his feet handled when when we perform the ENS procedures. From there, we continue nail trimming and filing on a weekly basis. We also intentionally handle the puppies paws when they are snuggling with us as this frequent handling desensitizes them to having their paws handled for grooming and nail trims. We also begin gently brushing our puppies at 4 weeks of age, with a soft bristle brush and continue to do so on a daily basis. Before they go to their new homes they are introduced to a slicker brush, similar to what you will use on them at home. We highly recommend continuing to brush your puppy on a daily basis. Starting around 6 weeks of age, we also begin regular baths and blow outs, we typically bathe them on a weekly basis as our goal is for them to have three full baths and blow outs prior to going home. Once your puppy comes home, we recommend continuing with a simple bath and blow dry every 10-14 days, through 16 weeks of age. This frequent bathing when they are young will ensure baths to be a pleasurable experience for all throughout the dogs lifetime. When fed a high quality diet and bathed using a gentle, quality shampoo, the risk of your puppy developing dry skin is very minimal, but be sure to adjust the bathing time if needed as outdoor temperatures and humidity do have a direct effect on skin and coat. As the puppy ages, we increase the length of time between baths, but always aim for no more than a month between baths and blow outs. We have used a variety of products over the years, but the Isle of Dog and Kin and Kind grooming products have continually served us well. Isle of Dogs offers an extensive grooming line, but here are a few of our personal favorites: Silky Oatmeal Shampoo Conditioning Mist Kin and Kind Flea and Tick Shampoo and Spray is great for dogs that are over 12 weeks of age to aid in preventing external parasites. During warm months, our dogs are all bathed with Kin and Kind Flea and Tick Shampoo and regularly sprayed down with the flea and tick spray. Especially when we are going exploring in the woods. Kin and Kind Flea and Tick Shampoo Kin and Kind Flea and Tick Spray In addition to the grooming products above, we highly recommend that you purchase a simple slicker dog brush and a metal comb before your puppy comes home. Our favorite and affordable slicker brush These items will be an essential part of preparing your puppy for a lifetime of stress free grooming. Grooming can be a relaxing time for both dog and owner, a special time to further build your connection together. We do our part in lowering the risk of hip dysplasia in the puppies that we produce by certifying with OFA or PennHip, each of our parent dogs. But studies have now shown hip dysplasia to be a multifactorial disease, meaning there are many factors that can contribute to an individual dog's risk of hip dysplasia. So once your puppy goes home, there are several ways that you can actively reduce the risk of hip dysplasia for your dog. We ask that all of our families follow the recommended guidelines to ensure the health and longevity of your canine companion.
SPAY/NEUTER AFTER 12 MONTHS We require that every puppy is spayed and neutered after they go to their new homes. But several studies indicate that the timing of the procedure could have an impact on the future risk of hip dysplasia for your dog. Several studies now show that a dog spayed or neutered after 11 months of age, can significantly lower the dogs risk of hip dysplasia and may reduce the future risk of certain types of cancer. OBESITY We all know that a healthy diet is an imperative part of a healthy lifestyle and it is the same for your dog. A diet complete with the needed vitamins and minerals to support adequate and steady growth is essential in puppyhood. While the nutritional needs of your dog may change with time, maintaining a healthy weight through every stage is imperative. Little treats are great training tools, but all of those calories can add up. You can reduce the risk of hip dysplasia in your dog by monitoring their weight and preventing obesity. EXERCISE Regular exercise is important for all of us and equally important to our canine companions. But certain types of exercise, especially at a young age, can actually increase your dog's risk of hip dysplasia. We recommend avoiding excessive exercise in growing puppies and young dogs. Your puppy is an excellent walking partner, but keeping the lengths of walks reasonable for the age of your dog is important as well as reducing the number of stairs they navigate. We know that having a running partner always makes the experience more enjoyable, but we do not recommend taking dogs under two years of age for lengthy runs. Avoiding strenuous high impact exercises in growing dogs under 24 months can decrease the chance that hip dysplasia will affect them later on. With due diligence on our part and yours, we can ensure that your dog lives a full life, free from hip dysplasia. |
AuthorI am the owner of Prodigy Farms and only second to the love for my dogs, is my love for educating dog owners on canine care and behavior. I am the stay at home mom of three amazing boys that are active in the rearing of our puppies. With a background in nursing and years spent competing in the dog world, I have a few tips and tricks up my sleeve that I like to share with others here. So welcome to my blog, I hope that you are blessed by your visit and will find tools and information here that will enable you to raise and train a happy healthy dog to create a lifetime of joy with! Archives
May 2022
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