Few questions for experienced breeders

DBB

Raminahobbin wrote: »

That's exactly what I needed to see this morning - little fat happy wriggly puppies looking forward to seeing the colours coming in OP, and the havoc they create for you after their eyes open and they start moving around

Lol, I don't think there's anything that can prepare you for the amount of mess they make :pac::pac::pac:
The mop will become surgically attached to one hand, whilst the roll of kitchen towel will be surgically attached to the other

Dubl07

DBB wrote: »

Lol, I don't think there's anything that can prepare you for the amount of mess they make :pac::pac::pac:
The mop will become surgically attached to one hand, whilst the roll of kitchen towel will be surgically attached to the other

If ever there were an image to encourage folks to spay, that's it.

ACD

So another update, puppies have reached their first milestone, most of them have opened their eyes, some of them are making their first attempts to walk (not very successfully yet ) and they have tripled their birth weight from 350-400g, they are now around 1000-1200g. It's amazing how fast they are growing, they'll be running around in no time

aonb

They are so gorgeous - so fat and sleepy - how could you expect those tiny short legs to lift those fat bodies up to walk?!??!?! They are actually quite big puppies arent they - how much approx do they weigh?

ACD

They're around 1200-1300 grams atm, they are wobbling around, but they are getting steadier on their feet, just yesterday it was like 2 steps and bum, today one of the boys was walking around like a pro You'd be surprised how swiftly they move around the whelping box, especially when mum comes to feed them

Lemlin

Strange that this thread is fairly long and nobody has asked your reason for breeding. It's usually a standard question on this forum. Any particular reason for breeding your dogs?

Best of luck with the pups btw. It's great to see they are thriving. Are you going to try them on raw at all or what puppy food do you plan to use?

Nody

Lemlin wrote: »

Strange that this thread is fairly long and nobody has asked your reason for breeding. It's usually a standard question on this forum.

Because the OP has shown they actually breed properly from suitable dogs that have had the appropriate vet controls and standards while ensuring they are doing it responsibly and with knowledge of what's going on rather then "My dog is soooo special that i need to breed her noaw!" or "And I can sell them for a few bobs to make up the cost of buying them, would 5 weeks be old enough to move them on?"

ACD wrote: »

Hi all, I'm hoping I could pick your brains a bit... My girl Amy is expecting puppies, she's just over 6 weeks pregnant and is expecting 6+ pups (she's been scanned) Before anyone asks, both parents are show champions and health tested for breed specific issues.

3. Puppy contracts. I've contracts for both our dogs, unfortunately they're from different country, so not sure if the same could be used here. Would any of you be willing to share yours? If so, could you PM me, I would be most grateful.

That's about it for starters, sorry about the length I'm also in regular contact with our vet and both breeders of our dogs, was just hoping to get some advice here as well. If you have anything to add, something I didn't think of, please do say, I'm happy for every bit of info I can get

ACD

Lemlin wrote: »

Any particular reason for breeding your dogs?

To answer your question, I have to go back to the reason why we chose Australian Cattledogs as a breed in the first place. They are intelligent, easy to train, loyal and versatile, they excel not only in herding, but in many dogs sports and they're often used in search and rescue, in law enforcement as search dogs, and even in canistherapy.

Now why we chose to breed those 2 particular dogs, we need to start with their ancestry. The father's sire is one of the most successful show dogs of his time (3x world champ, 2x euro champ as well as champ of many countries), the father's dam very successful in showing as well. From the mother's side, the dogs were also shown successfully, but worked around cattle as well. All of them were also health tested.

And finally to the parents themselves- both have proved themselves in the show ring (champs), they passed their health testing (hips, elbows, DNA test for PRA and PLL), they have great temperaments and are good pets and from the few occasions where we had the chance to try them on cattle, they still posses strong herding instinct.

So the reason to breed was to preserve the qualities of the breed and pass the genes of the parents and their ancestors onto a new generation, from which we are keeping a puppy of course.

So, hope this sums it up, the decision to breed wasn't based on a single reason, hence the length of my post, hope it answers your question

Oh and the weaning, they will be weaned on raw and the new owners will be given instructions on raw feeding or how to make a transition to a different food should they prefer it.

aonb

Have you chosen which one you are going to keep yet?

How do you wean puppies on to raw? What age will they be able to chew raw? What will you feed them specifically (having only ever weaned puppies on to pappy scrambled eggs/poached fish/type food, I cant imagine what a tiny fat lump of puppy would do with a bit of raw - better food for them of course)

(some more photos would be lovely )

ABajaninCork

Oh yes please! Especially a piccy of my boy Green Puppy!

aonb

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Oh yes please! Especially a piccy of my boy Green Puppy!

excuse me??!?
YOUR Green Puppy?!?!?!?
Have you bought him? Reserved him?
humphhhhh!!!!! :D:D:D

ACD

We have our eyes set on one of the girls, but a final decision won't be made for another few weeks, so we can see how she develops and also her temperament.
So far the pups are thriving, they are all walking around the box and today I saw a first shy attempts to play, most of them are able to pee and poop without mum's help and they are already making an effort to go on the newspaper that we laid for them at the side of the whelping box.Clean puppies they are I think an expansion to puppy pen will be needed soon

As for the weaning, I have a book on raw feeding for puppies, which I found very helpful and used it for both our dogs when they were little, I've also studied other breeders weaning plans, so have a fair idea on what I'll do. We're gonna start with beef mince for the first meals and to see how they'll manage and then we're gonna try stuff like chicken necks (grounded) and some big bones for them to gnaw on and play with. According to the book, they can also have raw egg yolk, and some easily digested veg and fruit, which will be pureed and maybe cooked a bit.

And here's your green puppy, which is already turning a bit blue and the other is the girl we're looking at for keeping.

jimf

adorable and I must say my little green puppy is looking brill I have a name and all picked

ABajaninCork

That's MY boy!! Come to Mummy - she has a nice basket all ready for you, a big brother for you to annoy and a doting Daddy!!!

ACD

Maybe you could agree on joint custody?

mymo

Can I have pink then?

I love the little spot at the base of the tail, can I see a pic?

ACD

There's your pink one, couldn't get him to show his backside , he was a bit too wriggly. He has that spot at the base of his tail after his father, makes him really cute

jimf

little green puppy is going to cause a riot on boards

ABajaninCork

He ain't. It's MY BOY I tell you!

ACD

One more of the pink guy, he's just fallen asleep still attached to the milk bar

ABajaninCork

Aww - TOOOO cute!

Seriously, ACD - Thank you for brightening up my day. I've really enjoyed following the puppies story, watching them grow like weeds and looking at the lovely pictures. I can't wait to see how the colours come out.

jimf

mam seems to still have plenty milk for the family

ACD

Yes, she does, she eats like a horse too

jimf

ACD wrote: »

Yes, she does, she eats like a horse too

you get out what you put in

mymo

The eye and ear pattern look like a fish in that first pic

We think he should be called Marlin (nemo's dad)

ACD

Our working name for him is Spot for obvious reason But I'm sure he won't mind if you call him Marlin

mymo

Hope he grows up to be like his dad, I do think he's a very handsome chap.
I usually go for hairy, scruffy dogs, but I'd make an exception for him.

SillyMangoX

Have you got potential homes lined up for them besides the one you're keeping or are you going to end up with a huge queue of boardsies battling outside your front door for the green puppy? :P

ACD

Some are spoken for, but a number of homes fell through, so some are available. Can't however guarantee that green puppy will be amongst them

ABajaninCork

How's the puppies coming along?