How Much Did Your Breeder Do?

Dess was a winter litter so there was less outdoor socialization.  After about 4 weeks, controlled people were brought in each week.  The flooring, toys, areas, sounds and smells were systematically changed to challenge the puppies.  At 7 weeks the puppies were evaluated using the Vollhard protocol.  The tester is the same lady that I am using for Nora's litter (when it happens, contractual obligation).  I plan on doing the early development stimulation using the positions and sensations (short exposure, seconds 3 to cold, upside down etc).  I have friends with older children on down to toddlers who will come over for controled periods.

My breeder required classes starting with puppy kindergarten in the contract.  Nora came to me at 7 months but she had been living with three different households (within the family group), taken to dog shows, and even shown.  She had not been exposed to children and that took time to address.  That has influenced my choice to include children in the puppies early development.  Nora had also been going to the dog obedience classes her breeder had been providing to the community for 30 + years.  So she was extremely well socialized with dogs and people (just not little ones, there were no folks with children in the people's social circle)

From my breeder's FAQ page:

Can you describe the socialization and care do your puppies receive?

Our puppies receive a variety of stimulation, socialization, and care beginning at birth. All of our puppies are born indoors, in our home. Our females have stable temperaments and allow us to handle and check on their puppies. Beginning the day after birth, we use early neurological stimulation aka Bio Sensor Program which involves handling neo-natal puppies in a variety of positions in order to help stimulate and develop their neurological systems, increase stress tolerance, promote stronger heart beats, immune system, and adrenal glands. We closely monitor the puppies' ability to feed and keep track of their weights. Puppies are marked with colored ribbons or collars so that we can monitor their individual progress. When the puppies are old enough, we allow a variety of visitors to play with them, handle them, and feed them. We introduce crates, solid foods, outdoor play time, and walking on various surfaces such as elevated planks and inflated discs. The latter helps the puppy learn body awareness and balance, as well as boost their confidence while interacting with a variety of textures and surfaces. We vaccinate puppies between 7-8 weeks with Fort Dodge Duramune 5-way (Distemper, Parvovirus, Adenovirus, Hepatitis, and Parainfluenza). Puppies also see an outside vet (other than Julie's husband, Dr. Mostosky) at 7-8 weeks and are de-wormed regularly.

I've actually helped her to the Bio Sensor stuff with two day old puppies, and she has visitors over constantly, all ages.  When we do club training on her property, if it's nice her current litter is out in a pen and everyone stops to play with them.  I think a dozen different little kids handled Nikon before I got him, which was a huge bonus for me since I want my dogs to be comfortable around kids but don't know many myself.  She also does a ton with them walking and turning on a blank, wobble boards, those rubbery discs.  They are born and raised indoors.  When they are old enough, they go outside for several hours a day.  They get crates setup indoors and also go on a car ride or two for practice.  I got Nikon a few days shy of 8 weeks, there really wasn't much more a breeder could do in that amount of time!  She said she used to keep puppies until 12 weeks and send them home crate trained and potty trained but it's just too much work to do that with every litter.  I don't mind since I think crate training and potty training are important parts of owning and training your own puppy.  What I really like is that she intentionally takes them to the vet even though she can do her own vaccines and her husband is a vet.  I think that's very respectable, removes any bias.  Also that's part of the puppies' socialization - going on a trip somewhere new!

She also asks that we take the puppy to the vet within 48 hours, so there is no dispute over the puppy's health.

We started puppy class as soon as Nikon was old enough to have his rabies shot (required by the training facility) but I was continuing his socialization from day one.  I took him straight to the pet store (carried him) and to my parents house the same day I got him.  We went on a long road trip to Kentucky the same week I got him, so he was already riding in the car in his crate and sleeping in a strange place.  While we were there (photographing a dog show), kids came into his expen and played with him all day every day.  I think we did more socialization his first week than a lot of people do in the first month.

We got Timmy when he was 8 weeks, he had his first set of shots (distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza and parvovirus).  The breeders contract includes provisions for: a vet visit within 48 hours, puppy obedience courses, and a specific clause for socialization of the puppy.  The puppies are bred in her home, and handled quite frequently.  She has two young children of her own who are allowed and encouraged (under supervision of course) to handle the puppies, as well as a few of their friends.  The puppies are introduced to many different environments, crates, vets offices, outdoor play, loud noises, etc.  My ride home with him was an hour's ride, so he experienced long car rides ( I won't say he got used to them, he was a car puker until he was about a 8 months to a year!).

We were encouraged and recommended to a trainer and Timmy was in training at 11-12 weeks.   He completed his puppy class 1 and 2 by the time he was 6 months I think?  It seems like so long ago now! 

It just worked out that she was the first breeder FH and I went to see (we saw many!).  We just instantly clicked with her.  We met her family, her dogs and loved everything about them.  FH's mother even came to meet her dogs so she could be sure Rottweilers weren't mean dogs.  It meant a lot that she took the time out to meet with his mother, who had these crazy fears/opinions.  

The Lab breeders I bought from, way back when, all took great pains to socialize their puppies. Noises, children, other dogs, birds, birds, birds, water if the weather was warm, toys and crates were all introduced. The pups were given as much exposure to the world as possible.  I have also known the type of breeder that does nothing more than take the pups outside a few times a day and maybe has a few neighbor kids stop by once or twice to visit.  Most of the dogs I knew who were started so late and with so little exposure never learned how to learn.  I would rather risk exposure to disease than risk an under or unsocialized dog.  I've seen first hand too many dogs that will forever be trapped by their own fears no matter how hard the owner tries to overcome the lack of early socialization.

Unfortunately, I've also known quite a few Lab breeders who did little if any socialization of their puppies. It's a matter of finding a breeder who understands a dog's mind as well as a dog's conformation. 

Kivi's breeder introduced him to nail clipping, brushing, he got a bath and he met the blow dryer. He also spent a little time with their other adult dogs, and was already partially house-trained at 8 weeks when we got him. He was tested for PRA even though he was out of two non-carriers, and his parents were hip tested. He went straight into puppy preschool.

Erik's breeder lives on a farm, so it was hard for her to do much. She stressed that Vallhunds need plenty of early socialisation and I should make a special point of handing him to other people so he gets used to other people handling him. Given how touchy he can be about this sort of thing now, I'm glad that we did what we did and wish we had done more. He's all right most of the time, but he gives the instructors at agility a hard time when they hold him and I run away from him. He says he hates it. Interestingly, his cousin is in the same class and also says he is opposed to strange people holding his collar while his mum runs off to do fun things away from him. Erik is a wee bit better and more friendly towards strangers.

I think that I did very little socialisation with my two, but then, we did take them pretty much everywhere we could. We just do that anyway, so it didn't feel like more work.

Luke's breeder did a pretty nice job, though I don't know if he got anything extra, because initially, she was looking at him becoming a therapy dog. I still would like to do it with him if my schedule calms down a bit. Anyway, she lives on a farm, but it's not really a rural farm. She hosts children for animal assisted therapy on site. He had exposure to children, and a variety of animals prior to leaving his first home. I always mean to ask her if she brought in some snow or something and touched his feet on it his first winter, because he was so un-phased by it when it snowed. He walked in like nothing had happened. He had been bathed, brushed, had his body handled, and some of the body handling by her son. He had exposure to other adult dogs.

I also let her know when I went to meet them that I intended to have him immediately signed up in class. She was aware that I was perfectly well capable of teaching the things he would learn there, but that I intended upon doing this for socialization. I was also required to take him to the vet within 72 hours. So, as soon as I decided I was getting him for sure, I got him into puppy kindergarten, and had a vet appointment for him. She was totally in line with me taking him anywhere and everywhere right away.

I have to say I'm very, very happy. I might go send her a picture now. 

I don't make any special trips...but my pups live in the house so pretty much anything you would encounter the first weeks home...they've already seen LOL.

I mean I don't think it falls strictly to ME to bombproof every puppy that goes out the door...you can only do so much between say 4-8 weeks when they are actually mobile and not in that place where ONE bad experience or loud noise can really, really mess them up for life...and there IS a stage like that with litters. People MUST have some responsibility for their own pets and not expect their breeders to hand them a dog that will be perfect for all time. I always encourage trips outside and frequent walks and a class or two...esp with first timers.

My kids are here, the cats, the other dogs...the outdoors, the TV, the dishwasher, the washing machine, the carpet, the tile, the linoleum, the vacuum, the car (short trips to the vet) the leash, the collar,...they're all here.

Another thing is...the pups are VULNERABLE to disease...esp now where the current wisdom is "no shots til 8 weeks)...well you can take them to non doggy places like say Home Depot...but if YOU can bring your dogs inside a store chances are you are not alone...and a lot of strange people will be handling an unprotected puppy. I dunno..to me it is hard to find a reason to risk it. At least with my breed that is so very forgiving of things and open to people.

I have taken my small pups down to the school to get them used to noise, but again you have to be careful because of the possibility of permanent trauma from that.

Now that's from a breeders perspective...as a buyer I have bought puppies straight from a kennel situation...older dogs too, and it shows. BUT most dogs can be brought around...even as adults, given a slow enough process, esp when they have another more confident dog to model after.

I agree Gina I think pups raised in the house get exposed to a LOT especially with kiddos, other dogs, cats, etc.  I put the weight of socialization on myself which is why I got Nikon and Ana right around 8 weeks (Nikon was a few days shy of 8 weeks, Ana was almost 9 weeks).  I think younger than 7 weeks is too young but would rather the breeder not hold onto the dogs until 10, 12, 14... weeks because I'm missing out on up to a month of super critical socialization where I accustom the dog to *my* lifestyle.  One day I took Ana to work with me and was going to bring her up to a friend's office, along the way I found five different types of stairs for her to practice.  Opportunities like that you can't expect a breeder to be doing on a daily basis especially with 5-10 puppies.