How we raise puppies
Our dogs are healthy, happy and loved.
Bellephon poodles are a small in-home breeder and we pay a lot of attention to the care and raising of pups. Pups are well socialised to grow them into confident and stable adults. We introduce a new experience or activity every day so when they go home they are confident in a range of environments. Our pups are raised inside and handled very regularly. They are exposed to daily vacuuming, tv, music practice and the general gabble of a busy household. This provides wonderful socialisation for pups. Two or three from each litter are working as therapy or assistance dogs because of their calm upbringing. We generally undertake professional temperament testing at 7 weeks and try and match puppy to new home while considering preferences for sex and colour.
Details
Our pups are raised entirely in the home. We do not have kennels and our dogs are rarely crated. The all live alongside humans as our family.
Birth to 3 weeks
Pups are born in the lounge room next to the kitchen and are handled daily. They have their feet rubbed and are held regularly in different comfortable calm positions. We have taken the parts of Puppy Culture and ENS that fit with our ethic of gentle handling and calm exposure. Pups are exposed to the smells of the kitchen and the noises of a house with a family of four humans. Once pups are three weeks old we allow a few visitors to come and handle them. Pups move to a bigger pen at 3 weeks. This is in a room that joins the lounge to the entrance, so they get all the bustle of a household. We then introduce a new experience every day, whether a toy, or sound or person. We have a number of friends who bring their children who will sit in the pen and cuddle pups. By the time pups are 6 weeks they have met about 30 people, in a positive and gentle way.
The outside yard
The indoor pen has a door to an outside courtyard and at around 4 weeks they are ready to be introduced to the outside world. We do this gently as it is overwhelming at first. About 5 minutes at first. I stay out there with them as does their mum. Eventually we put straw down outside and they start toileting out there. The courtyard has things to climb on, tunnels to run through and things to hide under. Pups stay in that inside pen until leaving time at 8 weeks but have lots of different experiences in the yard. Once they are comfortable with outside we leave the door open when we are home, so they can go in and out as they please. At 7 weeks they get access to the bigger backyard which is filled with hidey holes, native grasses, herb steps, weeping shrubs to hide under, hills to climb and rocks to scramble on and run around. It is a wonderful sensory garden, designed for puppy enrichment, and offers pups a choice of physical and mental engagement. You will see most of the things I have described on my Facebook page. We have taken videos of many of these activities.
Introduction to grooming
Pups are introduced to car rides as they get older. And we introduce leash walking if they are here past 8 weeks. Nail clipping starts at 2 weeks. Grooming starts at 3.5 weeks with gentle combing and brushing. First shave at 4 weeks. We do this by sitting in the pen with clippers and just resting the vibrating clippers on different body parts. When pup is relaxed with the feeling we will shave a foot or face or bottom. First time we do as much or little as pup tolerates. They are groomed weekly and by 6 weeks they tolerate feet, face and tail grooming in one sitting.
Exposure to other animals
We have chickens so they can see and hear them when they are in courtyard. At around seven weeks old we let them meet chickens through the gate. Here they can smell and see them and experience chicken behaviour through the safety of a barrier. As they are raised inside they meet the other female dogs in the house early. We also introduce the scent of cat fairly early, and upon request may be able to take selected pups to see, smell and hear cats.
Previous pups have been very near toilet trained when they leave us. There are of course no guarantees for an individual pup, but we work hard to teach pups to toilet outside by following their natural desire to toilet away from their bedding, and toileting upon waking, eating and after play.