SoftMaple N HunterBayFall Litter
SoftMaple N HunterBay
+ Growth and development continue
Puppy Toddlers (3 - 6 Weeks) During the Toddler period, puppies emerge on their own from the litter. They venture into the surrounding environment.
This emergence from the litter is a gradual and continual learning experience. During this stage of development puppies learn basic behavioral patterns specific to
dogs. While playing, they practice different body postures, learning what the postures mean and how they affect their mother and litter mates. They learn what it is
like to bite and be bitten, what barking and other vocalizations mean and how to make and use them to establish social relationships with other dogs. Such learning
and activity tempers their own biting and vocalizing. From the age of five weeks, the mother teaches her puppies basic manners. They learn to be submissive to her
leadership and what behaviors are acceptable. If necessary, she growls, snarls, or snaps at them as a form of discipline. When weaning the litter, for instance, the
mother will discipline her puppies so that they will leave her alone. Because the mother disciplines them in a way that they clearly understand, after a few repetitions,
the puppies will respond to a mere glare from her. If a pup has not learned to accept leadership (and discipline) in its early interactions with dogs, its training will be
more difficult. Puppies that are removed from the nest too early tend to be nervous, more prone to barking and biting, and less responsive to discipline. Often they
are aggressive with other dogs. Generally speaking, a puppy taken away from it's mother and litter mates before seven weeks of age, may not realize its full potential
as a dog and companion. To maximize the mental and psychological development of puppies, they must remain in the nest with their mother and litter mates until
seven weeks of age.
Playroom pictures
The pups all meet me at the gate in the morning, ready for breakfast!
Bailey still has access to the puppy room whenever she wants. Most of the time now, she hops over the gate and sleeps on a doggie bean bag chair just outside the puppy area, or goes to her crate to get away from all those sharp puppy teeth!
Breakfast in the shark cage while the puppy room
is mopped
A couple of the collars need changing this morning. And the pups are wormed again.
What is a pedigree?
One great tool is to be able to keep a vertical pedigree of a dog. A Vertical Pedigree shows siblings of parents and of grandparents instead of just the ancestors of a litter. (uncles and aunts) Breeders often keep health notes on their own personal pedigree database.
A breeder should supply you with at least a three generation pedigree.
This is how the pedigree is set up:
| Your Puppy | Father | GrandFather (Father's father) |
| Grand Mother (Father's mother) | ||
| Mother | Grand Father (Mother's Father) | |
| Grand Mother (Mother's mother) |
Your pup's pedigree looks like this:
| SoftMaple HunterBay Fall puppy | CH SoftMaple's O'Dark Thirty JH, SH, MH, WC, WCQ, WCX CD CGC TT HOF CR-536G27M-T OFA cardiac, CERF | CH Riverwatch DesertWind ROM CR-EL30 CR-429E24M, CERF |
| Ch. Avanti's Best Bet CD CGC ROM ROMX CR-CA12/56F/C CR-408E24F, CERF | ||
| SoftMaple N HunterBay's Poetic Justice CGC PennHip, CR-CA158/21F/C-NOPI, CERF 2004 | SUCH Ringlets Constant Wind Cardiac clear, eyes clear, hips A/B | |
| CH SoftMaple's Fairway Explorer CGC CR-CA74/16F/S-PI CR-EL98F28-PI CR-642G28F-PI, CERF |
Your puppies vertical pedigree
| SoftMaple HunterBay Fall puppy | CH SoftMaple's O'Dark Thirty JH, SH, MH, WC, WCQ, WCX CD CGC TT HOF CR-536G27M-T OFA cardiac,
CERF CH Soft Maple's Black Teddy WC JH CR-EL57M24 |
CH Riverwatch DesertWind ROM CR-EL30 CR-429E24M, CERF
CH RiverWatch WindSong JH SH CR-CA14/49F/C-T CR-EL29F24-T CR-525 CR-428G24F-T |
| Ch. Avanti's Best Bet CD CGC ROM ROMX CR-CA12/56F/C CR-408E24F, CERF
CH Avanti Fairway Bewitched SN13550506 Nov 15 1993 F Full CR-498 CR-413G24F-T |
||
| SoftMaple N HunterBay's Poetic Justice CGC PennHip, CR-CA158/21F/C-NOPI, CERF 2004
CH SoftMaple Boyerie's Int Affair |
SUCH Ringlets Constant Wind Cardiac clear, eyes clear, hips A/B
SUCh Ringlets Coaly Storm Hip B |
|
| CH SoftMaple's Fairway Explorer CGC CR-CA74/16F/S-PI CR-EL98F28-PI CR-642G28F-PI, CERF
CH SoftMaple International Fling CGC CR-CA134/34F/C-PI CR-640G26F-PI, CR-EL97F26-PI CR-753 |
Another way to look at a pedigree is a picture pedigree
This is a useful tool in trying to predict what a litter's phenotype will be. Or how they will look, based on how the parents and grandparents look.
| Your Puppy |   Jet |
 Loki |
  Betty |
||
  Bailey |
 Tarras |
|
  Ripple |
Yawn!
Morning!
SoftMaple Curly Coated
Retrievers
Information on our next litter:
Mark and Cathy Lewandowski
8282 Soft Maple Road
Croghan New York 13327
SoftMaple Gunflint 2005 Winter litter
SoftMaple Gunflint's Beauty CR-715G28F-NOPI, CR-EL131F28-NOPI, CR-CA157/28F/P-NOPI
and CH Boyerie Dese Maestro Music Please CR-CA148/24M/C-PI-ECHO CR-696G24M-PI CR-750
Puppies due in January
