A look at the four doberman colors in the breed. Black,red, blue,fawn and white dobermans. What is a chocolate doberman or grey doberman Do allblack dobermans exist Barefoot Labradors, located Killingworth, CT, specializes in Labrador Retrievers for the family. Puppy Pictures. Puppyhood and Beyond Puppies are growing animals. When they are young, they learn much and what is learned has a lasting impact. Pomskies are undoubtedly the cutest dogs you can lay your eyes on. They are the hottest trend right now and there is great demand for these designer dogs. Temperament German Shepherd Guide. Elements of Temperament. Drives, Thresholds and Nerves. Written by By Joy Tiz MS, JDMy dog has a wonderful temperamentExcept she really hates strangers. I just got the perfect stud male His temperament is the best, its absolutely perfect he has no defense drive in him at allOh, I would never breed a dog that had prey drive, theyre viciousWHAT IS TEMPERAMENTYes, all of these statements were actually made by real people. All of them German Shepherd GSD fanciers and breeders. We talk all the time about the importance of temperament. What are we all talking about Are any of us even talking about the same thing When we talk about temperament, we are referring to a collection of drives, thresholds, traits and instincts that are inherited and innate. Yes, its true. Temperament is a function of genetics. It is inherited, not developed. A dogs core temperament never changes. Some behaviors can be modified through training, but the temperament itself never changes. RGpTsGJ-urUvJ04_qofxMIlbGW9baBVINz5IG4bp9Xx6H1Vy_pRXQdyxRAAP8G8_g=h310' alt='There Any Good Puppy Breeding Games' title='There Any Good Puppy Breeding Games' />Puppy proof your house. Before bringing your puppy home, you should always make sure your house is puppy proof. Pick up any garbage on the floor, personal items. EARLY PUPPY DEVELOPMENT The first 270 days. The new puppy arriving at your home has been abruptly uprooted from a known, comfortable environment and the companionship. Welcome to the Goldendoodle and Labradoodle Owners Website where we share resources, pictures and stories about the two hybrids weve come to love. For example, a high energy dervish of a dog isnt going to learn to be a laid back, low energy dog. But, the dog can be taught to control his energy, to an extent. Most dog owners absolutely refuse to believe this. If I only had a dollar for every time someone has told me Its all in how theyre raised. No, its not. Its all in how their DNA came together. A dog with foul temperament will always be a dog with foul temperament, no matter how wonderful the environment. A dog with sound, stable temperament will always be a sound stable dog, even in a lousy environment. Photo by Linda Gonzlez. Good early handling, training and socialization will help develop desirable traits in the dog, but those traits have to be there. Ball drive is a good example, since it forms the foundation for so many types of work. Some dogs arent interested in chasing a ball. If the dog does enjoy ball games, a good trainer can build that up and bring it out to its highest possible level, but the drive itself is innate. One cannot install a drive. Real GSD people are always seeking to produce sound working dogs. An understanding of temperament is crucial to developing a breeding program that makes sense and will preserve working abilities rather than dump more pets into an already overcrowded world. Temperament Testing. In the struggle to find good working prospects, the question of utilizing various temperament tests comes up. In general, the standardized tests can be of some value, but dont put too much faith in them. Some are truly dreadful, like the Volhard Puppy Temperament Test R. This one is bad news, not only because the Volhards so completely mislabel various elements of temperament, but because the test items themselves are too stressful for many puppies. For instance, on the restraint tests, if the pup freezes in place, this is labeled as independence. Hardly. The dog is showing avoidance behavior. Some of their test items are innocuous enough, such as tests of social attraction in which you kneel and call the pup to come to you. But, other items, designed to identify alleged future dominant terrorists are traumatic for a weak nerved pup. Dont be rolling over and pinning other peoples puppies, please. At best this test is misleading, at worst it subjects puppies to needless stress for no good reason. The Volhards also developed the Puppy Aptitude Test R which is something of an improvement. The test is designed to identify those pups who have a special talent for obedience. They dont realize it of course, but theyre actually testing a bit of prey drive. The Volhard stuff has really hung on. To this day youll hear local park obedience instructors diagnosing all aggression as dominance. A far more useful test is the P. A. W. S. Working Dog Evaluation by Jona Decker, which unabashedly tests prey drive. There is no perfect test, some are more horrendous than others. Experienced trainers of working dogs eventually come up with their own system for evaluating pups and young adult prospects. The best predictor of temperament is history. What are the pups parents like Their parents GrandparentsKeeping in mind that temperament is inherited, look to the ancestors as your best source of information. Also, keep in mind that puppies are not manufactured in a factory. Just because a dog is a GSD does not mean that by definition the dog will be able to work. I get calls from dog owners all the time who cant understand why their dogs arent good watch dogs, protection dogs, obedience dogs, whatever. One typical call was from a man who had a six month old GSD puppy. He had purchased the pup specifically to train in Personal Protection. He needed some help with this because the pup is scared of strangers. Whenever he has a visitor, the pup runs and hides. Out on a walk, if approached by a stranger, the pup cowers and hides behind his owner. He still honestly believes that all he needs is the right trainer. I asked a few questions and discovered that the pup was bred from AKC American showlines. The AKC imposes no requirement of any type of working title being earned prior to breeding. The pups parents had never had protection training. Nor had the pups grandparents. There was nothing in this pups pedigree to suggest he would have what it takes for protection training. Yet, the unscrupulous breeder was more than happy to take this guys money and tell him that his pups would make great protection dogs. Early Handling. What then, is the impact of early handling, training and socializing, if temperament is genetic Why bother To use a human analogy, why cant all humans become Olympic athletes Because not all humans have the right genetic equipment. But, if you are blessed with the right stuff, the right training can develop those innate abilities to their highest level. Its similar with dogs. For instance, a trainer purchased on 8 week old GSD puppy who was completely kennel raised. She had minimal human contact at the kennel, her only interactions being feeding and cleaning times. Yet, at 8 weeks, this bitch pup was very interested in and drawn toward humans. The trainer was hoping to train this pup for Therapy work, so he chose to develop this aspect of the dogs personality. Each time the pup approached a stranger in a friendly manner, the trainer rewarded her lavishly. Not surprisingly, the pup grew into an exceptionally outgoing, social dog. The raw genetic material was there all along, what the trainer did was simply build on what was already there. Each dog has a personality, which is different than temperament. Personality is developed through interaction with other living creatures, primarily humans. Pups who are raised in enriched environments tend to have well developed personalities, with maximum emotional range and depth. Dogs who have been kenneled too much often have a flatness to them, they lack the animation and expression we like to see. Thus, socialization and early handling really do count, not because they can change temperament, but because a good handler can build on the innate traits that are already there. And, socialization is part of personality development. Good early handling will make a strong dog even better and bring the weaker dog up to the extent to which the dog is capable. DRIVESAn obedience instructor who was getting interested in working dogs went to evaluate two puppies from nice working lines. Puppy Development Stages with Growth Charts and Week by Week Guide. This guide to puppy development stages and our puppy growth chart, will show you what to expect from your puppy as he grows. Youll find answer to questions such as when do puppies open their eyes and when do puppies start walkingWeve also included a detailed week by week puppy development guide. Just use the two pink menus to jump to the section that interests you. Many people worry about whether their puppy is getting enough to eat, or the right kind of food. They worry about whether he is growing at the right speed, whether he weighs too much, or too little. People also want to know that their puppy is developing normally in every respect, and they love to record their puppys progress through various developmental milestones. Normal puppy developmental stages. The information in this guide to your puppys developmental stages, will support you on your puppys journey to becoming an adult dog. Puppy Development Week By Week. It will reassure you when his development is healthy and normal, and alert you to any problems if it is not. Youll find helpful puppy growth charts and a week by week guide to puppy development as you scroll down. Your puppy development questions. Well look at some FAQs first, addressing issues like how much your puppy should weigh, and what to do if he is too fat or too thin. Then well give you a fascinating week by week guide to your puppys growth and development. Lets start off with a very popular question When do puppies open their eyesYour puppys eyes will open during the second week of life. They dont just pop open suddenly. A tiny gap appears between the eyelids in the corner of the eye and youll see the puppy peeing out through it. Over the course of a day or two the eye will open fully. Sometimes one eye opens faster than the other. And some puppies will open their eyes a day or so earlier than the others. When do puppies start walking The third week is all about getting puppies up on their legs. And most puppies are standing and taking their first wobbly steps by the end of the third week of life. What are the puppy socialization stages. Puppy socialization is the process that all dogs need to go through in order to help them live comfortably in our human world. Its all about learning not to be scared of new experiences, and to welcome human beings as friends. You probably know that puppies need some help with this process because at just around three months old, they start to become nervous of unfamiliar people and events. The Kennel Club in the UK divide this puppy socialization process into ten stages. You can use that link to find out more and download a list of tasks to carry out with your puppy. The important key phases for you to be aware of are. The window for socialisation in puppies. The teenage dog fear period. The window for socialisation closes at around three months old and is the time when your puppy will most readily accept and adapt to new experiences. This is the stage where you need to take him everywhere and ensure he meets as much of the world as he possibly can. The teenage fear period is a time between 6 1. Differences in puppy growth rates. People often write to me and say I have a 3 month old or 4 or 5 months Cocker Spaniel or Labrador, or Springer, how much should he weighThey often tell me how much food in grams or ounces he is getting, and ask me if this is enough. Download Hd Live Themes For Windows 7. As you have probably guessed, there isnt an exact answer to a question of this nature. However, we can and do give you some rough guides in the charts and graphs youll find in this article. The most important thing, is to give you the tools to recognise when your own individual puppy is growing and thriving, and when things are not right. Growth rates in different breeds of dog. The reason we cant be more exact, is that dogs vary in their growth rates, as well as in the final size that they are likely to reach. There are not just differences between breeds, there are differences between individuals of each breed, and even between littermates. Development in dogs of different sizes. The most significant differences in growth rates and patterns though, is between dogs of different sizes. And in the growth charts youll be able to see just how much more intense the growth rate of larger dogs is, and how much longer they carry on growing. Weve divided the dogs into five groups. And well look at those more closely below. When will my puppy be a grown up It seems crazy doesnt it. But one of the first things we think about when we bring a new puppy home, is when will he be grown upWhat divides an adult dog from a puppy At what age does a puppy finally become an adultIt is understandable that people want to know these things. You want to know how much time you have left to enjoy this precious little creature. And to know that your puppy is developing as he should. Puppyhood disappears all too quickly. But the question of when will a puppy be grown up, is not clear cut. It also depends to some extent on your puppys breed. There are actually three aspects to puppy development that all need to come together in order for him to be truly an adult dog. Physical maturity. Sexual maturity. Mental maturity. Your puppy needs to reach all three aspects of maturity before he is an adult dog. To confuse matters, these processes dont happen at the same rate. And the point at which all three are complete varies from one dog breed to another. Lets take physical maturity first. When Do Puppies Stop Growing How old are dogs when they stop growingIts a common question. Physical maturity is reached at different ages, depending largely on the size of your dog. Little dogs stop growing much sooner than big dogs. So the answer to the question at what age do dogs stop growing, varies from dog to dog. The chart below will give you an idea of what I mean. The squares that are left blank indicate that the dog has stopped growing by that point. At what age are dogs full grownCheck out the way that breed size has an influence. The chart above will also give you an idea of what you might expect your puppy to weigh at different stages in his development. Again, this is closely linked to the size of the breed he belongs to. But if this is just a rough guide, how will you know for sure if your puppy is underweight or overweight, or just right And what exactly do I mean by Toy, Small, Medium, Large and Giant. Lets look at the size categories first. Ive picked examples of a well known breed in each category to give you an idea. Toy dogs. The example given here is based on the growth rate of a Toy Poodle. Dogs of this kind of size and weight typically stop growing somewhere between 6 and 8 months of age, but the vast majority of their growth is complete by around six months of age. Small and medium dogs. The example given of a small dog is based on a Miniature Schnauzer. The medium dog is an English Springer Spaniel. Bear in mind that Springers come in a wide range of sizes. From very small working bred dogs to the larger chunkier show type. Weve picked a moderately sized Springer for the purposes of this illustration. Small to medium sized dogs tend to have completed their growth by around the end of the first year. With close to their adult height reached by around nine months. Again, this is not set in stone. Just a rough guide.