BIRTHING SUPERVISION
Here at Salhaus, our puppies are handled from the moment they are born. Nothing is left to chance. I supervise the breeding of each parent dog & I am present for the birth of each & every baby that we produce. We help the mothers in tearing open the sacks & severing the umbilical cords. If someone is taking too long to present himself, we reach up inside & help him "down the chute" as well. Our girls as well as each baby that we have here, are far too precious to leave the birthing to chance.
BIRTHING AREA
Our pups are born here in the house with us either in our laundry room which is attached right to our family room, or actually IN our family room! (see pictures below) . . .it just depends on where the new mother is more comfortable. . .our pups are guaranteed NOT to be born out in a kennel or in some other obscure area. My family knows that for the first several weeks after a litter is born my main priority, night and day is watching over the new mom & her pups. . . making sure that no one gets left out of a feeding or rolls away & gets cold. It's pretty much a 24 hour duty for the first several weeks after birth. But I am bedded down on the couch next to the new litter for the first few weeks, sleeping with "one eye & ear open," listening for a restless mom or a crying pup!
SOCIALIZING
My daughter holds the title of "Official Puppy Socializer" here at Salhaus. (Although they are irresistible & I can't keep my hands off of them as well!) She spends hours & hours with our babies. Often times I will do a "head count" to make sure that all are present. I just about have a heart attack when one or two are missing. . .only to find out that they are under the covers on the sofa with her while she watches TV. Often times they snuggle into her lap for hours as she works on the computer as well. (Although my daughter is grown with a home of her own, she is still here almost every day when we have pups!)
These pups are well rounded socially by the time they are ready for new homes.
INTRO TO POTTY TRAINING & WHERE OUR PUPS GROW & LEARN
As the pups grow, they are introduced to a bigger area at about 3-4 weeks of age. (See pictures below)
#1: We had a room built right off the back deck especially for raising pups in. It measures 17 x 20. It has a cement floor that we have covered with plywood (to keep the pups off the cold cement) & then with tarp (to protect the plywood from puppy accidents) & then ultimately with newspapers, shredded paper &/or shavings. We have a dog house in it for the pups to snuggle in, with lots of fluffy blankets! We have a heat lamp for chilly weather & plenty of room for them to romp & play in!
#2: Our 2nd puppy enclosure is in our huge shop, just next to the house. We have a 20' x 15' area inside the shop as shelter for the pups with the same, cement, plywood, tarp & then newspaper, shredded paper, and/or shavings as the puppy room behind the house. This area however, has a secure "puppy yard" that that accesses this area. When the weather is nice, we have the pups in this enclosure. Through out the winter however, the pups are raised totally in the puppy room in back.
Both areas are huge, enough for them to romp & play. Our setup is perfect for potty training as well. Pups do not like to "go" near their sleeping area. We make sure that there is plenty of room for play/sleep AND for them to do their "business." While our pups are not house-trained by the time they leave us, this does in turn, help out the pups' potential new owners to easily housetrain them.
CAT INTRODUCTION & SOCIALIZING
You'll see that our puppies get lots of love & attention, even from one of the the family cats, Echo. He is an Exotic Shorthair that we acquired from Calivan Cattery. He's such a special kitty in that he absolutely loves these big dogs! The adult dogs are gentle with him, as he tries to play with them, but the size difference is a bit much. He's so thrilled when we have new babies since they're more his size. We have to watch him like a hawk when there's a new litter, as he "sneaks" into the new puppy room with the moms & babies! Often times Echo will join me in the birthing area, waiting for the arrival of our new babies. Needless to say, our puppies are "cat socialized" by the time they leave here as well.
Chewie is another one of our Exotic Shorthaired Kitties. He's always with us, his human family. And when we have pups, WE are with the pups, so that's where you'll find Chewie as well! He's a huge Red & White flat face kitty, so gentle! So good for the pups!
Our pups are well socialized & weaned by the time they're ready for their new homes. We typically release our pups between 7-8 weeks of age. By that time, they've had their first set of shots & have been on a worming program starting at 2 weeks of age & continuing until they reach their new homes. They will have been wormed & tested for the presence of worms & puppy hood bacterial diseases & deemed clear & healthy, ready for new homes. Since 2007, we have also started microchipping each of our pups as well, before they leave us!
