Article & Images Submitted by: Shannon MacBeth, Shakespeare's Legacy Labradors www.facebook.com/shakespeareslegacylabradors
"Empowering puppies to be all they can be with and for their forever families."
"Empowering puppies to be all they can be with and for their forever families."
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.
~ Anatole France
We often are asked what it’s like bringing puppies into the world and how on earth we are able to let them go after bonding with them for their first eight weeks of life? I thought maybe it would be a good time to share what goes into getting us from choosing our pairings to the point where our puppies are leaving with their forever families. To say every step is deliberate and thoroughly thought through is an understatement. We start with choosing top quality breeding stock from other ethical and reputable breeders who do all the same health testing we do. We bring home those puppies and raise them as members of our family. We complete genetic testing and conformational testing (hips and elbows) to ensure we are bettering the breed, we are not pairing adults whose offspring will have future issues or putting undue stress on dogs that could potentially develop their own health situations. In the unfortunate event one of our dogs have such a potential health issue that could develop or be passed on, we retire them immediately to prevent that from being passed on. We also watch our adult dogs to ensure we are matching temperaments to ensure more therapy and service dog outcomes as well as calm and focused family pets.
~ Anatole France
We often are asked what it’s like bringing puppies into the world and how on earth we are able to let them go after bonding with them for their first eight weeks of life? I thought maybe it would be a good time to share what goes into getting us from choosing our pairings to the point where our puppies are leaving with their forever families. To say every step is deliberate and thoroughly thought through is an understatement. We start with choosing top quality breeding stock from other ethical and reputable breeders who do all the same health testing we do. We bring home those puppies and raise them as members of our family. We complete genetic testing and conformational testing (hips and elbows) to ensure we are bettering the breed, we are not pairing adults whose offspring will have future issues or putting undue stress on dogs that could potentially develop their own health situations. In the unfortunate event one of our dogs have such a potential health issue that could develop or be passed on, we retire them immediately to prevent that from being passed on. We also watch our adult dogs to ensure we are matching temperaments to ensure more therapy and service dog outcomes as well as calm and focused family pets.
Once we know our dogs are clear of any issues, we wait until they are old enough to breed. Our males are roughly a year old and our females are two years old before we will prepare them for having puppies. Females often have two breeding cycles a year, with their best, and safest, breeding window between the ages of 2 and 6 years of age. At the age of 6, post partum recovery, and litter sizes usually decrease and the risk of complications and infections increase. Keeping in mind if at any point a female doesn’t recover easily from pregnancy or caring for puppies, they will get a break or even in some cases, they will be retired. The care of our adult dogs is always the priority. If they tell us they are done, we respect that. When the timing is right, we make the decision of which dogs to pair to produce the puppies. A lot goes into this decision and the least of these is the color of the puppy. We breed for health and temperament first, the various colors we are able to produce is just an added bonus.
The gestation period of a puppy is nothing if not rapid speed. 63 days! Just 63 days from breeding to holding a wiggly, dependent, adorable puppy in our hands. The truth is they are born not yet fully developed and we have to protect them while this stage continues. They don’t have the ability to see or hear when born, nor is their nervous system fully developed. Over the next 18, or so, days the puppies will continue to develop. Their eyes open first between days 10 and 14 and their ears open shortly thereafter. You’d think this is when we start their empowered puppy curriculum (a service and therapy dog starter program), but that would be false. We start on day 3. More on this below.
The gestation period of a puppy is nothing if not rapid speed. 63 days! Just 63 days from breeding to holding a wiggly, dependent, adorable puppy in our hands. The truth is they are born not yet fully developed and we have to protect them while this stage continues. They don’t have the ability to see or hear when born, nor is their nervous system fully developed. Over the next 18, or so, days the puppies will continue to develop. Their eyes open first between days 10 and 14 and their ears open shortly thereafter. You’d think this is when we start their empowered puppy curriculum (a service and therapy dog starter program), but that would be false. We start on day 3. More on this below.
On day 59 of their pregnancy, we start preparing for puppy arrivals. We take mom’s temperature twice a day, waiting for the knowing temperature drop meaning puppies should arrive within 48 hours. Delivery could last from a few hours to a few days. The whelping (delivery and then puppy) area has been sterilized and layers of blankets are laid out for the comfort of mom (and to be honest my knees). Our delivery cart is set up with clean clothes, suction tubes and bulbs, stethoscope, umbilical clamps and various other items that come in handy in the split second decisions made as the puppies arrive. I will spare you all from the nitty, gritty developments of delivering puppies, but trust me when I say the appearance of a sac, containing a perfect little puppy, is something so awe inspiring and exciting. We help mom clear the sac, place clamps on their umbilical cords, clear airways, clean and dry each puppy and give them to mom to inspect, nurse and memorize their smell. You see this is how she counts each puppy, by their smell. We then take each puppy to give them a head to toe check, weigh them and begin to track their growth, interceding if one should start to fail. My helpers keep impeccable notes including times, patterns, observations and anything else we deem notable. Most would think the hard part is now in the past, however this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Actually “hard” doesn’t accurately describe the next 8 weeks. Busy, structured, important, fun, curious, at times stressful, rewarding, messy, amazing and blessed are better words to describe 8 weeks of empowering puppies to be all they can be by discovering their own abilities, strengths and weaknesses. We hit the road running with each of these puppies. Their socialization experiences begin on day 3 of life, as mentioned above, where their only sense is smell and their means of mobility is much like an army crawl. They only need these 2 things to find their mom. Our goal is to help develop the rest of their senses right out of the gate. On day 3 we start assisting them in developing their sense of smell, strengthening their neurological system, improving their immune system, increasing brain development, encouraging handling and touch tolerance and learning very quickly that the world is safe, people are kind and dogs are friendly. This is in fact the beginning stages of well socialized dogs, but we don’t stop there.
Over the next 8 weeks we offer them daily sight and sounds to explore. Some are loud, some are soft, some don’t move, some are interactive, some are scary and some are calming. Each item and sound conditioning the puppies to understand they are not things to be scared of at all. Once they have developed into little puppies who need more time and space to explore we invite friends and family to visit them, increasing their experience, but in an area they are comfortable in. Just a few weeks before they leave with their forever families, we take them out into the community. You may have spotted us at the local high school watching a game, an arena cheering on our favourite hockey players, at a seniors home bringing joy to residents and staff alike as well as at the anticipated puppy palooza for a group of well respected and caring health professionals. Each of these experiences furthering their development in discovering the world is safe outside the four walls they are comfortable in. Our current litters will also be showing a group a folks exactly what downward dog and child pose look like at puppy yoga.
That pretty much sums up how we bring them into the world and why I do what I do, it’s my passion, my heart calling. It’s taken a lot of research, courses, training, conversations with like minded breeders that has gotten my program to where it is today, producing therapy and service dogs with impeccable temperaments. Now comes the second part of the question, how do I let them go? Is it easy? Absolutely not, but it’s a different mindset. While it’s my passion, it’s also my job, my responsibility. I know from the second they enter this world, they aren’t mine. They already belong to their families, we just have to make sure they connect. They are only mine for a short time, to help mold them and discover their abilities, but they are meant to be forever with someone else. When the connections are made and the joy is seen on the faces of those families as they leave with their puppy, it’s all worth it. The best part is most of our families keep me in the loop by sharing their photos and adventures. Some I get to see and spend time with from time to time as well, which is so special. So, while it’s bittersweet, it’s what I signed up for and I will continue to do so as long as I can. I feel blessed to be entrusted with the responsibility. Some of our puppies are still searching for their forever families. If your feel your family is what our puppies are looking for, please contact us.
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