Picture of new born Vizsla puppies left and Weimaraner puppies right

NEONATAL STIMULATION

Interesting reading: We have read now about neonatal stimulation with some interest.  We have been in touch with the owner of the following website and have permission to link on our website to theirs.  It makes interesting reading.
http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/articles/early_neurological_stimulation_en.html

Below is only applied to Weimaraners, Hungarian Vizsla or large HPR breeds.  Toy breeds must stay much longer as they do not develop. The earliest a toy breed should go to its home is approx 10 weeks.!  This is why you will have a vast difference in what breeders tell you on the experience of their own breed lines etc.  Our HPR are very mature at 7 weeks, if they were not we may even keep them to 8 weeks but we know its best to go at 7 before they develop the bully tendency or coward tendency or this will go through them when adults which can cause many problems.

 

Birth

When a puppy is born it is deaf and blind but it has senses of touch, smell and taste present at birth.  They can weigh anything from 8oz to 1LB 6oz being our largest Weimaraner puppy born here.  When they are born they are completely dependant on their mum.  We do not interfere much with the goings on in the litter and the mum will look after the pups.  On odd occasions one puppy may not feed as well and these are then hand fed until they catch up.

The mum has to clean them by licking them.  They stimulate the pups to poop and wee, if they did not do this the puppy would die.  If we have to hand feed we have to take mum's job on and clean pup too.

Around 48 hours pups can have their Dew Claws removed.   Weimaraners were traditionally docked but since April 2007 a docking ban came into force in the UK.  See the Kennel club website for more details on the docking ban.  As their are some exceptions for working dogs.

 

2 Weeks

At 10 days onwards pups eyes start to open, and their ears start to hear.  We notice that pups are aware of sounds of the home.  They can bark.  Their teeth also start to come through.  Mum still cleans them up but they are becoming more in-dependant and can wee and poop on their own.  We trim claws because they seem to grow such a lot.

 

3 Weeks

We introduce food to the puppy, they will take to raw meat much quicker than complete foods.  They will start to walk about, and they learn to play with their litter mates.  This is around the time they are given their first wormer.  We use Panacur paste for worming as it covers a wide range of worms.

 

4 weeks

This is the earliest we as breeders like people to come and view the puppies, they are now cute puppies that will sit, walk about, and start to scamper about. Their claws will be trimmed again as they seem to grow lots in this stage.  The pups are now eating more raw meat, and they are having less milk. 

 

5-6 weeks  The puppy will now be on its own adventures, they love to play with toys, explore the world, and they growl and play with their litter mates.  Your puppy will learn all about voices, and will start to come to words when we call them.  Some puppies will play fight with their brothers and sisters.  They can sound rather loud and noisy if they play fight.  They also will start to cry to be let out of their house pen and want to explore their surroundings.  We start to play our Firework CD to socialize the puppy to noises of fireworks, loud bangs which also helps for gun work.  This is the ideal time we like the puppy owners to come as you really have a nice little puppy to look at and have cuddles.  By now some pups can cope with chicken wings to eat by 6 weeks of age. We smash the wings up so the bone fragment is tiny.  They are also introduced to other foods such as fruit, veg, crushed rice.

 

6 weeks

At week 6 only can we look at the puppies behaviour.  Some may be more aggressive in play, others may be shy, some wont like loud noises, others do not mind loud bangs.  The puppy needs security still of the litter mates and mum around.  The pups are eating well by now and do not need their mother at all.  Their diet is good and varied.

 

7 weeks

Puppies are in dependant characters at 7 weeks, they no longer need their mother to survive.  Puppies are found new homes at this age as the puppy starts to focus all its attention on its new owner rather than other puppies in the litter. They also start to bond, this stage is important to be in their new homes bonding with its new owner rather than breeder.  The puppy is confident at week 7.  A puppy will start to learn its name, but it still has a very short attention span so you must not over do training each day.  The puppy will have basic instincts to explore its surroundings.  Puppy training can start in the home with basic commands of what is acceptable and what is not.  A puppy that stays with its litter siblings longer than 7 weeks can shown to be a bully into adult life. The puppy that has been bullied can show nervousness towards other dogs when older.  Taken out of the nest now is really important and the puppy needs its new home.   

(Taken in part from: Complete Dog training Manual by Bruce Sessions) The scientific tests at Hamilton Station have show that it is advantageous for a puppy to remain with the litter long enough to acquire a little competitive spirit, but that too much is detrimental to the puppy's emotional growth. The pups that remain in the litter after the seventh week will begin to develop bullish or cowed tendencies - which will remain with them into adulthood. The longer a puppy remains with the litter after completing the seventh week of its life, the more deteriorated the emotional growth of that puppy will be. At the end of the third critical period, the puppy is considered emotionally developed and ready to learn. But the puppy does not possess an adult brain at that age.

It is for this reason of reading research which is available to read on the internet/books that we choose to place our puppies in pet homes by 7 weeks. We do believe with Weimaraners they can be placed just under 7 weeks although Vizsla do better keeping to 7 weeks.