| 'Loving' Your Pet....Is What We Do 'Best'! |
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| 'Spoiled Rotten' Kennel Frequently Asked Questions |
| (The real truth between the two) Education vs. No Education Let's talk about what we think we know vs what we DON'T know about getting a puppy? We think it is okay to remove a puppy from it's mother when it is 6 weeks old. It is NOT!!! No matter what the breed. Did you know that the larger the breed the shorter their lifespan? Or that the smaller the breed the longer it takes them to mature? Do you know what either of those two statements mean in the purchasing of a puppy? Let's take a lab for example their life span is approximately 10 -12 years. Where a shih tzu's life span is approximately 15 - 18 years. The lab pups mature much faster, they have large litters, they get a lot more socialization because of all their brothers and sisters. They are ready to leave mom at 8 weeks of age. Where a shih tzu is slower to mature, has smaller litters, sometimes only one puppy. That puppy will have to stay with it's mother for approximately 14 -16 weeks of age for the mother to adequately socialize that pup. Most of the time there are a least 2 puppies and are usually ready to leave mom at 12 weeks, but not a day before then. Did you know that most so called breeders actually create allergies in their puppies? And here's the deal, if you ask the owner of the litter, that question, I guarantee you the majority can't answer it. We have all had dogs that have done so much chewing and licking of their feet or scratching of their hind quarters that you could scream. Guess what? In the Shih Tzu breed if you feed a puppy anything besides it's mothers milk before 6 weeks of age they will more likely than not have food allergies. They will lick their feet and scratch their hind quarters and drive you crazy with the smacking. You will spend a fortune at the vet's office just trying to get some relief from the gnawing. If they can't have dog food until the beginning of the 7th week of life, why are all these so-called breeders taking them away from their mom's at 6 weeks of age?The AKC American Shih Tzu Club (ASTC) states that a shih tzu puppy may NOT be sold until they are 12 weeks of age. Yet every day some so-called breeder will take that puppy away from it's mother before mom has finished raising that baby. Then you get puppies that may be overly timid, shakes, becomes a barker and you wonder why? That is like us humans sending our 13 year old kids out into the world to live on their own before we as parents have finished raising them. That is not fair to the puppy or it's mother. So the next time you want a small dog don't take it away from it's mother until it is 12 weeks old. How old is a puppy when their digestive system is actually capable of handling dog food? How long should they stay on their mother's milk? Part of this we already answered. Their digestive system isn't capable of handling dog food before they are 7 weeks old. They need to stay on mom's teat until then. It is like us trying to feed a 4 month old baby table foods. Do you want to know how to eliminate almost all personality and behavioral issues before you ever get a puppy? The answers are so simple that you as a consumer won't believe what most so called breeders don't know. Because they don't know they can't tell you! The elimination of personality and behavorial issues is to leave them with their mother until she has finished her mothering at 12 weeks of age. This is a vital part of a puppy's growth. And yet every day some so-called breeder takes them away at 6 weeks of age. How would you like it for someone to come and take your 13 year old away from you before you finished your parenting of that child. You wouldn't like it at all, why? Because you and only you would know when your child is ready to be an adult. You need to have access to both parents! You need to be able to see both parents to evaluate their actual sizes that gives you a rough idea of approximately how big your puppy will probably be. No guarantees on that but usually they resemble one of their parents. You need to evaluate their temperments. Are they friendly, aggressive, timid? Find out how often a stud is used, if he has been used to produce more than 3 litters a year, he should have a DNA certificate on file with the AKC. My opinion is if your puppy doesn't come with AKC papers you need to run the other way. If they are registered with any other registry you should be asking what caused them to lose the ability to register with the AKC. This just covers a few important questions I have been asked repeatedly. So I thought maybe if I put them on a FAQ it might be useful in helping you finding a puppy. |