Raising and training a puppy.
I think it's important to know what you can realistically expect and not expect from a puppy. Too many people get a puppy with a set of standards already in place and they expect their puppy to fit them perfectly, but you can't do this (well, you CAN, but you SHOULDN'T). Every puppy is unique, you will never find two the same, so you shouldn't expect them to be the same. Expectations only lead to disappointment and they can even prevent you from loving the dog for what she/he is.
A purebred puppy may NOT fit the standards. Usually the better the breeder, the better the breed standards can be used as guidelines...and if you want more ideas Pet Grooming Supplies Tip Of The Week. But remember, they are still just that, guidelines, that are intended to give you a general description of what an ideal dog of that breed should be like. They don't tell you exactly what your puppy will be like. Even within a breed, puppies are different, they have their own quirks and when they grow up, they may still have their own quirks. This goes for comparing your new puppy to your old dog as well. If you had a wonderful, obedient, mellow, loving lab that recently passed away.....Cherish her memory. You can get another lab puppy, but don't expect your new puppy to be like your old dog.
Expectations should be monitored in training too. The only thing you CAN expect is that if you are dedicated, you will successfully train that puppy to perform the basic obedience commands and pass the CGC...You can't expect the puppy to be able to do this right at 6 months. You can expect that the puppy will become potty trained....You can't expect the puppy to be potty trained in a week.
You can't expect your puppy to be perfect either. I'm sure we've all seen, at least once in our lives, a young puppy that was as close to perfect as a puppy can get. Didn't nip or mouth, didn't chew every thing, potty trained in a week, loved to learn and picked up commands quickly etc etc. But you can't expect your puppy to be like that, a puppy like that is a very bad model for your expectations. Instead, imagine the worst behaved puppy possible, one that nips, one that takes forever to be housebroken, one that tears things up because that's more realistic. If your puppy isn't that bad, then be happy, be proud, give your puppy a hug and give yourself a pat on the back for doing a good job in training!
So the main point of this is to forget what you expect the puppy to be and what you want the puppy to be. Love the puppy for itself and treat it like it's the first dog you've ever raised (or like you have no clue what breed it is!). Forget your plans of taking that puppy to the nationals in competition, focus on a CGC first, then focus on novice....Just keep training, stay in the present, and go as far as you can.
Thanks for reading and if you have questions you want researched, go to http://www.bioluxinternational.com and email me.
Dog Kennel Fooring
Stop the Madness of Puppy Mills
Animal abuse at puppy mills is no joke
This is a touchy subject with us here at BioLux International. In fact, I was having lunch with the CEO, Tammy Lanier, and the subject came up. She made no bones about the fact that she is against puppy mills. She was so disgusted that she placed her food down and went on a full scale speech on her feels regarding the subject. So, I'm glad this question came up and I got the chance to do some research.Wikipedia defines a puppy mill as," Puppy mills (also known as puppy farms outside of the United States) are large-scale dog breeding facilities that operate under substandard breeding conditions." (Puppy Mills) Substandard conditions can and should be an understatement. Imagine a high-volume kennel that is dirty, trashy, a bacteria ridden place where dogs are kept in deplorable conditions with no medical care. A non interactive, non-caring basic building with grey block walls, no windows, and cold wet concrete floors where forced breeding is done solely for financial gain A desolate place where protection of the animals is last on the list and the breed's integrity is constantly being compromised. This puppy farm is a bleak environment where puppies are weaned from their mothers extremely early; so that unethical production breeders are able to sell their "crop" to dog brokers or to pet stores quickly. Let's step back, because these individuals should not be called "breeders." They do not deserve the title or recognition of being associated with a breeder or kennel. These people don't care about the dogs or puppies; these so called businesses use and abuse these trapped animals for nothing more than a buck. The previous graphic delineation defines how disgusted I became when researching this topic. If you have the time, perform a search on Google images for "puppy mills" and be prepared to witness the shear misery.
Puppies acquired from puppies mills are inclined to have emotional and health problems that not typical with reputable breeders. This is a direct result of substandard breeding conditions. The tiny helpless puppies are raised in a cramped environment. The emotional issues are a direct result of living with many other dogs that have had no interaction, thus become poorly socialized to other dogs, animals, and people; as well as being more prone to have problems with their temperament. Puppies from mills are usually sold as purebred dogs in an attempt to fetch the high. Slow, agonizing death is a common occurrence in these poor environments. If, and that is a big if, a "puppy mill" dog survives early life trauma, they are not out of the woods. These four legged abused orphans are more prone to being diagnosed with respiratory ailments and pneumonia as they grow older. Also, there are congenital or hereditary syndromes, such as hip dysphasia. .
If you are as disgusted as I am, you are probably asking what I can do. You don't have to picket or go to an extreme to make a difference, but there are a few simple steps you can take to help stop this degradation of animals. Educate yourself and others about puppy mills. When addressing any issue education is a vital step. So, go on the internet and do a search or got to BioLux International, LLC and I'll have links posted with this article. Add a stop puppy mills banner on your home page or a social network like mySpace or facebook. You can retrieve that image on our home page at BioLux International Pet Supplies. Apply a snowball effect and email a friend a link to this article. Then maybe they email the link, and so on. Donate to HSUS, which is an ongoing campaign to stop puppy mills. Ask a pet store where they get their puppies from and make a choice not to buy a pet from a pet store or online site that are associated with puppy mills. Refusing to buy supplies from any pet store or online pet store that provides products to these puppy mills is a great step. We, as caring animal lovers, need to communicated the unethical code of suppliers, subcontractors, and distributors that interact and turn a blind eye to these "puppy mills" to individuals who are on the outside of the pet world. Here at BioLux International, you can be assured, that will never happen and it is in our firm's core values not to deal with these types of businesses. We have the luxury that these pour souls don't have; we have a choice! When we purchase a pet or shop at a pet supplies store that supports these businesses, we are contributing to a heartless industry that forces dogs to spend their entire lives in cages constantly breeding to fatten a despicable industry. I understand this article became a bit long, but if it saves a puppy or dog this terrible existence, it was worth the time. I hope this answers your questions regarding "puppy mills." Please, be proactive, do the right thing by not supporting these businesses.
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Good luck and thanks for reading.
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