puppy torture

I was chatting to Adam the other day & he asked me how things were going. "Fine," I said. "I'm busy torturing puppies." Being familiar with my somewhat twisted sense of humour, he laughed, knowing full well I would never dream of torturing any animal - especially puppies... would I?

As a matter of fact, I carry out a little gentle torture every day. It's important.

On that particular occasion I was engaged in the laborious process of worming and cutting nails. Ask any puppy and I'm pretty sure they'll tell you that both these chores fall firmly within the classification of torture. The good news is they get used to it. The bad news is it does take a while for this miracle to take place and in the meantime you must be FIRM FIRM FIRM and get your own way at any cost. Eventually the little darling realises the stiller he remains the quicker it will all be over.

At this age, worming consists of squirting through a syringe a thick white liquid into the pup's mouth. Once a day for 3 consecutive days every 3 weeks. I'm pretty sure it tastes disgusting. And if I wasn't already quite sure, then the puppies' reactions convince me once and for all. The trick is to get them to swallow it without spitting it out or, what's worse, shaking their heads frantically from side to side sending the sticky stuff flying all over me & the room. A hand gently placed over the face at this point is usually quite helpful. The puppy's face, not mine.

I also quickly follow the disgusting syringe with one full of lovely sweet Lactol. That appeases them nicely and they don't start screaming the next time they see a syringe. Hopefully.

By the time a puppy goes to its new home, he will be taking worming tablets. And that's a whole other ball game.

So far, these puppies are pretty good at having their claws trimmed each week. As I recall, their behaviour will get worse in this respect before it will get better. But, again, patience and perseverence is the key.

Then there's noise torture. Everyday I make sure the puppies are subjected to lots of different noise stimulation. First of all, there is the Crash Bang Wallop cd. Apparently it's been discontinued, which is a shame. I'm really glad I got mine before it was. It's 40 mins or so of everyday noises that can traditionally frighten animals who are not accustomed to them. Included in the repertoire are fireworks, thunder, people screaming, children playing, doorbells, doors slamming, etc. The idea is that you play this cd for the puppies starting with the volume very low then gradually building up the volume. I started using the cd when the pups moved downstairs and at the moment the volume has reached the level where Jay has yelled downstairs "Who's outside leaning on the car horn!?"

In addition to the cd, the puppies' pen is vacuumed around each day. They are still not too keen on this experience, but not overly traumatised either. Perhaps it helps that over the weekend the grass mower - a much scarier type of hoover-monster - was pushed around their outdoor pen. In comparison, the Dyson is a pussycat.

Then there are various things I think up to inflict upon them. Rattling a black bin bag over their heads, crashing things onto the floor, and into the sides of the pen. The point is not to terrify them, but to gently & gradually make them accustomed to lots of different experiences within a safe environment - i.e. in their pen with each other and Neka who, through her own calm, relaxed attitude, illustrates to them that it's ok.

It's all great stuff. If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, all together now: along with feeding, the single most important thing you will do for your puppy is socialising him. There is no such thing as too much or too early. The work you put in those first few weeks will pay dividends for the rest of your dog's life. Fail to do the socialising at the best time and your dog will suffer as a result of it for the rest of his life. Yep, it's that important.

This week the pups have begun to go out and about meeting people. One at a time and safely tucked under my arm, of course. They're also getting acquainted with Lenny, the cat. He's a sweet boy who wants to be friends with everyone, so I know the pups are safe with him. The puppies, on the other hand, are not too sure about him yet. Especially when Lenny starts to purr.

Here is Jaska having a cuddle on my lap with Lenny. We tried to get a similar one of Jaana, but she wasn't in a cuddling mood so we'll have another go with her later.