This is one thing I feel the need to stress to anyone buying a dog, and I myself have been on the receiving end of some of these issues (mouths, entire dogs- things can happen that no level of planning can predict).

Let’s start at the beginning. A puppy has the genetic makeup from both parents, when planning a mating this needs to be considered and thought on. There are two main ways of planning a mating that good breeders tend to do, phenotype and genotype mating. Genotype is when a mating is considered based on genetics- what is behind the sire/ dam, this could be their parents or their grandparents used as a guide as to what can be expected (YxZ=R) . This is common with colour mating, one can’t simply look at the chosen dog and bitch and predict the colours, other colours further back on a pedigree are also possible. Phenotype mating regards the sire/ dam only with the thought of like going to like to produce like (YxY= many Y).

We now have a very basic understanding now of two generic methods of planning a suitable mating. At this time it is important to remember puppies get their genetic makeup from their parents. Let us say you want to breed a bitch and she with an undesirable feature (big ears), does using a dog with small ears mean that each puppy will have middle sized ears? Think back…. No, no it doesn’t. When mating the genes from the mother and the father are effectively placed into a bag, each puppy draws out certain attributes at random. We could have ears, legs and eyes from mum, but tails, body and teeth from dad. Each puppy can have different attributes from different parents, you will get the good and the bad in different quantities from both parents.

When thinking phenotype or genotype the bigger picture also needs to be considered, how many generations of an attribute are there, is this a family trait or a one off? For me the most important aspects to consider now are generic health and wellbeing of both parents, grandparents etc, is there a history of something that needs to be avoided? If everything is healthy we can progress, the next thing in my mind is the skeletal structure, this can be tough to correct if misguided. The breed standard, should be your guide, each aspect should be considered in tern, and a level of importance placed on each. What do you prioritise what can you forgive?

You now have a plan, with the expected litter being a positive contribution to the breed, based on your knowledge of the parents and their respective pedigrees. You proceed with the mating and wait. During this time I will tend to keep the bitch on a fairly normal diet, I scan my bitches at home between weeks 4 and 5. Once I know they are pregnant I will increase their nutritional intake. What you feed is important to ensure the puppies are gaining the nutrition they need to fulfil their potential at birth. Think about, exercise, who lives with the bitch, are they comfortable, how can you best assist her in this time?

When the due date is arriving you need to keep a closer eye on her, make sure she is comfortable and if anything was to happen early are you completely prepared. Everything goes to plan though and she has her puppies as expected. Puppies in my opinion need to be well supervised within these first 48 hours, a bitch can do silly things, so keep a watch/ take turns ensuring everything is well cared for. I also like to weigh every day for the first 2 weeks at least. Ensuring all puppies are gaining weight and the mother is also able to sustain herself throughout. Eyes should be opening and puppies should be starting to find their feet with confidence.

I like to try puppies on food once there are comfortable on their feet, they will eat when they are ready to. Once they are ready using the correct feed is key to ensure they can reach the potential you outlined when planning the litter. I like a raw diet, with this diet I find that puppies gain weight at a slower rate, have a good appetite and when they do to the toilet it is manageable amounts and of a good consistency. Through gaining weight slow and steady their joints have time to grow and develop with their weight. If a puppy gains weight too quickly this can be detrimental to their long-term health.  

Diet is one aspect, exercise and socialisation are other key aspects to ensure this potential is achievable. When puppies have found their feet, I like to have them out as much a possible in a larger space, allowing greater exercise, they can run and play together in this way. By moving puppies from one room to another they are also experiencing new things, this assists with their socialisation. The more positive experiences a puppy can be exposed to will assist them in becoming confident individuals, again this will help them to reach their potential.

Let us say that everything has gone to plan, puppies are confident and happy in numerous locations, they have been vet checked, they have their first vaccination and are microchipped. Through all of this they haven’t thought twice. For my I now assess my puppies at 8 weeks I make my mind up what I am keeping and what can be sold. For people wanting to buy a puppy this can be frustrating as they don’t know what they can have. In a single coloured litter this is fine, as I will only be keeping one of each sex at most. If I have a mixed litter, I do not know which one I want to keep (blue, black, cream, red or fawn). I look at the qualities of each puppy against the standard opposed to as an example of that colour, or wanting any colour in particular.

I assess at 8 weeks as this is the time at which a puppy should be the best representation of their adult self (if a puppy at this phase is square it should grow into a square adult). I have constructed my personal version of the puppy puzzle, and have been assessing puppies this way since 2009. I have now been able to assess in some cases four generations adding to my knowledge of my pedigrees. Through this assessment you can see if the puppy you planned for has indeed been born and if the genetics have come together as you wanted.

A puppy has reached its potential to this point and you keep/ you buy in a puppy at 8 weeks of age. From here on, diet, exercise and socialisation are all equally important in assisting a puppy reach its potential you recognised at 8 weeks. Irrespective of this there are still certain things which can happen or not happen with any animal, identifying that all puppies have potential but they are living and this don’t always go to plan regardless of what work goes in. Some of these are outlined below:

• Dogs being entire- at 8 weeks it is difficult to know if a dog is entire. This is something that anyone buying a dog needs to consider there is no certainty and 8 weeks.
• Mouths- this is another aspect, mouths can go wrong when the next set of teeth come through. As puppies grow their mouths can go bad and come back. This is again something that can happen to any puppy as they grow.
• Joints- any puppy can have a bad, hip or elbow score. Through health testing parents and having increased knowledge one hopes that the puppies will have similar joint, but exercise and diet can alter their development and change these joints. It is therefore very important to manage the growth and development of a puppy with care to assist this growth.
• Eyes- as puppies are teething they can and often do have a wetter eye- this doesn’t mean entropion. Entropion is when the eyelid turns in on the eye and rubs on the eye causing irritation. A puppy would be rubbing its head all the time if it had entropion. Again because both parents have good eyes doesn’t always mean a puppy will do. An adult will be mature by 3 in this time the head changes so much. Be mindful if you are having an entropion operation, is it entropion and is the dog fully mature.

• Size and type- assessing a puppy at 8 weeks doesn’t give a good representation of the potential size of the dog (the parents can give an indication). The type of the dog can’t be assessed well at 8 weeks, dogs mature by 3 some do so more that others (again the parents can give an indication).

Within this quick write up on potential of a dog there are three important phases; pre-birth- everything leading up to puppies being born; birth to 8 weeks- getting the puppies up to assessment age; over 8 weeks- once their adult potential is known everything needs to be in place to help them to get there. But even if everything is aligned well things can happen that are unforeseen at 8 weeks. All that can be done is ensure each aspect is met as well as it can be; parents being sound, healthy and good breed examples; good diet, exercise and socialisation of the puppy to 8 weeks; continuing these good practices from 8 weeks (until 14 months- the developmental phase as a minimum).

This will be adapted, changed, and developed periodically, this is only the grounding at present.