Naming the Puppies

Another matter which might seem of small consequence is that of naming the puppies. You may think this concerns the purchaser more than the breeder, but let us see what may happen. Suppose Junior and his father come to purchase a puppy. Let us say they pick out a cute little Alsatian, and right away Junior wants to call him Fluffy, or Sport. You are anxious to make a sale, so you register the Alsatian as Fluffy. She grows up, and the new owners decide to show her. Because of her name, that bitch has two strikes on her before she goes into the ring, and you have reduced your chances of sharing in a win by that amount. I always have my puppies named before they are shown for sale, and I always try to choose names which are suitable. That is, I do not call a Pekinese Nero or an Alsatian Fluffy. Choose names which suit the breed, and if possible the individual. By naming your puppies while they are still quite young, you have an answer ready for Junior when he comes with his father. Simply tell him that the puppy is already named, but if he wants to call it by a nickname, that will be quite all right. In this way you can make sure that any dog you breed can go into the show ring with a suitable name, and he will take your kennel name in with him.

It is more than likely that the man or woman breeding dogs on a small scale will be in closer contact with both the dogs and the puppies than is the case in a large kennel. If this is true, a certain amount of discipline will be necessary from time to time. Cruelty is not punishment; it is vindictiveness, and the dog knows it. A lot of punishment will probably create a resentful dog.

Never strike a dog about the head or paws, and remember that his ears are just as sensitive as yours. Neither should you strike him where the blow falls on bone, particularly the backbone. To do so may bruise it and cause an area of soreness for a long period. An injury to the backbone may bring on paralysis.

Do not strike a dog at all if a sharp reproof will serve the purpose, and never punish him in anger. There are times, however, when physical punishment is necessary. If it has to be done, do it with dignity. Usually a slap across the upper part of the thigh will be sufficient, with the open hand or a rolled newspaper, not a rawhide whip or a piece of one-inch board. The humiliation of being punished before other dogs or persons he knows will be more salutary than a brutal beating.

As the young in each litter grow older, study them. Spend a little time getting to understand them, and talk with them. A true lover of dogs can carry on a conversation with the dog he understands. Be friendly and get the young dog or puppy accustomed to certain words and phrases. If some movement can be combined to correspond with a given word, that will help him to understand more easily. Talking to a dog is really a combination of speech, sign language, and reading what is in the other's eyes. "When training puppies, keep in mind that another dog lover can tell more about you from your dog's disposition than he can from all the material things you may have.

When giving a command, allow time for the dog to complete his mental process. Before he can put the command into execution, he must relate the words he hears with the movement they call to mind. In other words, if a command were given in French to an English-speaking person, he would first translate it into his mother tongue before carrying it out. So it is with a dog. Always give the command just an instant before you wish him to act.

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