Our Setup, and Why!

      Those that know me know that I have VERY strong opinions on WHERE and HOW puppies should be raised. The influence of these factors from birth to 8 weeks is tremendous in a puppies overall temperament, trainability, and personality for the life of the dog.
     My background is in dog training, rehabilitation, and rescue work. As a trainer I saw countless problems with puppies that were "raised in the home" by well intentioned backyard breeders (and many not so well intentioned). This is by biggest pet peeve!!! Convincing families that not having the proper set up to raise puppies, and raising them "in my home" is somehow a good thing!!!???
     We DO NOT raise our puppies in the home. I will tell you just a few of the many reasons why below.


Durning the last week or so in pregnancy the mother must have space during the day to nest and get ready for the hard work of delivering her puppies. This is when we start allowing the mother to sleep in her birthing suite if she wishes (most all do) and have some quiet time to herself. Our suite has indoor/outdoor access and is temperature controlled. In the last week of pregnancy the mothers can become very hot and the temperature of the home is usually well above a comfortable level for them. We keep our home at 62-66 degrees in the winter. Even this can feel very uncomfortable for a very pregnant Newfoundland or Newfypoo!!!! Any stress the mother feels during her pregnancy will affect the puppies! Keeping mom cool, content, and giving her some quiet space to herself during pregnancy is the first step in happy well adjusted pups!!

Mothers also love to have a real "den" during the whelping and puppy raising process. Many breeders simply set up a whelping box or a plastic swimming pool. Not only are these very restrictive on space, they do nothing to help the mother feel safe and secure while she is at her most vulnerable time of whelping and the early weeks of nursing. The "den" we set up is covered on the front side with a blanket as well, leaving just a small passage for mother to enter and exit. This keeps her very relaxed, prevents distractions, helps keep her focus on whelping and nursing, and prevents any anxiety in the mother and thus the pups in those first few weeks of life!

Irene with her litter in their den. The front blocker is not on in this photo and the blanket has been taken down so you can see inside;) Puppies are always raised on clean blankets instead of newspaper or other flat surfaces to protect their hip joints long term. 

      During the first few weeks, while eyes are opening, it is important to keep low lighting in the den. This allows the eyes to develop properly and prevents vision issues later on. Once the eyes and ears are open, and the pups are toddling around, the blanket is taken off the front of the den permanently and the barrier is removed from across the front allowing the pups to have full access to the whole room and outdoors via dog door. At this age, puppies need lots of space to start the house training process.

If they are confined to a whelping box, swimming pool, etc. and newspaper or potty pads are used, this is the beginning of training a puppy to go to the bathroom IN THE HOUSE!!! This is the opposite of what families will be teaching at home in just a few short weeks time!!!

At this age (3-4 weeks) if the weather is suitable, the puppies spend the majority of the day out on the grass with their mother. Only returning to the den at night. This helps set up the habit of going to the bathroom outside! They are brought inside the house starting at this age for short socialization periods but never allowed to "potty" inside the home. You can read more on this in the House Training/ Crate Training tab.

Now the pups are old enough to socialize and becoming a bit less dependent on mother as they start the 2-3 week process of going from milk to solid food( weeks 4-7).  External distractions are no longer an issue that may create anxiety, but actually very welcomed by mom and the litter. They also now start keeping their indoor stall clean and go out their dog door to "do their business" in the pasture. Daily time in the home is now extended as the real socializing period is in full swing:))))!!!!