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Meet Our Pups Casa De Oodle Casa De Oodle was established to ethically breed Labradoodle and Bordoodle puppies for families who are genuinely looking for a companion pet to complete their family home. Hayley, the founder of Casa De Oodle is a qualified Vet Nurse with over 20 years experience in pet and livestock care. Casa De Oodle is a property nestled on the outskirts of Harden, NSW, where there is plenty of space for active Bordoodle and Labradoodle puppies to grow and enjoy the first weeks of their life before going to their new homes. When you take home a Casa De Oodle Labradoodle or Bordoodle puppy, you can rest assured that your new companion puppy has been raised with love and care and that you, as a new puppy parent, will have the ongoing support and guidance you need to raise one of these intelligent and affectionate puppies. Its nice to know you have support and help and someone who cares after you take puppy home. We use and recommend Knose Pet Insurance for the best puppy care when we least expect it. Application Form Bringing happy, healthy Labradoodles to loving homes Our success is all about matching these intelligent, affectionate, wonderful dogs to big-hearted owners or families. Labradoodles are a social, active, devoted breed who become life-long best friends. We love following their happy home life and enjoy hearing from their families who share great life moments. Gallery Healthy dogs our priority We go the extra mile in selecting only the best possible pups as future breeding prospects. Aside from regular health checks throughout their lives, All our future breeding dogs undergo rigorous health screening before being allowed into our breeding program. Our care and experience shows in our great selection of Sires and Dams. We found the most reliable, relevant resources online to share them exclusively with our family of owners. Since opening our doors and hearts in to an extended Australian Labradoodle family, we have grown our reputation as caring, committed breeders who form friendships with our puppy families. We also take great pride in using the latest health testing technology available to us for all our breeding dogs, to produce generations of genetically healthy Australian Labradoodles. Our dedication to breeding strategies gives health and temperament top consideration when deciding future pairings, closely followed by conformation. These strategies have led us to breed the amazing, loving and loyal Australian Labradoodles that we fell in love with years ago. Let it happen to you! About Ready to apply for your Labradoodle Puppy? You are free to make an application at any time. We will endeavour to review all applications within 5 days and will contact you if your application is approved or we require further information from you. You will then be added to the mailing list to be notified when puppies are available. We breed Standard and Medium Australian Labradoodles, offering companion puppies for adoption as well as guardian family opportunities. Breeder enquiries welcome. All puppies have been raised here indoors until weeks of age where they then make their way to the outdoor nursery for further development. These puppies coming through will be the last from us due to retirement. Regardless that we are retiring we will still be here to answer any future questions for the lifetime of your puppy — we will only be a phone call or email away. Both puppies will have wonderful outgoing natures and are raised with our adult dogs and well socialised during their 8 weeks here with us. Like all our past Krakajak puppies they will bring you many years of joy, love and laughter. For further information please email me sarahhum westnet. Our lovely pooches are first and foremost our family pets. They are regularly groomed here at home and are taught to swim so they can join us in the pool during summer months. Our puppies are born and raised in our home up until they reach weeks of age where they are then moved into the puppy play area where they can begin to learn and explore their big wide world. When you purchase a puppy from KrakaJak Labradoodles you do so knowing that comprehensive DNA testing has guided us to select the parents of your puppy in the hope that they will lead a long and healthy life as a valued member of your family. Krakajak Labradoodles breed Australian Labradoodle puppies with beautiful non-shedding coats in colours of Red, Apricot, Cream, Caramel, Chocolate, and Black; other colors and patterns available on occasion. We look forward to continuing our journey working with and promoting this fabulous breed of dog. Sharing the joy of owning a Labradoodle.

Breeds The link has been copied! The German Shepherd has long been prized for its working ability. Police, military, search-and-rescue teams, and families alike have loved and used this intelligent and obedient dog for a variety of tasks. And the Border Collie is known as the smartest dog breed in the world. What happens when you put these two dogs together? Shollie Shepherd x Border Collie Main Characteristics As a cross between two intelligent working dogs, you can expect the Shollie to be a smart, energetic pup. These dogs are great for active families where they have space to run and receive adequate exercise each day. Their size can vary since German Shepherds tend to be larger than Border Collies. However, Shollies usually stand between 20 and 24 inches at the shoulder and weigh between 70 and 90 pounds. Both parent breeds come in a few different colors and Shollies can have quite a variety of color patterns. However, one thing is for sure. They will have a thick double coat that sheds twice a year — six months in the Spring and six months in the Fall. History of the Shollie The idea that crossbred dogs are inferior to purebred dogs has been waning in recent years. In fact, the popularity of designer dog breeds, the hybrid cross of two purebred dog breeds, has been spiking rapidly. One of the most well-known designer dog breeds is the Labradoodle. This Labrador Retriever Poodle mix set off the whole Doodle dog craze of crossing all sorts of dog breeds with Poodles to create more hypoallergenic versions of dogs. That and the fact that the crosses end up looking somewhat like adorable teddy bears have made these crossbred dogs extremely popular. It is unclear who decided that crossing a Border Collie with a German Shepherd would be a good idea or why. But the resulting hybrid has been making a splash in the dog community. What Does a Shollie Look Like? Border Collies are usually black and white and German Shepherds can come in a wide variety of colors though they are commonly black and brown. The Shollie can have black, brown, fawn, sable, or white hair and are almost always a mix of at least two colors. Many have an intriguing mottled pattern. Their bodies tend to be lean and athletic and they are fairly large dogs. Despite their size, they are gentle and loving and tend to be good with kids. Most Shollies have brown eyes, though they can also be hazel, blue, or amber. They usually have black noses with long muzzles. Exercise Needs Both parent breeds were bred as working dogs and needed energy and stamina for this purpose. This makes the Shollie an active dog that requires at least one hour of vigorous exercise per day. They will love having a large yard where they can run freely. If this is not available, access to an off-leash dog park would be ideal. As intelligent dogs, they love exploring new areas. They will adore accompanying you and your family on hiking adventures or participating in agility classes or other canine sports. Border Collies top the charts of Obedience and Working Intelligence. This measure looks at both how many repetitions the dog requires to learn a technique as well as how likely they are to obey a known technique. The higher their score, obviously the more trainable they are. German Shepherds are well known for their trainability. Though there is always some unpredictability with crossbred dogs, you can bet a child of these two breeds will be easy to train. Since both parent breeds are super intelligent with an eager-to-please attitude, the resulting hybrid ends up the same. But owning an intelligent dog comes with a responsibility. They need a job to do or some other form of mental stimulation. Otherwise, they will find something to entertain themselves in their boredom — which may spell disaster for your furniture! Luckily, they enjoy mental stimulation in various forms. Learning new tricks, participating in agility or canine sports, puzzle toys , playing with your kids, and even exploring areas of your large backyard count. If you have to leave them alone for a long period of time, leave them with a puzzle game or toy. This will help give them something to do and keep their mischievous streak at bay until your return. All in all, the Shollie is a fantastic dog when it comes to training and obedience. Are Shollies Independent? Some dogs are content to sit at home awaiting your return from a long day at work. The Shollie is not one of them. They are loving, sociable animals who will give you their whole heart. In exchange, they expect a certain amount of love and affection. It only makes sense, right? If you live alone and work outside the home all day, a Shollie may not be a good choice for your companion. They can become anxious or depressed and this will often come out as bad behavior like digging or chewing up shoes. On the flip side, Shollies are wonderful for families. They love playing with little children and will adore living in a household where there is almost always someone around to offer them an ear scratch. After a long day working or playing, they love nothing more than to cuddle with you on the couch or at least curl up at your feet while you relax in the evenings. They can get a little protective of their families especially their little people. If they feel threatened at all, they may display territorial behavior — even if that means protecting their little charges from Grandma! German Shepherd Surprisingly, there is one man and one dog to thank for the development of the German Shepherd breed. Max Emil Freidrich von Stephanitz dreamed of becoming a gentleman farmer. However, he was pressured by his affluent family into joining the military instead. During his time as a cavalry officer in the German countryside in the midth century, the incredible sheep herding dogs caught his eye. He was impressed by their intelligence and responsiveness and distressed by their dwindling numbers. As modernity approached, the need for sheepherding dogs was waning, but Von Stephanitz decided to do something about it. Thus, he bought a large estate near Grafath in Bavaria and set out to find the right dogs to create his formal breed. The right dog turned out to be one dog that he bought at a dog show in April of .The four-year-old dog, Hektor Linksrhein, had a wolf-like appearance and demonstrated superior intelligence and depth of character. Von Stephanitz renamed the dog Horand von Grafrath and used him to sire innumerable pups. Virtually every German Shepherd living today can be traced back to this dog. And von Stephanitz did things right. He bred carefully, looking to cultivate both beauty and brains in a time when they were mostly concerned with brains. His quest ultimately created a dog that is handsome, intelligent, obedient, and loyal. Not to mention both loving and easy to love. This medium-sized dog is descended from the old Roman sheepherding dogs and the Spitz-type herders of the Vikings. They routinely performed well in informal competitions among sheepherders back in the s. Eventually, official sheepdog competitions started running in the late s and early s. Border Collies have consistently dominated these competitions over the years. These dogs are energetic and capable of holding their own for over 50 miles in a day. Their rough, shaggy coats protected them from the elements when they spent days on end outdoors with their charges. Even the white markings on their coats serve the purpose of making it easier to spot them in the dark. As they grew in popularity, they began being exported from Great Britain all over the world to people who were looking for good working dogs. But in America, they caught the eye of obedience exhibitors. In , the North American Sheepdog Society was formed with the purpose to promote and protect the breed. Overall, the Border Collie has impressed generations of farmers with their smarts, energy, and willingness to please. Should I Get a Shollie? Now that you know a little bit about Shollies and their parent breeds, your interest may be piqued. However, as with every dog, they require the right type of home and living conditions to be happy. Here are a few things to ask yourself to help determine if your home is the right environment for a Shollie. Do You Have an Active Lifestyle? Shollies like to snuggle with you while you watch TV, but only after a long day of hard work or play. Remember, both parent breeds were developed as working dogs that needed enough energy to traverse dozens of miles in a day. Thus, Shollies require at least an hour of vigorous exercise each day. They need lots of active time and attention. Thus, a home with a large yard or a farm is a more adequate home for these pups. And they will love spending time with people who are active and on the move. The nice thing about adding a dog like this to the family is that they help encourage being active! Fi smart dog collars make it easier than ever. Shollies are very sociable, which means they want to spend time with their families. Are You Committed To Training? You still need to spend time with your Shollie teaching them what is expected of them and how they are to behave. But beyond the basics, you should continue to spend time training your Shollie. They love the mental stimulation of learning new tricks and they are so smart that they are the perfect dog for this. Do You Have Allergies or Asthma? This is a big one as Shollies have a lot of hair. If you or someone in your home has allergies or asthma, this could be a big problem. Both parent breeds have a double coat, which means there is a soft undercoat for warmth and a longer protective coat over the top. Translation — the dog has a lot of hair and they will constantly be shedding it. You can control their shedding somewhat with regular grooming sessions. But you will never get it all. Are Shollies Aggressive? Shollies are a little reticent of strangers. They love their families and can be a little protective if the occasion calls for it. However, they are not aggressive or violent by nature. The Verdict on Shollies So, is a Shollie right for your family? If you are an active family, have a large yard, and are willing to spend time training and stimulating your dog, the Shollie will make a fantastic companion for your family. If you live alone in a little apartment and spend most of your time at work, a different type of dog may be a better fit for your lifestyle. For additional pet-parenting tips, head over to TryFi. And don't forget to check out TryFi's innovative Fi Dog Collar , which offers GPS tracking, activity monitoring, and escape alerts to keep your furry friend safe. Try the Fi Dog Collar today! The link has been copied! You might also like. Border Collies are the canine superstars of training. They are superior at obedience, agility, and herding. This especially bright workaholic enjoys being trained and kept occupied with activities. Working brings them happiness, but lack of work sparks unhappiness as well. They are eager to please and work hard. If you have enough time to devote to long obedience and agility training sessions, you are in for a firmly trained companion. Border Collies need a lot of exercise. Both breeds are strong and fast, so a Border Collie and German Shepherd mix will definitely be a strong and athletic pooch. No matter which breed traits dominate, any Shollie is a dog that loves and needs exercise. In cases when the Border Collie side of the crossbreed is more expressed, the owners will need to start putting their running sneakers on more often. Mental exercise is extremely important too so make sure you have enough mentally demanding tasks and games. Border Collies are affectionate dogs, perfect for families with children on the older side. Although relaxed among people they know, strangers can make them shy a bit. They are steady, confident, and courageous. The loyalty to their families makes them delightful protectors. Being overprotective of his family can make a German Shepherd dog a bit untrustworthy towards strangers. Photo by Vivienstock on Shutterstock Does that mean that a crossbreed afraid of strangers has more Collie Traits and the one barking at them is more of a GSD? Keep in mind that any dog can be a good dog. They can be a good fit for families with children and even with other pets. Leadership Border Collies require that you show interest in their training and give a lot of affirmation and encouragement. Keeping their attention is pretty easy if you have prepared a variety of training activities. German Shepherds start their training early in their lives. Work ethic? These guys are on point. A Shollie is a dog that needs a consistent leader to show him what to train and how to do it and reward him if he does that right. If that happens there is a great chance that checking your training regimen is the best place to start. Health The biggest health concern in German Shepherds is hip dysplasia. While GSDs from 50 years ago had a lot fewer issues with their hips, due to irresponsible breeding now every fifth dog has hip dysplasia. Obesity, over-exercise, and injuries can all contribute to hip problems, but the issue is an inherited one and sooner or later it will become clinically significant. Hip dysplasia is a common disease in Border Collies as well, but the main difference is that it develops in older dogs that had pretty active lives and their joints simply wore out. The photoreceptors in the eye start dying out and what starts as night blindness can result in complete blindness within 12 months of the onset of symptoms. German Shepherds are more susceptible to cancer than most other dog breeds. Most frequent neoplasia cases in GSDs include hemangiosarcomas, melanoma, lymphoma, and osteosarcomas. The condition makes the left side of the heart become overly loaded with blood and can ultimately lead to heart failure. Generally speaking, both breeds are pretty healthy. The diseases they are recognizable for are inherited. If there is a health certificate from their parents they are free from such diseases you can be at ease. The life expectancy for a Shellie is somewhere between 10 and 14 years. In both cases, the coat consists of an outer layer and a soft undercoat. The rough type is medium length and the smooth one is a short coat. Photo by Christin Lola on Shutterstock Their grooming requirements are pretty basic. Weekly brushing is enough to prevent matting and distribute the coat oils equally all over the body. German Shepherds are dogs with a medium-length coat with a softer inner layer and hard outer layer. Brushing them every days is enough to remove loose hairs. During shedding season they need to be brushed more frequently. So basically your Shollie is pretty low-maintenance when it comes to grooming. Just a medium-coat that might need an extra brush once in a while. Size Expect your Shollie to be between inches cm with a weight of around pounds kg. Border Collie is a middle-sized dog breed. Adult males have inches cm height and females have inches cm. A full-grown dog of this breed weighs between pounds .German Shepherds fall under the medium to large-sized dogs category. The breed standard for adult males is inches cm and for females is inches cm. They can weigh somewhere between 50 pounds kg. Border Collie and German Shepherd mix dogs have higher chances of being middle-sized dogs, while some male individuals with more significant GSD anatomic trains can be considered a large breed. Cost Depending on your location, it may not be so easy to find a Shollie in your local shelter. These dogs are perfect for a house in the suburbs or the farming fields. Share your experiences with your Shollie in the comments down below! Disclaimer: This blog post does not substitute veterinary attention and does not intend to do so. I am not a veterinarian or pet nutritionist. If your dog shows any sign of illness, call your vet. Post navigation. To create this hybrid, the parents must be one purebred Border Collie and one purebred German Shepherd. Both of these breeds are certified by the American Kennel Club so breeders should be able to provide paperwork for both parents. This energetic, intelligent, loving breed is becoming very popular with people who want a solid working dog or a loyal companion. As they are crossbreed, the characteristics they inherit from each parent will be different in each puppy. The overall appearance of this breed tends to lean more towards the German Shepherd parent. With their muscular large bodies, they are often mistaken for purebred German Shepherds. Their floppy ears and Collie tail will give them away as crossbreeds. Although a Shepherd is their most common appearance, each puppy will inevitably be different in appearance. No matter how they look, these dogs will have strong muscles and high levels of stamina, great for herding cattle. Fully grown, they should be around 21 to 27 inches tall and weigh around 70 to 80 lbs. If they lean more towards the Collie parent, they may be shorter and weigh less as Collies generally only weigh around 40 lbs. Colors Their coat will probably be a solid tan color with black patching and points. Coat They will have a straight, dense, medium-length coat, as both parents do. If they take after their German Shepherd parent, it will be a double coat. This means that it will be noticeably thicker especially in the winter months. If they are working dogs, this double coat will be great for working in cold weather. The best way to make an educated guess about their temperament is to look at their parent breeds. Highly energetic and extremely intelligent, these dogs are very eager to learn. Despite this, German Shepherds are not naturally aggressive and are actually very loving dogs that are loyal to their families. It is true that this loyalty can lead to them being protective and so they will often bark at anything strange in their territory. Border Collie Temperament A Collie was also bred as a herding dog and is one of the most common dogs used by farmers in the United Kingdom to manage their flocks and herds. Like GSDs, Collies are also energetic and very intelligent; ranked number one across all dog breeds. The downside is that they always need something to do otherwise they get bored very quickly. They are more playful than the German Shepherd but may have more issues with separation anxiety. With both these breeds in mind, we can definitely say that this hybrid is well above average in energy and intelligence. They make fantastic working dogs as this provides them with a job to do and plenty to keep their mind active. They will want to be with someone most of the time. Leaving an energetic and intelligent dog alone is a recipe for destructive behaviour such as chewing on furniture and barking. If you do just want this dog as a companion animal, be prepared for lots of exercise, playtime, and training sessions. These dogs can be protective so plenty of socialization from an early age will help. Lots of different people coming in and out of their space is very important. This will reduce the likelihood of them becoming defensive to new people. If they are the only dog in the house, be sure to socialize them with lots of other dogs to prevent guarding behavior over you and your family. Both parent breeds are comfortable around other animals, especially livestock or cats. They can live happily with other dogs and having a doggy friend may help keep them entertained. This mix is a great family dog as long as it was socialized with its family from a young age and not left alone with young children. All family members should be consistent with training to prevent the dog from receiving mixed messages and diluting the effect of training. As with all dogs, it would be unwise to leave young children alone with them. This breed is usually a food-focused dog which makes it easy to train with treats. Some mixes may also respond to toy-focused training which would be great if your dog is going to be a working dog or even train in agility or obedience. They will require a lot of socialization with people to reduce any guarding behaviors and aloofness. Naturally, this breed is not an aggressive breed but it is always good to socialize a puppy with other puppies to teach them canine manners. The Border Collie Shepherd Mix should be easy and enjoyable to train because they are so intelligent. If they are companion animals, you should definitely look into interactive feeders, plenty of toys for chewing and other games. For games which will stimulate your mix, fetch will be an important one. They need exercising for at least two hours a day, time in the garden, playtime, and other forms of mental stimulation. If they are working dogs they may get most of this on the job but as a companion animals, they will need this provided in other forms. Grooming should be completed a minimum of two times a week; especially if they have a double coat from their Shepherd parent. They should also have all the normal care that a dog requires: Ears cleaned Claws cut Treatment for fleas and worms Checked for ticks especially if they are out in fields or long grass on a regular basis Someone best suited to owning this breed is either at home most of the day or works with this dog. These mixed breed dogs are a very high-energy hybrid. This means a fenced-in backyard is a must so they can go out when they please and work off some energy. These dogs are not suited to living in apartments or houses without gardens. If they are working as a herding dogs, they will be able to run off a lot of that energy doing their job. If they are a guard dog or companion animal, they will need to be out of the house exercising for at least two hours a day. You should walk your dog a minimum of twice a day for at least one hour each time. These dogs are great off-leash as they are highly intelligent and should master recall pretty quickly. It means they can run off steam while running circles around you. Agility classes are also an excellent way of burning off steam and excellent as a form of mental stimulation, especially for this breed as they have a great body type for agility work. Grooming and Shedding If your dog does have a double coat, you can expect seasonal shedding. This is where they shed loads of fur twice a year in the Spring and Fall to make room for the new coat growth. Even if the coat is not double, these dogs will still shed quite a bit throughout the year and so will need brushing a minimum of twice a week. With lots of treats and positive reinforcement, grooming should be a good bonding time for you and your pup. You should take your dog to be professionally groomed a few times a year, especially around shedding season if they have that double coat. This will help prevent matting and keep their coat super healthy. Feeding and Diet The Border Collie German Shepherd Mix, when fully grown, should be fed one and a half cups of good quality dry food twice a day. This can also have wet food mixed in with it. Good quality dry food will have a very high percentage of protein. Things to avoid in dry dog food are any type of food dye, rendered fats, and corn or wheat gluten. People with working dogs often swear by a raw food diet. This is where the diet is made up of unprocessed meats, bones, fruit and vegetables, some dairy, and eggs. Known Health Problems All dogs are prone to certain health conditions and age-related issues. With little planning ahead you could get reimbursed for every vet bill from now on! Is The Shollie For You? The special thing about these dogs is their spectacular looks, more similar to a purebred than to a designer breed. They have aspects of a German Shepherd, with beautiful coats, large and athletic bodies, and expressive eyes. The only things that betray them are the less hairy tail and the floppy ears, both inherited from the Border Collie. Most of these dogs have a tan colored coat, but you can also find black and, in some rare cases, white Shollies. Of course, that thick, long coat will need regular brushing to avoid tangles and poor skin health. The German Shepherd is a highly active breed, developed for work and activity which means they require regular physical exercise. Thus, the combination of these two breeds results in an explosion of high energy! As an owner, you need to make sure your Shollie gets the activity and physical exercise she requires. Just take a look at these beautiful dogs and how they enjoy themselves playing: And the best way to do that would be to adapt an active lifestyle yourself no, this dog is not suitable for couch potatoes like you, Josh. While being playful, Shollies also do quite well on their own, so you can leave them alone at home for short intervals without worrying about them destroying furniture or getting too lonely. So, what activities can you give a Shepherd Collie mix to keep her happy and healthy? Something as simple as giving your dog some fresh air at regular intervals throughout the day should be more than enough to keep him satisfied. How often exactly? According to doctors of veterinary medicine like Amy Moore and Charlotte Cummings, a Shollie requires at least 2 walks every day or a minimum of 2 hours of activity on the daily. Both the German Shepherd and the Border Collie are known for their affectionate nature. A Shepherd Collie loves playing with her owners and will often eagerly await the next time you pick up the ball for a fun round of fetch. Despite being naturally loving and sweet towards their owners, however, the Shollie can manifest a wary side. How can you prevent this type of behavior in your Shollie? Exposing your pup to crowded, high activity environments early on. But it will make them more capable of controlling their impulses when a guest or visitor walks into your home. Police and military forces all over the world commonly use the aid of German Shepherds for a variety of tasks that would otherwise be impossible for people to perform! Sniffing out bombs, illegal substances, and other security threats are just some of the nifty tricks that German Shepherds can be taught. Border Collies, on the other hand, are known to be some of the smartest and most trainable dogs around. This breed quickly takes a number of tasks and jobs with simple repetition. With this type of lineage, you should know that the Shepherd Collie is just as smart. This dog breed loves mental exercise and will often look for something to stimulate her ever active mind. So as her owner, you should be ready with a few cognitive puzzles, games, and tasks that will help give your dog the mental exercise that she needs. For instance, before taking him out for your next walk, think about the place you plan to visit. Instead of going for the typical trail you always follow, consider other areas with more varied smells, sounds, and sights. Something as simple as exposing your dog to new sensory experiences can give them that well-deserved dose of cognitive training. What about dogs that are frequently left at home? As much as possible, I advise you bring your dog along with you when you run errands or go out because this can also give him a chance to stretch his mental muscles. Just hide the kibble in areas of your house where your dog is free to explore, and it will keep your Shollie thoroughly entertained for hours on end. So, how do you go about teaching your Collie Shepherd Mix to alert you in case of an intruder or threat? The first step would be to teach them to stop barking on command. Once your Collie Shepherd perfects this, you can then start teaching her when barking would be acceptable behavior by simulating an intruder or threat. Ultimately, what you want to teach your dog is the ability to discern between harmless guests and potential intruders by showing them the way that threats would behave. So your Shollie should know not to bark or alert you in these instances. Watch this video for more advanced tactics on stopping people aggression in dogs. Some dogs are more predisposed to certain health problems just because of their build and lineage. Responsibly bred Shepherd Collie Mixes will live up to 15 years of healthy life with little to no incidences of disease or illness! Of course, the parent breeds do have their own health problem predispositions that can be passed on to the mix. For instance, German Shepherds are notoriously prone to hip dysplasia. Border Collies, on the other hand, are known to be commonly afflicted with epilepsy. What a Shollie really needs is an owner who can keep up with their high energy, their wit, and their affectionate nature. About Alexandra Animalso I was raised to be a dog person. My first Shepherd grew up as I did and wanted to be where I was at all times. I got my second dog as a 16th birthday present, and her loyalty for me was just as strong as my first. I hope that my contribution to Animalso will help others find dogs who give them that same unconditional love. Other names for these dogs include Border Collie Shepherd mix and a Shollie. The mix breed will usually be athletic and agile, extremely intelligent and quick to learn commands, while displaying a protective and watchful nature. German Shepherd The breed were designed to be a working dog with an athletic physique and noble character. Some of their personality traits include loyal, confident and courageous. The German Shepherd is the second most popular breed in the United States. They need a lot of mental and physical stimulation to ensure these clever dogs behave. How big do German Shepherd Collie Mixes get? To get an idea of the size, we need to look at both the Border Collie and the German Shepherd. German Shepherds can be between 22 and 26 inches in height and 50 and 90 pounds in weight. Border Collies can range between 18 and 22 inches in height and 30 to 55 pounds in weight. So the size range for a German Shepherd Collie mix is between 18 and 26 inches in height and 30 and 90 pounds in weight. What do German Shepherd Collie Mix look like? A German Shepherd Collie Mix can have a variety of different colors. Having said that, the most common shade tends to be solid tan with patches of black. German Shepherds are usually black and tan but Border Collies have a variety of possible coat colors. Therefore, a Shollie could have any combination of black, sable, white, brown and fawn. They should be almond-shaped. Their nose will be black and their ears should be large and triangular in shape. So you can expect a German Shepherd Collie Mix to be a willing learning and eager to please their pet parents. We can say with some degree of certainty that a German Shepherd Collie Mix will be quite loyal to their dogs owners given this is a quality associated with both parents. Giving both breeds are members of the Herding Group, they could be prone to herding small children or other small pets. This is a trait that is associated with the Border Collie. While German Shepherd Collies are loyal and protective, you should never leave one of these dogs alone with a child. The same could be said for any breed of dog no matter how tall or small. These hybrid dogs have a playful nature which they can often get from their Border Collie parent. They should be sociable with other people and other pets. As a general rule, they should learn new commands within five repetitions and obey a first command 90 per cent of the time or better. They require a lot of exercise — regular walks or runs with their dog owner, trips to the dog park, games or playtime in the back yard, as well as mental stimulation. As the saying goes, a tired dog is a happy dog. They need around 12 miles of exercise every week. Are German Shepherd Collie Mix hypoallergenic? Do German Shepherd Collie Mix shed? A Shollie is usually a high shedding dog that will require brushing every day to maintain the health and quality of their coat. By doing so, pet parents will remove dead hair as well as debris. A German Shepherd Collie Mix will blow out its coat twice a year, which will be a challenging time for a dog owners with dog hair all over the home. How long does a German Shepherd Collie Mix live? German Shepherds can live between seven and 10 years. Border Collies have an average lifespan of 12 to 15 years. We can deduce that a German Shepherd Collie mix will have an average lifespan of around 10 to 12 years. German Shepherd Collie Mix health problems Mix breeds are generally considered healthier dogs that purebreds. However, some hybrid breeds can still be susceptible to some health problems. The price can vary between each breeder, who may value certain traits above others. Other potential costs include dog food, pet insurance, grooming, vet trips and much more. Applies to all dog food recalls in the U. Adopting an older dog will decrease the price tag. Lancaster Puppies in Columbus, OH. Owners will have a lot on their hands when grooming this hybrid dog. It is a heavy shedder, making it hard for owners to clean up while trying to keep their coat healthy. The German Shepherd Border Collie mix sheds more often as it grows old, so owners must brush its fur daily to remove dander and dead hair. Here are some of the most recommended grooming equipment to maintain the coat of the German Shepherd mixed with Border Collie: Slicker Brush Slicker brushes are great combs to remove tangles and mats on long-haired dogs. The slicker brush can save owners time when brushing the coat of the German Shepherd Border Collie compared to regular combs. Detanglers Before using a slicker brush, owners will notice that the Border Collie German Shepherd mix has a lot of tangled hair. Dematting sprays can relax and soften the hair to make it easier for owners to untangle the knots. Owners must resort to this solution if the tangles are hard to remove despite the use of detanglers as dogs are not fond of sharp objects. Owners must avoid buying shampoo based on the odor or the low price. Owners must be aware of its coat type and skin to help them find oils and specialty ingredients that will be beneficial for the Border Collie mixed with German Shepherd. Grooming Wipes The German Shepherd mixed with Border Collie is an energetic dog that will be dirty when it finishes playing outside the house. Wet wipes are essential for dog owners that want to prevent mud and grass inside their residence. Microfiber Towel Human towels do not absorb all of the water on a dog. Because of its heavy coat, the German Shepherd Border Collie mix will likely be dripping wet despite a heavy rinsing. Microfiber towels can help remove water on a Border Collie German Shepherd cross better than human towels. The legs and hips of Border Collie German Shepherd will deteriorate as it ages. The hybrid dog will experience problems at an earlier rate depending on its activities as well. It may also be born deaf if one of its parent breeds already have hearing problems. Epilepsy The Border Collie breed is widely known for its tendency to suffer from epilepsy more than other dog breeds. The Border Collie German Shepherd mix may inherit this health problem as well. Epilepsy happens when the dog is experiencing episodic seizures. Fortunately, it is a rare disease among dogs. Degenerative Myelopathy When owners notice that the Border Collie German Shepherd mix is starting to walk funny on its back legs, it can be a symptom of Degenerative Myelopathy. This disease currently has no cure. Irresponsible breeders are the most likely reasons for the health issues of a German Shepherd mixed with a Border Collie. Owners must make sure that they are adopting a healthy puppy from a reputable breeder to avoid dealing with a sickly puppy. If the hybrid dog is exhausted from more training than usual, owners can go for 4 cups a day. Bloat and diabetes are two main health problems that can affect a Border Collie crossed with a German Shepherd as both parent breeds may also suffer from them. It is essential for owners to avoid overfeeding this hybrid dog and prevent nutritional imbalances. In such scenarios, products such as Nutra Thrive dog food supplement can be a solution to regain the proper balance of nutrients. Dog owners and lovers must also keep in mind that they need to seek food for the best large breed dry dog food instead of best dry dog food for small dogs. Whatever you do, make sure you steer clear from the worst dry dog food. Try to learn more about the difference between poor-quality and premium-quality chows by checking our best dry dog food guide! The dog food must include joint supplements because large dog breeds are prone to hip dysplasia and other joint ailments. To avoid this, give them kibble that is rich in calcium since puppyhood. Pooches that have entered their golden years will maintain their health properly only if given the right amount of the best senior dry dog food! Dog food must also contain a moderate amount of calories to avoid obesity, which is a common problem among large breeds. The dog food chosen by owners must also have large kibble to avoid letting the dog eat too quickly, which may result in life-threatening conditions like bloat. Here are a few of the most recommended large breed dog food in the US: Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula The Blue Buffalo Life dog food is perfect for the German Shepherd mixed with Border Collie because it is full of ingredients rich in antioxidants like kelp, blueberries, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Deboned chicken is also its main ingredient. This brand does not have wheat, soy, or corn. Wellness Core Dog Food The nutritious proteins included in the Wellness Complete Health dog food for large breeds is beneficial for the German Shepherd crossed with Border Collie because it has all the nutrition it needs. This brand contains deboned chicken, salmon meal, and deboned whitefish, which gives the dog food a delicious flavor. It also includes flaxseed, which is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. It also provides for different probiotics for the German Shepherd Border Collie mix. Dog for Dog contains vitamins and minerals to give your Border Collie mixed with German Shepherd the nutrition it needs. This whole-grain brand also contains glucosamine, which helps keep joints healthy. Owners on a budget will find this product affordable. It also helps prevent nutrient deficiency with its vitamins and minerals. The brand also comes with glucosamine and chondroitin, which is good for joint health. Eagle Pack Natural consists only of natural ingredients with no artificial colors and preservatives. It also includes eight probiotic strains to keep the hybrid dog healthy. Pro Plan Focus Weight Management Large Breed This brand is beneficial for large dogs because it can supply them with many complex carbohydrates to sustain their energy levels. It is also helpful for the joint because of it contains glucosamine. This brand attacks specific health issues like joint problems or bloating that a German Shepherd mixed with Border Collie may cross. This brand contains joint supplements, probiotic supplements, and fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants. It is a natural and grain-free product with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. It contains antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruits, as well as premium proteins. This brand is a grain-free product that will give your hybrid dog enough nutrition for its daily activities and exercises. There are a plethora of good choices for them out there, but make sure to find some of the best dry dog food , for example, Wellness Core Dog Food , Dog For Dog Food , or Nutra Thrive dog food supplement. Puppies and senior dogs have different food requirements, so go through the best puppy food brands in case you own a little munchkin and best senior dry dog food for grandpa and grandma pups. A checkup with your vet will help you opt for some of these. Both of its parent breeds are also very active. This hybrid dog does not do well indoors and needs to have a lot of time running and playing with its owners. An owner of a German Shepherd crossed with Border Collie must commit their time to engage this dog in activities if they want to avoid it from becoming bored and destructive. This dog will become aggressive and timid if it does not participate in mental and physical activities. Its daily exercise requires about 60 minutes of running and playing outside of the house. If you happen to raise a Border Collie German Shepherd mix as a calm and independent dog, 2 hours of separate walks daily can keep it satisfied. Although a playful pup sounds endearing, consider how many games of fetch or tag you want to play each day, and whether you have kids or other dogs who can stand in as playmates for the dog. Click here for more information on this characteristic Shollie Highlights Shollies are mixed breed dogs. The Shollie is a dog who demands a lot of exercise—ideally over an hour a day split up into a couple of sessions. If you live near open fields or have access to a large dog park, these will become ideal playgrounds for the Shollie. The Shollie is a great match with kids. The dog will take on a protective role, while also enjoying play sessions with the children in the household. You must still supervise playtime between kids and dogs. The mixed breed is also known for being smart. Add agility and fetch-based tasks into the routine to keep the dog mentally stimulated and satisfied. The German Shepherd Dog was originally bred as a herding dog in Germany and dates back to the s. The breed eventually became renowned as a working dog for the police and military, and these days you might also see them as guide dogs. The Border Collie also claims herding roots, this time from England and Scotland. Even though the Shollie got their start as a designer breed, some have ended up in shelters or in the care of rescue groups. Consider adoption if you decide this is the breed for you! Shollie Size The Shollie is a large dog. As is always the case with newer mixed dog breeds, exact size standards might vary. Most weigh in at 70 to 80 pounds and range in height from 21 to 29 inches. Shollie Personality When it comes to personality, the Shollie is a solid mix between being affectionate towards the humans in their life and also acting as a protector of the family. The dog will form an exceptionally strong bond with children, and will display protective behavior if strangers approach. Befitting a large and athletic dog, the Shollie demands lots of outdoor time—otherwise the mixed breed might display destructive behavior and act out due to being bored. Aim for at least an hour of walking and running time every day, and add agility and fetch-based tasks into the routine to keep the dog mentally stimulated and satisfied. It cannot be stressed enough that the Shollie is a smart and energetic dog—so they need a family who can commit to an equally active and involved lifestyle. Shollie Health Shollies are generally considered to be healthy dogs, although the mixed breed can be predisposed to some of the same conditions that the German Shepherd Dog and Border Collie face. Some of the more common health problems Shollies suffer from include: Bloat Elbow dysplasia Shollie Care The Shollie is a dog who demands a lot of exercise—ideally over an hour a day split up into a couple of sessions. The mixed breed is also intelligent and benefits greatly from being mentally stimulated and challenged, otherwise they may become frustrated. The mixed breed usually has good dental hygiene, so brushing their teeth twice a week should suffice. Ask your regular vet about an appropriate toothpaste brand for the mixed breed. Also, be sure to check nails and paw pads after outdoor sessions, and look for any potential signs of damage or infection. Check their ears for signs of debris or pests, as well. Shollie Feeding An ideal Shollie diet should be formulated for a large dog with high energy. This will help keep the coat clean and lessen the chances of any mats developing. When it comes to climate, the Shollie is an adaptable dog who can usually live happily in most climates, although sometimes they can be prone to overheating in very hot weather. So remember to dress the breed up in a dog coat if it gets very cold outside, and always make sure adequate shade and fresh water is provided when the temperature spikes. Just be sure that early socialization takes place and boundaries are properly set on both sides—and supervise as much as possible when dealing with a large dog and small kids. When it comes to other household pets, the Shollie is usually fine around other domestic animals. Ultimately, early socialization really pays off with this mixed breed. Make sure to reward your Shollie for good behavior and adhere to a proper training regime when you bring them home to your family. Shollie Rescue Groups It may be hard to find a breed specific rescue for Shollies because they are a mixed breed. However, you may want to try German Shepherd Dog or Border Collie breed specific rescues, as they often care for mixes, as well. Here are some rescues you can try:. Where did the German Shepherd Border Collie mix come from? So their history is the combined history of those two breeds! Based on their heritage, it may be assumed that the hybrid was the result of a desire for the ultimate large dog. One that has athletic ability, agility and a protective yet playful nature. There, early Collies were bred to do much the same thing that they do today. Herd and protect livestock. Sheepdogs such as the Border Collie have been in existence for centuries. Modern Border Collies are still excellent working dogs, especially on ranches. Formed to create the ultimate herding or guide dog. In a climate where working outside often meant braving cold weather and damp conditions, the Shepherd dog had to be tough. The GSD eventually became a refined herding breed known for its stamina and work ethic. The AKC formally recognized the breed in .Later, Shepherds became associated with military, police, and service work. All sectors in which you can find them working in today. Nor what color or length their coats will be. Along with the standard colors that are associated with the parent breeds. Adding another level of possibility is the fact that hybrids may look like a mix of their parents. Height and Weight The German Shepherd and Collie mix has the potential to be a medium or large-sized dog. If the pup takes after its GSD parent, then it may mature to somewhere between 80 and 90 pounds. If she takes after her Border Collie parent, then she may only get to about 40 pounds or so. Most pups will fall somewhere in between. You can expect German Shepherd Collie crosses to reach roughly inches at the shoulder. This is a soft undercoat is below a rough top coat. Or it may come out somewhere in between! No matter which parent it resembles more, a Shollie will require weekly brushing. These needs will increase when seasonal shedding occurs. This is a high shedding dog, that will leave fur and dander around your home. They are unfortunately not suitable pets for a home with human dog allergy sufferers. Bringing a hybrid dog into your home, especially a large one such as the German Shepherd x Border Collie? Are German Shepherd Mixes Aggressive? German Shepherds are often found in the police and military sectors. This line of work has made the breed a bit notorious for being aggressive, and unfairly so. German Shepherds should not all be viewed as aggressive dogs. Police and military dogs are highly trained and intelligent animals. Border Collie German Shepherd mixes are naturally very inquisitive dogs. They do not enjoy sitting without a job to do or a game to play. This can sometimes result in destructive behavior. Especially if a Collie is kept cooped up and without toys or other enrichment activities. With all of this in mind, it is likely that a German Shepherd Collie mix will need to be kept as a working or sporting dog. Unless you will be able to exercise him frequently and provide him with things to keep his busy brain focused. Although a hybrid puppy may be an equal mix of its purebred parents. There is also the possibility that the puppy will take after one parent more so than the other. German Shepherd and Border Collie Health Any type of dog, purebred or hybrid, may be afflicted with inherited or age-related health conditions. Such as hip or elbow dysplasia, eye diseases, allergies, and skin irritations. German Shepherd and Border Collie mixes, however, are particularly prone to the conditions that their parent breeds often develop. One thing to note is that both German Shepherds and Border Collies are both prone to hip dysplasia. So Shollies may be especially at risk of developing this condition. This can help to determine what health problems their offspring may be afflicted with. Additionally, be sure that the breeding stock have good hip scores. Shollies can make great family pets for active homes that are interested in positive reinforcement training. For starters, Shollies are medium- to large-sized working dogs that have pretty high exercise requirements. Weight gain is especially concerning for this hybrid, as it is prone to developing hip dysplasia. They need to have something to occupy their intelligent minds, or they may turn your home into a giant chew toy! Border Collie German Shepherd Mix Puppies There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding whether to bring a Shollie puppy into your home. Absolutely not! If you get a Shollie puppy, their naturally intelligent and highly trainable nature means that you can socialize it to other animals and people. Make sure you meet both parents and are happy with their temperaments and health tests carried out by the breeder. Socialize your pup thoroughly and you could end up with a wonderful companion for many years to come. German shepherds were initially bred in Germany in the 19th century and were officially recognized as a breed in .Border collies are primarily sheepdogs that were officially recognized in the British Isles in the 19th century. Both dog breeds are considered highly intelligent, trainable, and agile. This is why German shepherds have been widely adopted as working dogs and are often seen in military and police roles. Border collies frequently compete with great success in sheepdog trials and are considered among the top sporting dogs. Exactly when the Shollie emerged and precisely what breeders were trying to achieve with the new breed is unclear. But the result tends to be a relatively large and athletic dog that is highly intelligent and protective. Thanks to these traits, the Shollie makes an excellent family dog. It is important to remember that, unlike with purebred dogs, when you mix dog breeds, the results are always a bit unpredictable. Shollie Appearance You can expect Shollies to be fairly large dogs with a lean and athletic physique. According to the breed standard, German shepherds tend to measure 22 to 26 inches tall, with males generally an inch or two larger than females. Border collies are a bit smaller, measuring from 18 to 22 inches. Nevertheless, you will rarely see a Shollie that measures less than 20 inches. They typically weigh around 70 to 90 pounds. While these big dogs are gentle, their substantial size means they can misjudge their strength and could accidentally hurt children or older, more fragile individuals. Shollies can be almost any color combination of their parents, including black, brown, golden, and white, and they are almost always a mix of at least two different colors. They often have attractive mottled patterning. Border collies have a warm undercoat with a protective outer coat that tends to be longer and can be either smooth or shaggy. German shepherds also have a warm undercoat with a longer overcoat. You can expect a Shollie to have a similar double coat, probably with quite long hair. This puts them at a fairly high risk of overheating in hot temperatures. They also tend to shed a lot, and their hair can easily become matted if not brushed regularly to remove shedded hairs that have clung to their coat. Shollies look their best when they receive daily brushing. Most Shollies will have brown eyes and a face with a fairly long muzzle. They can either have the pointed ears of a German shepherd or the floppy ears of a border collie. Shollie Temperament: Athleticism Both German shepherds and border collies are working dogs bred for herding, so they are bred to be active. You can expect their Shollie offspring to have a lot of energy and need quite a bit of exercise. Shollies need a minimum of one hour of exercise per day, preferably split into two or three shorter sessions throughout the day. They will appreciate being taken to off-leash dog parks where they can run around without being restricted by the leash. In addition to this, these dogs will love to accompany their family on outdoor adventures, such as hiking trips and walks. They are agile and intelligent and will be able to look after themselves on hiking trails. Shollie Temperament: Trainability Both border collies and German shepherds are highly intelligent, and their offspring tend to inherit this characteristic. They learn quickly and are highly adaptable. Shollies can generally figure out what is needed from them quickly in new situations. Bred as training dogs, Shollies also tend to be easy to please. More independent and stubborn breeds might know what you want but still not give it to you; this is not the case with the Shollie. They can easily become bored if they do not have tasks to keep them occupied. This is why it is always a good idea to teach them tasks, even if they will be living as a family pet. They will also benefit from complex toys like puzzle games to keep them occupied when left alone. If they are left alone for too long without something to stimulate their brain, they may just find their own entertainment. This tends to be the destructive sort of chewing and digging. Shollie Temperament: Independence Shollies tend to want to be part of the family. They will quickly bond with the people they spend a lot of time with and become protective of them. They will often be on alert when other people or animals approach and can display territorial behavior if they feel threatened. They tend to have an affinity for children and enjoy playing with them, though they should always be supervised around small children. Threats to their little people, in particular, can bring out their protective instinct. Are you worried your dog is overly possessive? Watch out for these important signs. These dogs have a tendency to become anxious or depressed if they are left alone for long periods of time. They are not the type of dog you can leave alone at home for several hours while you are at work. Considering a day care service for your dog? Read our tips for choosing the best day care for your dog. When you are at home, be prepared for plenty of love and affection from your Shollie. These dogs will love to be close to you, whether that means sitting at your feet or snuggling up with you on the couch if you let them. They can live anywhere from 13 to 15 years, which is an impressive lifespan for such a large dog. But, as is the case with many large dogs, they can also suffer from joint issues, in particular hip and elbow dysplasia, which is when the joint socket becomes malformed. The best way to avoid this problem is with a healthy diet and plenty of exercise. Ensuring that their calorie intake matches their energy output is key. Overall, Shollies are among some of the healthiest dogs that you will come across. Should I Get A Shollie? Whether or not a Shollie is the right dog for you depends on a variety of different factors. Consider the following questions when determining whether or not to adopt this crossbreed. Where Do You Live? They will do better in a place with a large backyard where they can keep themselves occupied. Shollies need a lot of exercise. They need a minimum of one hour of exercise each day, preferably spread out over a number of short sessions throughout the day. Do you have the energy to walk your dog every day? Shollies are very social animals, and they can become depressed and anxious if they are forced to spend a lot of time on their own. Is there generally someone at home at your place, or is the house empty for several hours at a time when everyone goes to work? Will your dog get the companionship that they need in your house? If not, be prepared for lots of destructive behavior when your Shollie is left alone. Are You Committed To Training? Luckily, Shollies are intelligent and eager to learn, which means even new dog owners should be able to train them fairly easily. But Shollies are also working dogs, and they often need the mental stimulation of having a task to do to keep them occupied. This means training them is not just about controlling their behavior; it is also about keeping them occupied. This is why it can be useful to teach your Shollie tricks. Is this something that you will be willing to do? If not, perhaps a smaller and more passive breed is better suited to your lifestyle. Do you live somewhere that is likely to be too hot for them? There is no escaping the fact that Shollies are shedders, and dealing with dog hair is a fact of life when you have one of these dogs. If you suffer from allergies or asthma, you might want to consider a different dog. Do you have someone who can take in your Shollie when you travel? Alternatively, do you have access to a large kennel that gives them plenty of room? Your dog will suffer if they need to stay in a small cage for a few weeks while you are away. Can You Afford A Shollie? Dog ownership, regardless of the breed you choose, can be surprisingly expensive. While you may already realize that the cost of their food will add up, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, Shollies are excellent dogs, as they are intelligent and trainable pups with a friendly temperament. They are high-energy dogs that need lots of exercise, love, and affection, so they are a big commitment in terms of time, but otherwise they are relatively low maintenance. Are Shollies aggressive? Any dog that has been through traumatic situations can become aggressive. So, if you are adopting an older Shollie that may have come from a difficult home, speak to the adoption agency about any behavioral issues that they might have and how to properly handle them. How much is a Shollie puppy? How much a Shollie puppy costs will depend largely on where you get them from. You may be able to find a Shollie at a local shelter, in which case you may only need to cover the administrative costs of the service. Do Shollies bark a lot? They can be trained not to bark when it is not necessary, for example, when people pass your home. If your dog starts barking a lot for no apparent reason, it can be a sign that there is something wrong health-wise. Which is better, male or female Shollies? Whether you should get a male or female Shollie depends on your priorities. Females tend to be a bit smaller, and they are also more focused on tasks if you want a working dog. Males tend to be more easygoing and less likely to engage in excessively protective behavior. The Verdict On Shollies When you are a first-time dog owner, you are often told to steer clear of the more athletic dog breeds, as they tend to be a handful and need an experienced hand. But if you are looking for a pup to accompany you on all of your adventures, this can be disappointing. If the above sounds like you, then a Shollie, a border collie and German shepherd mix, might be the right pup for you! Shollies are very energetic and athletic dogs that will quickly become part of the family. You will probably want to take them with you on all of your weekend adventures. What you do need, however, is the time and space in your home to take on this boisterous new member of the family. Share your thoughts with the community in the comments section below. Helps ease anxiety in their new home. We love using Bully Sticks to help divert these unwanted behaviors. Check out more of our favorites on our New Puppy Checklist.

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. Well-bred Labradors are relatively low maintenance, fit and healthy dogs. But your Labradors continuing health and well-being does depend entirely on you. A nutritious diet, regular exercise, grooming, preventive measures and regular visits to the vet are the real key to maintaining a high level of wellness and good health. All these actions are your responsibility and solely under your control. Daily routines will be diet control, exercise and physical inspections. Weekly routines will be grooming, ears, eyes, teeth and nail care. Quarterly routines could be shared between visits to the vet, a canine dentist and bathing. And the annual routine will be vaccinations. Just remember that prevention is always better than cure, so doing your best to prevent any illness and catching problems at the earliest possible stage is the goal to aim for. The following are all areas where you only need a little knowledge to effectively take care of your Labrador well. And if you cannot dedicate this time and effort, then in the nicest possible way, you might be better suited to a pet with less demanding care requirements such as goldfish. Making Safe Your Home and Garden Labradors are a lively and inquisitive breed, especially during their first three years so you need to keep dangerous household items out of their reach. Conceal electrical wiring…we all know of their infamous love for chewing. Sharp teeth and electricity do not mix! A Labrador can easily choke on wrappings or trash that may be swallowed along with edible scraps. Labs are smart and opening cupboards and drawers soon becomes easy for them. Be mindful of the toxicity of certain plants — Over plants have been identified as toxic to dogs , so be sure to research any plant before bringing it into your home. Fence of any ponds or pools in your yard. These are just a few points to consider around your home and garden, there are many more. Just try to put yourself in your Labradors shoes and take a good look at his environment as he would see it. Try to see how he could get into trouble and take measures to prevent it. Click here for a more detailed guide on puppy-proofing your home and garden. Brushing also helps to shake loose dirt out of and spread the natural oils throughout their coat for that desirable, healthy glossy look we know and love. Related article: The Best vacuums for removing pet hair from your home. Frequent baths will strip their oils, leaving them prone to wet and cold in winter, causing dry skin and making their coat look dull and not shiny. Keeping Nails Trim Most Labradors will need a nail trim every 2 to 3 months, although some may never need it. Regularly walking your dog on hard ground, especially sidewalks and roads, will have a natural filing effect and keep your dogs claws in order. This can make them sore and bleed. Ear Care What with a Labradors slightly drooping ears and their love of water, the inside of their ears can sometimes retain too much moisture, causing bacteria to build up and infections to form. I shall be writing an article on this very soon. Just some of the problems a Labrador may have with its teeth are gum disease, loose teeth, cracked or broken teeth, root abscesses and a build up of tartar. These can be very uncomfortable for your dog and can lead to further problems if neglected. Therefore, you need to inspect their teeth regularly, take measures to clean their teeth and even visit a professional canine dentist every 6 months or annually for a thorough check up and any necessary treatments. Treat their teeth like you would your own. Dealing with Parasites Controlling fleas, ticks and other parasites is essential for keeping your Labrador healthy. Immediate problems include extreme irritation and skin sores, but extreme infestations can lead to more dangerous problems including Lyme disease and tape worms. If you stick to a regular grooming schedule as you should! Simply brush your hand against the lie of your Labradors fur and watch for any small moving dots and check for any clearly visible ticks. There are many safe and effective over-the-counter flea control products , many of which contain formulations to prevent ticks at the same time. Finally, depending on where you live in the world, you may need to put your Labrador on medication for heartworm. Where mosquitoes are a problem, they can pass on heartworm and this can be fatal. Even the medicine for heartworm makes your dog very ill so prevention is definitely better than cure! Diseases such as distemper, rabies, hepatitis and parvoviros to name just a few. Your puppy will have had his first shots at five or six weeks before you got to take him home, and he will need a few further shots over a period of up to 18 weeks. A rabies shot usually follows at 6 months of age or so. After this, your adult Labrador will need just a single booster each year to stay protected. For many facts on vaccinations and the schedule you should follow when vaccinating your puppy, please click here. Dogs need a balance of vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins different to that of a human and feeding them on human leftovers can lead to malnutrition, as can a diet based on cheap filler packed dog food. You should perform a little research to find and use a recognized healthy brand of dog food that will cater to your Labradors needs. To help with this, please see our articles that list 4 of the best foods for Labrador puppies opens in new window or the best dog foods for adult Labradors opens in new window …yours really will thrive on these handpicked, quality foods! Additionally, the best thing you can do is set up a feeding schedule for your dog, twice per day being the recommended, and be mindful of any extra treats. Your Lab should always be well fed but not over-fed. I shall discuss this more in a later article. An Important Note On Drastic Changes In Eating And Drinking Habits If your dog is off their food, drinks way too much or way too little for a period of time more than 36 hours, you should call your vet as this is almost surely a sign of an underlying problem. They are voracious eaters and will eat just because they can, not because they need it. Excess weight can lead to all sorts of issues including arthritis and heart problems. To prevent this, control their diet and give them plenty of exercise for them to burn off those calories. They really do need very little exercise of just a few short minutes a couple of times per day. Too much exercise for a puppy can cause skeletal formation issues and plays a large part in joint problems. Take it easy until your puppy is at least a year old. Bedding and Shelter A Labrador should always have a soft surface to lay upon. To prevent this you should get your Lab a large sized dog bed or line a crate to offer a soft and comfortable place to rest. If your Lab spends any amount of time outside, you must provide shelter to offer an escape from the sun in summer, and preferably the shelter should have a raised floor so the wet and cold is kept away in winter. If your Lab puppy gets used to sleeping in a bed of yours or your children, it will be a hard habit to break and will more than likely end in separation anxiety and night-time whining. You want your Labrador to be comfortable alone for periods of time and should start forming this habit ASAP. Training The importance of training your Labrador cannot be overstated. A dog is a dog and not a human. You need to teach your dog how to behave and what your instructions are asking them to do. Before a puppy can become a trusted, well-behaved dog they have a lot of learning to do…and you a lot of teaching! To learn from the written word, I am part way through building the ultimate resource in the form of this site. Routines for feeding, exercise, grooming and visits to the vet are all easily managed with a little knowledge and by planning a schedule in advance and sticking to it. Spending quality time with your Lab is also key, especially regular grooming sessions. You should also attempt to learn your dogs normal living habits, how much he eats, drinks and sleeps. Anything To Add? As always, if you have any questions, would like to offer feedback, suggestions or further advice on the subject, please do so in the comments section below. It is not intended to be nor can it be considered actionable professional advice. It must not be used as an alternative for seeking professional advice from a veterinarian or other certified professional. Please consult a professional before taking any course of action with any medical, health or behavioral related issue. Helps ease anxiety in their new home. We love using Bully Sticks to help divert these unwanted behaviors. For a list of all the supplies we get for our new service dog puppies check out our New Puppy Checklist on the PuppyInTraining. Fourth meal 5 pm You should follow this type of feeding schedule until your Lab puppy is 14 weeks old, after which you can adopt a two meal per day plan. However, keep in mind that Labs are especially prone to overeating and obesity, so if you use treats, ensure you give them sparingly. In fact, a study in the UK listed Labrador Retrievers among the eight breeds most prone to being overweight. So your food-loving Lab puppy requires a bit of control. One way to keep them from overeating treats is to portion out their food for the day and use that as their reward. In most cases, the puppy will respond just as enthusiastically to kibble. Place a bowl of water in a location accessible to your puppy and supervise him to ensure he drinks enough but not too much. Puppies at this age should drink between half and one ounce of water per pound of body weight daily. So if your eight-week-old Lab is 12 lbs 5. This is an essential part of puppy care. As mentioned, if you get your puppy from a reliable breeder which should always be the case , the pup should have already started with his vaccinations, and the breeder should provide the vaccination records. Then, make an appointment with the vet for any vaccination follow-up. Also, ensure your pup stays on worm preventative medication as puppies are more prone than adult dogs to worm infection. Sometimes puppies are also born with certain types of worms from an infected mother, especially roundworms and hookworms, where mother-to-puppy transmission is a significant mode of spreading. Be especially sure that your Lab puppy gets the heartworm vaccination. Heartworm is a dangerous and potentially fatal disease, and once your dog is infected, the cure is expensive and extremely harsh on your dog. A trained dog will learn how to behave in and outside the home and around other humans and pets. I have a full beginner guide on how to train an 8 week old Labrador puppy , but in a nutshell, there are three training areas you should focus on in terms of pet training: housebreaking, obedience, and socialization. Housebreak Your 8-Week-Old Labrador Puppy Housebreaking means training your puppy to eliminate outdoors or at a designated location inside the home instead of doing it anywhere and at any time. Puppies need frequent bathroom breaks because their system is not yet mature enough to hold it for long. Luckily you can take advantage of that to teach your dog to always use the same spot. Pay attention to the signs your puppy gives when they need to ease themselves, like circling, whining, or sniffing their groin. Puppies naturally need to eliminate at these times: First thing after waking up in the morning. Last thing before retiring at night. After every meal. After drinking plenty of water. Upon waking up from a nap. During or after play or exercise. When they wake up during the night. Their brain, at this point, is like a sponge that will easily absorb new info. Also, teaching these commands early will make living with you easier for your dog as he will know what is expected of him. Teach your Lab puppy to sit, lay down, stay, leave, and other basic commands that are foundational for more advanced training later. Remember to use only positive reinforcement training approaches and reward your puppy with verbal praise, positive gesture cues, and treats. Exposure to these realities will help your Lab puppy adjust fast and nurture proper social behavior. In addition, exposure will preempt signs of poor puppy socialization, like aggression and fear around people and other animals. In general, your eight-week-old Labrador puppy should have two minute sessions of exercise daily. In addition, keep the following in mind: Keep exercise sessions short in the beginning and allow your puppy to adapt gradually. Playtime counts as exercise, so be careful not to over-exercise your Lab puppy. This is the harness I use. Allow your pup spontaneous rest moments between play. When exercising your puppy , avoid taking him for walks during the coldest or hottest times of the day. There are several ways to ensure your eight-week-old Labrador puppy is always safe, including ample supervision and choosing the right kind of toy. They might also try to get away on an exploratory walk if the door is left open. To avoid these dangers, puppy-proofing your home before getting your eight-week-old Lab puppy is vital. Read more here, What Foods are Poisonous to Labradors? Unplug power cords and put them away when not in use, as your puppy could try chewing on them. Remember that your puppy is young and still learning. It is also a legal requirement in some countries, such as the UK, and it may be required when traveling. While name tags are an excellent way to identify a dog, they can be easily removed or get lost, which means you are better off microchipping your Lab puppy, or even better, do both. Choose Safe Play Toys for Your 8-Week-Old Labrador Puppy Like us, eight-week-old puppies still have their baby teeth which they gradually lose to make room for their adult teeth. So, expect a lot of chewing and nipping during this time. Like humans, teething can be uncomfortable, and chewing is their only way to relieve some of that pain. To that end, ensure your Lab puppy has the right chewing toys to avoid damaging teeth or accidentally swallowing toy pieces. This toy is great for teething pups, doubles as a fetch toy, and is also a treat-dispensing toy where you can stuff it with peanut butter or other goodies. If proper toys are not provided, your Lab puppy will chew any available object in the house, such as table legs, shoes, remotes, or your hands. As such, they need proper resources for resting and sleeping. That includes the time to do so and a place where they will feel safe in. This synthetic dog bed has an ultra-soft feel and provides maximum comfort for your Lab. You can use it in the crate or as a stand-alone bed, and it comes in a few different styles and sizes. I like this bed due to its 3. Ensure the bed is in a location with no draft and where your puppy does not get any disturbance when resting. If you put your puppy straight into the crate without helping them adjust, it may react poorly. When buying a kennel, the best approach is to buy one that your pup can use as an adult dog, which for a Lab would be around 42 inches .Just be sure to get a crate with dividers so you can make the space smaller for your puppy. An 8-week-old Lab puppy can only walk for approximately minutes at a time. In most cases, young puppies will not walk but rather jump around and play. Still, keep in mind that they do not need long exercise sessions. Instead, keep playtimes short and allow for lots of rest. Remember that puppies should only walk about five minutes for every month of age, twice a day. At three months, you can stretch it to 15 minutes. Overwalking your Lab puppy can cause joint and bone issues and should be avoided. As such, a dog from a larger breed will need more food as a puppy than a smaller breed. An 8-week-old Lab puppy should be fed three to four meals of no more than cups a day. The amount you feed your puppy will depend on his size and weight. For example, if your puppy is between lbs 4. These measurements can vary with each dog food product, as different manufacturers have varying ingredients, so ensure you check the packaging first. Eight week old Lab puppies sleep for approximately 18 to 20 hours a day. An 8 week old Lab should pee as soon as they wake up, after eating and drinking, after waking up from a nap, during or after a session of play or exercise, just before going to bed at night, and when they awake during the night. Also the last meal of the day is several hours before bed time. The principles are the same. How much should my 9 week old puppy weigh? Your best guide to whether or not your puppy is growing properly is how he behaves and feels, rather than what the scales say. As a rough guide, many 9 week old lab puppies will weigh between lbs or a couple of pounds either side of this. Check out our puppy growth FAQ for more information. Puppy weights may also vary quite considerably between the two different types of Labrador field and show and even between individuals from the same litter. Potty training a 9 week old puppy Nine weeks is often the point at which people start to worry about potty training progress, or rather, lack of it. Perhaps you are taking your Labrador puppy outside after every meal, and every time he wakes up, but he is still making puddles all over the house. So what is going on? Nine week old pups have very poor bladder control, and short memories. He is still very much a baby and will need your help in this department for some time to come. Your role is to restrict his access to areas where mistakes are most likely to happen, through the use of baby gates or some other kind of temporary barrier. You will also need to take him outside before his bladder is over flowing which might be every twenty minutes at certain times of the day and to generally ensure that every wee goes in the right place. Check out our complete guide to potty training for more information. This is such a common concern, and often arises for the first time at about nine weeks. The puppy is settled in his new home, his shyness has worn off, his confidence is back, and he is ready for some fun. Concerns arise, simply because most people do not realise just how ferocious Labrador puppies seem when they play. Puppies bite hard and make a lot of noise and this is usually quite normal. Check out this article on puppy aggression to reassure yourself that you have not bought a vicious wild animal into your home. How much to feed a 9 week old puppy Many puppies, especially Lab puppies, are very greedy and wolf down every morsel you provide for them. Puppies like this will eat far more than they need and quickly become obese if you let them decide on quantities. You also need to bear in mind that every brand of puppy food is different. You can then add a little more to each meal if the puppy is not gaining weight steadily, or reduce the meals a tiny bit if he is getting too plump. However, if your puppy normally eats heartily and suddenly goes off his food, all food, then he may be unwell. Have a chat with your vet if you are concerned, especially if your puppy misses more than one meal. On the other hand, if he is quite happy to eat an alternative menu, the chances are he is simply exercising his right to an opinion. I strongly recommend you ignore this, and simply take his bowl away. You can offer the same meal later when the puppy is more hungry. If you are interested in feeding your puppy on a more natural diet, you may enjoy our guide to raw feeding: Raw feeding for dogs. And provided that you use modern methods, which are great fun for dogs of all ages. Fortunately this is not a problem at all, because a nine week old puppy does not need a walk. What he needs is space to trot about and play. And your yard or garden is probably suitable for this. So, you have all the time in the world, in which to introduce your puppy to his collar and lead. Let him wear a collar for a short while each day. Clip the lead on from time to time and let it trail. Distract him with food and cuddles. Occasionally pick up the end and encourage him to follow you. Just drop your email address into the box below: Socializing your 9 week old puppy We have known for several decades that puppies need to be exposed to different types of experiences before they are three months old , in order to become confident and fearless. Yet far too many puppies are kept at home, away from the world in those important first few weeks. Socialization is all about raising a friendly confident dog, and proper socialization helps to avoid problems like fearfulness and aggression. That means taking your puppy to lots of different places, carrying them in your arms or a carrier, to avoid contact with potential sources of infection. Enrolling your puppy in a well-supervised, modern force free training class can be a great way of building social confidence too. Studies have shown that puppies enrolled in classes before 20 weeks of age are less likely to be fearful than puppies kept at home. The same goes for houses you regularly visit with only dogs that you are confident have been recently vaccinated. Leaving a 9 week old puppy alone during the day is not a good idea. At this stage of their life they have only been in your home for a short time, and are still settling in. They need constant supervision for toilet training, and are probably still learning to be happy in their crate. Can I bathe my 9 week old puppy? But Labradors being Labradors, there is bound to come a point when you have a sticky or messy pup on your hands! Just use a gentle shampoo designed for puppies, and try to make the process fun for your little one. You might find the kitchen sink or a large plastic bowl is a lot less scary than the great big family bathtub. Puppy training development after 6 months It is very tempting to get carried away with puppy training. Your young do is so willing to please and such fun to be around. It is important to go at a happy pace for you both. Positive reinforcement training is the right choice for your puppy because there are no negative consequences to getting something wrong. But you can still both suffer from burnout and frustration if you try to reach the later puppy training stages without totally aceing the earlier developments. Your Puppy Training Schedule This may not be exactly the same for each puppy, especially with retrieving which is more Labrador specific. However, it gives you a rough idea. Constantly changing direction. Stopping frequently for cuddles and rewards. This means I blow the recall whistle whenever the puppy runs towards me, no compulsion, and no whistle unless the recall is already underway. Socialisation: Lots almost daily of outings to different places rural and urban carried Visits to family and friends. Bite inhibition: Discourage hard biting, allow mouthing. Working with food: Learning how to take food gently without snatching or grabbing at the treat pot. I still give the puppy lots of encouragement by running away as soon as I blow the whistle. Socialisation: More socialisation, at least twice a week to busy public places. Bite inhibition: Discourage hard biting, allow gentle mouthing. Retrieving: Encourage chase and pick up retrieve drive. Hand touch: I teach all new puppies to touch my hand with their noses. This is a great foundation for other skills. Recall: Puppy recall continues, reduce my run to a walk, avoid any distractions. Still frequently blow the recall whenever the pup runs towards me of her own free will. Socialisation: From ground level after vaccination. No other leash walking at all Bite inhibition: No biting, gentle mouthing allowed. Retrieving: Continue to build drive. Positions: I introduce three positions — sit, stand, down. What to expect from your 3 month old puppy Most three month old puppies will be sleeping through the night. And will be having less potty training accidents in the house. There are a few potty training problems that arise at this age, and they are all covered in 15 potty training problems solved. Biting is a big shock and a big problem for many new Lab puppy parents so do check out our complete guide to biting , and join the forum for help and support. Help encourage your puppy to stay in their bed while you are eating. I have a pot of dog treats on our kitchen table, and whenever we sit down to a meal, the puppy gets a treat each time she steps into her basket. Just a treat for stepping in there. What to expect from your 4 month old puppy Your 4 month old puppy will be pretty much potty trained, but accidents still happen if they are left alone too long. Biting is usually starting to subside now, and many four month old puppies will be able to mouth at your hand without hurting you. At this point I start to discourage all mouthing. I teach every puppy to let me touch her face or approach her with my hand, food, a leash etc while holding eye contact and not grabbing at me, or at what is in my hand. This is the age at which people often start to push forward with training. Your 4 month old puppy is capable of quite a lot. There is nothing wrong with teaching your puppy different cues and even some tricks. I recommend you still avoid long duration activities at this point as they are a common stumbling point with puppies young enough to have a short attention span. A ten second sit is ample. Add mild distractions Recall: Fade additional cues. Begin to whistle the pup and stand still. Add mild distractions. Clicker train to polish this in more mouthy puppies. No commands are needed for this. Gradual introduction of distractions. Advanced puppy training begins in earnest This is where I start a programme of sporting training with my Labs. You can begin raising your standards and expectations, asking for longer and more complex behaviors. Teaching your puppy to walk to heel nicely for longer distance and past all kinds of distractions and temptations. Or teaching your puppy to sit and stay for longer periods of time, and even while you go out of sight or while other dogs play nearby. What to expect from your six month old puppy Six months is a common time for people to have a lot of questions and to be struggling with a few challenges. This is now a very bouncy, quite powerful and rapidly maturing young dog. And you may need to patch up a few holes in his training or manners. We have a great article for owners of six month old Lab puppies.

With the health of our French Bulldogs being our main focus. We want our French Bulldogs to be structurally correct and color is just a plus. Our goal is to create relationships - not just sell you an animal. As well as, bring happiness and joy into your home. We are raising family members and know that these dogs will become a very important part of your life. With extensive knowledge and understanding in the French Bulldog breed, we always put our animals best intentions first. AKC inspected and approved, we know how to properly pair French Bulldogs for optimal health, temperament, and structure. We know how important it is when bringing in a new addition to any family and want that pairing to be well suited. We feel truly blessed to bring a very special part of our lives into your loving arms! All of our puppies come with a 1 year health guarantee against any life threatening genetic health conditions. Frenchie pups come with AKC papers. Limited AKC registration unless breeding or show rights have been approved by us. We send every puppy home with a wonderful care package that also includes the kibble we would encourage the pups to stay on. Last but not least, a lifetime of our support, advice and guidance from us at Roseflower Frenchies. Our French Bulldog Studs Our studs are well tempered, sweet and loving additions to our family! Paired correctly, they have produced amazing litters! We ensure that all of our studs are DNA tested to ensure the best quality genes are being passed down to our future French Bulldog generations. Please contact us if you have any questions! Should a French Bulldog Mix take after their Frenchie parent, they will be a small companion breed that bonds closely with their families. They tend to have an energetic, playful personality and love nothing more than being with their favorite humans. French Bulldogs tend to be friendly, playful, and affectionate dogs that get along with just about everyone. They tend to get along with children, other dogs, and other pets. They will even warm up quickly to strangers as long as they have been properly socialized. If the other parent breed has a similar temperament, then you should be able to expect the same from a French Bulldog Mix. You can also meet the mother in person to see what her temperament is like and the behavior she is modeling for the puppies. The breeder should have started some training and socialization, but it is up to you to continue to train and socialize a puppy once you get them home. Frenchies are highly adaptable dogs. They do well in apartments as well as larger homes. However, as a brachycephalic breed, they are extra sensitive to heat and also sensitive to the cold. They also do not like being left alone for long periods of time. If the other parent breed is similar, then you can expect a Frenchie Mix to also be a highly adaptable dog. The other parent will introduce their own traits and some potential quirks, so you do want to ask the breeder about them. They could inherit none of the conditions common to their parent breeds, or they could inherit some or all of them. They can also be prone to allergies, have sensitive skin, and also a sensitive stomach. Good breeding practices will make a huge difference. Reputable breeders will screen their dogs to avoid passing issues to puppies. So, make sure you ask about the health and genetic history of both of the parents. Although French Bulldogs can sometimes be stubborn, they are eager to please and tend to be easy to train. As long as training is consistent and focused on positive praise and reward, they can be a good fit for owners of all experience levels. If the other parent breed is also easy to train, then you can expect a French Bulldog Mix to be highly trainable as well. Regardless of owner experience, there are many benefits of puppy training classes. A mixed-breed dog can inherit a coat similar to one of their parents or a coat that is a mix of both. You will also need to clean their facial wrinkles. Weekly ear checks with cleanings as needed can help prevent ear infections. As a small dog breed, a Frenchie Mix is more prone to developing dental diseases later in life. This makes good, consistent dental care for dogs even more important for them. Daily brushing with a dog-friendly toothpaste or using an enzyme toothpaste paired with cleanings at the vet when needed is ideal. Frenchies are known couch potato dogs that are happy to lay back, relax, and cuddle with you. Daily walks plus some playtime are usually enough for this affectionate little dog. Even though they like to relax, they also like to play and will be energetic when they do. They can also be athletic and compete in dog sports. As a brachycephalic breed, you do need to be careful of overexertion and overheating. But, there are plenty of ways to safely exercise flat-faced dogs to make sure your French Bulldog Mix gets enough exercise. If the other parent breed is also a low-energy breed, then you can expect something similar from a Frenchie Mix. If the other parent breed requires more activity, then you will need to be prepared for the potential of a higher energy dog. Fully-grown Frenchies usually stand inches tall and weigh pounds. The other parent breed can have a big effect on this, especially if they are the mother, so make sure you ask the breeder about them. This can give you some idea of what size to expect in a fully-grown French Bulldog Mix. French Bulldogs generally live for years. Although the other parent breed may affect this slightly, you should be able to expect a similar average life span in a French Bulldog Mix. Featured French Bulldog Mix Article. We take pride in our program because we breed healthy and happy puppies that will bring many years of joy to you and your family. Every dog in my program is a part of my family and is raised indoors with us so that they come to you well socialized and happy! We are located in beautiful Southern California. We are dog lovers and have been breeders of pure bred dogs for over 20 years! We specialize in brachycephalic breeds and always have. After many years we were introduced to the French Bulldog Breed. I think everybody should own one, or two, or 5! I have a vision for improvement of the breed. I believe in healthy dogs that can breathe well. Health is our first priority! Featured Puppies Learn more about our available puppies. I would recommend them for sure!! My first experience was delightful and the overall service was impressive. I highly recommend this breeder! This breeder is the real deal. You'll be asked to provide information about yourself and what you are looking for so the breeder can help you find the right match. Once you apply, Milla will get back to you about availability, pricing and next steps. Pricing is based on the structure, pedigree, color and overall quality of each individual puppy. On occasion, we have puppies ready to go right away. Go Home Date: 8 Weeks After Birth Puppies need time to nurse, grow and develop with their mother and littermates before they can join their new families. A newborn puppy should stay with their breeder, mom, and siblings as they develop physically and gain new social skills alongside their brothers and sisters. The age a puppy can go home depends on the breed, and even the individual, but generally is around two months.

How often you should feed a German Shepherd puppy depends on their age and their activity level. Many owners also want to know when they can switch to adult food formulas for their German Shepherd puppies. Switch your GSD puppy to adult food when they are around 12 to 18 months old. Puppies can begin adult kibble when they are approximately 80 percent of their adult weight. This usually occurs around 8 to 10 months of age, but you can safely feed puppy food up to 18 months old as long as they are not putting on excess weight too quickly. If you want to know what to feed a German Shepherd puppy, keep reading. Finding the best food to feed your German Shepherd puppy is overwhelming at times. This means choosing what to feed a German Shepherd puppy is even more serious and intimidating! Follow this feeding guide when you need to know what to feed German Shepherd puppies. I understand! The following dog foods are all recommended for large breed puppies and meet and exceed regulated nutritional standards. Feeding a high-quality kibble from a name-brand company that uses feeding trials ensures the best quality and nutrition. Here are some of the best German Shepherd puppy foods that are research-backed. Packed with nutrients to help limit inflammation of the joints and uses fresh ingredients. Easily digestible formula for puppies prone to allergies and sensitive stomachs. Rich aroma with DHA fish oil to entice puppies to finish every last bite while giving shine to their coats. The better the food, the healthier your pup will be inside and out. Cheaper GSD puppy food lacks quality proteins that are essential for your working breed dog. Adding too much weight to your German Shepherd too soon can cause lifelong joint issues that are painful to your pet and expensive on your wallet. Most GSDs are healthy and fit on commercial dog foods that are high quality. These balanced formulas keep their bones and muscles strong throughout their growing periods and can ward off later joint issues, a common breed problem, as they mature. There is a greater demand for quality nutrition during the early growth stage. For these reasons, you must feed high-quality food. Now, consider what to feed a German Shepherd puppy based on their age. These feeding charts and guides will help keep your new companion growing strong and athletic. Tiny portions of canned, wet foods are introduced. Meals per day: 4 or more Puppies should stay with their mom for to keep them healthy. Nutrition Warning! At 8-weeks-old a GSD pup is eating more solid foods and develops a better appetite for kibble and other foods. Add in only a couple of small spoonfuls of canned plain pumpkin, unsweetened Greek yogurt, or cooked oatmeal to entice your pup to eat. Meals per day: 4 Week-Old Puppy Continue feeding the same as the 8-week-old diet. Treats are not only enjoyable for your German Shepherd, but help you to eneterain and build a positive relationship with him. Be sure to keep their zoomies under control by playing plenty of fun German Shepherd games for puppies. Meals per day: 4 Week-Old Puppy Continue to feed the kibble. Watch for excessive weight gain during this growth time as their bones cannot take extra weight! Too much weight gain too quickly can cause joint issues as an adult and prevent healthy development. Use their mental energy to help keep them more relaxed throughout the day by playing brain-boosting mind games for German Shepherd puppies. Meals per day: 3 to 4 Week-Old Puppy Keep your puppy trim and athletic by monitoring how much you feed your puppy and their body condition. You can write how much they eat and track this over time, and adjust how much your feed your German Shepherd puppy to keep them at a healthy weight. Try using fresh, raw, cut-up pieces of carrots as healthy treats or small, deseeded cubes of fresh apple as part of their training treats. Keep your eyes open for a growth spurt about to begin! Meals per day: 3 Week-Old Puppy Around 4 months old, you might notice your puppy finish their meal quickly and look for more food. Be sure to watch how many treats you give them throughout the day. You can do this by holding them safely in your arms and weighing them with you on the scale. Then, place them on the floor and step onto the scale without them to weigh yourself. Remember, around 16 to weeks old your German Shepherd puppy begins to rapidly grow. Instead, when looking overhead at your puppy their waist should look trim and not rounded outwards. German Shepherd puppies should appear sleek in their waistline. Meals per day: 3 Week And Older Puppy Continue to feed your German Shepherd puppy dry kibble with a small amount of healthy foods mixed in. You can lessen the healthy food you mix in gradually if you prefer. But, even as adults, German Shepherds love a bit of tasty toppers on their kibble. Around a year old, begin feeding your German Shepherd puppy 2 meals a day. Two meals, one in the morning and evening, are not only safer but also provide your German Shepherd with sustained energy to fuel their high-energy lifestyle. You can create a positive meal time by using the following tips: Always offer fresh water during their meal times. Keep the area where they eat their food in calm and out of the way of the family hustle and bustle. I found sitting with a book reading, just keeping my GSD puppy company, encouraged my dog to eat their meals while giving us time to quietly bond. Feed your German Shepherd at the same time everyday. The best time to feed a German Shepherd puppy is in the morning, before you leave for the day, and in the evening, about 2 hours before you put your dog to bed. Allow them to potty after eating to ensure their comfort. Your dog also needs to eat at other times of the day for their health and growth. How much you should feed a German Shepherd puppy really depends on a number of factors. Your GSD pup should eat enough to maintain their growth and energy, while not carrying any extra fat. Every dog is different. Keep in mind the number of calories in the kibble, which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Each puppy food company has a different amount of calories and size of the kibble. Here are a few things that might affect how much your German Shepherd puppy should eat. The more active a German Shepherd puppy is, the more calories he needs to eat to replace lost energy. For example, puppies need nearly twice the amount of calories as compared to adults. And older or senior German Shepherds who are less active need less food. Health Maintaining a healthy weight is essential to feeding your German Shepherd. Simply put, you can prevent some medical conditions and health problems by monitoring their waistlines. Instead follow the healthy way to bulk up a German Shepherd. To see if your German Shepherd is at the right weight you can find the average weight depending on their age. This type of diet has some possible disadvantages as well, including the following: A higher cost to feed your dog, compared to commercial diets Dangers of feeding raw meat, such as salmonella food poisoning or E Coli infections Skeletal problems, such as bone fractures Greater chance of food allergies A more complicated diet plan that takes up more time and effort. This type of dog food is also usually fresh and not stored for long periods, whereas most commercial diets can be stored for months. Many companies sell premade raw food plans for German shepherds. These are typically either whole carcasses or pre-ground food that comes in bone-in or boneless form, and can also come ground for easier meal prep. Some diets are created so they have less need for supplements, but it is still important to read the ingredients list to make sure you know what your dog is getting each day. Some vets are advocates of this type of diet for dogs, but others are not. If possible, get a second opinion from another vet. Yes, a german shepherd can eat a raw diet. A gradual transition is recommended over trying to make too many changes at once. Transitioning to this type of diet may require some extra effort on behalf of the owner. My brother and his wife adopted a 1-year-old purebred GSD from the local rescue who was fed kibble her whole life. This dog had an expensive surgery that required us to pay for it thank goodness we could do that! My brother tries to keep up his diet, but he works from home. His girlfriend has a hour commute every day! The dog is only fed kibble at night when she gets home from work. I would like to think that this is not the case, but after watching my sister-in-law do this the dog gets overly excited for each bite. See also Male vs. And then she poops sorry TMI. And then when she comes home from work she immediately goes outside to defecate. A few weeks ago, the poop was bloody. They saw the vet again, and the doctor said she has food allergies. Everyone wants to know what it is so they can change her diet. I want to be supportive of them…but the dog was doing so well on raw! Their friend gives them kibble, and the first kibble she tried of course it was their fault! So now all of these options are closed to them. The choice to feed your dog a raw diet is an individual one. As with any type of food plan , there are benefits and disadvantages of feeding this way. This type of food plan can take more time and effort than simply feeding kibble because it requires the owner to do extra preparation when making each meal. This is especially important in the case of raw meats, which must be stored correctly and safely before they are given to your dog. Most people who choose a fresh food plan for their GSD seem to do so because of the health benefits they see when feeding them this way. They find that their dog has fewer skin problems, allergies, yeast infections, and other medical problems than they did before. Many dogs also tend to have more energy, better coat quality, and improved dental health when given raw meat instead of commercial food. Although it can be an expensive dog food plan with all the preparation involved, the benefits may make the extra cost worthwhile for you. However, there are some disadvantages to feeding your dog raw food. This type of diet can be dangerous if not prepared correctly, especially when you are talking about meats and the risk of food contamination. There is also an increased chance of skeletal issues like bone fractures, especially with large or powerful breeds like German shepherds , who need high levels of calcium in their diets. For many people feeding their dog raw food is a new experience, and they are often unsure how much to feed. Several factors play an important part in determining the amount of food to be given. The size of the dog, its metabolism, or activity level are all very important factors to consider when deciding how much raw food should be fed. The size and weight of the dog will give you a good indication as to how much food should be given. Generally speaking, if you feed your German Shepherd puppy three meals a day, then an average meal would be around g — g for male dogs and — g for female dogs. However, there is no definite answer as to what is the best amount to feed your dog. There are many factors involved when feeding your dog, so it is merely a guide based on averages. Sprouted seeds — Sprouted seeds are extremely healthy for your German Shepherd too, although for some reason they are not as popular as raw meaty bones. You can sprout them yourself or purchase them from your local health store. You can cut up small pieces of hard vegetables such as carrots, apples, etc, and feed them to your dog each day as a treat. Dairy products — Dairy products are suitable for dogs, especially those not affected by lactose intolerance. Plain yogurt is healthy and can be given to dogs as it contains many beneficial bacteria that aid digestion. Cottage cheese is a nutritious dairy product and contains around 22g of protein per g serving making it an excellent source of protein for your dog. A small amount can be mixed in with their dry food each day to add extra flavor and make the meal more interesting, or you could add some water or milk and feed it as a wet meal. Commercial dog food — Commercial dog food is not as healthy as raw meaty bones, sprouted seeds, and vegetables however it can be fed as an alternate to the regular diet, especially if you are going away or need a break from making homecooked meals for your German Shepherd. As long as the commercial food is healthy, it can be fed instead of raw food for a few meals here and there. You can find these in meaty bones especially the liver , vegetables, fruits, and dairy products. Feeding whole foods is the best way to ensure that your dog gets all of the vitamins and minerals it needs. See also German Shepherd Allergies German Shepherd Puppy And Raw Diet German shepherd puppies on a raw diet are often healthier than dogs fed commercial kibble because raw food is better suited to their digestive tracts. There are numerous benefits for the German shepherd puppy when switching from a processed diet to raw meat that includes weight gain, healthy skin and coat, better dental health, increased energy levels, and larger bone structure. When feeding a german shepherd puppy on a raw diet, you should note that not all raw food is appropriate for puppies. Bones should be excluded in the beginning, green beans and mushrooms can be dangerous for their health, and bones in beef necks are not recommended because they could splinter. It is important to check with your vet before you start feeding your German shepherd puppy on a raw diet. Blocks of frozen raw food can be bought from pet stores and your butcher may also be able to get hold of german shepherd puppy food. Make sure that the raw food is not completely thawed out before you give it to your German shepherd puppy, as this can cause bacteria growth on the meat. Feeding a german shepherd puppy raw food will meet these needs, as well as provide the minerals that are needed for healthy bones. Raw meat is not recommended for all dogs, including German shepherds. If you are not keen to feed your German shepherd puppy on raw meat, you can still give it a healthy diet by feeding it high-quality dry kibble without grain fillers. Conclusion When deciding to feed a raw diet to german shepherds , it is important to speak with a vet to determine if this diet would be appropriate. The article above offers tips for those who want to feed a raw diet as well as those who prefer their German shepherd puppy to eat dry kibble or a combination of both. As always, thank you so much for reading! If this was helpful at all, please share it with people you know who would like this information as well. Have a great day! Peter My name is Peter and I am a dog lover. I have two German Shepherd dogs, one of which is called Biscuit because his coat is very light with brown patches. My wife and I moved from the UK to Ohio where we now live with our two daughters. We love squash on weekends and following the English Premier League closely! Previous Article. Nutritional requirements of a German Shepherd What exactly should the diet of a German Shepherd consist of for optimal health? Protein from quality meat sources 2. Essential Fatty acids and omegas 3. Natural vitamins and minerals from bone and plant sources 5. Hydration — high moisture foods and drinking water 1. Protein When selecting what to feed your German Shepherd, choose a diet with high-quality animal-based protein sources, such as beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, duck, eggs, and fish. As such, protein impacts canine health in many ways, including: Providing consistent energy Forms new skin, hair, nails, and other tissue. Keeps the immune system healthy. Makes hormones, enzymes, and antibodies. Properly balanced fats are essential for optimal health, and also provide energy. Dietary fat we generally refer to as a triglyceride. There are two types of triglyceride, saturated and unsaturated fat. In balance, they promote a healthy coat, skin, eyes, nervous system, control hormones, fuel brain and learning, and reduce inflammation. Carbohydrates, such as vegetables and some fruits, provide fibre, prebiotics food for beneficial bacteria , and antioxidants that are lacking in meat alone. Dogs are carnivores, but they can benefit from some vegetation in their diets for optimal health. Natural vitamins and minerals A raw food diet aims to replicate what dogs evolved to eat in the wild. As such, meat, bone, offal and a small amount of plant ingredients are all important ingredients in the diet of a German Shepherd, each adding highly beneficial vitamins and minerals to meal times. Incorporating ground bone in meals or providing recreational bones for enrichment add nutrients that will support digestion, skin and bone health, and mobility. As such, water is a vital nutrient for all cells, systems and functions, including: The regulation of body temperature Maintaining healthy organ function. The digestion and absorption of nutrients. Detoxification; water helps to flush out toxins and waste products from the body. Preventing dehydration which can lead to serious health problems, including kidney damage and heat stroke. Lubrication and cushioning of joints, thereby supporting ease of movement. Discover more about a raw food diet for dogs in our complete. German Shepherd raw feeding guide Whilst you could create homemade raw food meals for your German Shepherd, dog owners new to raw feeding can often find making their own raw dog food meals complicated. Formulating meals with the appropriate ratios of key ingredients is essential to ensure your dog receives optimal nutrients, so going it alone can seem daunting. The good news is there is a much simpler approach. By choosing a reputable supplier of pre-prepared raw dog food supplier, you can stock your freezer with quality raw food meals at the click of a button. German Shepherd Feeding Chart. Fruit Dairy These diets need to be well balanced to provide your German Shepherd puppy with all of the essential nutrients he needs to thrive. When can I start feeding my German Shepherd puppy raw? It would be ideal to feed raw to your GSD puppy from 12 weeks on, when they finish teething and their permanent dentition is fully developed. This can ensure they have teeth strong enough to engage in active chewing of bones and not just gulping it down. What are the benefits of a raw food diet for German Shepherd puppies? Feeding your German Shepherd puppy a raw food diet simulates the way they would have eaten before domestication. Because of this, there are several benefits you will see if you switch your puppy over to raw food. The gold standard diet is as close to the evolutionary diet of dogs and cats as is practically possible, is made from fresh frozen raw meaty bones, meats, organ meats, fruits and vegetables, minimally processed by mincing and freezing. The diet contains no added synthetic supplements, additives or preservatives. Raw food cuts out all of the processed food and additives included in commercially produced dog foods. The ingredients you give your pup will be completely under your control and natural. It would be boring, right? Dogs feel the same way. It will be something your dog looks forward to. Not only will he be getting the extra health benefits of raw food, but he will also be getting the excitement and flavor of different types of foods. German Shepherds have double coats. After all, GSDs are work dogs. Unfortunately, GSDs are susceptible to sensitivities. German Shepherds sometimes become allergic to gluten or common animal proteins found in commercial dog foods. They can get itchy, dry, and red skin from allergies either in their environment or diet. Raw food helps eliminate many of the causes of those skin irritations, leading to healthier skin. Also, you are adding many healthy fats and oils through proteins such as fish and with supplements such as nuts that encourage shinier coats. Many cheaper commercial dog foods use grains as a cheap alternative for protein. Carrots are rich in Vitamin A, an antioxidant and protector of white T cells. GSDs are prone to stomach sensitivities, especially to proteins such as beef, lamb, and chicken commonly found in commercial dog foods. By feeding raw, you can offer your dog alternative proteins to keep their stomach happy. This promotes more solid stools and fewer episodes of nausea and diarrhea. You can provide high-quality proteins with nutrient-packed organ meat and whole, raw vegetables packed with vitamins. Many cheap commercial dog foods fill their formulas with low-quality grains with little nutritional value, such as wheat sweepings. Many dogs, especially German Shepherds, can become sensitive to these ingredients, causing stomach issues. What are the drawbacks of a raw food diet for German Shepherd puppies? Coli and Salmonella, handling raw meat still poses a threat for humans. These bacteria can cause you to become very sick 1 to 10 days after exposure with the following symptoms : Stomach cramps Vomiting fever It is important to wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat. It may seem obvious, but in the hustle and bustle of daily life, you may forget. You can use this video as a guide. If you choose to feed raw, it is important to prep each meal carefully because you are in charge of providing all of the nutrients your puppy needs to be healthy. This will include planning out the meals, purchasing the meats and foods, prepping the foods and meat, and supervising the feeds. If you want to get an idea of what the process of putting together a raw food meal looks like, you can watch this video: 4 Feeding a balanced raw diet can be challenging A balanced raw diet that contains high-quality meats is always ideal for your German Shepherd puppy. But is can be difficult to get the right mix when you first begin. The right ratios of muscle meat, organ meat, and bone, as well as the correct levels of vitamins and minerals, are critical to making a balanced diet. What kinds of raw meats are good for German Shepherd puppies? There are many raw meats you can feed your German Shepherd puppy. The best part about raw feeding is you can use literally every part of an animal, which provides the most benefit to your dog. You can feed your puppy the following raw meats: Boneless chicken. Home It is a well-known fact that raw feeding promotes excellent health, a happy disposition and longevity. Along with the complete food your puppy has been eating, he may have experienced small bones, such as chicken wings, lamb ribs and marrow bones. These are not so much to feed them on at this young age but to encourage their natural skills; pulling, stretching, gnawing, tearing and ripping at the bone. They offer your puppy stimulation and gentle exercise. The bones also provide relief for teething puppies, massaging sore gums. As an adult, your dog can be offered soft bones as a meal replacement both puppies and adults should be supervised with their bones. Both have added vegetables, fruit and parsley, plus some other natural additives, flax oil and organic sea kelp. We have a specially designed variety pack for puppies. As your puppy has grown, the size of the mince meal provided has increased, starting off first as a blended consistency and now ground to a manageable consistency for their age. All Wolf Tucker food is hand made by us to ensure everything that we do is correct. We make the food in batches and, unlike other manufacturers, we do not mass produce. Because we are using raw meat, it is especially important that correct preparation is used to minimise the risk of harmful bacteria, for this reason our meals are frozen at an extremely low temperature, something that can only be carried out in commercial freezers, making correctly prepared raw feeding much safer than homemade diets. How much should you feed your puppy? Feed your puppy 4 meals a day up until he is four months of age this can then be reduced to three meals a day then 2 meals from 6 months onwards. This amount will increase as he grows, you will need to have him weighed regularly and continue to feed him on this method. Alternate the chicken and beef mixes. Smaller breed puppies generally require a higher percentage than larger breeds. It is important to remember that as your puppy grows so indeed does his daily intake. So for example once your puppy Rhodesian Ridgeback weighs 9kg is daily intake would increase to g per day. Your puppy should gain weight at a nice steady pace; he should be nicely covered but not fat! This is especially important in larger breed puppies; we do not want any unnecessary strain on growing bones and joints. Many skeletal disorders are caused by inappropriate diet and feeding so we can help to avoid such conditions as hip dysplasia. No supplementation of calcium is required when using this method of feeding. From 1 year old, in terms of feeding, you should move your puppy onto the adult feeding plan. You can use our calculator to easily calculate your pup's daily requirement Puppy raw feeding quantities chart Use the chart below to calculate how much raw food to feed your puppy for a given weight and age. New Column. Faster nutrient absorption Weight management A BARF diet ensures dogs eat fresh, wholesome, and allergen-free foods, as no chemicals, additives, or fillers are used in raw diets. Raw Dog Diet Research Increased lifespan. Generally, raw-fed dogs are so much healthier. The changes are profound. A study on feeding practices in the United States and Australia indicated that .Lisa M. Freeman Freeman, a nutrition professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, tells WebMD many benefits attributed to a raw food diet for dogs, such as a shinier coat, are the result of the high-fat composition of the typical raw diet. Ingredient contamination. Raw ingredients pose a higher risk of contamination with potentially harmful pathogens i. Coli that can sicken your pet and possibly be transmitted to humans. Feeding whole bones to dogs presents a risk of choking, broken teeth, intestinal obstruction, or internal punctures. Nutritionally unbalanced. Raw allergies. Dogs might be allergic to raw ingredients. Wash all meats, organs, and other raw ingredients. Buy raw products from reputable grocery stores or butchers with high sanitary standards. Raw bones. Avoid big bones and feed only raw bones that are small or ground bones. Never feed cooked bones. They become softer after cooking and are more likely to splinter when chewed. Speak with a vet nutritionist. They can provide nutritional guidance to formulate the best German Shepherd raw diet or recommend a raw dog food delivery service. However, after two weeks of storage, most samples declined compared to salmonellae. We also analyzed the price for the most popular meats. According to the U. It might be cheaper. Conversely, buying commercial raw-meat food over traditional kibble is a tad more expensive, but we think the health benefits and convenience are worth the price. Read our feeding raw dog food on a budget guide for tips on how to feed raw for cheap. Choose lean cuts. Raw meat is the main source of protein. Builds and repairs muscles and other body tissues. Needed to make new skin cells, grow hair, hormones, enzymes and more. Ground bones are the safest choice. Avoid heavy or big bones - They can break teeth or get stuck in the digestive tract. Provide essential calcium, phosphorous, and other essential nutrients. Great source of high-quality protein; vitamins A, B12, B6; folic acid; iron; zinc; and essential amino acids. Organs are a great source of vitamins and minerals. The more organs you add to the diet of your dog, the better the mix of nutrients your dog will receive. Fruit such as apples, cranberries, and blueberries. Fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, and oregano. Never feed toxic fruits or veggies Fruit provide antioxidants while vegetables have carotenoids, flavonoids, antioxidants, and many other phytochemicals that are beneficial to immune function and health dogs. It states every dog meal should have six indispensable nutrients to create a balanced meal that supports life and proper function in dogs. These include protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. No fruits or veggies. Always consult with your vet. Adding a multivitamin like Zesty Paws Multivitamin Chews ensures your German Shepherd gets the recommended balance of vitamins and minerals. For common GSD problems like osteoarthritis and other joint maladies, look for products containing glucosamine and chondroitin , which may help treat or prevent symptoms. Do you have a busy lifestyle with little time to cook for your pup? This company is the pioneer of raw dog food. They deliver Biologically Appropriate Raw Food straight to your door. Their formula is a balanced blend of raw meat, fruits, vegetables, organs, and bones. All of their ingredients are USDA-sourced. Their formulas are developed with the input of a veterinary nutritionist to meet the nutritional guidelines set by AAFCO. The body weight percentage method is the most straightforward alternative to many raw feeders new and experienced. Please consider his metabolism, activity level, lifestyle, health, and other factors to determine the perfect amount. Senior, less active, or overweight dogs weight loss : Feed 1. For a German Shepherd that weighs 65 pounds, here is how much raw food you would need to feed him daily. It seems many of us can relate to health problems we have encountered while feeding our dogs dried processed dog food. He is 8 years old, so an older dog, and I was told he may have cancer. Knowing this, I knew I had to focus on his bone health and at the same time stay away from all sugars and grains as cancer can feed on both of these. I also make sure to feed Boaz raw organ meats times a week. Organ meats contain nearly every nutrient including B vitamins, folic acid, minerals like phosphorus, iron, copper, magnesium and iodine. They also provide the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Also important is making sure that Boaz is getting vegetables into his diet. Every week in his own batch of broth, I include vegetables with dark leafy greens which he devours. The calcium in his diet is coming from the raw beef and chicken bones and fermented dairy of yogurt and cottage cheese. When feeding dogs bones, make sure they are always raw. Never feed your dog cooked bones of any kind as they can splinter and cause intestinal problems. For his essential fatty acids, I give Boaz a teaspoon every day of fermented cod liver oil and cold pressed flaxseed oil.

Your vet can help you develop a care routine that will keep your dog healthy. King Shepherds are prone to weight gain. Choose a high quality food and stick to a feeding schedule. Make sure your dog gets at least 60 to 90 minutes of walking or hiking per day, which will help keep them fit. Check their ears for debris and pests daily and clean them as recommended by your vet. They should not be clicking against the floor. Your groomer can help with this. One of the toughest jobs when caring for any animal is maintaining their oral health. You should brush their teeth a minimum of three times per week. Normal play on grass is fine, as is puppy agility with one-inch jumps. King Shepherd Feeding An ideal King Shepherd diet should be formulated for a large-sized breed with moderate energy. Limit their amount of treats, as well. The main coat colors are fawn, red, black, brown, and sable. Their coats are usually a combination of two or more colors. They usually have medium-length, normal density coats, and while they are not a good choice of dog for allergy sufferers, their coats are pretty easy to care for. A good brushing three times a week will probably do the job and bathing is recommended only as needed with a mild shampoo. Too much bathing can strip the coat of its natural oils. Their double coats do shed quite a bit. You will definitely want a vacuum on hand. See if a RoboVac is right for you! That double coat gives them an edge when it comes to extreme weather. Many of these dogs absolutely love to run and play in the snow. Their double coats also help to keep them cool during hot summer months. A gentle giant, they are patient and sweet with kids. As with every breed, you should always teach children how to approach and touch dogs, and always supervise any interactions between dogs and young children to prevent any biting or ear or tail pulling on the part of either party. No dog, no matter how friendly, should ever be left unsupervised with a child. King Shepherds are nice to strangers and can get along well with dogs and other household pets, including cats. Early socialization is an important factor for developing a social dog. King Shepherd Rescue Groups Because the King Shepherd is a somewhat rare hybrid dog breed, it may be difficult to find a breed specific rescue. However, you can always check with your local shelter, and you may want to try a rescue that caters to all kinds of dogs. You can take a look at the following:. A post shared by Joey Senft jsenftphotography There are varying reports about the exact history of the King Shepherd. According to the International Shiloh Shepherd Alliance , the King Shepherd began as a Shiloh Shepherd and splintered away when a breeder had a different vision for her dogs. The American King Shepherd Club is less specific. They do not mention the Shiloh as part of their breeding program, nor do they specifically mention the Great Pyrenees or Akitas. They report that the King Shepherd was founded by mixing German Shepherds with flock guardians and then breeding them back to Old German Shepherds from Europe. Either way, it seems evident that the origins of the King Shepherd are entwined with the Shiloh Shepherd. The Shiloh Shepherd began as a breed by Tina Barber, who had grown frustrated with the health and temperament issues in some German Shepherd lines. The King Shepherd split from the Shiloh Shepherd lines when David Turkheimer and Shelly Watts-Cross developed their own vision for the breed and wanted more of a working dog. So today, both breeds have their own association and breed standard. The King Shepherd is significantly larger than the German Shepherd. It also only has two coat types, straight and rough, or long and silky. On the other hand, the German Shepherd can have plush, double, or long-haired. There is also a difference in temperament. King Shepherds are bred to be stable and reliable dogs, but they may also be more independent and have a stubborn streak. Meanwhile, the German Shepherd is generally a highly trainable dog, provided it comes from good lines. Help Dogs In Need Our blog posts aim to provide comprehensive, accurate, and objective information on all types of dogs, helping our readers make informed choices that fit their lifestyle. We don't endorse any specific breeding practices, but advocate for ethical breeding and dog welfare. We encourage exploring adoption first. Countless wonderful dogs, from all breeds, await their forever homes in shelters. Remember, with AdoptDontShop, you can give a deserving rescue a second chance at happiness. What are the Physical Features of the King Shepherd? Originating in the United States in the s, these dogs were originally bred to create a German shepherd mix that had fewer health issues than a purebred German shepherd. American breeders David Turkheimer and Shelley Watts-Cross first bred a German shepherd with a shiloh shepherd a hybrid of German shepherds and Alaskan malamutes to elevate the best qualities of the German shepherd. In order to achieve the long-haired look they wanted, the breeders also incorporated long-haired German shepherds from European lineages. These European lines didn't just give king shepherds their distinctive coats, but they also boosted genetic variation. This was essential to reduce the risk of genetic issues that have become common in longstanding lineages because of inbreeding. Because king shepherds are a relatively new breed—and still fairly rare among American families—they are not yet recognized by the American Kennel Club. Between their grooming and exercise requirements, king shepherds need lots of time, energy, and attention in order to thrive. Exercise King shepherds are a high-energy breed that needs extensive exercise. Strenuous activity for at least one hour per day is a must. These dogs thrive in active, single-family homes with lots of space to run, walk, explore, and play. Because they're also very intelligent, king shepherds benefit from exercise routines that incorporate mental stimulation. Playing games like fetch, tug-of-war, or hide and seek are great ways for owners to keep this breed entertained. These dogs also excel in canine sports like agility training. King shepherds can become bored very easily, so it's vital to keep them engaged—and exercised—to prevent them from becoming destructive. Grooming King shepherds have thick, double coats that shed heavily. Brushing your dog several times per week or even daily can help reduce shedding and keep their coat healthy, clean, and tangle-free. It is very important to have a dog vacuum when owning a king shepherd. When it comes to baths, the king shepherd only requires standard bathing every three to four months. Check your dog's ears and clean its teeth regularly to prevent infections. If your king shepherd is especially active, running and walking can help keep their nails worn down, but trimmings should be performed as necessary. Training King shepherds are highly intelligent dogs, making training relatively simple for owners that are consistent and engaging. Basic obedience lessons can start in puppyhood between eight and 16 weeks of age, while more involved training should continue through the dog's life. Because king shepherds are so eager to please their family members, they can learn simple commands fairly quickly. Begin socializing your dog when you first bring him or her home to ensure they stay friendly and well-mannered with strangers and other animals. Pixabay Common Health Problems While king shepherds are generally healthy dogs, they're still prone to certain health issues like most breeds. Responsible breeders will test parent dogs for inherited diseases to prevent passing problems on to puppies; however, this breed's genetic variation does offer additional protection against genetic disorders. The following are common conditions that king shepherds may experience: Elbow and Hip Dysplasia : This condition causes a malformation in your dog's joints as they grow, which can lead to pain, instability, or weakness. Dysplasia is especially common in large-breed dogs. Von Willebrand Disease : This genetic disorder affects the blood's ability to clot after injury. Hypothyroidism : Affecting the thyroid, this endocrine disease reduces your dog's metabolic rate, which can lead to weight gain and other health problems in the future. Your veterinarian may recommend preventative surgery to tack the stomach down. Eye issues : Specific to the breed issues include pannus, glaucoma, and corneal dystroph. Allergies : King Shepherds are at risk for skin allergies like canine atopic dermatitis. Bloat : Since this breed has a large gastrointestinal tract, they are at risk for gastric dilatation volvulus GDV , which is a life-threatening condition. Diet and Nutrition Feed your king shepherd a high-quality diet with plenty of protein. This breed typically eats between three and four cups of dry food per day, and it's important to split these portions into several smaller meals to help prevent bloat. Since king shepherds are also prone to joint problems, owners should be especially mindful of their dog's weight. Canine obesity or excessive weight gain can put added stress on your dog's joints. To create a meal plan with the proper nutrients and portions, talk to your veterinarian about the best diet based on your specific dog's age, weight, and activity level. Where to Adopt or Buy a King Shepherd Before adding a king shepherd to your family, ensure that your home, schedule, and lifestyle can accommodate this large, energetic breed. These dogs require considerable grooming and daily strenuous exercise. Since king shepherds are still a new dog breed, they're not as likely to be found in shelters as their German shepherd cousins. Visit your local shelter to meet similar dogs in need of forever homes. If you plan to purchase a king s puppy, it's essential to research responsible breeders that readily provide the litter's family medical history. Your breeder should also allow you to meet the litter's parents and see the conditions in which their dogs are kept. To start your search, check out these breeding clubs dedicated to King Shepherds:. King Shepherds will worm their way into your heart with their winning ways. They are extremely loving and steadfastly loyal, as we mentioned earlier. King Shepherds are hard workers which comes from their shepherd instinct. They are eager to please and are quick to grasp what you want them to do. Are King Shepherds child-friendly? Do you want your kids to have memorable experiences with a cherished family pet? King Shepherds are playful and exuberant, yet they are still incredibly gentle with kids. They are also loyal and protective of their little buddies. King Shepherds have a playful, social side around other household pets. They are gentle even though they are large. Cats and other dogs are treated kindly by this giant. What more could you ask for as a guardian of the family? This is not an apartment or condo-sized pet. King Shepherds tend to fill even modest house space. So having a big backyard or a nearby park is a must. They will keep you on your toes, as they get bored quickly and thrive on a genuine challenge. If you look forward to coming home after a busy workday and just chilling out, then forget owning a King Shepherd. These dogs love strenuous exercise and movement. Get ready for long fast walks, jogs or bicycle rides where your King Shepherd can run alongside you. This dog possesses boundless energy. They will run about, jump up, leave muddy paw prints and knock things off shelves and tables with their tails. Under-exercised King Shepherds become bored and look for ways to burn off that energy. If they are not kept busy and exercised, their health and your well-ordered home will suffer the consequences. King Shepherds demand a fair amount of grooming. The bonding that takes place during grooming is an excellent experience for both of you. Daily vacuuming of shed and brushed hair and frequent mopping of paw prints is a reality — but worth the effort in my mind. There are some essential things you should know about feeding your King Shepherd. The dog food you buy for him should not contain artificial ingredients so ask your breeder or your vet for a good brand that they recommend or refer to our feeding guide for German Shepherd A typical serving for your adult dog is three or four cups of dry dog food per day. Divide this into at least two meals. Check with your veterinarian during regular check-ups to see if your King Shepherd in a good weight. We know by now that this is a super smart canine, but despite this, initial training will require a lot of patience, consistency, and persistence, as is with any other dog. However, as King Shepherds are so eager to please you, training will be really fun and your new canine companion will get the hang of it pretty quickly. Once trained, your King Shepherd retains the lessons taught. As long as you also remember and implement what you learned in obedience classes, then you are in for years of loyal companionship. Follow the training progress of this five-and-a-half-month-old King Shepherd 11 Need a Watchdog? This is one of the primary reasons dog owners cite for buying a King Shepherd. They are outstanding watchdogs. He can be counted on to bark if an intruder or a stranger tries to enter your home or accosts you. King Shepherds are courageous and formidable in appearance. But it pays to be informed. Because your King Shepherd is a crossbreed, they may have health problems associated with both of his parents. The good news is that hybrids like King Shepherds have what vets call hybrid vigor. This means they can be delightfully hardy and healthy. They may also inherit allergies and eye diseases, degenerative myelopathy, pancreatic problems and thrombopathia. In the market for a King Shepherd puppy? King Shepherd litters are usually between six and ten King Shepherd puppies. Backyard breeders are people with one or two dogs who breed as a sideline. Their dogs may be well treated but not necessarily looked after medically. On the other hand, puppy mill owners have one thing in mind — making money at all costs. They breed as many dogs as fast as they can and often under abysmal conditions. Inbreeding is rampant, and puppies often have genetic disorders. The American Kennel Club has suggestions for puppy shopping Find a knowledgeable breeder. Make sure you like the way he raises his dogs. Meet at least one of the puppy parents. This is a good indicator of appearance, size, and temperament of your future dog. Check to see if the kennel is clean. Does it look and smell nice? The puppies should look clean, well fed, well groomed, healthy and energetic. How does the breeder interact with the puppies? Does he care about his dogs and their future owners? Find out what has been done to protect your puppy from diseases. Ask for proof of health screenings and certificates. Get to know the breeder. He can be an excellent mentor and resource for you in the future. Good breeders care about the future of their puppies and are happy to provide support. If a breeder is rushing puppies out the door to make way for a new litter, you should beware. They need forever homes. Why not check out the All Shepherd Rescue website. Some of these rescue dogs may have abandonment issues. Some may have health problems due to lack of exercise, improper diet, or lack of medical care. You can turn his life around by offering him a forever home. If a King Shepherd is your wish, be patient and let local shelters know what you want. The next cost is making sure your new family member is healthy. You need to do an initial medical exam which is a brilliant investment. You want to prevent health problems down the road, and you want to ensure your puppy is in excellent health. Some breeders and most animal shelters do this as part of the adoption process. Less - The King Shepherd is a large breed. According to the American Rare Breeds Association males stand at over 29 inches 74 cm tall and should have an ideal weight of to pounds 59 to 68 kg pounds while females are 27 inches 69 cm tall and ideally 90 to pounds 41 to 50 kg. The build of this dog is muscular, long, and robust; the structure is solid. The head is in good proportion with the body and moderately wide between the eyes. The forehead is slightly rounded. The cheeks are not too full and moderately curved when viewed from the top. The thick, firm ears are medium-sized and moderately wide at base. The eyes are medium-sized and almond shaped. The shades of the eyes can be varying shades of brown ranging from golden brown to almost black. The chest is broad and deep. Thickly feathered, the tail reaches at least to the hocks and is slightly curved. The King Shepherd is self-confident with a well-balanced personality and healthy nervous system. They should not exhibit any shyness or nervousness. They are extremely intelligent, easy to train and eager and faithful to please their owners. This breed makes a fine sheep-herder and working dog. They are also a naturally courageous guard and watchdog , showing courage, strength, and hardiness in their role of protector. They make very nice companions and are friendly to other animals and children. An organized dog breed club was started in .The head is in good proportion to the body and moderately wide between the eyes. The forehead, seen from in front and in profile, is only slightly rounded, with or without a medial furrow which is moderately well defined. The cheeks are not too full, are moderately curved, when viewed from the top should be much in the form of a "V," and are well filled in under the eyes. The thick, firm ears are of medium size, moderately wide at the base, set on high and pointed; they are carried erect and slightly forward puppies up to the age of months, and sometimes older, do not carry their ears completely erect. The eyes are medium size and almond-shaped, set somewhat aslant and not protuberant, as nearly as possible matching the surrounding coat in shades of brown, and from very light to dark are acceptable. The chest is deep and broad. Thickly feathered, the tail reaches at least to the hocks. The tail is carried down and slightly curved; when excited or in movement, the dog raises the tail, which becomes more curved, without however, going beyond the vertical. It must not, moreover, lie on or curl up on the back. Docked tails are inadmissible. The paws are round and short with a well-closed, arched. The pads are very hard. The nails are short and strong, generally dark in color. Dewclaws are usually removed. The King Shepherd comes in a wide range of acceptable colors. These are as follows: sable brownish tan with brown or black markings, or grayish silver with black markings ; black saddle with tan, gold, cream, tan or silver markings. Strong, rich colors and pigments are highly preferred. Small white spots on the chest are acceptable. Pale, washed-out colors are serious faults. The undercoat is invariably little colored, except in black dogs. White, blue or liver-colored dogs or a dog with a nose that is not black are not accepted in the show ring. Puppies change color from birth until they get their final coat. There are two coat varieties: coarse-haired, which is straight and longhaired, which is light and wavy. Temperament The King Shepherd is self-confident with a well-balanced nervous system and should not be shy. Extremely intelligent and easy to train. Faithful and eager to please its owner, this breed makes a fine working dog and sheep-herder. A courageous watch and guard dog showing courage and hardiness in his role of protector, it makes a very nice companion. The King Shepherd is full of strength and vigor. Friendly toward strangers, children and other animals. A docile, obedient breed with an easy gait and plenty of stamina. The objective in training this dog is to achieve pack leader status. It is a natural instinct for a dog to have an order in its pack. When we humans live with dogs , we become their pack. The entire pack cooperates under a single leader. Lines are clearly defined and rules are set. Because a dog communicates his displeasure with growling and eventually biting, all other humans MUST be higher up in the order than the dog. The humans must be the ones making the decisions, not the dogs. That is the only way your relationship with your dog can be a complete success. It does best with at least a large yard. Exercise The King Shepherd love strenuous activity, preferably combined with training of some kind, for this dog is very intelligent and craves a good challenge. It needs to be taken on a daily, brisk, long walk , jog or run alongside you when you bicycle. If under-exercised, this breed can become restless and destructive. While out on the walk the dog must be made to heel beside or behind the person holding the lead, as in a dog's mind the leader leads the way, and that leader needs to be the human. Life Expectancy.

Use tab to navigate through the menu items. This gene determines how soft the coat will be. Furnishings are facial hair. This trait test is a breeder's best indication for shedding. Hair, Fleece or Wool? Labradoodles can have coats that shed a lot, shed a little, and that do not shed at all. There are differences you should be aware of to help you determine which coat would be better suited for you and your family. It can be difficult for a breeder to predict coat-types for first and second generation F1 or F1b labradoodles. Some pups are wavy when born and have produced very fleece type coats when they got older. Some pups are straighter haired when born and end up with a beautiful fluffy non shedding coat. Then there are some pups that appear like they have a wavy coat, but end up shedding, or a pup that looks wavy but ends up curly as an adult. The only way to know for sure what coat you are getting from an F1b litter, is to have the coats DNA tested. Doodle Sweethearts includes this in their breeding program using Paw Print Genetics! The fleece coat is low to non shedding, depending on 1 or 2 furnishings; tends to look shaggier than wool and it hangs in silky, light, loose locks which flow and ripple when the dog moves. Some feel this is the ultimate labradoodle coat or teddy bear coat. Puppy coat is easy to care for, but during transition to the adult coat, it can become very high maintenance due to matting. The final adult coat may or may not be easy care after puppy transition has been completed. Mostly non-shedding, but some have been known to shed minimally. Should be fairly allergy friendly Should be no doggie odour. Typically seen in F1B labradoodles or second generation and multigen lines. There are different types of fleece coats as well, some fine or thick, some wavy, curly or straight. As a puppy this sometimes can be hard to differentiate between a fleece coat or a wool as an adult, but with DNA coat testing, this can be determined. Fleece and wool coats can be kept short or long depending on your lifestyle but generally need to be clipped times a year every wks Weekly brushing is required to clear any mattes Curly Soft Wool Coat What is a Curly Soft Wool Coat? Wool is generally non shedding; it is denser and thicker, curlier and soft.Fleece and wool coats can be kept short or long depending on your lifestyle but generally need to be clipped times a year every wks Weekly brushing is required to clear any mattes Unlike some other breeds, dogs with fleece and wool coats shed very little dander skin cells a common cause of allergies in humans which makes them excellent for households with allergies. Proudly created with Wix. Apart from the unique colors, there are also different types of Labradoodle coats that you can opt for. Learning about these different coat types will not only help you reach a decision as to what type of coat you would like your Labradoodle to have but also help you learn how to care for it and what to expect as your pup grows. So, pet owners should expect a pleasant surprise as their dog ages. Types Of Labradoodle Coat Labradoodles sure know how to stand out from the rest, thanks to their eye-catching coats! In fact, this breed of dog is popular among dog lovers especially for their coats as they are one of the very few breeds whose fur does not give out any odor. There are three main types of coats that Labradoodles can have. While all three are uniquely special in their own way, the shedding for each type of coat also varies and each coat thus has its own grooming needs. Hair Coated Labradoodles Straight Coat Labradoodle Of the three types of coats, the straight or hair coated Labradoodle is the least popular owing to the fact that it sheds the most out of the three types and is thus not completely allergy-friendly. It also carries a slight odor. Some Labradoodles will look more like Labradors that Poodles. Straight and wavy hair often look more like Labradoodles. Its straight hair is inherited from the Labrador parent and is significantly different in appearance from the fleece and wool coated Labradoodles. Labradoodles are not born with their teddy bear-like appearance. In fact, their coat begins to grow only after the pup reaches 12 weeks of age. The straight hair coat is commonly visible in the first generation Labradoodle litter that is bred by the pairing of a Poodle with a Labrador Retriever. The muzzle area is usually hair coated and will determine their coat type. The hair coated type of breed is scruffy, coarse, and wiry to touch. And the good news is this type of coat is very easy to maintain. The straight coat also means that it can vary in length and thickness, so you may have to take your dog to the grooming salon more often than you may imagine. It is also possible to control the shedding by ensuring that your dog is regularly clipped and groomed. However, if you or anyone in your family has dog allergies, hair coated Labradoodles are a complete no-no. Although for someone with a general allergy, they may be able to tolerate it. Wool Coated Labradoodles Curly Coat Labradoodle The second most favored type of coat of this breed, the wool coated Labradoodle has dense and thick fur. This coat of a Labradoodle is so soft, you might just find yourself touching their soft wool all the time. This rich black coat is a fairly common Labradoodle shade. When it comes to shedding, you have nothing to worry about with this type of coat. This is a non-shedding coat so people with allergies can rest easy with these doodles. However, a visit to the grooming salon cannot be completely avoided. It is important that you take your pet Labradoodle once every six weeks for regular clipping and grooming in order to maintain their healthy coat. It is simply because this one is the easiest to maintain compared to the wool coated and the hair coated ones. My Labradoodle max has a apricot wavy coat. My Labradoodle Max wearing his party hat. Of the three types of coats of Labradoodles, the fleece coat is hypoallergenic in nature, which means this breed is relatively unlikely to cause any allergic reaction. The fleece-coated Labradoodle comes in three varieties — straight, loose curls, and very curly. The fleece coat Labradoodles has a soft feel to it and is overall wavy. And if they do shed, it is minimal. The minimal shedding also means that you can brush their coats once every week. This kind of coat also requires maintenance, so make sure you take your Labradoodle for clipping and grooming several times a year depending on its growth. It will give you a better idea about the type of coat your pup might grow into. For example, if the muzzle fur on your pup shows signs of crimps or waves, it will most likely develop a shaggy or woolly coat. However, in the case of the fleece haired coat, you will be able to determine the coat by the time your doodle pup is around five weeks old. If it appears to be curling, then you can be almost certain that your pup will have a fleece haired coat. Both Labradoodles and Cockapoos have beautiful coat colors Genetics We can make our guesses and wish and hope, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to genetics. As the curly coat is a recessive trait, the eventual coat of your Labradoodle will depend on which one of the following genotypes your dog has: 1. It also essentially guarantees that your dog will pass down the CuC to its offspring. The Cu locus test is a DNA test that will tell you whether your pup will develop a straight, wool, or fleece coat. Labradoodle Coat Stages Generally, Labradoodle puppies start shedding their puppy coat by the time they reach six to twelve months of age. However, this varies depending on the type of coat your Labradoodle puppy has. A Red Miniature Labradoodle looks happy in the studio. Well, almost every Labradoodle puppy undergoes a coat change. And as the puppy coat begins to shed or get replaced by an adult coat, the need for grooming also increases. A Labradoodle puppy coat is finer and softer to touch than the adult coat. The new adult coat is usually thicker and smoother than the puppy coat. As to when your puppy will start shedding, it usually begins at the six-month mark. But usually, your pup will start to shed anytime between six to nine months of age. Losing all their puppy coats and developing an adult one is a slow and gradual process. It typically takes up to a year, sometimes a year and a half. This is very important or else the fur will knot up with the new growth of the adult coat and will cause mats, which will only aggravate your pup. This is why most breeders mix and match one generation with another to bring about certain qualities. Grooming Your Labradoodle Grooming your Labradoodle can be time-consuming and often tiresome, but it is also very necessary. A rich Apricot coat Labradoodle at the groomer. Depending on the type of Labradoodle and their coat, you should ideally be brushing your dog at least once a week to avoid matting. The amount of brushing also depends on the activities the dog engages in on an everyday basis. Comb A simple stainless steel or a wooden comb should do the job. Make sure it has wider teeth on one end and finer on the other. Brush You need to choose a brush wisely by taking into consideration the coat of your Labradoodle puppy so that the bristles can go deep into its coat. Fleece coated pups are the easiest to brush. Detangler A detangler is used to de-knot the coat of your Labradoodle, and it is very gentle so it does its job without hurting your pet or causing them any distress. It works great along with a comb or a de-matting comb as it helps loosen the tangles and mats. If you do not have time to make a trip to the grooming salon, a detangler can sort you out for the moment. De-Matting Comb When you own a Labradoodle, tangles and mats are bound to happen more frequently if you do not brush your dog very often. If you keep putting off brushing them, a comb or brush will no longer do the trick. That is when a de-matting comb will come to the rescue. A running white Labradoodle Conclusion The Labradoodle breed is taking over the world in the popularity contest, making it one of the most sought-after breeds to own across the US. Its charming looks combined with its low-shedding fur make it even more desirable. My wife and I love playing with our active miniature Labradoodle Max. We want all Oodle puppies to be healthy and happy, have lots of fun and be part of the family. Load More. You may be wondering how dogs within the same breed can have coats that differs so much. Your dogs genetic line ultimately determines the type of coat they will have. First generation Labradoodles, the litter of a Poodle and Labrador parent, typically have a non shedding coat that is wavy with loose curls. A F1B Labradoodle, the direct result of one Labradoodle parent one Poodle parent, generally have wavy or fleece fur. Both F1 Labradoodles and F1B generation Labradoodles are recommended for those families with allergy sufferers. In saying this, non-allergenic hair coated Labradoodles, are the most common in the first generation breeds. A hair coated Labradoodle does not look similar in appearance to their fleece and wool coated brothers and sisters. A hair coated Labradoodle often referred to as having a straight coat looks more like their Labrador parent. Often these Labradoodles look scruffy in appearance. The muzzle area of a hair coated Labradoodle will be smooth and straight. They do not have the typical fluffy teddy appearance that the typical Labradoodle sports. While a hair coated Labradoodle sheds, their coat can be easily maintained. These dogs are great for families that are time poor for daily grooming although they are not suited to families that have allergies. A hair coated Labradoodle is often only the result in a first generation litter. The hair coated Labradoodles are less desirable by breeders due to the fact their hair coat sheds often. The hair coat feels wiry to touch. Furthermore, the coat of a fleece Labradoodle is said to be the easiest to maintain. This low shedding coat generally a non-shedding coat should be brushed out at least once a week. Fleece coated Labradoodles should feel soft to touch. The curls within the fleece can be slightly wavy to noticeably wavy. Kemp a course hair is often found around the eyes of a fleece coated Labradoodle. The tightness of the curl purely depends on the Labradoodles genetics. While some wool coated Labradoodles have tight curls that appear similar to the coat of their Poodle parent, others have a loose curled coat. If you own a curly coated Labradoodle, it is recommended that you groom your dog once a day. Alternatively, you may opt to shave your dogs coat shorter so that it can be easily maintained. The coat of a curly Labradoodle can almost be guaranteed to be non-shedding. Mats in a Labradoodles fur make it uncomfortable for them to run and lead an active lifestyle. It is recommended to take wool coated Labradoodles to a professional groomer every six weeks to maintain a healthy coat. A wool coated Labradoodle feels soft to touch and has a coat similar to that of a lamb. The wool coat of a Labradoodle should hang with hollow spiral when groomed appropriately. Often wool coated Labradoodles have dense and thick fur. Allowing your dogs coat to grow excessively leads to matting and in turn pain for your Labradoodle. The shedding coat is not desirable in this breed which is generally the result of a hair coated Labradoodle. In terms of grooming your Labradoodle, it is recommended to book them in to see a trained dog groomer every 6 to 8 weeks. This applies to any coat type. Although hair coats do not require as much maintenance, the hair inside your dogs ears should be plucked regularly to avoid infection and build up. Furthermore, your dogs nails will need to be clipped regularly especially if you only have grass and no concrete. Regularly home grooming should be performed to keep your Labradoodles coat in pristine condition without matting. Ensure you purchase a pet grooming brush recommended for long and thick hair while you Labradoodle is still a puppy. Related posts:. As you might have guessed, this dog is a cross between poodle and Labrador parents — and the result is an adorable bundle of joy with a sweet, gentle personality. Labradoodle puppy coats come in a range of colors and textures, so labradoodle owners are spoiled for choice when choosing their fur baby. Read on to discover more about Labradoodles and labradoodle coat types. What Are Hypoallergenic Dog Coats? Hypoallergenic dogs have less of a thick coat than many other breeds. A highly shedding coat presents a higher risk to allergy sufferers than non-shedding dogs like a labradoodle puppy. As a dog with one of the most allergy-friendly coats , there are a few practicalities to keep in mind when it comes to your labradoodle pooch and its coat. Pretty much every labradoodle puppy goes through a coat change, which is separate from a shedding coat. The puppy coat is eventually replaced by an adult coat, which comes with more grooming requirements. Types of Labradoodle Puppy Coats One of the best things about labradoodle dogs is the wide range of choices with regard to appearance. Wool Coat You can determine if your Labradoodle puppy has a fleece coat. You can identify fleece coats by the way the fur sits between the eyes, as this area starts to get curly first. This is the curliest coat type, but it still comes in a variety of types. Some dogs with a curly coat have a cotton-type coat, which is the softest but also incredibly high maintenance. Labradoodle puppies with wool Labradoodle puppy coats are mainly non-shedding and can make great companions for pet owners with allergies. Fleece Coat Doodles with a fleece coat require a little less maintenance than the other types of doodles, but they still need weekly brushing and plenty of TLC. A fleece-coated labradoodle is the result of combining a curly wool coat gene with the gene for a straight coat. Areas such as the ears and collar are particularly prone to getting matted, so be sure to pay close attention to these areas when you brush your fleece-coated labradoodle once or twice per week. Hair Coat A labradoodle with a straight coat has inherited most of its fur genes from its Labrador retriever parent. Something interesting about Labradoodles is that their Labradoodle puppy coats change as they get older, so your hair-coated labradoodle might get a wave to its fur as it gets older. While you can also take it to a professional groomer on a weekly basis, this can incur hefty grooming costs. Most labradoodle owners opt to take their dog to a groomer once a month or two and do regular adult coat maintenance themselves. Use the correct type of dog brush and be sure to get all the way down to the skin. Give your dog a brush before and after bath time. All puppies eventually lose their puppy coat to make way for their adult coat, this goes the same with Labradoodle puppy coats. You might find the new type of coat is totally different from the old coat. Coats and Generational Differences The amount of hair your dog sheds varies between puppies, but generational differences can also play a role. First-generation doodles shed slightly more than second-generation doodles, with multigenerational Labradoodles shedding even less. We genetically test each breeding parent to make sure the shedding genes are not passed on to the puppies in our training program. We adore the breed and have a wide range of Labradoodle puppies for sale to choose from, with different color and type of Labradoodle puppy coats. We can even deliver a fully trained doodle puppy direct to your door if you like! They get their coat colors from their parent. Whatever coat color they end up with is the result of either a dominant or a recessive gene. Sound confusing? Every Labradoodle puppy has two coat-color genes. They get one from each parent. Dominant genes are stronger than recessive genes. In order to have a recessive gene stronger, you would need two recessive genes — one from each parent. The actual genes are more important than the color. For instance, you may think that a black male and a black female would have a black puppy, but that may not be the case. The puppy can be brown if both of the black parents had a brown recessive gene. Since their coats were black, their second gene, the dominant gene, would have been black. Some colors, like black and red are dominant genes while brown and silver tend to be recessive genes. Some breeders are very dedicated to creating Labradoodles of certain coat color. This dog should not have its body shaved. What type of brush should you use? All Doodle dogs, regardless of coat type, will benefit from a slicker brush. Simply push a button, and hair trapped in the brush just falls out. As far as combs are concerned, a dual-purpose steel comb, like this one , is ideal. One side has thin, closely spaced teeth for detail work around the face and legs, and the other side has thicker, more widely spaced teeth for whole-body combing. The normal fleece should be brushed times per week and trimmed a times a year possibly more depending on the desired look. The super-soft microfine fleeced dog should be brushed regularly to prevent it from matting and to keep its asthma and allergy-friendly attributes. A coat that gets longer than 3 inches becomes more difficult to properly maintain. The original wool, which is soft like a lamb, needs to be brushed or combed thoroughly at least once a week and trimmed three or four times a year. The cotton wool coat has a softer texture than the original and is super dense. It requires a thorough brushing at least once a week and a haircut four times a year. You can bathe all Labradoodles as often as every week or as seldom as once every three months depending on how much time the dog spends outside. Be sure to use a high-quality shampoo so their coat stays healthy. This soap-free shampoo is our favorite hands down. It smells fabulous and does a super job of gently cleansing the coat without drying out the skin. The hair-coated Labradoodle generally needs the most frequent bathing to avoid odors. Labradoodle are adorable dogs regardless of their coat type. However, some coat types have advantages while others pose disadvantages. Hair coats are the easiest to maintain, whereas wool coats require combing once or twice a week. One drawback to the hair coated Labradoodle is that they tend to shed. HAIR: Again, easier to maintain but tends to shed. Failure to comb all the way through the hair will result in it becoming matted. Like the wool coat, the fleece coat must be thoroughly combed to prevent matting. This is especially important when they are shedding their puppy coat. Even if you keep the hair short, it will still need to be combed frequently. Come to find out, the coat closest to the skin has started to form mats. Mats are painful for the pup and can be avoided with regular and proper brushing. In fact, experienced breeders deliberately breed one generation to another generation just to bring out certain qualities. Using the knowledge of genetics and correct usage of dominant and recessive genes, breeders can breed specific dogs to get desirable colors. In generational breeding, you have F1, F2, F3, and multi-generational breeding. We explain these breedings more fully and share whether or not there are advantages in opting for a multi-generational Labradoodle in this article. With experience and research, breeders can create Labradoodles with a certain coat type. When you mix two purebred dogs of the same breed with the same coat type, your chances of getting the same kind of pups are good. Here is where the F generation breeding comes into play, and the generation chart looks like this. They generally will take an F1 and mix it with an F2 or F3 in an attempt to fine-tune it and bring out certain attributes and characteristics. Related Questions: Do Labradoodles have dander in their fur? Experts on dogs and allergies state that all dogs have dander and allergens, and that there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. However, Labradoodles have the least amount of dander, and many allergy sufferers have found success having a Labradoodle as a dog. How often do Labradoodles need to be brushed? Labradoodles should be brushed anywhere from daily to once a week or so. The amount of brushing depends on the type of coat as well as the type of activities the dog does on a daily basis. However, the joy this loving, loyal, and intelligent pet provides makes it more than worthwhile. The most important thing you can do for your dog is to become as knowledgeable as possible. Related Posts:. Straight, double layered coat. Most similar to the Labrador parent. Moderate to high shedding. Wavy coat, most often single layer. Somewhere between the two parents. Low to moderate shedding. Very curly or corded fur, single layer. Most similar to the Poodle parent. Low shedding but the highest grooming needs. The above table explains the most common Labradoodle hair types at a glance. What Determines Labradoodle Hair Types? However, in later generations, breeders can increase the likelihood of certain traits, like a curly, low shedding coat. Australian Labradoodles can have genetic influence from up to 6 different breeds. So, they will often have fleece or wool coats that are single layered and low shedding, like the Poodle. Some breeders will specialize in certain hair types. By backcrossing a Labradoodle to a Poodle, for instance, they can increase the change of curly fur, resulting in fleece or wool type puppies. A first generation f1 mix is the most likely to have the hair type coat, since they often have the largest amount of Labrador influence. They will have a double layered coat with a straight top layer. Hair Labradoodles tend to feel quite coarse to the touch. Their double coat helps to regulate their temperature, but will also protect their skin from scrapes and cuts, just like the Labrador coat. The hair coat Labradoodle will shed the most, just like their Labrador parent. During the hot months, they shed heavily, thinning out their dense undercoat. For the rest of the year, they will shed moderately. But, this can be somewhat controlled with regular grooming. Groom them once a week in low shedding periods, and up this to two or three times a week during those hot months. It can also help to groom your hair coat Labradoodle outside, to avoid getting loose hairs in your home! Fleece Coat Labradoodle A fleece coat Labradoodle will usually look like the perfect mix between the Labrador and the Poodle! They will have a wavy coat, or very gentle curls that feel soft to the touch. In fact, many owners describe this hair type as feeling like angora wool. Some fleece Labradoodles may have an undercoat, but the majority will only have one layer. If left to grow long, their coat will develop a shaggy appearance. This type of Labradoodle is the most popular, and the one referred to by the term teddy bear Doodle! But, they can still be moderate shedders at worst. It will vary from one Doodle to another. They will need more grooming than a hair coat Labradoodle, as the waves and curls in their fur will be more prone to tangles and knots. You will need to groom a fleece Doodle a few times each week, if not every day. Their fur will either have very tight ringlet curls, or will be corded, like dreadlocks. Individual strands of fur will feel very coarse to the touch, much like the hair type. But, the wool coat only comes in a single layer. This coat type is extremely low shedding. But, this means that regular grooming is much more important, as tangles and knots are more likely. If left alone, their fur can become matted , which is painful and often requires shaving to fix it. Wool coat Labradoodles must be groomed at least once a day. Which Labradoodle Hair Type is Hypoallergenic? Wool and fleece coat Labradoodles can be low shedding, but no Labradoodle is hypoallergenic. In fact, no dog breed is completely hypoallergenic! So, a wool or fleece coat Labradoodle could still trigger your allergy symptoms. If you suffer from dog allergies, there are a few precautions you can take. Firstly, spend some time with a Labradoodle before committing. See if you react to their allergens, or if you can tolerate them. All dogs are different! So, one might not trigger you as much as others have in the past. Secondly, maintain a good cleaning regime. Ask another family member to groom your dog for you, and make sure they do so outside. You can take your Labradoodle to a professional groomer, but they will still need brushing in between trips. Fleece coat Labradoodles are the most popular variety of Doodle. This is because they are often low shedding and feel very soft to the touch, but they have slightly lower grooming needs than the wool coat Labradoodle. If you suffer from very strong allergies, you may be better suited to the wool coat Labradoodle, as long as there is someone else at home who can help you with grooming your dog every day. Labradoodle Hair Types — A Summary Though the three Labradoodle hair types are quite distinct, they can all come in a wonderful shade of Labradoodle colors. Wool and fleece coat dogs are usually better for owners that suffer from allergies. But, hair coats require less maintenance. So, choosing the right coat type for you will entirely depend on your lifestyle and needs! Which Labradoodle coat type is your favorite? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Readers Also Liked. Also, your fleece coats, while, overall, are softer than your wool coats in texture, still have some texture variation within the fleece coat type. The Australian Labradoodle requires varying degrees of grooming depending on their coat type. A light trimming might be required with scissors but usually not. However, we do not have any hair coat in Sunset Hills, because our puppies are all multi-gen. This coat usually requires trimming once or twice a year. This coat also requires trimming about three-four times a year. All allergy and asthma friendly labradoodles have a coat change from puppy to adult usually between months of age. During their coat change, it is recommended that you groom them daily. The coat change can last anywhere from a week to several weeks. This is usually the time when owners decide that their beautiful furry doodle needs a shorter look. Note: Not all Labradoodles are Allergy and Asthma friendly. We do recommend that if you have the opportunity to meet one of these wonderful dogs in person that you should check to see if you have any reactions before you make your decision in purchasing your new puppy. We recommend that any family or person who suffers from dog related severe allergies or asthma should look into a Wool coated labradoodle as they have the highest success rate. For labradoodle sizes, please go to our Size link. For pictures and definitions of the colours of the Australian Labradoodle, please go to our Colours link. For the information on grooming, please go to our Resource link. Each looks and feels very different, so it is important to understand the differences between them. Australian Labradoodles are known for being non-shedding and whilst most of them are due to their wool and fleece coats, the hair-coated dogs do shed to varying degrees, just like Early Generation Labradoodles. The good news is that any experienced breeder worth their salt will be able to tell you nice and early on if any of the litter have hair coats - it is usually pretty obvious by 4 weeks old. It is also worth noting here that we do not make any guarantee that any puppy will be non-shedding. We do our best to produce non-shedding dogs and we give our honest advice and opinion on our puppies coats, but we do not have a crystal ball and nature can do funny things. No breeder can genuinely guarantee that any dog will be non-shedding. Hover over each image to find out more about each coat type. Hover over each image below to find out more about each coat type. Wool Coat The wool coat is coarse in texture and very curly. It is sprung and therefore sits up off the dog's back giving the illusion the dog is bigger. This coat is very like that of the Poodle. It is non-shedding and is generally very compatible with allergy and asthma sufferers. Curly Fleece Coat The curly fleece is soft in texture with loose curls. It is not sprung, so it tends to straighten out a little when it grows longer. This coat type is what most people think of as the typical Australian Labradoodle look. It blows in the wind or when the dog runs! Hair Coat The hair coat is quite coarse in texture and feels like typical dog hair. It is usually short and flat and will not ever grow particularly long. It does shed to varying degrees and therefore is generally not compatible with allergy and asthma sufferers, Wool Coat The wool coat is coarse in texture and very curly. It is sprung and therefore sits up off the dogs back giving the illusion the dog is bigger. Curly Fleece Coat The curly fleece coat is soft in texture with loose curls. Hair Coat The hair is quite coarse in texture and feels like typical dog hair. It does shed to varying degrees and therefore is generally not compatible with allergy and asthma sufferers. Popular Links.

If you're working on a project and pug images could help elevate it, you've come to the right place. Our stock image collection boasts a vast range of high-quality JPG, AI, and EPS files that are perfect for a broad range of projects, from websites to print media and beyond. The benefits of pug images Pug images are perfect for many projects for several reasons. Firstly, pugs are undeniably adorable, making them an excellent choice for grabbing your audience's attention and making them smile. They can lend a sense of fun and playfulness to any project, whether you're designing a children's book or a website for a pet store. Pug images are also versatile and can be used in a vast range of contexts, from greeting cards to posters, and everything in between. How to use pug images effectively When using pug images, it's essential to consider the context and tone of your project. For example, if you're designing a website for a food brand, a cute picture of a pug eating a pizza might not be the best image choice. Instead, consider using images of pugs that are relatively neutral—such as a pug standing on a neutral background. Alternatively, opt for playful images of pugs only when your project calls for a more lighthearted or fun tone. Browse our collection of pug images Our collection of stock pug images is extensive, with thousands of files available for download. Whether you're looking for a specific type of pug picture or just browsing for inspiration, you're sure to find what you're looking for in our collection. With files available in a range of file types and formats, our images are suitable for a broad range of projects. Don't compromise on the quality of your project's images—browse our collection of high-quality pug images today and find the perfect image to elevate your project! Updated August 1, .This photo gallery includes photos of the cutest Pug puppies as well as cute pictures of adult Pugs. Pugs are a short faced, wrinkled, small breed of dog. This breed has its origins in China, but was brought to Europe in the 16th century. Their coats are typically either black or fawn in color and they have a compact and very muscular body. Because of their short snouts, they often experience a lot of breathing problems, though those wrinkled faces are absolutely adorable. Vote up the cutest, sweetest Pug pictures below. Dogs are man's best friend and have a special ability to lift spirits. This is exactly what the sweet dogs on this list of the cutest Pug puppies do. This gallery of adorable pugs can perk you up no matter how sad you are feeling. Pugs are good companion dogs and great with children. They are very strong willed and have big personalities. These cute Pugs are known especially for their muscular bodies and vibrant personalities. For that reason, a pug puppy makes a great pet for the whole family. Big Eyes.

The whelping box features a sliding door and puppy rails that are fully suspended from the floor to maximize floor space and ease in cleaning. Also included is a full solid floor for both the whelping box and weaning pen to keep your carpet and hard floors clean. Puppies are able to exit the whelping box and enter the weaning pen area to play, eat, and most importantly, poop. Your puppies will naturally develop better strength, health, and potty skills by using the weaning pen. This arrangement simulates the natural puppy den where they are able to have the space to sleep in, a porthole area, and a new safe area to explore. This gives your litter the additional space they want and need for: Eating, Playing, and Pooping. Many breeders have wanted the half door to use with the weaning pen and whelping box so we decided to include it in this combo. The weaning pen is the same size as the whelping box. Box walls come as a single completed unit eliminating slots, cracks or crevices where feces and urine could accumulate. Assembly simply requires 4 screws screws included with every box and a screwdriver. Assembly can be done in under ten minutes. The Weaning Pen is the same size as the whelping box and includes a set of walls as a complete unit and a floor. Patent No. It is very important to get the correct size of box for your breed. The size of the box determines the height of the puppy rails which are tailored to protect your puppies from getting pushed up against the sides of the box. Frequently purchased with this item:. Get Free Downloads! A whelping box should be in a room that is fairly quiet, climate controlled and has a door that can be closed. Animals should be kept away unless mom shows no signs of stress by their presence and they are past their two week quarantine and are are healthy. To prevent the spread of infectious diseases, you will need to be able to sanitize the floors and, possibly, the walls with either high heat or chemicals. A room with carpeting may not be a good option. How to Interact with Mom and Puppies in the Whelping Box For the first few days after the puppies are born, keep things pretty calm and only familiar people should visit. Shoes should be removed before entering the room. I use a pair of Crocs as my puppy-safe shoes because they slip on easily and can be disinfected with bleach. Once the puppies are days old and showing no signs of illness, strangers from all walks of life should be invited to handle the puppies Read about Neonatal Handling. Dura-Whelp is made of corrugated plastic which makes it light, fairly inexpensive and easy to fold up and store. Plus, if you need to contain a medium to large breed mom, you would still have to add a wire pen around the box. Although Dura-Whelp is less expensive than some of the others, it is still a bit of an investment for something that is only useful for a few weeks. View fullsize Dura-Whelp whelping box with weaning pen extension View fullsize Prototype of fence rail frame and EPDM waterproof pond liner flooring Next we tried to build our own. I wanted something modular that could easily grow with the puppies and also contain mom. I also needed a way to keep the puppies from pushing the pen all over the place. I used horse fence rails attached by metal brackets around the pen and also as the bumper rail and I tried EPDM pond liner for the durable, waterproof flooring. Overall, this design worked pretty well except that the frame was a bit heavy and the pond liner flooring did not work because poop stuck to it like cement. Plus, the 6 inch tall bumper rail was not high enough to contain the puppies for more than 13 days not sure their eyes were even open when they started escaping! I made a bumper rail with PVC pipe which I zip tied to the wire pen. Then I used linoleum for the floor which I clipped to the pen with A-clamps. View fullsize This was one of our ideas for a whelping box and weaning pen. It worked ok but there were a few challenges But I discovered a few problems with this design. First, my most obvious mistake was that, under the bumper rail, there was just the wire pen no barrier and newborn puppies are small enough to easily fit through the spaces in the bars. This worked really well. Another problem is that when Mom leaned against the PVC bumper rail, the pieces would come apart. Unless you are careful to keep it clean during the whelping process, you will probably need a second, clean box for the weeks the puppies will live there. Baby pools are handy, relatively cheap options. It is important to add the bumper rails to prevent mom from accidentally suffocating or injuring her puppies. This is another style of bumper rail for a baby pool whelping box. NOTE: If pieces of the foam noodle come loose, they could be a choking hazard. For this size dog, this pool might be a little small but it seems to work. One problem with baby pools is trying to keep blankets in place so this is a clever homemade solution. This is a very simple, down and dirty design. This box appears to be painted wood. What is clever about this one is that it looks like the corner brackets are removable making this easy to assemble and disassemble. Yes, you could choose to use a kiddie wading pool for whelping, or you could also build a basic wooden box. Both of these will hold the pups while they are small, still dragging themselves around on their bellies, but there are so very many other things to consider in order to safely contain the bitch and her puppies, that I would be doing you a huge disfavor if I were to say that a basic box or kiddie pool were all you needed. Whelping box with puppy rails and fleece pads for bedding. Thanks to Debbie Bjerkestrand for sharing her photos with us! The best thing, will be for you to design your whelping box to fit your bitch and your available space, while designing your entire set up so that it will also to fit the growing and changing needs of the litter and dam over the next couple of months. Whelping Box Dimensions — ideally the box should be at least a foot longer than the bitch is long when measured from nose to rear. A box that is too large could mean the newborn puppies might get lost, unable to find their way to mom; and a box built to small increases the odds of the bitch lying or stepping on a wee one. Side Height — the height of the side wall is most effective when it is designed to be adjustable, so more height can be added when the pups begin to walk and climb out of the box. Laurie Ward shared this photo of her whelping box with the puppy rails clearly visible. Floor — Whether you want or need a floor in your box will depend on the floor surface where you are whelping the litter. I whelped my litters in my basement, and while these were clean, dry cement floors in newer homes, the floors were also cold to the touch depending on the season. I often added a sheet of Styrofoam insulation under the floor of the whelping box as well for added protection from cool drafts and chilling. Newspapers are cheap but be prepared to go through a ton of them so start saving up early on. These loose strips get shuffled around by the bitch and the puppies moving about, the strips will stick on top of stool and wet spots, keeping the pups and mom from lying in or crawling through any mess. The strips are lightweight so they easily move around to help keep things cleaner in the box. Towels or blankets can be used but there are definite disadvantages. Very young puppies can get trapped and lost underneath and then can easily be crushed by their mother or may suffocate if they become wrapped or rolled in the material. Unfortunately one cannot get one mat large enough for the entire box so several must be pieced together. It does need to be cut to size to fit the box, and needs a good washing to remove all the residual chemicals and to soften the nap. A good option for lining the whelping box for newborns are lambskin crate pads. These are artificial lamb-like fur pads that come in various sizes and are easily found in most dog catalogs. These pads absorb liquids to keep puppies from laying in wetness, and are easily cleaned in a clothes washer. They are thick so the puppies can cuddle in them for extra warmth and the pups get good traction when crawling to get closer to their mother. You can buy lambskin crate material in bulk from some companies so the exact dimensions of your whelping box can be matched when ordering your pads. Links following this article are included for a couple of sites who offer this material. Photo by Laurie Ward of mom and pups snuggling in the whelping box. Location, Location, Location…. Where to place the whelping box for the birth? Where to keep the whelping box as the pups get older and begin to eat solid foods and poop, and poop, and poop? Convenient and quiet — where ever you decide to whelp and raise your litter, make it in a convenient place for you to be able to monitor the bitch and the puppies. I recommend whelping puppies inside the house, and as the whelping itself can take a long time and often seems to happen at night, having a couch or lounge chair nearby for cat naps is high on my priority list! Ideally, the location should be quiet with the least amount of family activity. If you have lots of family members or small children, probably the basement, laundry room or garage is best. Bitches with newborn puppies can be very temperamental, protective and are easily disturbed. Giving the bitch a quiet and secluded place to nest with her puppies is going to simplify many things for you and for her. Temperature — you will need to be able to control the temperature of the whelping room or at the very least, the whelping box itself, as the biggest threat to newborn puppies is chilling. A draft free room, away from frequently opened doors and windows during cool weather is a good start. A heat lamp that can be raised or lowered to adjust the temperature for warmth should be placed strategically in one corner of the whelping box. I strongly urge you to use either a heat lamp or a puppy heating pad as opposed to heating the entire room and subsequently the dam to keep the puppies from chilling. I always keep a thermometer fastened securely to the whelping box and near the floor under the heat lamp so I can monitor that the area is warm enough to prevent the puppies from chilling but not overheating. Both options are viable and a matter of personal preference. Diarrhea following delivery is common, especially if the bitch eats placenta during the birth process. Additionally, the bitch will have a vaginal discharge following delivery, sometimes this is heavy and often it is messy. Weaning pen attached to whelping box. Notice the fleece pads in use for bedding in the whelping box and the newspaper strips being used in the weaning pen. Thanks to Debbie Bjerkestrand for sharing her photos with us. Once this process begins, Mom stops wiping their little butts and cleaning up after them so — well — poop begins to happen! Around days of age, caring for Gordon Setter puppies becomes a challenge, and you need to have a plan ready to enact for how you will handle the much-needed expansion. Unless you live in a temperate climate, you like me, will most often be raising those puppies completely indoors with a trips outside to play when the weather permits. This is where a weaning pen comes in. Weaning Pen — this is an enclosure that can be constructed from same material as the whelping box, an exercise pen, or any other puppy safe fence like material that will confine the pups in a larger space so they have more room to run and play and to also use as a potty area, thus keeping the whelping box a clean area for sleeping and eating. The size of the area you need for a weaning area will depend on the size of the litter, obviously twelve puppies would need more room than four. Bedding for the Weaning Pen — the trick to keeping puppies clean and sweet-smelling is to find the right bedding for soaking up the pee and poo that comes right along with their cute wiggly little butts. After years and years and many different choices my favorite bedding for weaning puppies, will always pine shavings never cedar shavings as they are toxic. This means that my puppy weaning pen needs a solid 3 or 4 inch tall rail to hold the shavings inside the pen, rather like bedding in a horse stall. Urine will soak right into the shavings keeping it out-of-the-way. I am used to buying bales of pine shavings at a farm feed store, so places that sell horse and cattle supplies will often carry them. They are bagged in paper or plastic and are about the size of a bale of hay. I want the large, flaked, actual wood shavings not the small, fine stuff that is used in hamster cages. The drawback is that the flakes get everywhere as they drift and float about or stick in hair and on shoes. But cleaning up those stray shavings sure beats cleaning up stinky puppy poop papers! I use a poop scoop to clean out the puppy piles frequently and when the shavings start to appear dirty or wet I scoop them out with a shovel, disinfect the floor with some bleach and throw down a new 2 to 3 inch deep pile of shavings for pups. Newspaper strips — can also be used as bedding in the weaning pen. I know it is possible to by newspaper in rolls for this use so you may have success purchasing this online as well as locally. There should be an open puppy door to allow the pups free access to move freely between inside and out. Puppy play area and weaning pen. Thanks to Laurie Ward for sharing this photo of her indoor set up. As the puppies grow, having a much larger place for the puppies to roam and play is important for muscle development and socialization skills. Puppies kept in a small whelping box until they are 8 weeks old will have poorer muscle development, could have coordination problems, and be socially delayed compared to pups who are allowed to run, play, and explore both inside and outside. People socialization is extremely important between 4 to 8 weeks of age for Gordon Setter puppies, so spending as much time with them as you can both inside and outside is critical, as are inviting neighbors and friends by to visit with them. This is the time when your puppies need to be introduced to as many sights, sounds and smells as you can safely find for them, so be sure to enlarge their world to include time outside the weaning pen too. Debbie Bjerkestrand shared these photos of her puppies outside at play. In addition I found a couple of sites with whelping box plans to give you a variety of things to look at as you decide what it is that you want to include in your set up. If you already have some awesome ideas, techniques or items that you use in your Whelping Setup please share them with us by using the comment section below. Click any of these links to view products such as or whelping box plans:.