How We Raise Our Pups
Read on to find out more about how we raise our pups at Serengoch
Raised in the centre of our home...
Our expectant mum's move into their whelping space about 2 weeks before they are due.
This gives them plenty of time to get settled and do their nesting.
In the week leading up to when they are due, we set up camp next to the whelping pen and our girls are supervised 24/7! Especially when they have a full belly, the need for toilet breaks is frequent!
Once the pups arrive, we are again present 24/7 for approximately the first 10 to 14 days, depending on how much support mum needs!
Being in the living room, they get to experience all the normal sights and sounds of a busy household - people coming and going, our resident cat, the TV, awful music, the hoover, the washing machine and tumble dryer!
We apologise in advance if our communication is a bit hit and miss at this stage... we tend to be rather sleep deprived!
Carefully monitored...
We carefully monitor our pups from birth right up until they are 8 weeks!
From birth to 14 days, we weigh our pups daily to keep an eye on weight gain and ensure that any pups not gaining as well as the others get priority or supplementing if required.
We ensure that we do not cause any stress to the mothers when undertaking these tasks and will usually do this while they are out to the toilet!
We follow the Puppy Culture routine with our pups and believe this builds happy, confident puppies!
Fed on the best...
We are passionate about the diet that we feed our dogs, expectant mums and our pups!
After a lot of research when we started out, we ended up feeding a predominantly raw diet to our dogs, and have never looked back!
At between 2 and 3 weeks, we start offering our pups a 'slurry' mix of chicken mince paste combined with goats milk to start introducing them to real food, alongside still being fed by mum.
Once they begin to need more than mum can provide, we increase the number of meals we provide.
At between 4 and 5 weeks, they move onto Puppy Raw Food, generally supplied by Natural Instinct and Nutriment - still with lots of goats milk as they love this! Mum will still give them the occasional top up, and enjoys very much cleaning both the pups and their bowls after a feed!
Our pups also get extra snacks such as chicken wings, sprats and chicken necks.
We send our pups home with food to get them started and are happy to guide new owners on diet. We appreciate feeding raw is not for everyone, so we are happy to give guidance on finding a high quality dry diet that suits!
We use Pureflax and Dorwest Herb supplements for our expectant mothers and adult dogs and we send all pups home with a sample pack!
Sunshine and Socialisation...
Once the pups are big enough, we move them out of our living room and into the conservatory where they get to see much more of the world!
Our conservatory is a large airy room with access straight into our back garden.
This is where the first stages of house training begin with the pups having the opportunity to go outside regularly to get into good habits.
In the conservatory, they also begin to interact with our other adult dogs - these interactions are always monitored to ensure they are age appropriate and friendly!
This is where the pups stay until they are 8 weeks old!
In addition to time in the garden, we have a lovely field across the road from the house that for Summer litters we use to introduce them to water as we have a lovely river running through the field that runs very low!
In their new home...
The most rewarding yet hardest part is seeing our pups off to their new homes!
We ask all prospective owners to visit the pups at approximately 4 weeks and then we try our best to post regular photos of the pups to our Social Media.
When our pups go off to their new homes, we send them off with a comprehensive puppy pack - the contents of this pack varies from litter to litter but will usually include toys, a puppy training book and items we consider as essentials on your puppy journey!
All our pups leave us KC registered, Microchipped and up to date with their worming. Upon discussion with the new owner, we can also get the first vaccinations completed.
All pups leave us with 'R - Progeny Not Eligible for Registration' and 'X - Not Eligible for Export Pedigree' endorsements - these can be lifted if certain conditions are met.
All owners are required to sign a contract of sale and endorsement contract.
We run an active FB page and ask all our puppy owners to keep in regular contact and let us know how you are getting on!
We provide a lifetime of support with our puppies.