Show Notes
This episode is about when and if you should use vitamin and probiotic supplements for raw fed puppies and dogs. One of my students asked me what supplements were necessary when weaning puppies onto raw. Another student in the same thread said she had read that raw diets are often deficient in vitamins D and E and asked if she should be supplementing those vitamins. The answers to these questions strike at the heart of what it means to be a raw/natural feeder, and why breeders often struggle with this. Natural feeding is not an ideology, but it does require us to release some deep-seated ideas that are based on presumptions that are not relevant to raw/natural feeders. Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.
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This episode is a big one on young puppies who guard their possessions from humans. The breeder is stumped. She’s never seen resource guarding or aggression in any of her puppies, and it’s understandably upsetting that she now has a 7 week old puppy that suddenly turned on the breeder when the breeder tried to take a chew object away from the puppy. I unpack the emotion around this phenomenon and why, if you do the right protocols with young puppies that display resource guarding behavior, your chances are very good for an excellent outcome - meaning zero resource guarding and a puppy that you can confidently place in any home. Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.
This episode is inspired by a fan comment on Episode 51 - Teaching Show Puppies to Sit: Will The Real Show Stack Please Stand Up? "I have found that even thinking about sitting in a breed like mine (Lakelands) leads to a slight relaxation of the tail, which must be vertical or with a slight curve toward the head when baiting in the ring. It's a minor thing, but can make the difference between Winners and Reserve" What a great comment. She’s not wrong, if your puppy is thinking about sitting in the show ring, there’s going to be that bit of relaxation in the tail. But, why is your puppy thinking about sitting in the ring? Plot spoiler, it’s not because he has learned to sit on cue ;). Tune in for my recommendations for and analysis of the “ups and downs” of puppy tails. Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.
We’re continuing our conversation about why puppies get returned to breeders — and what we can do to help prevent that from happening. This episode is about the perspectives breeders shared in response to the original question. It’s a wide-ranging discussion covering topics from whether breeders should offer refunds when a puppy is returned, to unexpected connections between pure positive trainers and Prozac, to how to give puppy owners the benefit of our wisdom without making them feel we're overstepping our bounds. The breeder comments on this thread were thought-provoking and brought us to some slightly uncomfortable places, which I really enjoyed. I think you’re going to enjoy listening to it just as much as I enjoyed recording it! Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.
Puppy returns are an unpleasant reality of being a breeder. At the end of the day, no matter how well you screen, you're going to get puppies back if you breed dogs. This week's episode is a response to a breeder who got a puppy back from a puppy owner who ignored the breeder’s explicit written instructions regarding training and veterinary care/medication, and disaster ensued. The puppy is going to be OK but the breeder is wondering, could she (the breeder) have done something differently? The people seemed so nice, how could the breeder have gotten this placement so wrong? In this episode I address this question, talk about what is an is not within our control as breeders, and share some resources for stacking the deck in your favor when it comes to puppy placements. Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.
This episode’s question is about teaching show prospect puppies to sit: "What do you do with your show prospects for stacking? I am worried about the puppy automatically sitting in the ring and for the judge…" Direct answer - we teach all of our puppies to sit, and we’re on our ninth generation of homebred champions, so it’s safe to say it has not held any of them back. But the bigger question is, why is this still a question? Not only will teaching your puppy to sit or mand not hold him back, it will help him stack more confidently in the ring. Putting aside the actual merits of the dog as a specimen of their breed, there has never been a champion-worthy dog that did not get their championship because they could not learn how to stack or move around the ring at home. But there are thousands and thousands that never got their championship because of profound behavioral issues, stress at shows or refusal to be handled by a judge. Teaching your dog to communicate with you through manding, and teaching him some operant tricks to call on when he’s feeling pressured, can boost your puppy’s confidence when he really needs it. That tackles a much more real threat to your puppy’s show career than the outside chance that he might sit in the ring. Tune in for more conversation about how and why teaching your show puppy to sit and even (gasp) sniff will make him a better show dog. Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.