| I have two cats as well as my dogs. My bitch, (and we have had her longer than my male) LOVES my cats. She plays with them all of the time (and I swear my oldest cat thinks he is a dog :) ). As I think most of you know my bitch has now 8 little puppies in which to look after. They have started getting stimulated as appropriate for their age. And I will for sure be doing a lot of the stimuli posted. I have found it quite informative and thank everyone for so much information, however, I do have a few questions but will just ask one for now. I totally agree with introducing all the dogs to as many different animals and people at all stages in their life but as much as possible when they are young. What my question is though, right from the time my dog gave birth to her puppies she never minded the cats being there, either watching the birth or laying beside her whelping box. Now she doesn't even mind if they come in and still cuddle up to her ( my bitch and cats have always slept nuzzled into eachother) however, whenever my male dog approaches she gets very leary. Why?
And is there something I should know about this?
And okay I lied I have another question :). As far as I understand it takes a few days for the puppies ears to open so they can hear. How many days approximatley is this? When I run the vacuum I am sure they would be able to feel the vibrations through the floor... so when they hear the vacuum will they put two and two together? Also regarding children being around the puppies (besides my own) what age is the best age for this? As I know children often carry alot of cold bugs around and is this okay for the puppies? I want them to be very well socialized. I always take my dogs with me everywhere I can. My bitch can be put in anywhere with any other friendly animal and be totally trustworthy AND confident. And my bitch has only ever been scared once ( which is a really funny story for another time). She was well stimulated and I want to do the same for her puppies. I know it is a lifelong process to constantly stimulate your dogs, but the right start is the best start and that's what I really want to achieve. Any more ideas or ways to help accomplish this would be awesome.
Thanks! |