Birth and raising in "Tollhaus"

Birth:

When we expect a litter of Irish-Wolfhounds or Borzois we put up the litter-box in our living-room - days before the calculated birth-date. Therefore the bitch has got enough time to get familiar with the birth place. If everything is allright we notice by the behaviour of the bitch that the moment of birth has come. She is restless and looks for a suitable place to give birth to her pups. We then lead her to the litter-box which normally is accepted gratefully. During the birth process the other dogs are banished from the room.
A long waiting period starts now. We are permanent with the bitch now and keep an eye on her. The bitch is now panting all the time and the contractions run through her body in irregular intervals. After about one or two hours the first pressing contractions come with which usually the first pup is born. If the pup is still wrapped by the amniotic sac we help to tear it up and cut the umbilical cord. With young and inexperienced bitches we normally cut the umbilical cord ourselves because rough and uncontrollable pulling at it by the bitch could easily lead toan umbilical hernia. Immediately after birth the young mother starts to clean and
lick the newborn pup.
When there is a sign of the next birth which can take between ten minutes or five hours -depends on the bitch - we put the already born pup into a prepared basket with towels and a hot-water bottle which stands next to the bitch in the litter-box. Before this we write down the time of birth, the pups weight and its sex into a special "litter-book". Into this litter-book we make a note about the changes in weight every day for each pup. So we do with every newborn pup. Because the pups are in the basket there is no danger  for them of being crushed to death by their mother nevertheless the bitch is in touch with her pups. A birth can drag out up to 48 hours. When we are sure all pups are born we take mother and pups to the veterinarian. There the bitch will be x-rayed to be sure there is no pup left in her belly. Then the pups get their first health check in life.
While we are at the vet`s our children put clean, fresh towels into the litter-box. By the way - all our children are there during the birth. As soon as we are home again we put the whole "gang" onto mother`s "milk-bar" and after that there will be silence for the next three hours.

 

Raising: Phase I

The first weeks the pups sleep in their basket in the litter-box next to their mother so she can lick and sniff at them without the danger of crushing them to death.
To my husband and me this time means a lot of work. Two weeks long, every three hours - as well during the night! - we have to get up and put the pups to their mother to get their milk. Because usually only six teats give enough milk you have to feed the other four pups extra with special pup-milk - if you have got a litter of ten! Then after two weeks` hard work we can sleep through again - at last. Without the support of my family this "full-time-job" could hardly be done.
Two to three days after the birth the bitch allows the other pack members to take a look at the offspring. Everytime again it is fascinating to see how carefully the other dogs approach the litter-box. Especially the males lick and sniff at the pups - the other bitches are more cautious. In the beginning the mother watches the welfare of the other dogs sceptically but usually she calms down very quickly and then enjoys the attention  - especially of the males. They clean and care not only for the pups but also for the mother - and they do it with dedication! So lovingly cared for the pups grow up in our living-room up to the fourth week. Then they have to move to our special "dog-room" which is next to my bedroom.
This move is necessary because now the pups can climb the walls of the litter-box without any problem and they would turn our living-room into a battlefield during the night!
The pups have access to all our living space during the day. They live with us and our dogs of different breeds and sizes together in our house. Because of this they were socialized
and get in contact with the different tolerance thresholds of the other pack members.
This living together helps the pups to copy the behaviour of the adult dogs - e.g. to loosen outside, not in the house.
The future owners are allowed to have a look in the upbringing of the pups from the third week on. So we have the opportunity to get to know each other better and - at the same time -to give them knowledge and information about the further raising and needs of their future family member. Out of this often develops a lasting friendship.
At the beginning of the ninth week (or later - depends on the breed) the new owners are allowed to collect their pups. Because the first socialisation of the pups goes up to the twelfth week the new "dog-parents" have now the possibility to shape the pup to their own needs. During this time the pups are very interested in everything new and so they don`t have any problems to leave their old pack and to learn how to adapt into the new one.

 

Raising: Phase II

All new owners get detailed instructions for the further raising of the pups from us. Faults in raising the pups of such big breeds during the following months can cause severe problems in future health of the adult dogs.
If you want to have a healthy and HD-free dog - the magic word is: Time, time and again time! Give your dog TIME to develop!
That means: NO! walks up to the sixths month! Up to the tenths month the pup`s bones (this goes for all dog breeds) are quite soft and without strength as in the case of a baby.
The growth gaps between the joints only close at about ten months. So if you overstrain your pup during these months the bones could go out of shape - it could come to lasting deformations.
Because the transmission  in case of HD through the parents can be excluded (because of examinations) it could come to the so called "aquired HD". At a walk the fear of being left is so deep that the pup prefers more to ignore its exhaustion than to lose the connection to you.
Of course a young dog has to move - for the development of muscles, tendons and ligaments. Playing and rollicking in the garden is allowed because here the pup can decide wether to play or have a break.
Even so the pup should be socialized well during this age. If you have got the opportunity to attend a pup school you should do that and give your pup the possibility to play with other dogs at his own age.
We also go to pup schools with our dogs and a lot of them took an exam as an escort/companion dog. From the first day on all our dogs run without a lead - a consistent education is therefore imperative.
Let your dog collect new impressions: Take your pup along to a street café, let him play with children or let strangers caress him. The more he learns during his pup-time the more open he will be as an adult dog and the better his later behaviour.
Another important point on the list is the nutrition of these big and heavy-weight dogs (wolfhounds). Especially for them is "the best for the dog" often too much. And just the high-quality food types are not useful for raising dogs of big breeds. These food-types cause a quick bone-growth without giving the bones the necessary bone-density. The longer it takes for a pup to get his final height the better it is for his sound bone structure and his whole skeleton. Because the final size is fixed genetically you cannot change it even not if you feed especially high quality or enriched food!
Today`s pup food is so conceived that additions are absolutely unnecessarily. Calcium for instance is useless if not harmful.
At the beginning of the seventh month you can slowly start to have small walks with the dog. Remember - the dog is still in the growth even if the final height is nearly reached.
At the beginning of the tenth month you may have longer excursions with your dog. But - cycling is not allowed before he is 18 months old! Then the bones have reached their whole strength and are fully resilient.
If the owner keeps to these rules which are also recommended by experts he can reckons to own a healthy, resilient and well socialized and educated dog for the next years.
Our experience bases on living together with especially big breeds for over 20 years now as well as on permanent further education by literature and conversation with experts and breeders.
Since 1995 we breed and had up to now seven litters with 52 pups. The success of our dogs confirms us in our breeding aim: to breed healthy, well socialized and beautiful-typed Borzois and Irish-
Wolfhounds of good character.


This report was publicated in "Unser Windhund" , August 2001.
It has been written by Brigitte Döring and has been revised by her sister Barbara Hildebrandt.