HOW WE REAR PUPS

Raising Your puppy

Please do read this page. People who ask me questions which are already answered on this page are several and you will be guided back to the website. The reason my website is comprehensive is to answer as many questions for you as I can possibly do. This gives you an excellent start as you can read in your good time.

We know how important it is the start your puppy gets with us. Having a knowledgeable breeder is everything. What happens to your puppy in those important 8 weeks is just the starting point. When puppies are born they are not running about the box wanting human contact. They are blind and deaf and the only sense they have is smell. They can see humans as predators and not all want to be handled. In this time they should be kept warm, and clean. Soon as their eyes are open then they start to get handled more and more. Puppies do not come at 8 weeks fully trained, this is something you must do. They are too immature. The brain itself has not developed all that much from birth to 8 weeks. The body has done, and they have gone from 800 grams to 5 kilos but the training starts with you. You should not put collars and leads on puppies before 8 weeks as it can damage neck muscles. The most important part of development is 8 weeks to 16 weeks. This key period will determine your puppy’s behaviour for the rest of its life. So a lot rests on no ones shoulders but yours.
So let me begin to tell you what we will do with your puppy.

We now have a selection of beds available from our workshop. If you decide to purchase one you can take it home with you which will save delivery costs. We have a luxury range, and a budget range. They are absolutely ideal for dogs and puppies.
I would recommend the budget range for puppies which costs £50 for a 3x2ft bed.
The luxury range go up to £120. It is dog furniture. All beds can be delivered by courier if you wish but it will increase cost of delivery and packaging.

You can put in what bedding you like for a start, and then introduce more expensive bedding as puppy grows. Let us know in advance as the order has to go to the workshop in ready for you to pick up either at 5 weeks stage or 8 weeks.

Also lead holders are in stock for Vizsla, pug. They are ideal for putting collars, harness and leads on. They are various prices.
Go to the shop at homestead workshop.onlineweb.shop
For our latest products. But ask directly if you wish to pick anything up so that you do not have to pay courier costs.

Silvestre Goody box
Let me know if you would like to purchase our puppy box of goodies. I must know by the time puppies are 5 weeks so that I can prepare them to be picked up at 8 weeks.
What we found was every person that comes brings a wrong size collar, and they don't know what treats to give a puppy. So we have put together a box of goodies which includes a puppy lead, and collar. Handmade designs. It will fit your puppy and all you have to do is add the tag.
Treats inside the box which are suitable for puppies.
Toys which are suitable for puppies. The cost of a box is £25 - £30 depending on whats inside the box.

A photo of a box will be done soon so you can see what is inside it. These must be paid direct by either PayPal or bank account.

So watch this space for this new idea and pictures of products.

MATING
The mating between dog and bitch should be planned. Occasionally unplanned mating’s do occur with breeders. But planned matings have been thought about. We only have planned breedings. As breeders we check the pedigree of mum and pedigree of dad. The outcome is something called COI. For generations their was no guidance on COI, but today pedigree dogs COI can be done on the Kennel club website. Line breeding is common ancestors, which creates type and consistency. If you want a total outcross in pedigree you need to buy a mongrol/crossbreed. Because every pedigree dog will have common ancestors somewhere. If you went far enough back in history they will all of come from the same dogs.
Our girls go to our veterinary surgeon yearly for a health check and so do our males. We have their hearts checked, and we know they are in good health before mating.

SCAN OR WAIT?
Their is no requirement that you should have a bitch scanned during whelp. In fact their is very little a vet can do and the more a bitch goes into a veterinary clinic the higher chances of bacteria, virus can be caught. Common sense.
Sometimes I scan a bitch, where as I used to always scan a bitch. But Ive found scans totally unpredictable to determine numbers. So sometimes I may do if I am unsure if their are babies, and sometimes I do not if I can visibly see puppies. The absolute time you know if a bitch is pregnant or not is 6 weeks. But their are only subtle changes. Most people who see a 6 week old bitch in pup wont even realise they are in pup. All the growth is done in the last 3 weeks of gestation. Did you know that hair only comes on the puppy in the last week of gestation. The development always amazes me. If we have a scan we can not tell sexes. We see the image on the right, which is a dark blob with a fuzzy squiggle in. So please do not ask if I know the sex.

VISIT US
You will get the chance to visit us if it is before the litter is born. Obviously sometimes we get more puppies than the amount of people on my list and then those people see us after wards. But if you visit before you will only be offered an appointment if you have passed my first set of questions and I think you will possibly make a good Silvestre owner. Then I make 3 dates for a visit, two weekdays and 1 weekend date.
When you visit you will be shown the following documents. All relevant health tests for the parents of each dog. Pedigree of mum and dad. Kennel club registration. Champion status paperwork.
You will meet mum and dad and other ancestors.
Always double check price before booking a puppy.
Tell me what sex of puppy you want. Obviously if you do not mind what sex this will give you a better chance of having a puppy from the litter. If we get all males or all females for example.
If you go on the waiting list we take a maximum of 7 people.

WHAT BREEDS DO YOU OWN?
We have 3 different breeds. We own Hungarian Vizsla, Pug and French bulldog.
It has to be said we are huge dog lovers, and would definitely have more breeds if we could. But these are our 3 favourite breeds. I get told I have a strange bunch sometimes in sizes. I introduced the smaller dogs in case I can not run the big dogs in the future as I have an illness that will not get better unfortunately. It takes years to learn about dog breeds and I like a challenge.
Not all the dogs we own are breeding dogs. We have puppies too young to breed from and we have veterans who are retired.
All our dogs are pedigree dogs of excellent bloodlines. They are all kennel club registered.

BIRTH
It never ceases to amaze me the whole process of birth. To think that from 0-9 weeks a little puppy is formed and then born. Having spent time at referral hospitals, the one thing that stuck in my mind was how incredible it is for a heart to form in this time. In fact many do not and the foetus die and get absorbed.
I would prefer to watch a Pug birth than a Vizsla any day as they birth puppies much easier. I know this is not what you would expect to hear. But from the start to finish is a few hours, where as a Vizsla can be 48 hours.
None of my mothers will ever give birth alone. I have put them in this position and I am not going to desert them. My vet is always on call for me. I help most mothers and open sacks, wipe noses and clear fluid from lungs. Stimulating them to breathe. Keeping them very warm, and quiet. A dog in the wild would dig a den in the ground, and go and lay in the bottom. So they like it quiet, dark and not be stressed.
I may not tell you the puppies have been born for 5 days. I want them to get bigger, stronger before I ring you with the good news.
Soon as I ring you I will have dates for visiting the puppies and pick up date. Pick up is 8 weeks from birth date.

DIET
Do not worry about diet. When you visit me when the puppy is 5 weeks you will be given a diet sheet. Plus a food voucher. The food voucher is for Natural instinct and you can redeem some free food from them which is approx a weeks supply of food. The most important thing you must do is continue with the same food as the breeder for 2 weeks after a puppy has left the breeders home. Then gradually change product by introducing new into old.
The diet your puppy has been fed is called the Barf diet. It is raw feeding. I call it natural feeding. The diet is 80/10/10 which ideally suits dogs giving them the balance of nutrients. But it is important to feed also vitamins and minerals, plus beef or lamb heart. Latest research for example is dogs which go on to have Cardio Dilated Myopathy are taurine deficient. Many grain free diets do not have taurine added. More about this in my compressive diet sheets online.

We also provide a dry alternative for those of you who do not wish to feed raw food. Raw is best. But if you cant do raw then we recommend Eden dog foods. A sample is now provided courtesy of Eden pet foods.

HOME REARED
All our puppies are reared in the home, so they are used to all noises associated with family life.
They also have a lot of outside time as well when they are 5-6 weeks of age, weather depending. I have an enclosed patio under CCTV which is puppy proof, and leads directly off my conservatory. So after puppies have been born in my spare bedroom, they come down around 4 weeks of age, and then are in the busy focal place of the house.
Sometimes I put puppies in my dining room, it really depends on how I feel at the time.
Weaning onto solid food is much sooner than most people think as with raw you feed them the moment they wish to eat which is 3 weeks. By 6 weeks they do not need mothers milk, and the last two weeks is making sure they are fully weaned off mum.
My puppies are given lots of toys and different textures to play with. They are given a bath. Nails are trimmed every week.
My puppies are played loud music, noise of gunshot, fireworks and babies crying.
The puppies are never left home alone, not for one minute. If I have to go out my son baby sits.

TEA BAG BEDDING
We always used newspaper for paper training as it was accessible but with more online reading came less newspapers. I walked into our local wholesaler who sells food for horses, rabbits, dogs and cats and I asked them “What are breeders using these days”? I was told tea bag bedding. I decided to buy a bale and I have not looked back. I know of four breeders of Vizsla who now all do the same as this stuff may not look great but when your dealing with a litter of ten puppies the stuff is amazing. When a tea bag is stamped out, it leaves the corners behind, and they realised it was so absorbent that it was ideal for soaking urine. It is not cheap but for us it is worth every penny. We found that all puppy acne stopped, the puppies do not get dirty, they do not smell or urine. Instead of bathing every two days, we may bath 2 times during their stay with us because they are so clean. This is all down to tea bag bedding. You must put it at least 3 inches deep if your a breeder reading this. But for pet owners you do not need this for toilet training. Puppies from 0-8 weeks wee in their bedding, at approx 6-8 weeks we encourage our babies outside to urinate and poop. We have also found that many puppies are fully house trained by 8 weeks, asking to go out. Some pat my back door as a sign they want to go out on the patio. We believe it is the tea bag bedding as they want to go away from it. Where as puppy pads which are plastic backed if not eaten, are shredded and the fibres are not good for the puppy to eat. Also if you train a puppy to go on a pad its harder to train them outside.
So although it doesnt look cute, for us with a litter of ten its a miracle bedding. For breeders reading this you must have an insert however into your pen to stop the paper goes all over the house.

WILL MY PUPPY BE TRAINED?
In a nutshell NO WAY!
A puppy has not physically developed to be trained by the breeder at 8 weeks. They say the brain is still about the same as after birth, its just the body that has developed. But from 8 weeks the brain then is receptive to learning. So it is all down to you to have a well behaved dog.
Photo on the right is what I want to see from all of you. A dog that has passed his puppy foundation, then you go onto the bronze good citizen scheme. If you do this your have a fabulous dog all its life. Send me photos of your dog passing his training.
I start the dogs on house training, building up their confidence with social skills. But then the rest it up to you. You will train the dog to walk to heel, sit, lay, wait etc.
Once your puppy has had its first vaccines you can enter most training groups. I would suggest you first do the puppy foundation course which is a minimum of 4 weeks. Then you go onto the training for the Kennel club good citizen scheme, bronze, then silver then gold.
A puppy is not house trained as it can not physically hold its bladder until 6 months of age. See all my guides in hidden pages.

No names give on children on the website. But here is a lovely puppy who had just completed his puppy assessment with his owners.

GARDENS
The most important part of a dogs life is going for a walk outside as an adult dog. They enjoy it, they smell scents and it wears them out. All dogs look forward to a walk.
So it makes sense to start showing wee babies the outside so they get used to seeing and feeling grass, concrete, shingle, anything type of surface. They hear rain storms, watch rain from the doorways. Also one of the most important things is also sunshine because not only do dogs enjoy sunshine, but they get Vitamin D through the skin. This aids muscle development, and bone.
They start to learn to go outside to the toilet with us from 5 weeks of age, and I will feed puppies on the patio and stand with them, and they all go to the toilet afterwards, so its the start of their journey into adulthood.
Here is an 8 week old puppy I took down the river bank for social skills. It was an area their is no other dogs walking. I only use a harness on 8-9 week old babies as we go to collar and lead after 9 weeks.

VISITING YOUR PUPPY
You are welcome to come and visit the litter of puppies when they are old enough. Being 5 weeks of age they are stronger and less vulnerable. However if you already own a dog and it has been ill 10 days before your visit either ring for an appointment another time or wait until pickup. If you also have any virus please get in touch to rearrange visit. We have had friends loose whole litters of puppies due to someone bringing in Kennel cough. Please do not be selfish and come at all costs. This can infect our puppies and delay leaving times.
Your most welcome to take photos and videos at your visit but please do not post on social media pictures of our room or house. It shows thieves where to go.
You will get a diet sheet relevant for this litter and also the password to access our website hidden pages. You can then see a page which tells you everything you need to buy and some website ideas on where to buy doggy stuff.

Henry and his lovely Mrs coming to view their 5 week old baby. All grown up now and loving life with her other brother a Silvestre boy.

WE CHOOSE YOUR PUPPY!
Years ago I let just anyone choose a puppy. But after a few years I realised that people were choosing the wrong dog for them. Many people chose a dog with too higher energy for them, and then struggled later. I started to study dog behaviour and learnt more and more. I realised the new owner in half an hour or hour just doesn't know what the behaviour of that puppy is. Because I live with them 24/7 I could see differences between character and who had more of a hunting ability and who really wasn't interested in hunting. You can read my reference pages as some people have written how they felt about me choosing and how it was all okay.
I listen to you, listen to what you want in a dog and I match personality's to you.
I start looking at puppies at 6 weeks. So by 6 1/2 weeks I will send photos of your puppy. If you wish to show your dog then I choose at 7 weeks because this is a better age to see construction and movement.
DO NOT KEEP ASKING ME if I have chosen your puppy. Do not keep asking me if when you visit I will know which one is yours because I will not. I never look at them until 6 1/2 weeks and then I study them, following all their movements, and how they interact with each other.
If you wish for a show dog then this pushes back choosing to 7 weeks because we take time to study movement. This can delay things for us because puppies do not really move properly until 7 weeks. So it is a fine line of development and actually seeing what happens.

Indiana at 16 weeks.

CAN I BUY TWO TOGETHER?
If you ask me can you purchase 2 Vizsla puppies the answer is NO WAY! This breed needs one on one training other wise it will bond with is sibling, ignore you, run away with its sibling. The training is so much harder. The only plus side is they are good company for each other but the down sides are many and they are not the breed to purchase two together. If you can wait 12-18 months then purchase another is a much better option. Have one fully trained how ever long this takes first. Before you consider another.

If you ask me can I purchase 2 Pugs together, the answer is yes. So long as you have a more adult family with lots of hands on deck to help. They are a much easier breed of dog to own, the two are great company for each other. Training must be done separately to be successful. No discounts are given to two siblings.

This was Bazil and Cookie at around 9 weeks of age in 2017. My heart bursts looking at them.

VET CHECKED
Under defra rules and regulations a breeder should health test their puppy and have documentary evidence of the health check. Many breeders like to skip over this part. However its a brilliant idea. We know you are taking home a healthy puppy and their are no come backs and you know you have parted with your hard earn money and wont be at the vets later in the day with an ill dog. The plus's outweigh any negatives.
Our vet gives a thorough health check, produces us a letter with the micro chip number on, so you know you have the right puppy for the health letter. You can take up a years insurance with this health letter immediately and you wont get let down by insurance companies when you come to insure. So its a win win situation for us all. So yes we pay our vets to do a health check and do puppy letters.

Our vets 3 lovely assistants who had to come and Pug cuddle.

HEALTH TESTS ON PARENTS
I would like to think that all breeders are aware of the health tests for the parents of their dogs but Im afraid they are not.
We as breeders use the health tests as a tool which is what they are designed to be, a tool. For example if a dog carries a certain genetic health problem, we do not mate it to another carrier.
VIZSLA
The only health test required by Kennel club is Hip scoring.
We do Glaucoma, HUU, CA. Which are all extra private health tests as well as having a vet listen to the mother and fathers heart on a yearly basis. A veterinary surgeon can pick up small heart issues which can lead to extensive heart testing. So its highly important for this yearly test on all breeds.

PUGS
The only health test required by Kennel club is with the Assured breeder scheme. HV, Patellar, PDE. Optional boas testing.
We do also do PLL, PK.
FRENCH BULLDOGS
The kennel club only require HC, DM, and now an annual eye testing only if you are assured breeder.

We also do,Bronze health test, Silver health test and thyroid testing.

Remember breeders use health tests as tools to avoid health problems which can appear. The other point to remember is their are many more health problems which their is no health test for as the genetics are too complex.

Gucci Hip score sheet, just to give you an idea of what they look like.

LEAVING DATE
The most exciting time of your life! We understand this and make sure the actual leaving day is swift to get you on the road, but to also give you the weight of your puppy. In the folder is also worming chart, pedigree, kennel club registration, assured breeder scheme wallets, micro chip information and transfer details, and all important veterinary health letter. My contact details.
leaving date will be a Friday and Saturday if the birth date allows. If not it will be during the week.
Times from 9.30 to 1pm leaving times.
Bring with you a towel, poop bags, collar, and lead.
I provide a blanket for puppy, special cushion sprayed with de-stress spray.

We ask for photos, and updates. I will contact you the following morning to make sure your okay.

This is Lani and Vicky. I think the whole facebook community knows Vicky as she's a regular poster. Her dogs are trained to high standard and does search and rescue in Sussex.

REFERENCES
Not many breeders could supply you with references, so we put them on our website for you to read. But also I can give you contact details of Silvestre owners who are happy to talk to you and give references to us as breeders. So don't just take our word for it, you can find out off others just what we are like. We must do a good job because people come back time and time again for dogs, and even their family and friends come to us. We sell several on just references alone from other people so THANKYOU to everyone who thinks that highly of us. It is heart warming xxxx

This is Buzz lightyear who has his own Instagram account. He is with out a doubt one spoilt dog.

BREEDING ENDORSEMENT
All our puppies what ever the breed with come with a breeding endorsement on their Kennel club certificate. It is called (R) Progeny endorsement. This means you are buying a pet dog which we do not wish to be bred from.

It does not mean to say we do not sell breeding dogs because we have done, but they are under strict terms which are the owner must show their dog, and do all the health tests we set out to be done. Plus for each breed the minimum age to be bred from.
I will only lift it if you prove your dog by its wins and good health. Their is a separate contract for you, This is for everyone I do not know. But If someone comes to me who I know who shows then I will not put a breeding endorsement on at all. So we are not anti breeding, we just want it done correctly.
So if you take a dog from us and do nothing then suddenly ask for it to be bred, the answer is NO.

I have lifted several endorsements in my time, for example the dog picture right is Evie, and her owner has showed her in Europe and she is a champion in two countries, as well as multiple tickets all over Europe. She has also won her Junior warrant in the UK and UK Stud book number.
I have also mentoured new breeders wanting to start and do not know what to do.
The first thing today you must find out of your local council if you require a license, because you will do, and this is costly and effects the whole way you keep your dogs today. You must also be self employed and do a yearly tax return on your litters. So its more complex than you think, so to those of you thinking oh I could earn some money think again.

PET INSURANCE
All family pet dogs today should have full pet insurance. Gone are the days when vets bills are a few hundred. They run into a few thousand very quickly if their is something seriously wrong. You should look to insure your dog for full amount possible around £15,000. You should activate your insurance cover on the day you pick up your puppy.
With the health letter from our veterinary surgeon you should be able to get instant cover.
I’m asked all the time who should I insure with? I can not give you that answer because polices change, and you must read terms and conditions, and you’ll find sometimes the most least likely insurance company comes up tops with giving out higher amounts than some doggy related insurance companies. Going on Go compare sites is probably the best way to find insurance.
Just have lifetime cover, have the highest you can get which is £15,000, one that will continually pay out, not stop after first claim and so on.
Free insurances be aware of. If you take up a free insurance and claim during that time, the insurance can become invalid. So it is much wiser to activate an insurance for the day your puppy comes home. Also if you can pay a year rather than by monthly, as I have heard that with some insurances they will not pay out if you have not paid enough into the fund. A friend of mine recently had this with her large breed dog (Not Vizsla). She took out insurance and sadly needed to claim and the insurance wouldn't pay out.

SOCIALISATION
Your puppy will of been on a socialisation program here. But now you need to do the real training. From 8 weeks you should take your puppy out andcarry it and start showing it the world. Do not take an unvaccinated puppy where sick dogs are or where their has been lots of dogs visit that area.
The more you do with the puppy the better adult it will be. A Vizsla must learn noises of cars, buses etc and a full tick off list is in our hidden pages. Meet and greet farm animals.
You have a window which is 8-16 weeks. In this time you must get your puppy
to a training centre and start to do puppy foundation course which is approx 4 weeks min.
Then you can go onto do The Kennel club good citizen bronze. If you can do Silver as well then that is wonderful. Neglect all this at your peril.

VACCINES
I will have explained to you at length why we do not vaccinate puppies. But for those of you that forget here is a quick refresher.
All puppies that suckle from mum's milk are given antibodies in the first 24 hours of life. These antibodies do not wean from a puppy until 16 weeks which is scientifically proven. So vaccinating during this time can be a wasted exercise. Their is more evidence today that over vaccinating of pets is causing other health problems. Such as post vaccine inflammation, (Brain damage), Vaccine induced meningitis, HOD, Fits, Swelling at vaccine site, and death of dog, immune disorders. Which for a Vizlsa is a possible cause for many immune related issues.
I highly recommend two things you should do, one is to go to U Tube and listen to Dr Ronald Schultz on vaccine debates. He makes the product so he is not anti vaccine. It appears that we have been vaccinating wrongly dogs for a long time now.
The other thing if you get the chance is to listen to Dr Becker on early neutering. Both on U Tube.
We are not telling you that you should not vaccinate, because their is a place for vaccine in dog ownership. But doing it at the right time seems to be key for a healthier dog. The key is if we was to vaccinate your puppy we could cause damage to the puppy and we do not want to be held responsible for hurting any puppy, so you must be left to make your own decision on if you want to vaccinate your dog or not. Go to my other page all things natural as I will add more to this page.

MICRO CHIPPED
By law all puppies must be microchipped to the breeder first, then transferred to the owner. We use however a data base which gives you the new owner a free 14 day transfer of the micro chip. So it will not cost you extra to transfer unless you go over the 14 days. Animal tracker is an excellent data base with an easy to navigate website. We use mini microchips as its less size to go into the skin. The transfer is done on the morning you pick up your puppy.
We use a standard ISO chip which can be read in other countries.

WORMING AND FLEA TREATMENT
Yes we worm and flea treat our puppies. All puppies are born with worms. Dormant parasites which pass through milk and placenta continue the cycle of life for parasites. So clever! Lets face it with the multiple products used these days you would think their would be no parasites left in the world. But sadly thats not the case. So all our puppies are wormed at 3 weeks, 5 weeks and 7 weeks and we write down the date in a worming certificate for you. With products used. Fleas, we hardly ever see a flea here. But because we have deer in our gardens we can from time to time get ticks. As our puppies are allowed to play in our gardens they could come into contact with ticks. For this reason we treat our puppies with Frontline flea and tick solution which is a mild solution, so they can then go outside with out the fear of having ticks attached for days.

SPECIAL CUSHION & BLANKET
We provide your puppy with a free blanket which has been rubbed on mum and has familiar smells of our home on. This is a comfort blanket. We also provide a hand made cushion, this cushion has become rather famous with in our circle of dog friends. The cushion is sprayed with pet remedy which helps with stress. Stress from house move, stress from car journey, stress from having new family. This cushion lasts for years in many cases. Im still sent photos of the very first cushion I ever made for our puppies. Its a personal touch of love to make sure your baby settles into your home as best as we can do. You can respray the cushion when ever you feel like it. The cushion has been seen at friends houses, in laws and so on, because the dogs like to take them with them where ever they go. I was recently shown one of one in a hotel room with a 3 year old dog. The Special cushion is just that.