Woman Discovers 'Lost' Cat Meowing Behind Sealed Tiles After Builder's Blunder
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Dogs are, as a rule, wonderful parents. They will never maltreat or abandon their young ones. Newborn pups need special care – they can't see, hear or walk, and their moms need to help them with everything.
After a while, when the pups grow a bit, it's mom's job to teach them how to be a proper dog. Of course, they do that through play and with a lot of love.
People honor that love by sharing wonderful pics of proud dog moms and their puppies. We have selected 50 of the most adorable photos (it was a tough job, though), and you will love them....
In the shelter setting, if moms and puppies are physically housed at the shelter, we have to balance the benefits of keeping them together with the risks of infectious disease that are higher in that setting; ideally, mothers and litters are housed in foster homes, and not on-site, as this reduces disease risk and provides a much better environment for important socialization for the puppies through exposure to new experiences and to people," dr. Katribe says.
"If moms and puppies must be housed on-site at the shelter, starting the weaning process and separating puppies from mom earlier will allow them to be adopted earlier; then they can experience socialization in their adoptive home. Even when puppies are housed in foster homes, sometimes it makes sense to wean and separate toward the earlier end of the ideal range – if we move them through faster to adoption, then that foster home is now available to save the lives of other mothers and puppies, dogs that might not have a chance without that foster home."
Katribe emphasized that pups should remain with their family until at least seven weeks of age to reach the full mental and emotional development they can reach only through interaction with their moms, brothers, and sisters.
"The ones that are separated from their mother and litter earlier are more prone to behavior disorders, including separation anxiety and increased fear responses," the doctor explained. "Puppies that remain with their mother and litter longer, particularly if they're being exposed to new experiences, tend to respond better to novel experiences later in life and become better-adjusted pets."
Sadly, pups that are bred specifically for sale at pet stores, for example, are separated from their moms while very young. That implies limited exposure to new sights, sounds, and experiences.
Erin Katribe, a Medical Director at Best Friends Animal Society, says that pups receive all the nutrients they need from their moms' milk before they switch to solid food (weaning).
"Weaning naturally begins around 4-6 weeks of age when puppies begin to show interest in food," Dr. Katribe says. "This early, however, they should still have access to their mom to be able to nurse as their transition to solid food is gradual."
This process is very important to puppies; they learn about these activities from their mother and littermates, and the natural progressing order must be kept. Otherwise, some problems may arise when the pups get older.
"The social interaction of the mother with puppies is critical until at least 7 weeks of age, and ideally longer. They learn how to interact with one another – how to 'speak' dog," Dr. Katribe explained.
"For example, through biting and mouthing during play, mom and littermates will signal to a puppy when things get too rough and will end the play – this is how a puppy learns bite inhibition, that mouthing or biting too hard is not OK. This is an important skill for later in life. Puppies also learn about different body postures and types of vocalization, key components of canine communication."
While overwhelmed with this cuteness, it's easy to forget that caring for pups or moms and litters requires a lot of work. "Fostering a mom and puppies or fostering an older puppy (until it is old enough for spay/neuter and adoption) for your local shelter can be a great way to get a small taste of what that's like, without making a longer commitment," Katribe emphasized.
"Fostering also saves lives for shelters that are otherwise stretched for housing space or resources."And, on some occasions, we can't control when a pup is separated. The orphan puppies are the best example.
But there are things that can make socialization easier -"In those situations, it's important to seek advice from an experienced trainer or veterinary behaviorist to have the best chance at achieving social development," Katribe said.