Please see our expanded breed education website at http://www.bmdinfo.org for more information on Bernese Mountain Dog care and training.
8-10 weeks
One of the most important concerns in management of puppies is controlling interaction with adult dogs.
NO PUPPY SHOULD EVER BE PERMITTED TO ROUGHHOUSE WITH ADULT, larger or more physically adept DOGS!!!!! Young dogs can and will overexert themselves in play. Slamming, racing around and wrestling can cause serious and even lasting injury to muscles and ligaments in growing pups.
All play periods or exercise should be monitored by a responsible adult to avoid injuries to tender puppies.
Size
Typical Bernese pups weigh from 12-24 pounds at 8-10 weeks. Puppy weight at this young age is sometimes a refection of litter size, with large litters tending to have smaller puppies and litters with fewer members having larger sized pups . Sometimes puppy weight is a reflection of the size pups a particular dam or pair is apt to produce. Relative size of a puppy or litter may or may not carry through to adulthood. Genetics will play the most significant role in the eventual size any dog will attain at maturity provided the dog receives adequate nutrition and conditioning during development. Typically puppies will gain somewhere between 2-4 pounds a week during the first few months.
Feeding schedule
After you first bring your puppy home is the time to set up regular feeding times so your pup is on a schedule. What goes in must come out so housebreaking will be a lot easier with a regularly timed feeding schedule. Young puppies should be offered food three times a day.
Our feeding protocol
Generally a moderate protein and fat level in a dry kibble consisting of no greater than 24-26% protein and 12-15% fat as found in a good quality feed is what we recommend for our pups. Small additions of yogurt, cooked meat or fresh fruits, like banana, apple or pear and vegetables like carrots, broccoli, squash or cooked pumpkin or yams can be offered as well. Most pups love a variety fresh foods. We usually feed about 15-25% fresh foods and 75-85% quality kibble. Usually our pups of this age eat from 3/4 - 1 and 1/2 cups of food per meal.
Other breeders follow different feeding protocols. Most breeders will advise new owners about an appropriate diet for their pup. BARF and raw food diets are becoming more widely used in the Berner community. Please check out the links shown just below for more information on raw and home prepared diets. Some dogs have sensitivities to some foods, so using common sense when managing your dog's diet is a must. Food sensitivities or allergies can create management challenges, like skin or ear problems or digestive problems like gas or diarrhea.
BARF -Dr. Ian Billinghurst
Nutrition -Wendy Volhard
The ideal weight of any dog should depend on how large a frame and how much bone and muscle he or she has. Feeding more food to a pup to accelerate growth is NOT advised. Overfeeding a Berner puppy will cause the dog to become fat which can place increased strain on joints, ligaments, tendons and bones. Overfeeding can also cause digestive difficulties such as diarrhea. The best favor any owner can do for their puppy is to manage activity and feeding to allow for as steady as possible growth.
About kibble
Good quality kibble costs somewhere between $35.00-$45.00 for a 40 pound bag. Better quality foods contain human grade ingredients and use vitamins C and E as preservatives; they also usually contain chelated minerals which are more readily usable from a nutritional standpoint. Lesser quality foods are no bargain as most are full of fillers which leads to BIG and often more frequent stools. Poorer quality foods do not contain the quality ingredients that will optimize development of bones and muscles. Poorer foods can also contain additives and chemical preservatives which are not desirable. Whole Dog Journal reviews dry and canned foods annually. Visit http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/foodreviews/dry.html for more information on foods.
Feeding and exercise
Pups want to play and many can play quite hard. Manage your puppy's play schedule so activities and exercise will occur at least about 2 hours after mealtime - to avoid bloat or gastric torsion.
Bonding & routines
During the first weeks you have your pup bonding and establishing routines begin. Pups of this age are still babies and will be looking to you for direction. Young puppies have no ability to anticipate the results of their actions so owners must be constantly vigilant to ensure the pup's safety. You will need to pay very close attention to your puppy while she is small to see that she does not get into mischief or get into a situation where she could get hurt. Take your pup outside regularly to relieve herself and begin to introduce the crate if you plan to use one.
The following links at the American Dog Trainers Network offer in depth discussions of crate training and housebreaking.
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/housebreaking.html
Puppies love to chew
They will chew on furniture, shoes, children's toys, electric cords and almost anything they find-including people. The best course is to distract the pup from chewing on undesirable objects by offering a chew toy or a bone instead. You can't effectively deal with a pup's chewing by scolding - just accept that pups will chew and give them something appropriate to chew
My dishtowel is missing!!!!
Puppies are notorious for eating inappropriate things like dishtowels, socks, string or soft toys. Some dogs will eat these things and they will pass through their system a day or several days later. If you find that an object is missing and your dog does not want to eat, has thrown up or seems to be in any kind of digestive distress, the object may be in your dog. If your dog is uncomfortable she may need to have the object surgically removed before it causes damage to the stomach and intestines.
Some dogs play a chase game with objects and some will gulp things down. By chasing you encourage the dog's game to continue. Instead, try getting another acceptable toy or treat and try to get your pup to give up his object for yours by offering to play your game with your super fun toy. Most dogs just want their owner's attention and will readily change gears to get it.