Puppy Dog Beds

It has finally happened:  My Germain Wirehaired Pointer, Gaia, is in season and we are ready to aim for a mating, hoping for puppies in nine weeks’ time.

It is the best thing ever, having pups and I can’t wait, hoping desperately that she will get pregnant and that everything will go to plan.

Gaia is a fantastic working dog, working grouse, pheasant and woodcock. She has won a novice Field Trial and an Open. She came third in an All Age and won the Guns’ Choice.

German Wirehaired Pointer, Gaia, on point on grouse

My next dog up, in age, is Gollum and he has just passed his 7th birthday and will be of limited use on the grouse moor in three years time. He is quite a heavy dog and does not have quite the stamina as lighter dogs like Gaia and my very old, Tippex. So I have to look ahead and plan for the next dog for the endurance work on the grouse moor. After a day’s work they all love their comfortable dog beds more than you would think. They seem to do the same speed with same level of concentration all day, but once they get on their car dog beds and we travel home, they are out for the count, completely exhausted.

Once the pups arrive, I will have a maternity ward ready for her in what was the old office for our production of dog beds. As we have moved the office out to a newer building, this room is ideal as it is IN our family house and she can have dog beds to ”escape” to from the pups and I will also make sure she can nurse her pups in a clean, nice bed in the whelping box. It won’t work to let her give birth in one of our waterproof dog beds such as a nest as it is vital to make sure that the pups can’t fall in behind the bitch and get suffocated. The bitch can’t count and would not be looking for a wee pup squashed behind her if it can’t wiggle or make enough noise to raise her alarm. If the newborn pup is squealing the bitch will of course try to fix the situation by picking it up, but in the very first days this may not go well if the pup can’t even breathe. A flat whelping box with pig railing is best. The railings should be fitted so that when the bitch lies with her back against the sides, nursing the pups, there is just enough space behind her for any stray pup to move along without getting trapped.

I can’t wait to get the chance to pick my own pup out of the litter and start the new life of a working dog. I have not decided whether to have a bitch or a dog yet, it might just depend on which one has the best working potential and nicest temperament. I will obviously start him or her off on one of our puppy dog beds : the Puppy/Travel Tuffie.

Here is the Puppy/Travel Tuffie when it is used as a dog bed for a puppy. It is folded over and is particularly soft and snuggly.

Once the puppy grows up and is too big for the Puppy Tuffie, you will be able to use the same dog bed as a handy, not too heavy, travel dog bed. Travel dog beds are much, much thinner than our usual thick futon mattress dog beds and should not be used every day, just as an overnight or car arrangement.