Appalachian Mountains Litter

Crate conditioning levels up to a closed door during meals with two puppies per crate Puppies are rotated so each puppy eats a meal in a crate.

Puppies met my parents’ dog Ziva this week. She’s been great for every puppy I’ve raised. She knows how to dial her play and energy according to each puppy.

Bodywork continues. This is a POV photo of what a down restraint looks like once e dog is relaxed into it. At this point, I am stoking the puppy in a big, circular motion, I think it trances some of them. When I release them, sometimes they lay there in this relaxed state until I touch them again as if to wake them.

I am linking this video again as a demonstration example.

The puppies took a trip to my parent’s house for a car ride, new place, and their puppy-friendly dog.

While the puppies are this small, I have 5 puppies per crate. I like them to have the support of their siblings for now.

One thing I’ve noticed that helps with getting dogs settled for car rides is temperature control!

Make sure their crates have good ventilation and they are cool. If ensuring this means starting the car a little earlier than loading up the dog, I’m inclined to encourage it. My current car has backseat AC and my cargo-area crates have fans on them to make sure the air circulates quickly. When I didn’t have backseat AC, I used Noggles to direct air flow: see here.

I use Gunner and Ruff Land Kennels for car crates but there are many options for safe car travel with your dog.

This Facebook group is a good starting point for safe containment ideas.: Dog Sport Vehicle Set Ups & Ideas