Information about A Dog's Life

BREEDING AGE
In Britain, the Kennel Club docs not normally allow the registration of any puppies born to bitches under the age of 1 8 months, nor to bitches over eight years. However they are certainly capable of producing pups outside these limits so care must be taken that males do not come into contact with bitches in season (on heat).The Kennel makes no stipulation as to the age at which males are used for breeding purposes but they can be sexually active from around six months, so again care is needed. Males are sexually mature well into old age and in some breeds, dogs of 11, 12 and even more perform successful matings.

GESTATION PERIOD
An average gestation period is 63 days, but bitches can whelp as much as a week early or late without experiencing any problems, although veterinary advice is of course needed at this time. At whelping, a bitch goes through the first and second stages of labor, at which time complications may arise and in certain cases assistance or even a caesarean operation might be necessary. Under normal circumstances, puppies are fed totally by their dam for the first three or four weeks, following which they begin weaning. By the time they are six or seven weeks old they are no longer reliant on their dam for food, although they will willingly still suckle from her if given the opportunity.

Puppies should never be allowed to leave their dam and siblings before the age of eight weeks — 10 weeks is more usual.

A bitch usually first comes into season between six and nine months, but it can be earlier and is frequently later. After the first couple of seasons, she usually settles down into a regular cycle of twice a year or slightly less frequently, but there are dogs, especially in certain breeds, which come on heat only once a year.

Some breeds mature later than others and have different life spans, so reach their 'prime of life' at different times, too. As a general rule, smaller breeds tend to live longer than very large ones. Some of the giant breeds, such as Great Danes or Mastiffs, may live only until the age of seven or eight, whereas a Lhasa Apso or Shih Tzu, for example, has an average life span of 12-15 years, many live even longer.

INSTINCT AND LEARNING OF DOG
The dog's closest ancestor is the wolf, but now, many generations on, different breeds of dog have developed, each with their own particular skill. Different senses are more highly developed in some breeds than others, according to the dog's main function. In the wild, dogs are pack animals and some domestic dogs have retained a greater pack instinct than others.

TRAINING DOGS
Although man has developed breeds in different ways in order to best meet his own needs, much of the behavior we see in dogs has become instinctive over a very long period involving many generations. Training is also important, but usually training and inherited traits go hand in hand. A dog which has an instinct to herd sheep needs to be trained how best to do the work because an untrained dog can all too easily create havoc by using inborn skills in which the dog sees fit, but not the owner. One which has an instinct to work well with the nose again needs assistance in learning exactly what to do. Some dogs are specialized at scenting out truffles, others at following the scent of animals or even criminals, or perhaps finding those who have become lost in the snow. Each breed has its own special talent, this inborn talent having, to a large extent, been developed through selective breeding by man.

THE RETRIEVING INSTINCT
Some of the gundog breeds and the Newfoundland are instinctively good swimmers and even without any special training will retrieve things from water. However, such dogs need to be taught what needs to be retrieved or rescued and what does not: for large dogs have been known to 'rescue' people swimming happily and safely!

Dogs have long been used to guard people, their homes and belongings. In Tibet, for example, the country's Mastiff guards not only domestic animals but also women and children whilst the men folk are away from home. Inside monasteries, other, smaller dogs instinctively give a warning bark to the monks to let them know that visitors or intruders have passed the Tibetan Mastiffs chained outside, Dogs have been designed for many specialized purposes  such as pulling heavy carts or giving chase to game. Today many of dogs' skills, whether instinctive, bred or taught, are put to use in a variety of ways to fit in with modern life.