Author: Matrix Ridgebacks

Hello All! I know it has been quite a while. I promise more Ridgeback puppy pictures soon, but am posting now to ask for your help in spreading the word. Our magnificent Dane boy, Morpheus, is not getting along with two of his housemates and despite our best efforts at socialization and behavior modification, the situation is not improving. Morpheus likes to be very connected to his humans and sharing them with other animals is not as easy for him as it is for the Ridgebacks. As much as we love him, it’s clear that he would be happier if he was king of his own house with no competition…and we will have less stress in the pack at our house. We are looking for:

• An experienced dog owner, all the better if they have been a Dane owner
• No other dogs in the household, period!
• He is great with children, but better-suited to live with older children (middle school aged and older)
• Someone willing to continue obedience training with him and set firm rules, but with a soft touch
• Home with a large, fenced yard or a Yardmax underground fence. Morpheus is trained to the Yardmax.

Prospective adoptive families should email me and fill out a prospective owner questionnaire on our Puppies page.

Dill had some fun this morning figuring out how to get the bottle out of the square space in the ladder rungs. He then started to play some street hockey, bottle style. This is also one of those good reminders to take the hard cap and plastic ring off bottles, along with the label, before giving it to your pup for supervised play. The harder plastics are better for this. They can chew through the thin, crinkly water bottles, so we don’t advise using those for play. We also don’t leave our puppies alone with plastic bottles.

8 weeks passes quickly and we are starting to say our good-byes. Cory and Clove have left for their new homes with fantastic owners and we have a crew of five for just a little longer now. They are growing fast, playing hard for longer periods and burning more calories, so we’ve pushed their feed up to 1.25 cups x 2 per puppy each day. That’s 12.5 cups total each day for 5 pups! This will likely change again in a just a week or so, depending upon how they are looking.

Stacking is positioning for a dog which allows a show judge to evaluate a dog’s structure and consider it against breed standards. Stacking also gives the judge an opportunity to run his or her hands over the dog, feeling bony structure and muscle. Below are are our puppy stacks in the 6-7 week age range.

Here are “the seven” shown in order of their birth.

We’ve left an open crate in the puppies play enclosure so that they can become accustomed to napping there. As you can see, it has become a popular hangout. It is also a reminder that these pups have NEVER slept alone in a crate by themselves, having 6 brothers and sisters around to keep them company since birth. When they go home with you, sleeping alone and crate training will be a new and somewhat scary experience. For the least amount of stress and crying, we recommend that you crate the puppy in your room at night until s/he becomes accustomed to new surroundings. If you are away during the day, enclose the pup in an area where s/he has enough access to water and room to walk and jump around for play. Our favorite location for a new puppy is enclosed in an X-pen in the kitchen with water, a safe bed and safe toys. Your young friend will be lonely at first, so here are some things to consider:

(1) Who’s home to let the puppy out during the day and interact with him or her? If you aren’t, have you lined up a weekday dog walker? Depending upon how long you are gone, you may need to arrange two visits per day.

(2) Is the pup’s new place inviting with a comfy, chew-safe bed, some toys and water?

(3) Do you have treats at hand to reward the pup every time s/he goes into the crate? Looking forward to a treat makes the crate a happy experience! In our house we use the words, “Get in your box!”

(4) Where will you put the wood shavings for the puppy to toilet if you are away for an hour or two? Our pups have a solid foundation for house training and are accustomed to walking far from their sleeping area to soil in wood shavings near the door of the house. We recommend a similar set up for you. For new pups at our house, we purchase an extra crate pan at Petsmart, place it near the door and put shavings in it. When we are away, this cuts down on messes to clean up. When we are home, we watch the pup and encourage him or her to go outside when we see that s/he is walking to the wood chips. There will be some mistakes. Clean them up as soon as possible and ignore them. Mistakes are normal, but Ridgebacks like to be clean. Be sure to heap on the praise when your pup gets it right!

Coriander (aka Cory) wandered away from his littermates and discovered a giant “land squid” in the puppy box. Acting quickly, he subdued it before his brothers and sisters returned.

The puppies ventured outside this week and had quite an adventure. Kito has stopped nursing and started teaching and playing with the pups. She seems to truly enjoy these times. The pups have a sakrete tunnel and an open door crate in their indoor area to begin practicing in. Several have tried the crate out already for a daytime nap. Coriander loves running through the tunnel, approximately 4 feet long.