In order to create fully independent puppies who are capable of being together and apart, we are going to design a schedule for day to day life that mirrors our nighttime and socialization schedules.Puppies apart followed by Puppies together, followed by puppies apart, then puppies together. This is a consistent theme throughout the sibling raising process and it’s at the core of what those who are successful raising siblings do. As we get down to the nitty gritty of day to day life with our siblings as caregivers we need to design our puppies daily schedule. Puppies in particular require a well designed schedule, due to how much supervision and rest they require. Puppies, and dogs in general require plenty of rest, an adult dog requires 17 hours of quality rest per day to avoid becoming chronically stressed. Our puppies require even more. When we raise siblings together, they can often prevent each other from getting adequate rest, because they frequently wake each other up, play longer than they should, and play well beyond the point of extreme fatigue. So it’s up to us as caregivers to design a schedule for our puppies that meets all their various needs. 1. The need for rest (17 to 20 hours per day depending on age)2. Proper nutrition and learning to eat when food is offered.3. The need for developing a trusting and positive bond with caregivers.4. The need for need for positive social interaction.5. The need for outlets for species and breed specific natural behaviors.While both fostering independence as well as desirable behavior when together. Designing a Schedule:To design your schedule first write down your own schedule. This includes non negotiable commitments you have each day, the biggest and least negotiable of these is our work schedule including commute time. If you have young puppies this may mean you are scheduling with a substitute caregiver such as a dog walker, sitter, daycare, or another person to offer your young puppies the appropriate exercise breaks. When puppy raising elective (non dog) activities should be kept to a minimum, unless someone is home during the day to attend to the puppies needs. Puppies need about a year of focused attention to their socialization and training.After you have detailed out your own schedule of work and other important commitments you can build your puppy schedule around it. Included are a few samples. Remember, young puppies require as much as 20 hours of rest per day, so don’t feel bad using your playpens (and the activities you provide therein) for resting times. Here are some rules for schedules for siblings.1. When puppies are confined they are confined alone, not in pairs (except during the first transition week).2. When puppies have free time outside of their puppy safe playpen they can be together or apart, but for each 1 hour spent playing together they need to have one free hour spent apart (meaning 1 puppy loose, and the other puppy confined).3. We will always use the Together-Apart protocol, and match any activity the puppies engage in together with the same activity done with a single puppy.

Alternating Freedom and Confinement.

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