General Advice Care

Feeding

We advise that you feed your dog a well balanced dry dog food mix, giving them variety from time to time by gentle introduction.  This will help preserve their teeth and well being. Wet food makes a nice treat but should not be their main diet.

Puppies should be fed 4-5 meals a day up to the age of 4 months providing you are giving your puppy plenty of exercise and are not overfeeding them, although puppies are pretty good at self regulating at this stage.

Up to 1 year of age, your puppy's' meals can be reduced to 3 per day and down to 2 meals a day beyond the age of one,  providing they are evenly spaced in the morning and evening and not given just before or after exercise. 

If you are vegetarian, that is a personal choice and although vegetarian dog foods are on the market, Your beliefs and choice should not be forced on your dog, especially as it is unnatural for them  and it could create a more natural instinct to hunt.  Their intake of vitamins and nutrients  may also suffer as a consequence.

Abstain from giving real bones and make sure that you dispose of any bones or carcass properly as the scent is too enticing for any Porcelaine not to use any of its means and capabilities to retrieve them from a bin, fridge or cupboard.

Plenty of chews should be offered to help keep them occupied and teeth clean.

Only chocolate especially manufactured for dog consumption should be given as rewards or treats.

Always ensure that you have plenty of fresh water out for them at all times.

You may find it beneficial for your dog to be be fed from bowls that can be raised off the ground at a suitable height to aid digestion and are specifically meant for this purpose.

If you have other dogs be vigilant as feeding times can cause aggressive behaviour.


Grooming

The Porcelaine requires very little grooming. A medium to soft brush used once a day will help remove loose hairs, a horse brush is a good alternative. This is also a suitable time to check for any foreign bodies such as ticks, thorns or grass seed which may have become embedded inside the ears, or in between the toes.  

It is advisable to possess some tweezers to help remove them but do not stick anything down the ear canal as you can cause permanent damage. Always seek veterinary help in these cases especially if your dog is shaking its head in annoyance, scratching,  yelping in pain or if the area looks infected or inflamed.


Bedding & Toys

We will provide the new owner with a piece of blanket with the scent of its pack. This is probably the  only source of comfort that it will recognise and thus we recommend that you place it with the Porcelaines main bedding for the first few days unwashed until it has got used to you and it's new family surroundings. 

Make sure that they have a comfortable and safe bed and it is placed free from drafts.

Toys should be suitable and provide good interaction and stimulation but checked frequently, being discarded if damaged.


Training

Overall these dogs are naturally intuitive, good for working with and intuitive with puzzles and problem solving.  Be warned though, as what may seem amusing and clever can often turn out to be a problematic scenario.

By investing in a good dog training book, browsing the internet, visiting the library  and talking or watching handlers will help you gain information on some basic training and how you can get the maximum from your dog. Ideally, you should combine this with regular visits at locally organised and approved dog training schools.

We favour the combination of clicker and reward training.

Toilet Training

Being raised in the home means that your Porcelaine puppy from us will already have the advantage of being used to toilet training on newspaper and has also associated going to the toilet with outside to some degree.

Make sure you have a good supply of paper and allow your puppy a designated area near to the door in which they know they can use until you can gradually lessen the area. If you have a carpeted floor then a  plastic sheet or an off cut of lino underneath will prevent staining and odours before laying newspaper on top.
It is unnecessary to smack or rub the dogs nose into the mess. An immediate firm cross sounding tone "NO" and moving the puppy to the newspaper or outside, is sufficient. Remember to praise and reward your puppy when it gets it right.

In Show

Even when the Porcelaine is officially granted the imported breed status, it will be a number of years before The British Kennel will allow the Porcelaine to actively compete in their rings in the U.K.

However, there are plenty of countries where the breed is widely acknowledged and as such means that the Porcelaine can compete to win.  In Canada, the Porcelaine has even been proven in agility competitions.

Whilst presently in the U.K the breed can compete in companion, country shows and many non K.C affiliated shows.

Once the breed has been granted status on the import breed register, you may come across the Porcelaine hounds at the Discover dogs stalls at Crufts.

Hunting

Hunting: The Porcelaine is perfectly suited to hunt as it is not only a fine thoroughbred but is a fast and agile scent hound. In France and Switzerland at their optimum, these hounds are trained mostly in packs to hunt rabbit, small deer or wild boar.

We don't pro-actively work our hounds to hunt, but as we have such a strong affiliation with our pups we can advise potential purchasers on individual characters and natural traits within the litter which intuitively display strong hunting instincts and therefore will be more suitable for homing amongst drag hunting, working farming households. In the same way, we can advise which pups would be more suitable for purely a companion role and home.

We do not supply anyone under any circumstance wishing to use them for hare coursing, badger baiting or any other illegal act.