As I was writing about all of the things that the puppies did today, I realized that I will be talking a good bit about changes that are happening around here. It is super important that the puppies go through changes everyday, some days it will be one large change, some days it will be a good bit of small changes, and other days it will be just a few small changes. Why do we do this you might ask? The simple answer is that we are making sure that the puppies are getting used to a changing environment from a young age.
We had some pretty big changes today for the puppies. These are considered big ones for their age, but once they are a few weeks older, they will be pretty minute. We removed the pig rails as some of the puppies were having trouble moving around underneath of them. Once that happens, that is our cue to remove them. We also added a low bumper bed and a potty patch.
The potty patch is the first area that the puppies will learn where to do their business. The concept is simple, but we as the breeders must put the work in. Puppies naturally release away from the nest in an effort to keep their area clean and their scent away from them.
We use their natural instincts to teach them to potty in one spot of what will become the puppy pen one day. If we are around when a puppy stops nursing or just wakes, we will pick them up and place them on the potty patch. We will specifically keep the rest of the pen/box clean which will encourage them to use the patch. They are not very good at it at this time, but eventually will catch on pretty well. Just for reference, each litter is different. We have had litters who use the potty consistently from 2.5-3 weeks on and some litters who started to use the patch consistently closer to 5 weeks.
chaletdalmatians.com 