May 2, 2024
Nothing much to report today as we gave the puppies a day off from their usual activities. We did do the normal stuff that we keep up with such as puppy laundry and keeping Tipsy well fed and hydrated for proper milk production.
Anyone that knows me well, knows that I have a thing for headshots. One week today!
May 3, 2024
Today the puppies had their second nail trim. It was much easier than the first trim when they were 4 days old. The first trim is always the hardest because they are very small (about 1 mm in width and 2-3 mm in length). Then you factor in the wiggly puppies. There are three time that it is best tor trim young puppy nails. 1. after they let the milk down when they are nursing, they are usually pretty still. 2. When they are milk drunk and pass out after a meal. 3. when they fall asleep in your (or your helper’s) hands. I prefer option number three, but I am not picky as long as the job is executed! At this age, we use regular human nail clippers and a manual file for the jagged edges and will transfer to a Dremel when they are older.
126 tiny nails!
Tonight for ESI we used a fresh basil leaf that i squeezed a bit to get the scent to be more fragrant. None of the puppies had a negative reaction to the basil. Veruca, Ollie, and Charlie all had positive reactions and the rest were neutral.
Today’s Candids:
May 4, 2024
Tipsy has become much more comfortable spending a little more time outside of the whelping box and has started to nap on the air mattress next to the box with us here and there. I went to take a photo of Tipsy with her puppies in the box behind her and when I was cropping it, I realized that we have a real photobomber on our hands…
We used fresh thyme for ESI today. I squeezed it between my fingers again tonight to help make the fragrance more abundant. Four puppies had positive reactions, one negative, and two neutral.
Check out Ollie’s pillow (AKA the thermometer) in today’s candids!
May 5, 2024
Today the puppies had the biggest change for them so far. We added a bumper bed for them to use… and well, Tipsy enjoys laying in it too! The short term goal is to get them to use the bed for sleeping and have them use a potty patch to release their bowels and bladders.
We filed their nails with a human nail file to give Tipsy’s stomach a break from the sharp edges. Some of them didn’t care because they were asleep, while others.. well cared LOL
Speaking of nails… Tipsy also had a pedicure. We usually grind our dog’s nails once a week to keep their joints healthy and happy by allowing proper movement, but we have had other things on our minds these past few weeks. This is the longest that Tipsy’s nails have ever been. Just because I have pretty good photos, I am going to add Kimber’s nails before and after with her third litter.
May 6, 2024
Today’s scent for ESI was Rosemary. This one was interesting because they all had a positive reaction except for Ollie. This was completely unexpected, but I guess this litter likes rosemary for some reason!
Three of the puppies eyes have started to open today. We have suspected that they would open either this past weekend or shortly after, so no surprise there! They happen to be Violet, Charlie, & Willy. The rest don’t seem to be too far behind. This just means that we won’t be using any flash photography for a while during this time. Everything will be done by natural light, the kitchen light, or the heat lamp light until they are all open and well adjusted.
Being that their eyes are just starting to open, that means that their ears are starting to open as well. It is still pretty early on, so no true tell on the ears opening at this point. Once we see a consistent reaction to noises, we will start startle and recovery.
Startle and recover is done to create a positive Conditioned Emotional Response (CER) to prevent the puppies from being afraid of loud noises such as fireworks, banging pots and pans, thunder, the vacuum, etc. Of course we will do our absolute best to set a solid CER foundation, but this will need to continue on with their new families as well. More information on developing a good CER to come!
Something else that you ill notice in the background of a good bit of videos is classical music. Classical music is used to help sooth a puppy and can be used throughout adulthood too! Once the puppies are older, they will listen to all sorts of music, but will always fall back to classical, especially at night time when things are settled much more.
We swapped out the shorter bumper bed for one that is taller. I don’t know who likes it more, Tipsy or the puppies! We have also noticed that more of the puppies are walking farther way from the nest to relieve themselves, so that means that the potty patch introduction is not far away wither.
Fun things are happening around here! Our blog posts are going to start to become longer and more detailed now that there is more going on!
May 7, 2024
The puppies have been releasing away from the nest about 50% of the time. When they are done nursing, most of the time they turn around and toddle as far as they can away from the nest before releasing their bowels and bladders. We have found that they catch on a little better if you give them a potty area sooner, so we added that today. The majority of them didn’t seem to mind it, Veruca and Violet even took a nap in there at first!
We had tried pellets and these fake grass turf potty patches and have had most success with the patches. Even when we have added the pellets early, they still seem to find a reason to put them in their mouths and chew on them.
Puppies naturally release away from the nest so we will use that as a way to keep clean so we will use that in our favor to train them to use the potty area. Another trick that we use is to use that the potty area smelling like a potty area and to keep the nest area clean. This seems to help them hit the pads more consistently, every time that they miss the potty for one reason or another, we will clean that up right away. This helps their instincts know where to go. Eventually, they will have a large play area where there will be one designated potty spot.
Tonight we are using Sesame Oil for ESI. I coated the inside of a condiment dish to use to present the scent. I found this one kind of comical because 4 of the puppies were licking their lips as soon as they smelled it, but Willy, Augie, & Charlie were not fans. I let Tipsy have a smell too and she was trying to lick the inside of the container, so I guess the ones who liked it take after their mother!
We also do something called Individual Puppy Cuddle Time where each of them gets a chance to be held by themselves at least once a day. This was Mike having his turn on the air mattress with me this evening. He was in good company with his Uncle Wesson resting with us too. He kept warm with the blankets while he was on his field trip staying under the covers!
Two candid shots!
May 8, 2024
A few if the puppies have used the potty patches by themselves. Was it just a coincidence?? At this age, probably, but doing something that is a coincidence is the first step to learning! We also witnessed Willy walk over pee and poop on the potty patch after waking up from a nap. Was that also a coincidence?? Probably. But, that does give us insight that we are headed in the right direction! They will start to learn to use the patches as they get older. After all, they still don’t have the ability to use all of their senses just yet!
Speaking of their senses, all of the puppies eyes have started to open. Willy’s are the most open, although I assume that anything that he is seeing would still be pretty foggy at this time.
They are getting better at walking and are able to hold themselves up for a few seconds at a time now. This is always a fun age to see them toddle around and learn to use their limbs.
The scent for ESI was Dill Weed today. Mike had a neutral reaction, Charlie a negative reaction, and the rest were all positive as they tried to dive into the small dish that I was using. Tipsy of course was interested in licking what was inside of my bowl too!
We also feel their baby teeth starting to come in. They have little bumps along their gums that will be teeth in no time! For some reason, we always seem to use the puppy with the yellow collar to let us have a look at their gums. So here is Veruca being our model!
Today’s Candid Shots:
chaletdalmatians.com 