May 16, 2024
The puppies are 3 weeks old already! What?!? Time sure does fly when you are having fun!
Three Week Headshots!
I realized today that I had forgotten to mention that the puppies have started psssst training. All that is is holding a small (pea sized) piece of raw organic ground beef in front of their nose while making that noise over and over. This will eventually become my puppy call to call the puppies to their meal. I also use it when they are nursing.
We have word that the buccal swabs that we sent to embark have arrived and they have started the laboratory process. They gave an estimated time frame of 2-4 weeks. We will be patiently awaiting those very special genetic panel results to be sent our way!
We have also started something that will be helpful later on when we are evaluating the structure of the puppies. All show dogs have a special stance called a stack. They use this in the show ring to evaluate the structure of the dogs and how well they fit into the breed standard. We will be doing the same thing except we will be evaluating for a keeper puppy as well as who will be going to a show home. Every breed of dog is stacked in the same way with the exception of two breeds. Those are the English Bulldog and the German Shepherd Dog.
The point of this is not to get a good photo, it is to get them comfortable so that in a few weeks, we can properly evaluate them and hopefully take some nice photos. So, we start now with getting them up on the table (or in our case, kitchen island) so that they know what to expect in a few weeks. I hope to have them spend a minute or two up there once a day.
May 17, 2024
Today was busy for us, so nothing major to report. It was time to add the water bowl for the puppies to have a drink if they want. We haven’t noticed any of them going over on their own just yet, but I am sure that they will be soon. They are all walking much better and are much more stable and are shaking (as if they were wet and trying to dry off), being very vocal, wagging their little tails, and exhibiting more play behaviors each day.
I know that I have talked about seeing their personalities previously, but this is the week that they start to really develop being that their eyes and ears are open, they are much more mobile, and they have found their voices.
We are using both Avidog and Puppy Culture protocols with this litter because we are developing a strong foundation for when they go to their new homes with their parents. Everything that we do from working on resource guarding, crate training, desensitization to loud noises (such as the hairdryer, blender, vacuum, etc.) all the way down to playing classical music for them to settle to will need to be continued on once they have left us. We lay the foundation, but their new owners will build the house so to speak.
We run the vacuum around here very often and have not seen anyone upset about that. They seem to have started into their first fear period, so it is crucial to use this time to implement proper expectation to their environment. This is why startle and recovery is so important. They learn that they can become scared, but all is well. It in the end, our goal is not to make sure that the puppies never become frightened by something, that is inevitable. Our goal is to create an environment where they learn that being startled has no lasting effects. A great example of this is you being tapped on the shoulder while listening to music with your headphones. You may become frightened, but quickly realize that all is well.
May 18, 2024
We had talked about getting to the point where they we have daily changes here that will help the puppies get used to heyday changes that will happen in their day to day lives. At this age, there are not many things that can be changed the the puppies will be able to notice. For now, we are doing toy changes 1-2 times a day.
Changing the toys around is also something that may be beneficial in the long run to keep them interested in what toy is actively available to them. This is similar to what you would do with a child by rotating their toys.
The puppies have gotten quite comfortable up high for stacking. They are also getting good at standing still for us to be able evaluate for structure.
May 19, 2024
Some of the puppies have started to try to run around. By try, I mean that they are exhibiting behaviors of running, but not going very fast. I guess it looks like they are running in slow motion! They are playing much more too.
They are understanding that my puppy call means something, but I am not convinced that they have made the connection to food just yet. But they certainly know that it means that something is happening.
The puppies had their first meal of kibble today. Usually this day is very messy, but they were on the clean side afterwards.
May 20, 2024
The puppies had a lazy day today. They kept up with their normal activities and didn’t do anything other than eat, sleep, play, and look cute! They are continuing to grow and physically change each day. The humans around here also had a very busy day today and we dint take many photos of the bunch.
On days like this, I will typically play a video that has a noise that the puppies don’t often hear. I will turn my volume up significantly so that they become used to odd noises. One day it was a baby crying, another day it was a chainsaw. Is this as good as the real thing? Of course not, but it is second best so that if they come into contact with the real thing at some point, it is not as much of a surprise that something like that makes a different noise than they are typically around.
May 21, 2024
The puppies were ready for another addition to their area, so we added on some panels to make an L-shaped box. they seem to like the extra leg room. This also means that we had the opportunity to make the potty spot larger. They needed the potty to be bigger because they will try to do their business and walk off of the pad, then turn around and get back onto the artificial grass.
Speaking of the potty, they are using it pretty regularly. Of course there are a few accidents here and there. I would say that they make it there about 75% of the time, which is very good for a puppy this age. In about a week, maybe a little longer depending on if they are ready or not, we will likely open them up to their pig area. They will stay there until they go to their new homes.
May 22, 2024
Last night was the first night that Tipsy slept in bed and had a mostly normal nighttime routine. She nursed the puppies right before we hit the sac, and slept a good bit through the night. She was ready to feed them again around when the sun was starting to come up. This was the longest that they had gone without nursing as Tipsy is very motherly to them in during the day and when we were still spending our nights on an air mattress next to the pen.
We also are prepping them for their first nail trim with the Dremel tool. We have been running it for them to get used to the sound that it makes. I also have been keeping up with playing different noises that they are not generally used to. Today’s noises were a choir and a donkey. They also hear the real noises of our next door neighbor building a garage, cars, and airplanes/helicopters. Once we are able to open the doors and windows more, they will be able to hear them louder as well. They all reacted to my donkey video with a “what the heck was that” look about them and then carried on about their business.
A couple of days ago we noticed that the puppies were Manding for our attention. They weren’t doing this all of the time, but enough that we noticed. Manding is something that they do to ask for attention instead of jumping up on the sides of the box. When we are in the box with them, sitting or playing, manding isn’t as big of a deal. But when they would like to be held or petted, they need to be sitting for us to interact with them. This will be the foundation of training them to not jump on company coming into the house or get excited to meet someone new out and about.
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