Day 27-- Activity

One of the concepts in the Puppy Culture program is to teach puppies to be enrichment seekers. This crew is certainly good at that at less than four weeks old. I added an activity center to their pen yesterday and each took a turn exploring its possibilities. I also observed different puppies trying the wobble ball. I do not leave the activity center in the pen all of the time but add it off and on through the day.  

It was a busy day here on the mountain yesterday as my family came to celebrate memorial Day with a cookout and some swimming---and of course puppy holding. At the end of the day Mellissa and Dave came to get their first look at the puppies. I think they were impressed with how active and strong these babies are. Before they left, Findlay decided he wanted some privacy and crawled over all of the barriers I had set up to keep them at the front of the whelping pen. He ended up finding a soft spot at the back for his private nap. I added a roll of crinkly bubble wrap to his escape route to hopefully keep him in.

The following picture shows their current sleeping arrangement. I have made it large enough for them all to be able to sleep, but small enough that if they need to potty they must go into the potty box. That is working better than I anticipated and I get up to  clean puppies each morning.

Of course shortly afterwards I open the pen for them to come to the play yard for breakfast and then poop starts happening in many places. On occasion it actually makes it to the potty box there. After food, play and poop, they often head back to their sleeping area to go back to sleep. One by one they make their way up the ramp.

That is when I remove all of the toys, bed, water bowl and such and strip all of the dirty things and replace with clean ones. Yes, I do A LOT of laundry but I am hopeful in the end it will all be worth the efforts that I am making.

 

Hope was a little better during the day yesterday and stressed less. I did allow her in with the puppies when she chose to go and they each got some Mommy's milk on two occasions. Last night was difficult once again because she doesn't want to be in with them but she doesn't want to be separated from them either. I guess I will sleep again in about four weeks.

Day 26--Changes

I suppose each day could be titled "Changes" as it seems the puppies, as well as their environment,  change daily. Yesterday I added this blow up, wiggly, spikey toy. Nikos was the first to give it a try. He managed to get to the center and then it started moving about and he decided he had investigated enough. I also added a plastic bottle filled with popcorn kernels that I duct taped shut. It made a great gadget for startle/recovery and also fun for the pups to roll around. You may notice that I also enlarged the potty box. I am seeing about 1/3 of the deposits make it to the box. I'm shooting for 100% but I may be dreaming. Last night worked great because they were closed into the whelping pen with just enough space for their bed and a potty box. I got up to a clean pen this morning. Of course shortly afterwards I fed them in the play pen and followed around as they left their messes everywhere. All is quiet now; they ate, they pooped, they played and then everyone headed back to the whelping pen for a nap. They come and go from the whelping pen on their own during the day.

Another change yesterday was an outdoor pen that I placed on the deck. They didn't all make it out there yet but a few had a try. It was a little scary to be out in the big world with different footing but they did well. I will eventually set up a pen out in the grass for yet another experience. 

Meal time has become a little crazy as they grow. It will soon become too crowded for them all to get around the bowl. Barb will loan me her puppy saucer so no one misses out. 

Feeding has become an issue for Hope. Take one look at the photo below and you will see that with all of those sharp teeth this is no pleasure for her. Yesterday she began to refuse to lie down for the puppies and would just stay long enough, even standing, to just get the puppies excited and then she would jump out of the pen. I decided it was time to dry her up so that she will be able to go in and enjoy the pups again. I have cut her food in half and closed her out of the pen. Yesterday was stressful for her---and me. She wants to be with them ---but she doesn't. I let her sleep in my bedroom last night with the door closed but neither of us had a great night. Hopefully today will be easier. 

We had more visitors yesterday come and love on the babies. Elaine and her daughter Paris had a great time sitting in the pen and having the Kidz crawling all over them. One of these puppy girls will be going home with them soon to become a show dog and family pet. Which one???

Day 25-- Puppy Love

I would say these pups will think that children are a wonderful thing. From their first day Gavin has been so loving and gentle with them. As you know he has his favorite but he loves on them all.

The puppies have become quite active and I add new challenges to their environment each day. They have become quite good at climbing. Here Otto and Atz Lee try playing King of the Mountain.

I have been leaving the ramp down on the whelping box and the puppies come and go at will. They have become very proficient at climbing up. 

Down often consists of getting on the ramp and then sliding to the bottom. You can see they are good at going under also. 

I change the toys in and out over the day so there is always something of interest for them to discover. I continue with startle/recovery. Some take a few seconds more to recover after an unusual or loud sound but they are all doing well with it. Here Atz Lee is listening to an unusual sound. 

He quickly recovered and was back on the move. 

I now find the pups in all sorts of places sleeping off a play period. They no longer feel the need to pile on top of one another. 

Atz Lee and Charlotte take a snooze together. 

Nikos thinks the tiger makes a good resting spot. What a beautiful puppy this boy is. He has very thick fluffy fur so his markings aren't showing as much as some of the others yet but he has large beautiful brown markings. I can't wait to see how he looks when all of his color shows. I love these brown Kidz.

My sons family was here yesterday so the puppies got some good handling by Gavin. Later in the evening we had more visitors as Cindy and her husband Jim came to admire and handle the babies. Cindy climbed in the pen and was surrounded by the whole crew who eventually feel asleep all over her. Hope was a little concerned about the whole thing as that was the first strangers (to her not me) to visit since the puppies arrived. She barked more than I would have liked but finally settled down. By the time puppies leave for their new homes, she will become very accustomed to strangers in and out of our home. 

 

Gavin and his buddy Eiven.

Day 24--Admiration--(remember to click on the pictures to enlarge them)

As the puppies continue their journey, they are becoming more work but also becoming more fun to watch and interact with. Grammy Chris came to see them yesterday and like Barb thought they were much cuter in person than the blog can show. Jewel thinks she is pretty cute as she admires herself in the new mirror. I placed two different mirrors in the pen yesterday and the puppies all investigated the new additions.

The Kidz all seem to enjoy their new play area and investigate any new item that gets added. I put some things in and remove others so they don't become overwhelmed. Grammy Chris came with gifts for everyone and treats for the big dogs. She also came with the most fabulous Italian dinner to share with my family. What a delight!!

Here a few check out a new potty box. As they grow I will need to make larger boxes for them to use but this works for now. I see the boxes get used from time to time but this is a learning process. Some of the puppies seem to catch on to this before others. My life will be easier and definitely less messy once they learn.

Meal time consisted of puppy kibble soaked for a couple of hours in goat milk. They seemed to enjoy it. 

Mama came in to help finish up and a few decided they needed something to wash it down with.

These three wanted to be sure no kibbles were missed

Jewel has a discussion with Mommy about table manners.

This crew climbed up on Mommy's bed for a snooze after filling their bellies.

After all of that Mama Hope headed to the deck to bask in the sun and to get away from the crowd for a while. 

Day 23-- Hello Mommy

In the first three weeks the puppies only know Mommy as a place of warmth and a source of food but they now recognize her as something very different. The pups are interacting with Hope on a regular basis and love to chew on her ears, lick her face and to be nuzzled by her. In the first photo Nikos is instigating some Mommy play. What a pretty puppy he is; because he has thicker fur his markings are not as noticeable yet, but he is strikingly pretty.

 

Atz Lee takes a turn trying to get Mommy's attention 

 

                                         He finally decides that a bite on her ear may do the trick.

 

                                                Why yes, that worked. As time goes by and their bites become harder Hope will discipline them for hard bites by getting up and leaving. It is a good way for us to teach bite inhibition too.

The pups are interacting more and more with the toys that I place in the puppy pen. Here they meet Grammy Chris's bumble bee. 

 

Oh, hello little lamb. Lamby plays lullabies and they seem attracted to the music.

We did some startle/ recovery work yesterday. They are being raised in a rather noisy environment of our kitchen as it is, but I added metal pans banging over their heads, encouraged Gavin to be a little louder  in his play, and then the big test was an electric drill drilling holes in the puppy pen. The reason for that is I wanted to now attach a play yard for them and needed a way to attach it. Here is Daddy Gage checking out the new play area. I had Gavin remove the extra barrier and then encouraged the puppies to come out over the top to explore the new space. What fun to watch as each learned that they could climb and that sliding down the ramp was actually fun.

Here's Mama checking out her new sleeping place. She approved. She is able to be in with the puppies or come out to get some peace. 

This is Otto just because I thought it was a cute shot of him. Like the others, he has a very sweet face.

 Day 22---Three Weeks. EXPLORE

Todays post is all about exploration. We have ended the third week of their lives and are headed into new adventures going into week four. Yesterday I turned them all loose in my kitchen to let them explore life outside of their pen. What fun to watch as they see new things and feel new textures for the very first time. I can already see those that are a little more bold, those that take things in stride and the ones that use a bit more caution.

 

When I first picked up the camera, I caught our Matriarch Gia just hanging back and observing the whole thing. Gia had two litters in her life with a total of 22 puppies, so she knows what this is all about. After a few minutes both Gia and Gage came to investigate the puppies but then headed back to the couch. I think I overheard them say, " yes, just a bunch of puppies".

Rose finds the feel of the linoleum to be very strange as she moves along with caution. 

Little Sparrow thought the wood floor was interesting, though a bit slippery. 

"Oh look, it's Mama's bowl. Darn it's empty" 

"Hey, let me check. Yep, it's empty"

Now I don't mean to constantly brag on Eiven but in each litter there often seems to be a leader of the pack and Eiven seems to be that one puppy. Unlike the other puppies he boldly headed off to explore everything with no fear. He is a special puppy for sure. No, I don't intend to keep a puppy, but he sure is winning my heart. 

Here is what some of the others thought of this whole adventure. 

The puppies were wormed yesterday evening and everyone did well with that. As we adventure into this new week of their lives, the Puppy Culture program suggests working on startle/recovery, handling each puppy individually and having new visitors. I have schedule a few visitors for this holiday weekend and by next week end it will be an open invitation for any and all to come handle and spoil these babies.

Day 21---Sleep and EAT

I titled this post Sleep and Eat because that is what tiny puppies do best. The pictures today consist of some of the many ways puppies find to get some rest. It often makes me laugh. 

The puppies have become more active each day but still spend the majority of the day in slumber. 

I take advantage of those quiet times to do things for my big dogs and get piles and piles of laundry done. I hope that this new method of potty training will pay off in the end because it takes vigilance to keep an eye on things and constantly be putting clean pads down to keep their sleeping area super clean. I think several of them are trying to make their way to the potty box as I find the worst wet spots on the pads just outside the box. They get their front feet in but the loaded end hangs over the side. I will say that I think Eiven is the most aware of the box and I have seen him on several occasions head to the box, do his business, and move back to the crowd. I think someone is going to be very lucky to get that puppy.  

 

 
 
 
I continued using my kissy sound and giving tiny bites of ground meat to the puppies yesterday. You should hear the sounds when that is going on. They are all responding and running around like buzzing bees, pushing and shoving littermates out of the way to get a turn. I am getting good hearing responses but still have not isolated each to test that. You see, even a deaf puppy will respond to littermates moving about.

 

Teeth have erupted on most of the puppies and Hope is becoming a little more reluctant to lay and feed them. Yesterday afternoon they were squealing for her to come feed them and she looked at me very pathetically. I thought I heard her say, "you feed them, I'm not going to". I mixed up a batch of the goat milk concoction and placed the saucer in their pen. As you can see from the picture it didn't take them long to figure this out. For a time now Hope and I will take turns feeding and then she will turn that job fully over to me. 

They had milk all over each other but they lapped the bowl dry. I changed bedding then and turned the heater on them for a while because they were wet and cold. They curled up and took a nice long nap.