We have been busy the past couple days preparing to move Ellie’s litter to the main floor. We set up two separate areas for each litter in our kitchen breakfast room – AKA The Puppy Room. This will give the puppies a sleep area with their potty box. and a small area for play.
Puppy area is set up in my kitchen breakfast room. Willow’s puppies’ area at the front, and Ellie’s puppies’ area is at the far end.
Willow’s Puppies
The puppies are making good progress with their potty training so, we can give them more room. We have set up a row of crates on one side of their enclosure. Notice that I have covered the crates with blankets, making their crates more den-like. The puppies love to sleep in their crates alone or with a buddy. The potty box is in one corner, water in the other corner and, a small area in the centre to play.
The front entrance of our house has now become the Indoor Play Area. Today Willow’s puppies had their first visit, and they had a blast. The play area includes an activity centre, a tunnel, toys, and of course we must have a potty box in this area too.
Puppies had their first visit to the new play area. Watch for a couple puppies make use of the potty box. Yah, what smart puppies!!!
Puppies have a blast in their new play area. Watch for Maui going in to play with the puppies. She loves the puppies and is learning to be a great nanny.
Ellie’s Puppies
Today Ellie’s puppies made the big move to the main floor. It is always exciting and a little stressful on the mama and her babies. We packed the puppies into a large crate and moved a noisy litter of eight puppies to their new area. Ellie watched closely as we carried her babies and put them back into the whelping box. The puppies continued to make a fuss and didn’t settle until their mama joined them in the whelping box and fed them.
Ellie’s puppies cry for their mama
The puppies will sleep and play in their whelping box and have access to their potty box just outside the entrance. I will leave the fence gate open so Ellie will still be able to come and go as she pleases to care for her puppies. Notice Ellie’s bed next the the whelping box – she can sleep there if she wants. Next for Ellie’s puppies – potty training begins.
Ellie’s puppy area enclosure
The big move to the main floor – Notice our Orange collar girl in the video. All the puppies are tired and want to sleep but she wants to play. Watch as she tries to wake the other puppies up. 😂 I finally put her in the potty box to distract her. She sniffed around a bit and then decided to come back into the whelping box (with a little difficulty) but, finally whet to sleep with the rest of her littermates.Finally, Orange Collar Girl went to sleep – sweet dreams sweet baby girl 💕
Well, I have had at busy day – looking after grandchildren, puppies and trying to get a post out. Throw in technical problems getting your iPhone and computer to communicate. I was a little frustrated but, finally was able to work thing out and get our post out! 😅
Both our litters are growing more adorable each day and getting lots of love and attention. All our puppies love to cuddle on our lap! 🐾
Willow’s Puppies
Four weeks old singles
Blue Collar BoyRed Collar BoyOrange Collar BoyMagenta Collar GirlGreen Collar GirlBlack Collar BoyThe puppies Four Week photo shoot turned out well. — Don’t Willow and Brinkley’s puppies look adorable!!! And look at our Red Collar Boy waving – too cute!
We have been working hard on trying to teach Willow’s puppies to use their potty box. Puppies still need more work but are making progress Yesterday, we added a play area for the puppies to get some exercise. We put in a crate and new toys for puppies to explore and play with. They had lots of fun playing with the toys and their littermates. Some of our puppies even ran back to use the potty box. A few puppies ventured into the crate to play and then fell asleep.
THINGS TO WATCH FOR IN THE VIDEO Green Collar Girl picking up the Kong tennis ball Orange Collar Boy’s “soccer kick” Red Collar Boy “waves” Black collar boy playing with grey elephant stuffie Magenta collar girl running back to the potty box Blue collar boy lounging in the whelping box, showing off his beautiful eyes!
Ellie’s Puppies
A Visit to the Main Floor
Ellie’s puppies are growing and becoming more active. So, today, I decided to take them downstairs to the main floor for a little exercise. Everyone was very excited – my two grandchildren along with Ellie, Ruska, Willow and, Maui followed me down stairs carrying my basket of puppies, After the puppies nursed, I put the big dogs outside and we spent the next while playing with puppies. My three-year-old grandson said to me, “Gran, I just love having the puppies downstairs!” 🥰 I’m sure you can see how much they loved playing with them. Even my one-year-old granddaughter enjoyed herself. They only needed a few reminders to be “gentle” The puppies enjoyed exploring and playing but after a while, the puppies dropped off to sleep one by one. I then took them back upstairs and they went for a proper sleep in their whelping box.
Puppies get lots of socialization today from my 1-year-old and 3-year-old grandchildren
Four weeks old already, how the time has flown by! This past week has been another busy one. The puppies moved to the main floor, started on solids, and started on potty training. They have become steadier on their feet as their hind legs strengthen. Puppies are vocalizing more and are beginning to bark, and growl in addition to their perfected whine. Their milk teeth are now in, and the puppies are teething so, we added a couple of toys to their whelping box for them to chew on. The puppies are awake more, spending this time socializing with each other through play. All the puppies enjoy cuddle time……when we go into the whelping box, it doesn’t take long before you have a lap full of puppies!
Potty Training
Wild dog species have an instinct to keeping their den clean so that the smell doesn’t attract predators. A domesticated mama dog also has the same instinct to keep her puppies and puppy area clean. When puppies can start to go potty without the help of their mother, they have a natural instinct to move away from the area where they sleep and eat to go potty.
After puppies are moved to the main floor, we begin potty training. I spend most of my time during the next three days, putting each puppy in the potty area each time they wake and after they eat. This teaches them there is a “place” to go potty.
With previous litters I have used potty pads in the potty area. This year I decided to try something new – a litter box. I have a large container with pine pellets in it. I’m very happy with this decision and pleased at how well it is working out……………..and as a bonus, this method is environmentally friendly as the pine pellets are biodegradable.
Potty Training
Puppy area set-up
Two puppies in potty box
Consistency
These pics show how we have set up our puppy area. Until the puppies get more consistent, it is best not giving the puppies too much room.
Constant Cleaning
The potty area must smell like a potty area and the whelping box must smell clean. If a puppy has an accident in the whelping box, it must be cleaned right away . We replace the Vet Bed liners multiply times a day to keep it fresh and clean. Lots of Laundry!!!
The Goal
The goal is for puppies to sleep and play in their whelping box and move to the potty box on their own, when needed. The puppies are learning quickly but still have some work to do before we can trust them with a larger area.
Watch as our Green Collar Girl decides to use the potty area on her own… …it is truly amazing!
(Note: You can hear my granddaughter crying in the background of the video. The puppies will definitely be accustomed to crying babies! – LOL)
Willow’s puppies turn four weeks old today
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK FIVE
Puppies time spent awake will increase
Puppies will continue to socialize with each other through play
Puppies balance will continue to improve and they will begin to run
Puppies will continue learning to use potty area
Mama will now add the invaluable teaching phase to her caring & protecting responsibilities over the next weeks.
ELLIE’S PUPPIES
The Photo Shoot
Taking Ellie’s “Three Week Puppy Portrait” was a difficult task and tested our patience. After lunch, I put our granddaughter down for her nap and proceeded to do our photo shoot. I thought because Ellie’s puppies look so much alike, I would put a flower on their collar (bowtie for our little man) to make it easy to tell who was who. We had just finished attaching the flowers to their collar and were all set up when Ellie came into the room. The puppies could smell her and wouldn’t settle, so even though they had just nursed 45 minutes ago, I gave in and let her feed them. When they finished, Ellie left and we had to reattach a couple flowers that had fallen off, and started again. Trying to get eight puppies in a photo is not an easy task. After more than two hundred pics, we finally had one that we could use. All the puppies weren’t in perfect position, and our little green collar girl was so tired she laid down on her flower but, we had our pic.
The Photo ShootEllie and Brinkley’s puppies Three Week Portrait
Ellie is a wonderful mama. She knows just what to do to take care of her babies. She loves her puppies and still stays to cuddle with them after they have nursed. Their eyes are completely opened, and their ears are now open. Ellie’s puppies are in the “Critical Socialization Period”.
Exercise is important for puppies to build strong bodies but, puppies must also be challenged to build strong minds. Yesterday we gave Ellie’s puppies a little challenge to build their brains! I put them in a basket, and they had to find their way out to their mama. They worked so hard some of their bows were coming undone LOL! Watch to see how each puppy did in the basket challenge – so cute!
Basket Challenge
VIDEO: Watch Ellie’s adorable three week old puppies – Eat, Play, Sleep!
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK FOUR
Puppies will still sleep most of their day as they continue to grow rapidly
Puppies will play with each other and begin developing important social skills
Puppies hind legs will continue to become stronger as they walk more
Hearing will improve
Puppy milk teeth will begin to erupt
Puppies will be moving to the main floor sometime during the week
Willow’s Puppies
Puppies start on solids
We usually start weaning puppies at four weeks of age when we introduce solids. Willow is a mama that has her own mind and didn’t follow my regular schedule that my previous mamas did. She let me know that it was time to wean her puppies by regurgitating her food for her puppies to eat – This is instinct! It helps the mama wean and her milk gradually dry up by reducing her food intake”
We decided that since Willow has already started weaning her puppies, we would introduce solids on Friday. I grind puppy kibble in my blender with water and puppy formula to make a soupy mixture. We will gradually make this mixture thicker as we progress towards dry kibble.
VIDEO: Watch Willows puppies learning to eat solids
It took some of the puppies awhile to eat but, they did a good job eating their “puppy soup” Willow kept a watchful eye behind the gate to watch as her puppies ate. When they were finished eating, I let Willow in, and she ate the remaining food. The puppies finished off their meal with a little of mama’s milk and then went back to their whelping box for a long nap.
Willow’s puppies made the big move from my bedroom to the main floor. It was a busy day caring for puppies and setting up our puppy area. My husband Tom with the help of our two little grandsons laid the vinyl flooring on top of our hardwood. We have used this for previous litters. It not only protects our hardwood, it is easy to clean and, has more traction than the hardwood for puppies just learning to walk. The fencing was then set up and it was time to get the puppies.
We headed up to the bedroom and packed the puppies into a laundry basket. My grandsons kept a watchful eye on the puppies making sure they didn’t climb out while I cleaned the whelping box. It was time to make the big move. Tom took the puppies and I soon followed with their whelping box. Willow didn’t seem too concerned but after everything was in place and the puppies were safely back in their familiar box, she decided to feed them. All was well!
Laying the vinyl floor on top of our hardwoodPacked in basketHelping HandsArrived on the main floorSettled in to nurseNew Puppy Area
The main floor puppy enclosure is set up in my kitchen. At first, we begin with a smaller area which includes the whelping box and potty area only. The carpeted area in the front is a visiting area used by my grandchildren. They love to play with the puppies which is great socialization for our puppies.
My Granddaughters playing with Willow’s puppies
VIDEO: Moving to the main floor
Ellie’s Puppies
Ellie’s puppies are growing bigger, stronger and, starting to interact with each other, but they still sleep most of the time. The puppies are in the transitional period but, any day now, their ears will open, and they will move to the Critical Socialization period. Ellie continues to be an amazing mama caring. and feeding her puppies. She is still in that protective mama role and doesn’t want our other dogs in her room.
The video below shows sleeping puppies just starting to wake. Watch as the begin to interact with their littermate….every so gently. So precious!
