We have had a busy week so far! The puppies are enjoying their puppy mush and nursing from mama, and we have been working hard trying to teach them “where to go potty”. The first week I always feel “Will they ever get this?” It is slow going but I think we are making progress. Today while playing, a few of the puppies stopped and ran to the potty area on their own! Yeah, I am always encouraged when they begin to get it. I’m sure as the days go by, all the puppies will make steady progress in this area.
All our dogs love to hang out nearby the puppy area in our kitchen and keep an eye on the puppies. Willow loves to sit and watch them. Some of the puppies have noticed her and like to sit and watch her too.
Last night I introduced our puppies to water. Some puppies were curious and started to lap up the water right away while other puppies explored by putting their feet in it. The puppies will increase their water intake as nursing decreases.
The Puppies have reached another milestone….today they started eating solids. I make a soft mush from ground kibble and warm water.
It didn’t take long for the puppies to know what to do. They did a great job eating their first meal!
Ruska loves to finish any leftovers but, the puppies did such a good job eating there wasn’t much left for her! Ruska will continue nursing her puppies and gradually wean them over the next couple weeks.
After their first solid meal the puppies fell fast asleep for a good long nap.
Our puppies are four weeks old already, how the time has flown by! This past week puppies have become mini dogs. They are now on our main floor and starting to learn to use the potty area. Their walking has improved and they are more steady on the feet. The puppies are vocalizing more and can now bark and growl. Their milk teeth have come in which are sharp. One of the puppies thought my big toe looked good to chew Ouch!!! The puppies now spend more time awake socializing with each other through play. All of the puppies have so much love to give….……when we go into their puppy area, it doesn’t take long before you have a lap full of puppies wanting to cuddle!
We moved the puppies from the front hall to a sunny area in my kitchen. This gives them a bigger play area and can be expanded as they grow. We have also introduced them to a few toys to explore. The Puppies were a little apprehensive at first when we moved them but, Ruska reassured them and they settled down to nurse.
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
Puppies will start on solid foods as weaning gradually begins
Mama will now add the invaluable teaching phase to her caring & protecting responsibilities over the next weeks.
Goldendoodles are very social dogs and love to spend their time with their family. Socialization is an important part of raising puppies. It is important that puppies are socialized with a variety of people of all ages. Our puppies have already had lots of socialization. My daughter Kendra and myself have handled and cuddled the puppies since birth and my grandchildren have enjoyed spending time with them as well. Today, my husband Tom went into the whelping box and it didn’t take long before he had a lap full of puppies. What a wonderful way to spend your time, cuddling puppies and getting those sweet puppy breath kisses!
Ruska’s puppies are now three and a half weeks old. Since birth, they have spent their days and nights in our bedroom. It is now time to make the big move to the main floor where the puppies can get accustom to the sounds and happenings of our busy house.
After weigh in today, I decided we would move the puppies. I packed them in the basket, brought their whelping box down to a small enclosure in my front hall, and then brought the puppies to their new area. Just outside the whelping box are potty pads.
The puppies are now going potty without the help of their mother. I feel it is important to begin “potty training” at this age because puppies have a natural instinct to move away from their sleeping area when they need to go. For the next few days I will spend my time moving the puppies to the potty area when they wake. If they start learning that “there is an acceptable place to go potty” at a young age, they won’t develop bad habits that later need to be broken. I feel that this will make housebreaking easier when they go to their forever families. Some of the puppies have already used the potty pads – Yeah!
I always feel Ruska is ready when the time comes to move the puppies. She can now spend all her time with the family on the main floor and still keep an eye on her little ones. After the puppies had moved, Ruska went in to nurse them “in the standing position“(time to start weaning). When the puppies had settled for a sleep, she laid on the floor in front of the the puppy enclosure for a nap.
I am bless to be able to see my grandchildren durning Covid restrictions because I provide child care for them. I so enjoy sharing our puppy raising process with them. They just love to watch the puppies play and cuddle them. This is good for both puppy and child – the puppies get socialized with young children and I get to teach my grandchildren to love and respect animals by being gentle and caring with our puppies.
Some of my grandchildren watching the puppies play
Today Ruska’s babies are 24 days old. They are now mini dogs and getting cuter by the day. The puppies hind legs have become much stronger and they walk with that cute wobbly “puppy walk”. Some of our puppies have even learned to climb.
Early this morning while still dark, I awoke to a commotion in the whelping box. Ruska had just nursed the puppies, hopped out and was resting at the bottom of our bed. When the puppies didn’t settle after a couple minutes I had to check things out. As I often do, I grabbed the flashlight from the bedside table and shone it into their box. I did my puppy count and discovered we were one puppy short. I quickly discovered our 10th puppy……he had climbed out after Ruska and was now lying on a carpet beside our bed. Yes, it was now time to put the final door panel into the entrance of the whelping box. I always put off doing this because Ruska won’t jump over the full door. She will now bark for me to remove the panel and let her in. LOL
The puppies have reached another milestone – their milk teeth have started coming in. Some mothers stop nursing when their puppies get their sharp teeth (I can only imagine how much they can hurt). Not Ruska though; she is such a devoted mama! Ruska will continue to nurse her babies and gradually wean them after they start eating solids at four weeks old.
As you know, the puppies turned three weeks yesterday. When I was lying in bed last night I suddenly remembered “I forgot to take the puppies “Three Week Portrait”. Too tired to take that task on late at night, I decided to take it one day late.
When my daughter Kendra came home from work this afternoon, we began. Previously I take the photo on my bed but I had a great idea. I decided to keep them in the whelping box and use a vet bed backdrop. This way there is no worries of a puppy wandering too close to the edge. I should have thought of this sooner…. I think I’m getting smarter with age! Still, it is always a challenge to take a picture of all the puppies in a row. They never stay still – some puppies want to play with their neighbour, some puppies want to come sit on our lap and some just want to sleep LOL. With a lot of patience we were able to capture Ruska and Tulo’s sweet babies in their Three Week Portrait. Can you pick out each puppy? Answer will be posted at the bottom of this post.
Our adorable puppies are now three weeks old and oh how they have grown! This week puppies have been progressing rapidly. Their eyes are fully opened and vision is improving. Their ears have started to open but they are not yet hearing well. The puppies hind legs have become much stronger and they have been practicing walking on all fours. They are much more aware of their surroundings and have begun to play with each other. Puppies continue to sleep much of the time as they develop.
Our whelping “chatter box” – The puppies are exercising their vocal cords. It is cute when the sun’s up but, I don’t think it is so cute when they practice vocalizing in the middle of the night! LOL
Puppies playing with their littermate
Adorable Three Week Old Puppy Faces
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 with time
Puppy milk teeth will begin to erupt
Puppies will be moving to the main floor sometime during the week
The puppies are starting to notice their litter mates and beginning to interact. They still sleep most of the time but during a couple of their rare “awake times” I captured a couple videos. They are starting to vocalize and play but then, just as quickly as they woke, they settle back to sleep!
A quick burst of energy and then sleeping again
Green Girl wants to playHey, I have my eyes openHurry and take the pic before I fall asleep!
Yes, sleep again
A comfy headrestOur sweet grey girl wanted to sleep aloneSweet dreams!
