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Millie’s Puppies….Already Three Weeks Old!

Already three weeks old……how time flies.

It’s hard to believe Millie’s puppies are already three weeks old. They have been developing quickly this week. The rest of the puppies have opened their eyes, and their ears have opened as well. They are becoming more aware of their surroundings and have begun to interact with each other during their brief “awake” periods. 

As usual, we have had a busy week. Day 16 was the last day of ENS and ESI, as well as our puppies’ daily weigh-in. Some of the chores over the past week included cleaning and disinfecting the whelping box, laundry, deworming the puppies, grooming — brushing and nail trimming —and caring for mama Millie, to name a few. And of course, my favourite–puppy cuddles.

Puppy Culture

Over the remaining weeks, we will be working on new experiences for the puppies, exposing them to as many new experiences as possible to raise the best possible companions for their forever families.

Critical Socialization Period (weeks 3 – 12)

The next period for the puppies is the Critical Socialization Period. We know that puppies have entered this period when they react to sounds. We raise our puppies following many of the Puppy Culture protocols. Following these protocols helps us reach our goal of “Raise Healthy, Calm, Confident, Well-Adjusted Puppies.”

Emotional Intelligence

Because Goldendoodles are companion dogs, teaching emotional intelligence to young puppies and starting them with a great beginning is essential. With this intention, we follow seven key things to nurture a puppy’s emotional intelligence.

  1. Communication – giving a puppy his voice, i.e. Communication manding and attention/distraction protocols
  2. Emotional stability – the ability to recover quickly from fear as well as stress, i.e., startle recovery, barrier challenges, etc
  3. Habituation – familiarize the puppies with the maximum number of things during their Critical Development Period—in particular, Puppy Parties, sound protocols, household noises, and meeting different people and dogs.
  4. Enrichment—Teach the puppies that novelty and challenges are enrichment opportunities, not to be feared or avoided. For example, they can be introduced to new novelty items on an ongoing basis at an activity centre, car ride, outdoors, etc.
  5. Health – physical wellness and motor skills that will allow the puppy to develop neurologically and physically soundly. For instance, daily weight checks, grooming, proper nutrition, fecal checks, and deworming, vet health checks and vaccinations)
  6. Skills – learned behaviours that teach the puppy to function in human society, i.e., recall, manding, simple commands, potty training, crate introduction, resource guarding, bite inhibition, etc.
  7. Love – teach puppies to seek out the company of dogs and humans as emotionally positive experiences, i.e., Daily cuddles with humans and the puppy’s mom.
  8. Shaping emotional responses: happy and calm CER (Conditioned Emotional Responses). For instance, treats and encouragement during puppy training.

We have had a few adventurous puppies climb out of the whelping box, so it was time to add another panel to the entrance.

Millie is a wonderful Mama

Millie continues to be a wonderful mama, loving and patient with her litter of twelve. She’s now spending more time away from her puppies, but always checks in and feeds them. Weaning will start soon. Every mama is different, so I let each mother tell me when it’s time to introduce puppy milk replacement, followed by puppy mush.

Whenever the puppies see their mama return, they think they should eat. They weren’t too pleased when Millie decided to eat her kibble before feeding her babies.

😂

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Looking Back at Week Three

Looking Ahead to Week Four

  • Puppies will still sleep much of the day/night as they continue to grow rapidly
  • Interact with littermates through play, which will help develop essential social skills
  • Practicing walking on all fours strengthening their hind legs
  • Becoming steadier on their feet
  • Hearing will improve 
  • Puppy milk teeth will erupt
  • Potty training started
  • Puppies will be moving to the main floor towards the end of the week
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Millie’s Puppies Are Already Two Weeks Old

The puppies are already two weeks old–how time flies! We have plenty to keep us busy while raising them, including ENS, ESI, cleaning, weighing, and laundry, to name a few.

Two weeks old

Puppy Culture

We raise our puppies using many of the protocols from the Puppy Culture program.

Neonatal Period: Day 0-14 

The first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life are incredibly important. This is an almost magical time when a breeder has the power to shape a puppy’s future by what we choose to teach them. Consequently, by doing the right things at the right time, we can give puppies the best start possible.

Transitional Period

The puppies enter the transitional period when they open their eyes. Because every puppy is different, we use “Behavioural Markers” to identify the beginning and end of each developmental period. These timelines are simply guidelines. The transitional period (approximately Day 14–21) begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle at sounds.

Milestones

When raising puppies, we watch for Milestones to gauge their progress.

Weigh-In

The first milestone the puppies reached this week was doubling their birth weight. We are pleased to report that nine of Millie’s puppies have doubled their birth weight, and the rest are expected to reach this milestone within a day or two. Given the size of such a large litter, this milestone is expected to be reached later than with a smaller litter. Great job, Millie!

Eyes Opened

At birth, the puppies’ eyes are sealed shut because they are still developing—the retina, cornea, and optic nerve pathways are still actively forming behind the eyelids.

Another milestone we look forward to is when the puppies open their eyes, usually between days 10 and 14. Yellow Boy was the first to open his eyes, on day 13, and a few more followed the next day. The rest of the litter should open their eyes over the next day or two.

Yellow Boy was the first puppy to open his eyes

ENS

ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) begins on day 3 and continues through day 16. Research shows that tiny struggles and stresses in small doses are good for puppies and will help them grow into strong, healthy well-adjusted adults. Benefits include greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat. This is a gift that a breeder can only give their puppies during the 3 – 16 day window.

We had some noisy puppies LOL – We demonistrated our ENS (day 14) with Purple girl .

ESI

ESI (Early Scent Introduction) is a daily training program for newborn puppies (performed from days 3 to 16 of life) that introduces new, natural scents for about 5 seconds at a time to stimulate neurological development and improve adult scenting capability. The puppies are introduced to a new scent each day, and we record each puppy’s response as positive (moving toward or actively sniffing), neutral (uninterested), or negative (pulling away). 

Pink Girl is demonstrating ESI. The scent for the day was rabbit fur, which she responded positively to. 

With each passing day, Millie spends more time away from her puppies. When she returns, she cleans them before settling into feed.

A LOOK BACK AT WEEK TWO

Looking Ahead to Week Three

  • ENS and ESI exercises will continue until day 16
  • Puppies will continue to eat and sleep most of their day
  • The rest of the puppies eyes will open and sight will become clearer
  • Ears will open and they will begin to hear.
  • Puppies will practice walking on all fours, strengthening their hind legs
  • They will become more aware of their littermates and start to interact
  • Puppies will start to vocalize
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Millie’s babies turn one week old

Whelping Day

On Tuesday morning, Millie came to our house and spent the next couple of days settling in. We spent time with her in her whelping box, and I could tell she remembered the room from her first litter.

Since we became empty nesters, we have repurposed our spare bedrooms. We use one as a TV lounge and have set up the other as our whelping room. I spent the night in our TV room, sleeping on the sectional with Millie. We kept the door open so she could wander if she wished. Millie slept beside me, and I woke only a couple of times as she shifted positions. After we took Millie and our other dogs for a morning potty break, they all came back to our upstairs spare bedroom, which we use as a TV lounge. We were having our morning coffee when Millie quietly settled back on the couch beside me.

Without warning—no heavy panting or digging—Millie surprised me by giving birth to her first puppy on the couch at 7:30 am.

We quickly moved Millie and her new puppy to the whelping room. I placed the puppy in our warming container inside the whelping box and tried to encourage Millie to enter. No luck. She wanted to deliver on the elevated bed.

We spent the morning helping Millie deliver and care for her babies. The last puppy arrived at 12:11 pm. Millie did an amazing job bringing her twelve babies into the world — six boys and six girls. 

Whelping Day

Week One

Caring for Mama

Millie has a large litter and needs plenty of nourishment to feed her babies. Sometimes, after whelping, mamas need encouragement to eat. We start with boiled chicken breast with broth and mothers pudding. This is something every mama loves. We feed this inside the whelping box so Millie doesn’t have to leave her puppies. We always have dry kibble and fresh water available just outside her whelping box. We also put our mamas on a vitamin Oxy Momma.

Neonatal Period

Newborn puppies are in the neonatal period, when they spend their days eating and sleeping. Millie spends most of her time feeding and cleaning them and keeping them warm.

Daily Weigh-in

Millie is doing a fantastic job caring for her new babies. I have been pleased with our daily weigh-ins, and I’m happy to report that they have all been steadily gaining weight. Because there are twelve in the litter, I expect them to gain weight at a slower pace than in smaller litters.


img_2726

Socialization

Part of raising well-adjusted puppies is socialization. We handle our puppies from birth. When our mamas are comfortable, we also let others in my family cuddle the puppies.

A look back at week one – on day three, we started ENS (Early Neurological Simulation) and ESI (Early Scent Introductions). More information and a demonstration video will be in next week’s blog.

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK TWO

  • Much the same as week one – Eat, Sleep, Repeat!
  • Puppies will continue to grow rapidly 
  • Puppies still crawl; their hind legs will become stronger
  • Continue ENS and ESI
  • At the end of the week, eyes should begin to open – SO EXCITING!!!
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Luna’s Seven weeks old puppies are growning more adorable

Another busy week has passed, and Luna’s puppies are now seven weeks old. They’ve experienced many new firsts, meeting their forever families, first car ride and their”vet visit”.

Puppy Selection Day

One of the highlights of raising puppies is Puppy Selection Day. We enjoy sharing in the excitement of families as they arrive to meet and select their puppies. 

I wasn’t sure how willing Luna would be to let strangers interact with her puppies because she has been my most protective mama. When the first family arrived and she was more than friendly, she jumped right into the puppy area with them. I’m not sure if she was seeking attention or staying close to her puppies for protection. 

We are so grateful that all Luna and Brinkley’s puppies have wonderful families who will love and care for them.

Puppies’ Mealtime

This week, the puppies transitioned to eating dry kibble. We reduced the amount of water and soaking time until they fully transitioned to dry kibble.

Feeding time has become much simpler now. No more grinding puppy food to turn it into mush or waiting while the kibble soaks in hot water. We just scoop the dry kibble into the dishes and watch the puppies eagerly gobble up their meals.

Dry Kibble
Littermate interaction is very important because it helps puppies learn to have a gentle mouth. Biting too hard causes the other puppy stop wanting to play, and the fun is over.
Practicing recall  with the “Puppy Puppy” call.

Vet Visit

The puppies had an adventurous day on Wednesday, as they experienced their first car ride and a visit to the vet. We transport the puppies in a large crate in the back of our truck.

During the trip, a couple of puppies whined off and on at the start, but by the time we arrived at the veterinary office, they had all settled down for most of the fifteen-minute drive.

My husband, Tom, stays with the puppies at the truck while I take each puppy one by one for their appointment.

All the puppies received a full wellness check, their first set of vaccinations, and the dreaded microchip, which caused two puppies to let out a small yelp in protest. 

All the puppies received a clean bill of health. Once again, we got compliments on how calm they all are—good job, puppies. 

Ready to head back home.

Week Seven Outdoor Play

The puppies love outdoor exercise time, playing with their littermates. This is the time that Luna uses for teaching.

Looking Ahead to Week Eight

  • Grooming will contunie
  • Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time
  • Puppies will continue exploring and playing together inside and outdoors as weather permits
  • Luna will continue teaching the puppies dog manners
  • Crate training with the door closed during nap time will begin
  • We will continue to encourage puppies to use the potty area 
  • The puppies will get to run in the BIG yard where we will work on recall from a futher distance.
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Luna’s six week old sweeties

Luna’s sweet babies are now six weeks old and becoming more adorable each day. We’ve had another busy week caring for the puppies and introducing them to many new things. They have grown bigger, and we continue to see their unique personalities developing. The puppies love the outdoors and enjoy running and playing together. 

Indoor Puppy Area

The puppy area has changed once again. We said farewell to the whelping box where the puppies spent their first five weeks of life. The potty box remains, and we encourage the puppies to use it whenever they need to go. Some puppies are better at it than others, but overall, all the puppies are doing a great job. We will continue focusing on their potty training.

The puppy area now features crates that they can enter and exit freely. We make the crates more comfortable by adding a bolster bed and a snuggle puppy, making them more welcoming and cozy. Two puppies immediately crawled into one of the crates to rest. By week seven, the puppies will nap in their crates with the door closed.

Whelping box removed and potty box remains
Cozy bed and stuffies
Black and Red girl relaxing in their new crate
Two puppies in each crate having a nap

Exploring the Outdoors

This week, the puppies enjoyed a new outdoor adventure. It is always an exciting time watching them sniff their new surroundings and begin to run around. The outdoor puppy area is on the deck. On the first day, we carried all the puppies out and placed them into the outdoor potty box, trying to teach them the acceptable place to go outside too.

The outdoors has ample space for Luna to train her puppies, teaching them to submit and learn proper dog manners. It also provides plenty of different toys, a tunnel, and a structure for the puppies to climb through. 

This week’s puppy challenges

  • Go out the sliding door
  • Go down the stairs
  • Find the entrance to the outdoor puppy enclosure
  • Come inside on their own — the start of recall training using “Puppy, Puppy” Call
  • Come inside on their own — the start of recall training using “Puppy, Puppy” Call

Morning playtime with Lilah—This week, the puppies experienced a positive interaction by playing with an older pup. Lilah, our four-month-old puppy and hopefully a future mama, has been captivated by watching the puppies since they moved to the main floor behind the fencing. We decided to let Lilah interact with the puppies both indoors and outdoors, carefully supervising to ensure she remains gentle. This video taken on Wednesday shows Lilah and the puppies during morning play. I’m so impressed with how gentle Lilah is with them, and it is clear to see how much the puppies adore her. 

A look back at week six

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK SEVEN

  • Puppies time spent awake will continue to increase
  • Puppies will transition to dry kibble by the end of week seven
  • We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty area inside and out
  • Puppies will continue to socialize and learn from each other through play
  • Puppies will continue exploring and playing together outdoor as weather permits
  • Puppies will continue learning from their mama as she disciplines them and teaches them to behave 
  • As always, puppies will continue to get lots of one on one cuddle time.
  • Puppies will have their first car ride to visit the for their first vaccinations and microchip
  • Selection Day coming up
Six week photo coming soon
Puppy Selection Day Saturday
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Luna’s Five Week Old Puppies

Five weeks old

Luna’s sweet puppies are now five weeks old and have evolved from helpless newborns into the “mini dogs” they are today. The puppies are now awake for longer stretches, enjoy playing with each other and their toys, and love cuddle time. We can now see their personalities beginning to emerge.

Moving to the main floor

The puppies have had an exciting week. They moved to the main floor to become accustomed to the sounds and happenings of a busy household. We moved their whelping and potty box and expanded their area to include a larger space for exercise.

Socializing Puppies

It is important to socialize puppies, which means introducing them to as many new experiences as possible when they are young. For instance, this week the puppies have been introduced to different sounds, various floor surfaces, new toys, and our other adult dogs. 

Guardian Family Visit

Our home breeding program is made possible with the help of our Guardian Families. The best parents are those that live as beloved pet. Our retired dogs stay with the families that they have always known and contune living the best life possible. This week Luna’s family came for a visit and Luna was excited to see them and show off her little ones. The puppies loved all the attention.

Socialize with other dogs

We are lucky to have other adult dogs for the puppies to interact with. This week, Daddy Brinkley came to meet his puppies along with our other adult dogs Willow, Ellie, and Maui. 16-week-old Lilah, our newest member of the breeding program, also enjoys watching the puppies.

Meal Time

This week, the puppies started puppy mush. They begin with very liquid puppy mush and gradually thicken it.

The puppies are still nursing from their mama whenever they get the chance, but Luna is limiting this. She has been actively weaning them over the past couple of days. She allows the puppies to nurse for a very short period before regurgitating her food for them.

The puppies have now progressed to softened kibble. Initially, it is very waterlogged. Over the next two weeks, we will gradually reduce the soaking time until the puppies are seven weeks old and ready for hard kibble.

Potty Training

We have been working hard on training puppies to use the potty box. We started with potty pads and then introduced smaller boxes with pine pellets. Some of the puppies are more consistent than others, but all of them are making progress.

It’s amazing to see puppies wake up or pause their play to use their potty box.

Should I sleep alone or with a buddy?

The puppies still spend much of their time sleeping. This is when they grow and process what they have learned while awake. Remember the puppy huddles? Now that they are bigger and can regulate their temperature, some puppies sleep with a buddy, while others sleep alone. Sometimes, they all pile on their favourite spot, the evaluated bed.

Maybe a Snuggle Puppy

Looking back at Week Five

Looking Ahead to Week Six

  • Awake time will continue to increase
  • Outdoor exercise will begin and puppies will have daily outdoor play time as weather permits
  • Continue learning to use potty box both indoor and outdoors
  • Socialize with each other through play
  • As they walk on uneven ground, their balance will continue to improve
  • Puppies will continue learning from their mama and our other adult dogs as they teach them dog manners
  • As always, puppies will get lots of cuddle time.
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Luna’s puppies are now four weeks old

Four weeks have passed so quickly! It always amazes me how fast the puppies go from helpless newborns that crawl, can’t see or hear, to the active four-week-olds they are today. Luna’s puppies have grown so much and are learning and experiencing new things each day. It has been another busy week for sure!

Potty Training Started

The puppies are now able to void without their mother’s help, so it’s important to start potty training. Since puppies have a natural instinct to move away from their sleeping area when they need to go, I want them to learn “where to go” before they start on solids.

 It is important for puppies to learn that they cannot “go” just anywhere. Therefore, we teach them that “there is an acceptable place to go potty.” Teaching this at a young age will prevent the development of bad habits that later need to be corrected. This effort benefits forever families by making housebreaking easier when they go to their forever homes.

We start by dividing their whelping box into a potty area and a sleep/play area, adding potty pads and bolster beds. When kept in a small space (their whelping box), their success rate is higher because they don’t want to soil the area where they play, eat, and sleep. Too much room to explore means more accidents. Once the puppies are consistently going on the potty pads, we decide to enlarge their area.

An addition to the Whelping Box

Tuesday we expanded our puppy area with the addition of a designated potty area. I took one of the used potty pads to encourage the puppies to go in the new potty area. The whelping box is their sleep and play area where Luna will feed her puppies. When they wake up and need to “go” they need to move to the potty area to void. I was impressed that in the morning, the potty area was well used.

Puppy Teeth are coming in

Now that the puppies’ teeth have started coming in, it is a good time to begin offering them puppy mush. Sometimes mothers don’t want to feed after their teeth come in, but Luna continued nursing. Such a good mama.

Looking back at week four

Looking Ahead to Week Five

  • Puppies will move to the main floor
  • Puppies will continue learning to use potty area
  • Puppies will start on puppy mush
  • Awake time will increase
  • The puppies will continue to socialize with each other through play 
  • Toys will be added to our whelping box for puppies to explore
  • Enlarging the puppy area, giving puppies room to play and explore
  • Mama will now add the invaluable teaching phase to her caring & protecting responsibilities over the next weeks.

Puppy four-week singles coming soon

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Luna’s adorable three week old puppies

Luna’s adorable three-week-old puppies have been developing quickly this week. The puppies are becoming more aware of their surroundings and have started to play with each other during their brief “awake” periods. They have discovered their voices and are practising vocalizing when they are awake. Whether they are waiting for Luna to finish cleaning each puppy before their next meal or playing with their littermates, we have a very noisy whelping box.

Puppy Culture

This week, the puppies were in the Transitional Period. We continued our ENS exercises, which cause tiny stresses to benefit our puppies by increasing their tolerance to stress and disease resistance, speeding up their adrenal system, and strengthening their heart rate and heartbeat. Saturday was Day 16 of the puppies’ lives and the final day for our ENS exercises.

Critical Socialization Period (weeks 3 – 12)

The next period for the puppies is the Critical Socialization Period. We know that puppies have entered this period when they react to sounds. We raise our puppies following many of the Puppy Culture protocols. Following these protocols helps us reach our goal of “Raise Healthy, Calm, Confident, Well-Adjusted Puppies.”

Over the remaining weeks, we will be working on new experiences for the puppies, exposing them to as many new experiences as possible to raise the best possible companions for their forever families.

Emotional Intelligence

Because Goldendoodles are companion dogs, teaching emotional intelligence to young puppies and starting them with a great beginning is essential. With this intention, we follow seven key things to nurture a puppy’s emotional intelligence.

  1. Communication – giving a puppy his voice, i.e. Communication manding and attention/distraction protocols
  2. Emotional stability – the ability to recover quickly from fear as well as stress, i.e., startle recovery, barrier challenges, etc
  3. Habituation – familiarize the puppies with the maximum number of things during their Critical Development Period—in particular, Puppy Parties, sound protocols, household noises, and meeting different people and dogs.
  4. Enrichment—Teach the puppies that novelty and challenges are enrichment opportunities, not to be feared or avoided. For example, they can be introduced to new novelty items on an ongoing basis at an activity centre, car ride, outdoors, etc.
  5. Health – physical wellness and motor skills that will allow the puppy to develop neurologically and physically soundly. For instance, daily weight checks, grooming, proper nutrition, fecal checks, and deworming, if necessary, vet health checks and vaccinations)
  6. Skills – learned behaviours that teach the puppy to function in human society, i.e., recall, manding, simple commands, potty box training, crate introduction, resource guarding, bite inhibition, etc.
  7. Love – teach puppies to seek out the company of dogs and humans as emotionally positive experiences, i.e., Daily cuddles with humans and the puppy’s mom.
  8. Shaping emotional responses: happy and calm CER (Conditioned Emotional Responses). For instance, treats and encouragement during puppy training.

Three weeks old

The Girls
  • Black colar blonde abstract with brown points
  • Red colar blonde abstract with black points
  • Purple colar blonde abstract with brown points
  • Brown colar apricot abstract with brown points
  • Orange colar chocolate Merle abstract with brown points
  • Neon green colar blue merle abstract with black points
  • Yelow colar black abstract with black points
The one and Only Boy
  • Blue colar apricot abstract with brown points

Correction: Chocolate merle not Chocolate abstract as I mistakenly said in the video

A look back at week three

Notice that the puppies are making use of the pig rails. Although a few puppies still try to go underneath and only manage to get their heads under, many are climbing on top to lounge, and some use it as a headrest. This week, we will say goodbye to the pig rails as we divide our whelping box into a potty area and a play/sleep area, adding bolster beds.

Looking Ahead to Week Four

  • Puppies will still sleep much of the day/night as they continue to grow rapidly
  • Interact with littermates through play, which will help develop essential social skills
  • Practicing walking on all fours strengthening their hind legs
  • Becoming steadier on their feet
  • Hearing will improve 
  • Puppy milk teeth will erupt
  • Puppies will begin potty training
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Luna’s Two Week Old Pups Are Growing Like Weeds

Two Weeks Old

Luna’s puppies are now two weeks old and growing like weeds. They have entred the Transitional Period, which usually begins around day 14 and lasts until day 21.

Every puppy is different so “Behavioural Markers” are used to identify the beginning and end of each developmental period. These timelines are simply guidelines. The transitional period begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds. When this happens, they enter the next stage, the Critical Socialization Period.

Attentive Mama

We’ve had a busy week caring for Luna and keeping her company in the whelping room while she tends to her little ones. A mama of newborn puppies has a round-the-clock job of feeding and cleaning her puppies. I am always amazed at the instincts God has given animals; they just instinctively know how to care for their young.

Luna is an active dog, and I wondered how she would manage spending so much time focused on caring for her puppies. I am very impressed. She is a caring mother who has done a wonderful job. Mama and puppies are doing well! 

Puppies need to be “cleaned” by their mama to help them “void.” By three weeks of age, they will be able to void on their own, and we will introduce a potty area to their whelping box.

Luna now leaves the puppies sleeping in the whelping box and rests outside on a bed or the floor. 

When she returns to check on her puppies, she first cleans them, and after all the puppies have been cleaned, she settles down to nurse.

Milestones

When raising puppies, we watch for milestones to gauge their progress. I am pleased to say that Luna’s puppies reached both milestones this past week.

Weigh-In: The first milestone the puppies reached this week was doubling their birth weight. We are happy to say all of Luna’s puppies have doubled their birth weight and more. Luna has done a wonderful job caring for her babies!

Eyes Opening: When puppies are born, their eyes are sealed shut as they continue to develop. Puppy’s eyes open somewhere between day 10 and day 14. On Sunday — day 10, Luna’s Red Collar girl was the first puppy to open her eyes. Over the next few days, the rest of the puppies also opened their eyes. It is always exciting when I see the puppies look back at me! 

Keeping puppy area clean

Newborn puppies are vulnerable to disease, so it is crucial to keep their area clean. We clean and disinfect their whelping box daily. We also replace their vet bedding daily or more often when needed, which results in a lot of laundry.

What is Vet Bedding? At first glance, you might think it is sheepskin. It is a synthetic version of sheepskin, made from artificial fibres, with two layers: first, a mesh base similar to the “skin” part of a sheepskin, and second, the comfortable, soft, springy artificial fleece attached on top. Puppies need proper grip while nursing, moving around the whelping box, and learning to walk, as this traction helps protect their developing joints. We change this bedding daily. A couple of Luna’s puppies have escaped from the whelping box, so it is time to add a panel to the entrance of their whelping box to keep them safe

Early Neurological Stimulation

ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) begins on day 3 and continues through day 16. Research shows that small doses of tiny struggles and stresses are beneficial for puppies and help them develop into strong, healthy, well-adjusted adults. Benefits include increased stress tolerance, higher resistance to disease, quicker adrenal system development, and a stronger heart rate and heartbeat.

This video show ENS exercises on one of Luna’s ten-day-old puppy.

Five second of each:

  1. Touch each paw
  2. Hold upright with feet hanging loose
  3. Hold upside down
  4. Lay in palm of hands on their back
  5. Place on cold cloth

Walking on all fours

The hind legs are becoming stronger. The puppies are learning to walk on all fours. As time passes, they will learn to walk on various surfaces and eventually run.

Sleeping Puppies

Newborn puppies sleep 90% of the time, and I love watching them snooze. They have many sleep positions. Sometimes they rest in the puppy huddle, with a buddy, or alone, tucked snugly under the pigtails in their whelping box. This week, I’ve noticed many of the puppies using the pigrail as a headrest—so adorable.

A Look Back at Week Two

Looking Ahead to Week Three

  • ENS exercises will end on day 16
  • Puppies will continue to eat and sleep most of their day
  • The puppies vision will become clearer
  • Ears will open and they will begin to hear.
  • Puppies will practice walking on all fours, strengthening their hind legs
  • They will become more aware of their littermates and start to interact
  • Puppies will start to vocalize

COMING SOON—Look for puppy two week single pics

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Luna’s Adorable Puppies’ First Week

Luna’s precious puppies are one week old today. When caring for puppies, our days are always busy, and each week brings its own challenges. During the first week, we focus on looking after our mama and her babies, making sure everyone is doing well.

Whelping Day

When we woke on Thursday morning, it was clear Luna’s labour had begun. Sometimes labour takes a long time, but Luna progressed quickly. She delivered her first puppy at 3:10 in the afternoon, with the last puppy delivered at 7:00 pm I was thankful that our delivery was in the afternoon and not in the middle of the night like most whelps. 

Luna and Brinkley had eight adorable puppies; seven girls and one boy. 

Puppy Care 

It is important to watch each puppy’s development and compare to littermates to confirm that the puppies are developing normally and meeting milestones. Some of our daily chores include:

  • Cleaning – Whelping box is cleaned and disinfected regularly. 
  • Vet bedding is replaced with a clean one. 
  • Each puppy is weighed daily, and a record is kept to track their progress. 
  • Puppies are handled and cuddled often throughout the day. 
  • ENS begins on Day 3. 
  • Always plenty of laundry to do.

Mama Care 

It is important that our mama receives exceptional care both physically and emotionally, before whelping as well as after whelping.

  • We feed our mama’s high-quality food, plenty of fresh water, and special postnatal vitamins, all of which help them recover quickly after the whelp.
  • Luna gets the emotional support she needs, and I spend most of my time keeping Luna company in her whelping room. When she nurses, I often join her in her whelping box, giving her pats and massages.
  • At night, I sleep in the whelping room so I can check on things during the night. 
  • Puppies, like human babies, can sense their mothers’ emotions, which influences the newborns. A healthy, calm, and loving mother who is well cared for is in turn passed on to her puppies. This helps us achieve our goal – to raise healthy, calm, confident, and well-adjusted puppies!
Special Postnatal Vitamins
Boiled Chicken
Luna eats her chicken in the whelping box

Dedicated Mama

Luna is a dedicated mama who has been taking wonderful care of her puppies. Newborn puppies cannot regulate their own body temperature. They need a warm space, their mother, and littermates to help keep them warm. During the first few days of the puppies’ lives, Luna spent all her time in the whelping box with her babies, keeping them warm, clean, and ensuring they nursed often.

In the past few days, she has been spending more time away from her puppies in the yard to get some exercise. This break from her puppies is only short. After a bit of exercise, Luna wants to go back inside, running upstairs to check on her babies. As the days pass, her time away from her puppies will gradually increase.

Day 7 Luna now spends time resting outside the whelping box and checks in on her babies

Puppy Development

Puppies are born with their eyes and ears sealed shut; they cannot see or hear. They must rely on “smell” and “touch” to find their mother. Newborn puppies are not able to void without help from their mother. For the first two weeks of life, puppies are stimulated by their mother licking them, which encourages urination and defecation. This “cleaning” by the mother not only helps the puppies void but also benefits them in other ways, such as promoting bonding, grooming, and accelerating the development of the nervous system. 

Neonatal Period

The puppies are in the Neonatal Period which is from day 0 to day 14. During this period, puppies spend their time eating and sleeping.

ENS Exercises

On day 3, we began ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) exercises, which will continue until day 16. Research indicates that these small doses of gentle stress and stimulation benefit puppies. The advantages of ENS include increased stress tolerance, better resistance to illness, faster adrenal response, and a stronger, healthier heartbeat. This is a unique opportunity that a breeder can only provide during the 3 to 16-day window. Puppies will also be handled regularly to help them get used to human touch. 

One of the stresses the puppies are exposed to is lying for five seconds on a cold pack wrapped in a blanket.

Cold Gel Pack
ENS
Cold Pack wrapped in blanket

Expert Nursers

The puppies have become expert nursers and are all gaining weight and growing quickly. Good job, Luna!

Sleep, Sleep, Seep

Newborn puppies spend about 90% of their time sleeping… eat, sleep, repeat. Whether they sleep cuddled with their mama, littermates, or alone, they enjoy many adorable sleeping positions. 

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK TWO

  • Much the same as week one – Eat, Sleep, Repeat!
  • Puppies will continue growing
  • Puppies still crawl; hind legs will become stronger
  • Eyes should begin to open towards the end the week – so exciting !!!