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Ellie is a kind and gentle loving mama taking wonderful care of her babies. Yesterday I gave a special treat to our adult dogs – a “WHIMZEES DENTAL STICK” (I usually give our dogs the more economical Pedigree DENTASTIX.) Our dogs love these special treats and yesterday after they got their Whimzee, they disperse to find a secluded spot to eat this special treat. They didn’t want to take a chance of one of the other dogs stealing their Whimzee. I went outside to sit with the puppies and soon Ellie was at the door asking to come outside too. She had brought her Whimzee with her and gave it to her puppies. The puppies spent the next little while taking turns chewing on Ellie’s special treat. I thought it was so sweet – mama wanted to share with her babies. After the puppies had all had a turn chewing, Ellie picked it up and ate it.

Ellie started to wean her puppies at four weeks when we introduced solids. In the wild, dogs nurse their babies and when it is time to wean them, they “regurgitate” their food for them to eat, until they are old enough to eat “adult food”. Many of the domestic dog mama’s today have stopped this natural instinct but not Ellie. Many times, I have seen her feed her babies this way. I caught it on video today and thought that I would share (you can’t actually see the regurgitated food because the puppies were busy eating.) Watch closely: at the beginning of the video puppies are nursing and soon you see Ellie regurgitate the food on the grey carpet in front of her, then the puppies pile in to eat. 

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Puppies grow so quickly and need to be stimulated and challenged daily. Every couple of days I try to introduce the puppies to something new. Today it was a new toy – a water bottle covered with one of the many odd socks I had laying around. Every time I introduce a water bottle to a new litter it’s always a big hit – they just love the “crinkle sound”. Watch them having fun playing with the water bottle in the video below:

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LOOKING BACK

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Six weeks old today. We have had another busy week caring for Ellie’s babies. They have been introduced to so many new things including the outdoors. This week we have had multiple weather conditions including snow and rain, both warm and cold temperatures, and sunshine – the puppies have experienced them all. We have continued to expose the puppies to different household sounds such as vacuums, pots and pans, stove fan, dishwasher, music etc. The puppies have been exposed to new outdoor sounds including planes/helicopters, lawn mower tractor, outdoor building sounds i.e., hammering, saws, etc. The puppies have been introduced to many different walking surfaces both inside and out i.e., tiled and smooth flooring, carpet, and outside decking when dry, wet from the rain and snow covered. We are also teaching the puppies to maneuver up and down steps.

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The puppies have grown bigger, and you can see each unique personality developing as they play and interact. They have now progressed to eating softened kibble. They enjoy spending the days playing with their littermates. Mama continues to wean them as she teaches them to submit. Ruska, Willow and Daddy Brinkley are also helping out teaching Ellie’s babies!

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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK SEVEN

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• Puppies time spent awake will continue to increase
• Puppies will progress to dry kibble by the end of week seven
• We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty area
• 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 cuddle time
• Puppies will meet their forever families

Today after the puppies had their lunch, Tom and I tackled the task of taking Ellie’s babies singles. Ellie was cleaning the puppies faces after they had eaten their lunch and some of puppies have a bit of a wet face in their photos. LOL! Some puppies were better at “Posing” and some puppies needed more “Takes” than others, but we were eventually successful in capturing Ellie’s adorable babies!

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The Girls

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Saturday was a beautiful warm sunny day, and our dogs and puppies spent the day outside. In the morning, we spent some time grooming the puppies. It is surprising how much time it takes to groom eleven puppies – they all had their nails trimmed and were brushed. Then all the puppies all got a new “Big Puppy Collar.” They are really growing up! After a morning of grooming, play and a good meal, the puppies enjoyed a lazy afternoon. We have a couple cardboard boxes with a vet bed mat in the bottom set on the deck – the puppies love to go into them for a nap!

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Ellie’s puppies are growing bigger and more active by the day. Even though this morning was a cold one, after their breakfast Ellie wanted her puppies outside. I opened the gate of their enclosure and the sliding door and called for them to “come”. This is how we begin teaching our puppies recall. Some puppies are more adventurous than others and came out the door on their own while others waited inside their enclosure looking on and whining – LOL. Soon all Ellie’s puppies will make the “mad dash” and head outside on their own.

The puppies had a great time running and playing in the snow but before long, the were cold and came back inside to warm up and of course, a nap. Later when the puppies had recharged, they enjoyed their playtime inside. We have a play area set up in our front hall which gives them more room to play. There is an activity centre in the middle, and some boxes and a little tunnel for them to explore. They had a great time exploring and playing. One of their favourites toys on the activity centre was the “stuffed crab” So many of the puppies loved playing a game of tug-of-war. After a while the puppies started to tire and, one by one, they again dropped off for another nap to recharge.

The calendar say April 21st – spring, but we woke up to a winter wonderland of snow. The puppies turned five weeks old and get to go outside. Today was an exciting day for Ellie, the rest of our dog gang and us – Even though it snowed we were going to introduce the puppies to the outdoors! It was a little cool in the morning, so I waited until the afternoon when the sun was shining on our back deck to take the puppies outside. We packed them into a basket and headed out. When we got the puppies outside, Ellie wanted to nurse them right away. I have noticed that our mama dogs always nurse their babies whenever we move them to a new area. It is their way of reassuring the puppies that they are safe.

Even though the puppies were a little timid at first, they enjoyed their time outside. After the puppies ate their lunch, they started to explore and play together. I knew they had enough when they gathered together on the blanket in their puppy huddle and fell asleep. All that fresh air and exercise is tiring for a five-week-old puppy! I returned them inside and they settled in for a long nap!

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LOOKING BACK

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How quickly time passes, Ellie’s darling puppies are now five weeks old today. The puppies have developed from helpless newborns to “mini dogs”. They have learned so much over the past five weeks. We have been working hard over the past week on training the puppies to use the potty area. It’s amazing to watch puppies wake up or stop playing and walk over to use the potty area. They still have a long way to go and some of the puppies are more consistent than others, but all are making great progress! The puppies are now awake for longer periods and enjoy playing with their toys and their littermates. Nursing time from mama has decreased and the puppies continue to enjoy eating puppy mush and drinking their water.

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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK SIX

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• Puppies time spent awake will continue to increase
• Puppies food will become much thicker progressing toward the goal of eating dry kibble
• Puppies will continue learning to use potty area
• Puppies will continue to socialize with each other through play
• Puppies balance will continue to improve.
• Puppies will begin daily outdoor playtime 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 cuddle time.

Ellie’s puppies continue to grow and develop. They still spend much of their days and nights sleeping but, during their awake time puppies love to play together wrestling and play fighting. Through this play the puppies learn “bite inhabitation” (a soft mouth). If a puppy is play fighting and bites the other puppy too hard, the puppy will ‘YELP’. This lets the”biting puppy” know that they are biting too hard. If the puppy continues to bite too hard, the other puppy will not play with him and the fun is over. Through this play fighting, a puppy learns to control their mouth strength and develops a “soft mouth”. Over the next few weeks, the puppies will continue to interact with their littermates, learning acceptable behaviour.

Ellie’s babies are continuing to progress. They love to play with their littermates, toys, and interact with us. The puppies are enjoying their Puppy Mush and continue to nurse from their mama. Today I decided to let Willow go into the puppy area to socialize the puppies with another dog. Soon after, Ellie wanted in to check on her babies and nurse them.

For the past four weeks, Ellie has been feeding her eleven puppies. This is a large litter and requires extra work on both Ellie’s part and mine making sure all the puppies get their fair share of mama’s milk. Ellie has done an amazing job feeding her babies. Over the past few days, Ellie has been nursing her puppies in the standing position which is the sign that she is ready to start weaning her little ones. It is now time to introduce solids to the puppies.

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Ellie helps her puppies finish the leftovers. She will continue nursing her puppies and gradually wean them over the next couple of weeks.

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After their first solid meal all the puppies went back into their whelping box on their own and settled in for a long nap.

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