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What is Puppy Imprinting?

The word imprinting comes from the Latin word “impriemere” which means “to impress” or “to mark by pressure stamp” Like a stamp leaves a permanent mark, imprinting leaves a permanent impact on the puppies. 

Puppies, like humans, are not born knowing everything. They have to be taught many things and this learning is called imprinting. Proper healthy imprinting is important because it will set a dog up for a happy balanced life. Many things that happen during the initial imprinting phase will stay with the puppy for their whole life. 

I believe imprinting starts at birth. This is why we handle our puppies many times daily from the start. Our puppies interact with people of different ages, from young children to seniors. We also introduce them to our other dogs. I believe it produces a calmer more well-adjusted puppy.

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Why do we raise our puppies on our main floor?

We raise our puppies on the main floor to experience the noises of a busy household; ie. vacuuming, dishwasher, pots and pans noises, doorbells, doors opening and closing, lawnmowers just to name few. Our puppies have also been experiencing the sounds of hammering and drilling, from a outdoor project my husband and father-in-law have been working on. They have even experienced the noises from a severe thunderstorm. The more they can experience at a young age, the better adjusted they will be. 

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Why can’t our puppies go to their forever homes until they are 8 weeks old?

Interaction between mother, littermates, and other dogs is invaluable to the puppies learning. Our mama dog teach her puppies to listen, obey, submit and what is acceptable dog behaviour. Littermates also have an important role to play. When puppies play with their littermates they learn how to “play nice” which is a skill they will use their entire lives. If a puppy is too aggressive during play, their littermates will cry. This will teach the puppy that aggression is not acceptable play. If they don’t “play nice”, the other puppies won’t want to play with them. 

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Lot’s of willing hands to cuddle our puppies!

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Does imprinting stop when puppies leave their mama?

Dog are always learning. When puppies go to their forever homes, imprinting continues as they are learning a whole new set of boundaries from their forever families. 

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Ellie’s Puppies

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LOOKING BACK

Three weeks old already and oh how they have grown! This week the puppies have been progressing rapidly. Their eyes are fully opened and vision is improving. Ears have started to open and they are beginning to hear. Their hind legs have become much stronger and they have been practicing walking on all fours. Puppies are much more aware of their surroundings and have begun to play with each other. They still continue to sleep much of the time.

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 developing important social skills
• Puppies hind legs will continue to become stronger as they walk more
• Hearing will improve
• Puppy milk teeth will erupt
• Puppies will be moving to the main floor sometime during the week

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Ruska’s Puppies

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On Wednesday the puppies began their first 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 made quite a mess but all in all did a great job with their first meal. Ruska has now begun to wean them and they are nursing less. The puppies were also given water to drink for the first time and learned to lap it up.

Updated 2023

CRATE TRAINING AT HOME

What size of crate should I purchase?

I have had some families inquiring about sizing when purchasing a crate for their new puppy. Our puppies will mature to an adult weight of between 50 – 75 pounds and a height of between 22” – 25” at the withers (highest point of its shoulder blades). Dogs need to have room to stand up straight and turn around comfortably while in their crate.

If you want to purchase only one crate, I would recommend purchasing a 42” crate that comes with a divider. This will allow you to start off with a smaller area when your puppy is young and allows you to increase the size as your puppy grows into adulthood. Initially a puppy should not have too much room in the crate, or they might use one end for “potty”.  You can also choose a crate with one door or two. I use the wire crates which have a plastic floor insert.

Does my puppy have to use a crate their whole life?

The choice is yours to make as your puppy matures. You may decide that you do not want to use a crate if and when your puppy becomes trustworthy.

I couldn’t write a post and not include at least a couple pics of our puppies

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Ruska’s Puppies

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LOOKING BACK

Four weeks old already, how the time has flown by! This past week puppies moved to the main floor and started on potty training. They have become more steady on their feet as their hind legs strengthen. Puppies are vocalizing more and can now bark and growl in addition to their perfected whine . They are awake more, spending this time socializing with each other through play. All of the puppies enjoy cuddle time……when we go into the puppy area, it doesn’t take long before you have a lap full of puppies!

Our Puppy Area is divided into three sections. Whelping box (which is their sleep section), Potty Section, and Play Section. When puppies wake, we take them to the potty section. The goal is to get them to associate the “potty smell” with the “acceptable potty area” Eventually, they will search it out on their own to go potty.The other two sections of their area we keep clean so that only the potty area has the”potty scent.” This is a time consuming job, but I feel it makes the housebreaking job easier when puppies go to their “Forever Family Home”.

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.

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Ellie’s Puppies

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Such Beautiful Faces!

ELLIE’S PUPPIES

The Girls

The Boys

Ruska’s Puppies

The Boys

The Girls

Ruska’s Puppies

It has been three and a half weeks since Ruska’s puppies arrived. Since birth, they have spent their days and nights in our bedroom. It is now time to make the move to the main floor where they can get accustom to the sounds and happenings of a house. This is also the time that we begin “potty training”. Puppies are now going potty without the help of their mother. They have a natural instinct to move away from their sleeping area when they need to go. This is why I feel it is important to begin “potty training” at this age. 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.

Ellie’s Puppies

Ellie’s puppies continue to grow and progress. The puppies appearance has totally changed now that their eyes have opened. They are starting to vocalize and interact with each other. The puppies still spend much of their life eating and sleeping.

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LOOKING BACK

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Another week older – Ellie’s puppies are now 2 weeks old. We have had an great week! Cuddling puppies is one of my favourite ways to pass the time and with so many puppies to cuddle, time seems to fly. Ellie continues to be a loving and attentive mama. She just loves to look after her babies! Friday was an exciting day because we could see the puppies eyes beginning to open. Their eyes will continue to open over the next couple days. I always think this makes them look more alive! The puppies have gained strength in the hind legs and are moving around the whelping box faster and are now starting to climb out. We had to add a door panel to our whelping box entrance to keep them contained.. Ellie’s puppies are gaining weight daily and they are now all over 1 KG. With all that eating and sleeping they can’t help but grow.

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Adorable Faces

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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK THREE

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• Puppies will still eat and sleep most of their day
• Puppies will continue growing 
• Eyes will continue to open wider and their sight will become clearer
• Ears will start to open and they will begin to hear
• Puppies hind legs will become stronger as they will practice walking on all fours

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Ruska’s Puppies

On Thursday, Ruska and her puppies had an adventure outside the whelping box. We went to the main floor and let them explore. I wanted them to experience a different environment before we make the move to the main floor. Ruska is always so excited to have her puppies downstairs. They walked around, played with their litter-mates, nursed, cuddled with their mama and then fell asleep.

August 19…….Ruska’s puppies are three weeks old today

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LOOKING BACK

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Three weeks old and oh how they have grown! They now look like “Mini Dogs”. This week, puppies have been progressing rapidly. Their eyes are fully opened and vision is improving. Ears have started to open but they are not yet hearing well. Their hind legs have become much stronger and they have been practicing walking on all fours. Puppies are much more aware of their surroundings and have begun to play with each other. They continue to sleep much of the time as they develop.

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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK FOUR

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• Puppies will still sleep most of their day as they continue to grow rapidly
• Puppies will play with each other developing important social skills
• Puppies hind legs will continue to become stronger as they walk more
• Hearing will improve with time
• Puppies “milk teeth” will begin to erupt. 
• Puppies will be moving to the main floor sometime during the week

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Ellie’s Puppies continue to grow

Ellie’s Puppies

Ellie’s puppies are now 9 days old. Their fur has grown thicker on their faces and their little pink noses have disappeared as the pigment has come in and turned their tiny noses brown. Newborn puppies spend their life eating and sleeping. They need all the energy to nurse and grow. Ideally puppies should double their birth weight at the 10-day point. All five of Ellie’s puppies have reached that milestone early. Way to go Ellie. You are taking such good care of your babies!

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Ruska’s Puppies

Ruska’s puppies are now 19 days old. They have their eyes open and are starting to see clearer. They have also are begun to hear. I noticed today when the carpet cleaner was on, they reacted to the noise and Ruska hurried to reassure them everything was okay. The puppies hind legs are getting stronger as they practice walking on all fours. They are able to move around the whelping box much quicker. The puppies have become aware of their litter-mates and have started to interact with each other for short periods of time. They still sleep much of their day

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LOOKING BACK 

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Happy one week to Ellies puppies. Wow, one week has passed so quickly. For the first few weeks of life, a puppy cannot regulate their own body temperature. They need a warm space, their mother and littermates to help keep them warm. Puppies are born with their eyes and ears sealed shut; they cannot see or hear. They have to rely on “smell” and “touch” to find their mother.

Ellie is an amazing mama. She still wants to stay with her puppies most of the day. She loves to feed, clean and cuddle with them. They have been gaining weight quickly and are close to doubling their birth weight. All Ellie’s devotion is paying off.

Sleeping is what we do

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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK TWO

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