Category: Echo & Riggs Litter

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Eight Weeks Old and Time to Say Good-Bye

Echo’s Puppies

Eight Weeks Old

Eight weeks have passed since Echo’s tiny babies came into the world. Remember how small they were…..We could hold them in the palm of my hand. They have learned so much over these past eight weeks. I have enjoyed raising them to the point where they are ready to join their forever families. The puppies have spent their time outdoors, running and exploring in our yard. Echo has done a fantastic job raising and teaching her puppies. This past week, we have worked on acceptable behaviour, mainly the difference between nipping and kissing. Puppies are not always consistent but have made significant progress in this area. I love puppy kisses!!!

LOOKING AHEAD

Puppies are leaving this week for their forever homes. You have a lot of work ahead of you: correcting, training, caring for your new puppy, and learning. The time and work you put into training your puppy pays off when you have a loving, well-behaved dog that will love you as only a dog can— but be patient; they are still unconditionally. You will be the most important person in the world to them. 

It is always bittersweet to say goodbye to our puppies. I have enjoyed every minute of their care, and they have a piece of my heart. I say goodbye to my puppies with sadness, but seeing the excitement of their forever families brings me joy. Wishing you a long and happy life! ❤️

Maui’s Puppies

Maui’s puppies are growing bigger and more adorable with each passing day! This week, they started potty training; although they still sleep much of the day, when awake, they love socializing with their littermates through play and climbing on my lap for cuddles.

Puppies Start Solids

Maui has done a great job feeding her puppies; they are healthy, chubby babies. Now that the puppies have turned four weeks old, it’s time to start solids.

A look at those adorable faces

The Girls

ORANGE GIRL
PINK GIRL

The Boys

YELLOW BOY
BLUE BOY
GREEN BOY
BROWN BOY
GREY BOY

A LOOK BACK AT WEEK FOUR

Looking Ahead to Week Five

  • Move to the main floor
  • Puppies will continue learning to use the potty area
  • 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.

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Seven Weeks of Growing and Learning

Echo’s puppies are now seven weeks old. They have grown so much and continue to learn new things daily. This past week, there have been many firsts for the puppies: exiting the house and reentering, learning to go up and down the steps, a car ride, a vet visit, and running in the Big Yard, to name a few. They have also graduated to eating hard kibble. Feeding time is easy now; measure and pour into their dish.

Becoming More Independent

The puppies are learning daily. They have learned to go outside and back inside independently (without my help).

This video shows their first attempt at going outside on their own. You can hear Maui barking to encourage them😂

The puppies have since become very proficient at going outside on their own.

Working on Recall

Another thing that the puppies have been working on is recall. We start this by calling “puppy, puppy” when feeding them and when it is time to gather at the puppy entrance to bring them back inside. Now that they have access to the Big Yard, we call them to gather them together to ensure all are accounted for. This video shows the puppies coming when called. I was impressed that all the puppies came to me when called!👏👏.

A Visit to the Vet

Wednesday was a big day for the puppies. It was their first car ride and a visit to the vet. It is always exciting when the puppies go to the vet, and they always have so many admirers at our vet clinic.

All the puppies had a complete wellness check, their first vaccinations, and the dreaded microchip. I am happy to report that we only had one Yelp, and all our puppies are healthy!

As usual, I was again complimented on how calm and well-behaved our puppies are. It is fulfilling to hear compliments like this, proving that all the hard work we put into the puppies really does make a difference!

Socialization

Puppy Culture states in #3 & #7 that puppies need lots of human interaction in the critical socialization stage.

#3 Habituation – familiarity with the maximum number of things (Puppy Parties, sound protocols, household noises, meeting different people, dogs, 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.

We have had many human interactions with the puppies. Many grandchildren make an instant Puppy Party and are always willing to help interact with them

Our puppies also benefit from interaction with other dogs in our household. Maui and Willow are helping Echo teach the puppies dog manners. Brinkley is a big dog and shows up occasionally as well.

Willow works with Black Collar Girl

Looking Back at Week Seven

It has been another busy week for the puppies—so many new things to experience.

Things to watch for:

  • Puppies wrestle – important to teach soft mouth and to play nice
  • Interactions with other dogs
  • Interactions with children
  • Running in the big yard
  • Willow teaching the puppy to submit-(laying on its back)
  • Green Girl is perfecting the perfect doodle sleep position😂
  • Car rides
  • Vet visit
  • Dry Kibble
  • Fresh filtered ice water always available 🙂

Looking Ahead to Week Eight

  • Puppies will continue exploring and playing together inside and outdoors as weather permits
  • The puppies will continue to run in the BIG yard where we will work on recall
  • Echo along with our other dogs will continue teaching the puppies dog manners
  • Crate training begins with the door closed for short naps
  • We will continue to encourage puppies to use the potty area 
  • Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time
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Echo’s Six Week Old Sweeties

Looking back

The puppies are six weeks old today. We have had another busy week caring for them and introducing them to many new things. They have grown bigger, and you can see each unique personality developing. Echo continues to wean her puppies, and they eat softened kibble. We continue to work on Potty training. Some puppies are more consistent than others, but we are making progress.

Crate Introduction

This week, we said goodbye to the whelping box and started crate training in a new puppy area. I start the puppies with a few crates, leaving the door open. This is the beginning of crate training. The puppies go in on their own to explore, and the door is always open.

Selection Day

This past Saturday was Selection Day. The weather was beautiful, and excitement was in the air as we met each forever family and introduced them to their new puppy! It always brings me joy to know that all our puppies are joining such amazing families and will be loved!

Outdoor Play

We’ve been having wonderful weather, and the puppies really enjoy their outdoor play time. They love running, chasing each other, playing with the activity center, and climbing the “rock wall.”

Echo, Willow, and Maui teach the puppies proper doggy manners during the outdoor play sessions.

Looking Ahead to Week 7

  • Awake will continue to increase
  • Puppies will begin dry kibble by the end of week seven
  • We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty box
  • Puppies will continue to socialize and learn from each other through play
  • Exploring and playing together outdoors as weather permits
  • Puppies will continue learning from their mama as she disciplines and teaches them to behave
  • As always, puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time
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Echo’s sweet babies are now five weeks old

Echo’s sweet babies are now five weeks old and have developed from helpless newborn puppies to the “mini dogs” they are today. The puppies are now awake for longer periods and enjoy playing with each other, and their toys, and cuddle time. We can now see their personalities starting to develop.

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

Potty Training

We have been working hard on training puppies to use the potty box. Some of the puppies are more consistent than others but, all the puppies are making great progress. It’s amazing to watch puppies wake up or stop playing and go over to use their potty box.

Meal Time

The puppies are always excited when they smell the food being prepared.

Now the puppies are eating three meals a day of soggy kibble.

The puppies are still nursing from their mama any chance they get but Echo limits this and is beginning to tell them “NO” with a stern growl! They also get plenty of fresh filtered water

Puppy Parties

Family gatherings are one of the many things I love about our large family . This past Mother’s Day weekend was a busy one; to help me out with puppy cuddles, we built a Puppy Party to socialize the puppies with different people. The puppies were held, cuddled and played with by both young and old. They especially love playing with my grandchildren and interacting with them. As you can imagine, after all the handling, the puppies were tired out and slept well

Outside Adventure

The puppies had their first taste of the outdoors yesterday. During this time, it is always and exciting time to watch how they explore. Our mama dogs love to have their puppies outside because it give them a larger area to teach them.

Echo spent time with her puppies making sure they felt save.

Looking Ahead to Week Six

  • Awake time will continue to increase
  • Puppies will 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
  • Daily Outdoor play time as weather permits
  • Puppies will continue learning from their mama and our other adult dogs as they teach them dog manners
  • Puppies will meet their forever families ❤️
  • As always, puppies will get lots of cuddle time.

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Four Weeks Has Passed So Quickly! 🐾

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

Potty Training Started

The puppies are now able to void without the help of their mother, so it is important to begin potty training. Because puppies have a natural instinct to move away from their sleeping area when they need to go, I want the puppies to begin learning “where to go” before they start on solids.

 It is important that puppies start learning that they cannot “go” just anywhere. So, we teach them “there is an acceptable place to go potty”. Teaching them this at a young age will prevent them from developing bad habits that later need to be broken. This effort on our part will benefit forever families by making housebreaking easier for them when they go to their forever homes.

New Whelping Box

Recently we purchased a New Whelping box from PetTech Solutions . This was another big investment but well worth the money. The Whelping box is made in Canada with extremely durable and safe HDPE 2 food-grade plastic. HDPE 2 is a durable, non-toxic material that is commonly used for food preparation items, such as cutting boards and food storage containers.

What I loved about this whelping box was the ability to enlarge it with an extension box.

On Thursday we set up the extension box. Then we added the potty boxes with pine pellets to the extension which now becomes the puppies potty training area.

Next it was time to remove the door that separates the two areas. Soon after, Echo’s puppies were curious and one by one checked things out.

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The puppies are doing well with their potty training. When they are kept in a small area (their whelping box) their success rate is higher because they don’t want to soil the area they play and sleep. This will be the same when they go to their forever homes. Too much room to roam equals more accidents.

Moving to the Main Floor

Saturday was a big day for our puppies because they left their warm quiet room where they have been since birth and moved to the main floor.

When we moved the puppies, we put the puppies into a Laundry Basket and made three trips to the main floor where their whelping box was set up waiting.

This move was a less stressful for Echo’s litter than my other litters. This is because the puppies had already been using the potty box extension for a few days. But unfortunately not for Echo as she was the one that was a little stressed. Soon Echo’s puppies settled into their new area and started experiencing living in a home with all the noises that go on in a busy household.

Puppies Start Solids

The puppies started solids on Monday. We usually start our litters on solids. when they are four weeks old but, with such a large litter it can take its toll on Echo. I gave her a hand by supplementing formula the last of couple days, Saturday and Sunday. The puppies did a great job and lapped it up eagerly.

On Monday I added ground kibble to their puppy formula. They ate it up but not before putting their paws in it. When they were done, we had very dirty puppies with full tummy’s.

Oops….not Willow

Oops, Credit goes to Echo, not Willow as I mistakenly said in the video. Sorry Echo, you have done an amazing job and deserve all the credit!!! I was tired and I had Willow on my mind after whelping her litter – 😂

Exploring Outside the Whelping Box

The puppies experience new things daily which helps build their confidence. I always find it interesting to watch how the puppies approach new things. When you observe you see some puppies are more outgoing and dive in while others stay back and need extra encouragement.

When it was time for the puppies to go to the play area I removed the door and let the puppies come out on their own. Notice in the video two of the puppies took longer to come out and explore. Without a doubt, Dark Blue Boy and Dark Green Boy were less adventurous. It took them awhile before they joined their littermates outside the whelping box.

The puppies had a great first adventure and Echo loved interacting with her babies! When play time was over, we had some tire puppies so, back to the whelping box for a nap.

Nothing puts a smile on your face easier than a lap full of puppies 😃
Puppies first adventure outside the whelping box.

Puppy Monitor

Now that the puppies have left the upstairs where we have cameras on the Whelping Box, we have a monitor set up to keep an eye on the puppies when we go outside.

We enjoy our morning coffee on the front porch with our puppy monitor

Looking Ahead to Week Five

  • Puppies will continue learning to use potty area
  • 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.
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Look How Much Our One Week Old Puppies Have Grown

One week old already….It is hard to believe the seven days have passed since Echo’s babies arrived. We have had a busy week because raising newborn puppies is a 24/7 job. As you can see from the comparison pic below, our one week old puppies have grown so much!

See how we have grown
Picture on the left – Friday – Day 2
Picture of the right – Wednesday – Day 7

Caring for Echo

As with her last litter, Echo suffered loose stools for a couple of days. Although this is a common occurrence after whelping, we need to treat her symptoms before it affects the puppies. So, we gave Echo a diet of boiled chicken, rice, pumpkin, and added a probiotic supplement. By doing so, she recovered quickly and is now doing well on her regular diet.

Vitamins

Looking after the mama both prenatal and postnatal is an important part of producing healthy puppies. During labor we give our mamas Oral Cal Plus which is a Calcium Supplement between each puppy’s birth. This supplement helps support productive labor with 3 calcium sources.

We also give our Postnatal mamas a daily vitamin Oxy Momma to support lactation and recovery.

Mother’s Pudding

Another thing we give our mama’s to help them recover is Mother’s Pudding. The recipe comes from the Puppy Culture program. We follow many Puppy Culture protocols while raising our puppies.

Mother’s pudding helps Echo produce lots of milk because t is high in calcium and calories. It is also something every mama loves to eat!

Ingredients: goats milk, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla pudding.

Neonatal Period

ENS

The puppies are in the Neonatal Period. This period is from day 0 to approximately day 14. During this period, the puppies spend their time eating and sleeping. On Saturday, day 3, we began ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation). These exercises will be continued daily until day 16.

The ENS exercise causes tiny struggles and stresses in small doses which are a benefit to the puppies. For example some of the benefits include greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeats. This is a gift that a breeder can only give their puppies during the 3 to 16-day window.

After we finished our ENS, Echo was happy to have all her babies safely back in the whelping box with her.

Feeding

Before puppies are born, they receive immunity and everything they need to grow from the placenta. But, after birth, newborn puppies do not possess immunity.

A mother’s first milk called colostrum. This first milk contains a nutritious protein-rich, balanced protective food. Colostrum provides passive immunity. This immunity can last several weeks and protect the puppies from various infections and diseases. For this reason it is vital for the puppies to nurse soon after birth and over the next twelve hours. This will help the puppies build up their passive immunity. 

Passive immunity is the short-term immunity which results from the introduction of antibodies from the puppy’s mother. Active immunity on the other hand is an immunity built by producing antibodies from the immune system that responses to the presence of an antigen.

For the first two weeks of their life newborn puppies spend their time eating and sleeping. Did you know, newborn puppies sleep for 90% of their day/night?

Puppies are born with their eyes and ears sealed shut so, they cannot see or hear. Therefore they have to rely on “smell” and “touch” to find their mother. Puppies are born with a natural instinct to nurse but as the days pass, they have become more proficient at it.

Echo is an amazing, attentive mama. She has a large litter of ten and spends most of the day and night in the whelping box feeding, cleaning and caring for her babies.

With a large litter, we have to keep a close eye on the puppies making sure everyone gets their fair share of milk. So, to keep tract of each puppy’s progress, we weigh our puppies daily and keep a record. This charting showed that most of Echo’s puppies are gaining weight as expected.

Unfortunately though, it was apparent that Red collar girl has been slow at gaining weight. Lagging behind the normal progress is cause for concern.

So on Monday I had to intervene. I spent the day making sure when she was nursing, she wasn’t being pushed off by the larger puppies.

The Waiting Basket

Echo can only feed eight puppies at once so, during feeding, I now put two of the larger puppies in a basket to wait their turn. The basked is placed just outside the whelping box where Echo can keep watch.

Supplementing With Puppy Formula

On Monday, Red Girl was weighed throughout the day with encouraging results. They showed that she was making some progress. But, it was short lived because when I weighed her when we woke Tuesday morning she had lost weight overnight. Because of this set back, I decided I needed to intervene again.

The next step would be supplementing her with puppy formula in addition to her nursing from Echo.

The two puppies in this picture shows Green boy who is our largest puppy compared to Red girl who is our smallest puppy.

With the supplementing it has helped her gain weight. But, we still need to continue monitoring her closely, weighing her throughout the day, and supplement her nursing with formula.

Hopefully she will continue to gain weight and soon catch up to where she should be.

Puppy Pics

Now that is one relaxed puppy! Watch Black collar girl sleeping – her head is rested on Echo and she’s sleeping on her back, (a favourite doodle sleep position) 😂

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK TWO

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

Today Echo’s puppies are 12 days old and growing quickly. Echo continues to be an amazing mama and loves to care for her babies.

L.A. Doodles goal is To Raise Healthy, Calm, Confident, Well-Adjusted Puppies. One thing we do to work towards achieving this goal is ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation)

ENS Demonstration

This past week we have continued our daily ENS exercises. ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) begins on day 3 and continues daily 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 heartbeats. This is a gift that a breeder can only give their puppies during the 3 – 16 day window.

In this video I demonstrate the ENS exercises we do daily with each puppy.