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.
