Two weeks have passed since Maui’s puppies came into the world. They are growing like weeds and getting chunky. Maui is devoted to her babies and is a wonderful mama who cares for their every need.

There is plenty to keep us busy while raising puppies, including ENS, cleaning, weighing, and laundry, just to name a few.

Puppy Culture

We raise our puppies using many of the protocals 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 change the outcome of a puppy’s life by what we choose to teach them. Consequently, by doing just the right things at just the right time, we can give the puppies the best start possible.

Early Neurological Stimulation

This week we continued our ENS Exercises with the puppies. As we have previously mentioned, ENS 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. The 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.

Transitional Period @ Two weeks old

Now that the puppies’ eyes have opened, they have entered the Transitional Period. 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 (approximately Day 14 – 21) begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds.

Milestones

When raising puppies, we watch for Milestones to gauge their progress. This week, Maui’s puppies reached two milestones.

Weigh-In

The puppies’ first milestone this week was doubling their birth weight. Maui’s puppies gained weight quickly, with one puppy doubling its weight by day seven and the others catching up over the following two days. This rapid weight gain is similar to Maui’s previous litter. Great job, Maui!

Eyes Opened

Day 10

Another milestone was reached during the week—eye-opening. On day ten, I was excited to notice five of our puppies had opened their eyes:. Over the next two day, the other two puppies’ eyes opened too

Seeing the puppies look back at me is always exciting—I think they look more “alive”!