eight weeks old
And learning so much
Ellie’s puppies are now eight weeks old. They have had another busy week and progressed so much!
Lots of new experience for our puppies helps us reach our goal – to raise healthy, calm, confident, well-adjusted puppies.
It is always amazing to see what a difference a week make in young puppies’ lives. Remember last week when the puppies were learning to go outside on their own.? They were trying to get up the courage to step down.
See how far the puppies have come. Watch the puppies going outside. The first video is at normal speed and the second is in slow mode so you can see how well the puppies are moving.
LOTS TO LEARN
RUNNING IN THE BIG YARD
✓Play, Explore & Exercise ✓Learning from Mama ✓Interacting with other Adult Dogs ✓Learning to submit ✓Working on Recall
This week was so exciting for the puppies. They have now experienced running in the big yard. Our yard is like a dog park with so many places to explore, lots of room to run, and our other adult dogs to interact with.
This is an important time for the puppies development. In addition to play, this is an opportunity for Ellie and our other adult dogs to teach the puppies proper dog manners.
TEACHING TO SUBMIT
An important lesson for the puppies to learn is To Submit. The goal is to get the puppy to lay still on their back in the submit position. Some puppies are very quick to submit, and others don’t want to co-operate and need more work.
Maui was working with Pink Collar Girl trying to make her listen and submit. Then Willow joined in t o try and help. Pink collar girl was being stubborn and wouldn’t co-operate. She was struggling – listen to her “complaining”!
Mama Ellie took over the lesson – Pink Collar Girl finally listened to mama and settled quietly and laid still in the submit position.
It may appear cruel to some but, these lessons are important. It teaches the puppy that they are not in charge. They need to listen to authority.
This will benefit Forever Families when you take your puppy home. Dogs are “pack animals” and your puppy is at the bottom of your family pack. Adults and children are above and the puppy must listen your authority.
WORKING ON RECALL
Recall is something that the forever families will continue to work on when they take their puppy home. Teaching your puppy recall is something that needs to be worked on over a long period of time. It takes lots of time, practice, and patience.
We have been working on recall for a couple weeks now. It begins when we call the puppies to go from their sleep area to their play area on their own. We have also practiced recall when it is time for the puppies to go outside on their own.
Now that the puppies are running in the big yard exploring, it is the perfect time to work on recall from a distance . While the puppies are dispersed and exploring, I use the Puppy Call to gather them to me. I call “Puppy, Puppy” and wait for them to come. Sometimes the puppies are doing something more interesting and don’t respond but at this age, they usually come running because the love the attention, praise, pats, and cuddles I reward them with when they come.
ANOTHER NEW EXPERIENCE
POOL PARTY
INTRODUCING WATER
Both Poodles and Golden Retrievers are “water retrievers” so it isn’t any surprise that Goldendoodles also love water. With this week’s hot weather, I decided to take the opportunity to introduce the puppies to water.
Water introduction is something that you don’t want to rush. You could traumatize the puppy if you force them into water. We put some water in our plastic pool. The ground that the pool was on was sloped which allowed shallow water on one side of the pool and no water on the other side.
I then let the puppies explore the pool on their own. All the puppies were interested in the water. We had three puppies go into the pool on their own (Purple, Yellow and Orange) and the other three puppies watched with excitement on the sidelines. Maui and Willow even got into the action.
(FYI – unlike most poodles, Mama Ellie doesn’t like water )
New Puppy Sleep Area
CRATE TRAINING CONTINUES
This past week we rearrange the puppies’ sleep area. We set up six crates in the puppies sleep area. Each puppy will now have their own crate. Up until now the puppies could freely go in and out of the crate whenever they chose..All the puppies have explored the crates during play time and some puppies even choose to take a nap in the crate with a buddy or on their own.
This week we moved forward with our crate training…. time to close the door.
FIRST CRATE TRAINING SESSION
We put each puppy in their own crate and give them a few small treats. Giving them treats when they go into their crates helps the puppies associate the crate as something good! They should think of the crate as their safe place.
I took these short videos during the first session of crate training with the door closed.
First video: Listen to some of the puppies complaining.
Next video: After about five minutes the puppies had settled. Some had fallen asleep, and others just sat quietly. Eventually all the puppies fell asleep.
I am very pleased with the progress the puppies have made. We put the puppies in their crate each afternoon for a nap. They quickly settle and sleep for about two hours. When nap time is over, I go to the puppies’ sleep area to let them out. It is amazing to see all the puppies wait quietly while I open each crate door.
Beginning crate training with the breeder helps the puppies become accustomed to their crates. This will make the transition easier on the puppies when the go to their forever homes.
A LOOK BACK
Lots to experience
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK NINE
- Daily Outdoor play time as weather permits
- Puppies will continue to socialize with each other through play
- Puppies will continue to learn dog manners from Mama and other adults dogs
- Puppies visit the vet for their wellness check-up, first shots and, micro-chip
- Puppies start to head to the forever home
