Tag: Goldendoodle puppy

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Willow’s Babies Turn Four Weeks Old

Puppies Start Solids

Although I consider all our girls great mama’s, just as human mothers different in parenting styles, the same holds true for dogs.

I have helped four of our girls raise their litters and have noticed that each mama has a little different style. Willow is my “Strict Mama“. Although she loves and cares for her babies, she certainly doesn’t baby them.

Potty Training Begins

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. Willow didn’t allow me the head start though. Nevertheless, we began potty training after they had eaten their first meal of regurgitated food.

For the first few days after the puppy move to the main floor, I spend my time moving the puppies to the potty area when they wake and after they eat. It is important that puppies start learning that they cannot “go” 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.

Extension to the Whelping Box

On my wish list for the past couple years has been to have an addition to the whelping box for the purpose of a potty area. Previously we used fencing for the potty area, but it is sometime problematic.

Thursday was exciting for me because my wish came true. My husband Tom made the addition for my whelping box.

Now the puppies have an extension to their whelping box that contains their potty boxes. Finally, no more fencing and the puppies are safely contained in their new extended whelping box.

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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Willow’s Beautiful Three Weeks Old Puppies

Three Week Old Puppies

Looking Back

Willow’s beautiful three weeks old puppies have been progressing rapidly this week. Not only do they continue to gain weight and grow bigger with each passing day, but their eyes opened fully and their vision is improving. Also, the puppies’ ears have started to opened and they are beginning to hear.

The puppies are more aware of their surroundings and have begun to play with each other during their short “awake” time. During this awake time, they have become quite noisy as they practice their vocalizing. The puppies still sleep much of their day/night.

Puppy Culture

This week the puppies were in the Transitional Period. We continued our ENS exercises which cause tiny stresses in order to benefit our puppies with greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat. Sunday was Day 16 of the puppies life and the final day for our ENS exercises.

Critical Socialization Period (weeks 3 – 12)

The next period for Willow’s three week old puppies is the Critical Socialization Period. We know that puppies have entered into this period when the react to sounds. We raise our puppies following many of the Puppy Culture protocols. Following these protocols helps us reach our goal “To Raise Healthy, Calm, Confident, Well-Adjusted Puppies“.

Over the remaining weeks we will be working on new experiences for the puppies by exposing them to as many new experiences as possible in order to raise the best possible companion for their forever families.

Emotional Intelligence

Because Goldendoodles are companion dogs, it is important to teach emotional intelligence from young puppies and start them on a great beginning. With this intention we follow the following 7 key things that will nurture the emotional intelligence of a puppy.

  1. Communication – giving a puppy his own voice i.e. Communication Trinity: power up clicker, box game, manding and attention/distraction protocols
  2. Emotional stability – the ability to recover easily from fear as well as stress i.e., startle recovery, barrier challenges etc
  3. Habituation – familiarize the puppies with the maximum number of things during their Critical Development Period. In particular, Puppy Parties, sound protocols, household noises as well as meeting different people and dogs.
  4. Enrichment – teach the puppies that novelty and challenges are opportunities for enrichment not things to be feared or avoided. For example, ongoing introduction of new novelty items, activity centre, car ride, outdoors, etc.
  5. Health – physical wellness and motor skills that will allow the puppy to develop in a neurologically and physically sound way . For instance, daily weight checks, grooming, proper nutrition, fecal checks, and deworming, if necessary, vet health checks and vaccinations)
  6. Skills – learned behaviors which teach the puppy to function in human society i.e. recall, manding, simple commands, potty box training, crate introduction, resource guarding, bite inhibition etc.
  7. Love – teach puppies to seek out the company of both dogs and humans as emotionally positive experiences: i.e., Daily cuddles with humans and puppy’s mom.
  8. Shaping emotional responses: happy and calm CER (Conditioned Emotional Responses). For instance, treats and encouragement during puppy training.

Look at Willow’s Three Week Old Puppies

In this video we show each puppy and their markings.

  • Listen for the puppies starting to vocalize with little barks and growls.
  • Notice the puppies are starting to seek out human attention by crawling on my lap.

Aware of Their Surroundings

This week the puppies have become more aware of their surroundings. The video shows them interacting with their littermates. Because of this interaction, the puppies begin learning dog manners.

Looking Ahead to Week Four

  • Puppies will still sleep much of the day/night as they continue to grow rapidly
  • Interact with littermates through play which will help develop important social skills
  • Practicing walking on all fours and consequently strengthening their hind legs
  • Becoming steadier on their feet
  • Hearing will improve 
  • Puppy milk teeth will erupt
  • Puppies will be moving to the main floor towards the end of the week
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Look at Willow’s Puppies Two Week Old Puppies

Two week old puppies still spend most of the time sleeping

Two Weeks Old Today

Our puppies are now two-weeks-old and are progressing very well. We have had another busy week caring for Willow and her puppies. There is lots keep us busy while raising puppies such as ENS, cleaning, weighing, and laundry just to name a few.

Willow is a great mama because she continues to be protective and attentive as she cares for her little ones.

Willow resting on her elevated bed just outside the whelping box

Puppy Socialization

Experiencing Love 

One of our goals while raising puppies it to teach them to seek out the company of both dogs and humans as emotionally positive experiences.

This is why we handle our puppies as soon as their mamas feel comfortable along with giving them all daily cuddles. At two weeks old, our puppies have already experienced much socialization. In addition to me personally handling the puppies, on Sunday some of my grandchildren helped me cuddle he puppy. Not only did my grandchildren get their puppy fix but the puppies are also getting accustomed to different people holding them. As a result, the puppies were tired from all the interactions.

Introduction of Other Dogs

Part of our puppy raising process is to involve our other dogs in the process. This is done slowly because we must look to the mother to know when she is comfortable to let her babies have visitors.

On Thursday morning Willow allowed our dogs to have a peak at her babies while she was having some breakfast in the Whelping Room. Ellie who is Willow’s bestie, was able to come right over to the whelping box for a close up look in but Ruska, Maui and Nova had to look from afar. Eventually Willow also allowed Maui a closer look too.

MILESTONES REACHED BY TWO WEEKS OLD

During the first two weeks of a puppy’s life, it is important to look for milestones to confirm that they are doing well. So, as you can imagine, Monday was an exciting day for us because Willow’s puppies reached two milestones on the same day.

Doubling Birthweight

On Monday, some of the puppies reached their first milestone because they doubled their birthweight. Although puppies usually double their birthweight between day 10 and day 14, with a larger litter sometimes it makes it a little more challenging to reach this milestone. Everything considered, Willow is doing an amazing job feeding her babies because four of the puppies doubled their birthweight on day ten with the rest of the litter doubling over the next couple days. With all that eating and sleeping they puppies can’t help but grow.

The puppies are doing well at their daily weigh-in

Puppies Eyes Open

In addition to the weight milestone, we were excited to see one of Willow’s puppies reach another milestone on Monday. I look forward to this milestone from whelping day. Since puppy’s eyes open between day 10 and day 14, I started looking for this on Monday which was Day 10. This litter didn’t keep me waiting because when I checked each puppy out that morning, I could see our cream-coloured puppy’s eyes beginning to open. It is always so exciting when I see the puppies looking back at me!

Even though we had one puppy open their eyes on day 10, I had to wait a couple more days for some of the other puppies’ eye’s starting to open. By day 13, all the puppies’ eyes had started to open except our bigger Apricot Parti Boy. Today, Day 14, our last puppy’s eyes started to open.

Monday – Day 10
Tuesday – Day 11

Our Cream-Coloured Girl was the first puppy to open her eyes. See the difference from Monday to Tuesday.

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.

GROWING STRONGER

Becoming More Active

The puppies have gained strength in their hind legs and are moving around the whelping box faster. This was quite apparent when I went to check on the puppies and found one puppy on the floor. He had climb out of the whelping box and was now lost and crying. So, the time had come to add a panel to the entrance of the whelping box.

One of our Apricot Parti Boys crawled out of the whelping box.
A door panel was added to the entrance to keep all the puppies safe inside.

Learning to Walk on All Fours

When puppies are born, they move around the whelping box doing an army crawl because their hind legs need to gain strength before they can support their body weight.

This video shows Willow’s puppies practicing walking on all fours. As you can see, even though they are very wobbly all the puppies are making great progress.

Looking Ahead to Week Three

  • Puppies will continue to eat and sleep most of their day
  • Sight will slowly improve
  • Vision will become clearer
  • Ears will start to open and they will begin to hear 
  • Practice walking on all fours, strengthening their hind legs
  • Grow stronger and more mobile 
  • Become more aware and start to interact with their litter-mates
  • Start to vocalize
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Our Eight Week Old Cuties Are Learning So Much

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.

OUR GOAL
To Raise Healthy, Calm, Confident, Well-Adjusted Puppies
Pink collar girl
Purple collar girl
Red collar boy
Orange collar boy
Yellow collar boy
Blue collar boy

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.

Puppies exit normal speed
Puppies exit slow mode
What a difference a week makes!

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

SO MUCH FUN TO RUN

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.

Running With Mama

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.

Teaching puppy to submit

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.

TIME TO LET THE PUPPIES EXPLORE

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 )

All the puppies had a great time!

New Puppy Sleep Area

CRATE TRAINING CONTINUES

TIME TO CLOSE THE DOOR

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.

The new puppy sleep area – Notice we have covered the crates with a blanket and put a blanket inside their crate. So cozy!

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.

Quiet Puppies – YEAH – Good Job!!!

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

The puppies have learned so much – This video takes a look back at the past week.

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
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See Ellie’s Adorable Seven Week Old Puppies

Seven Weeks Old

Ellie’s puppies are growing and learning new things with each passing day

SO ADORABLE

The puppies have had another busy week experiencing many NEW things. They continue to grow bigger and more adorable each day. The puppies are full of energy and curious about everything. They love outdoor play time where they get lots of exercise running and playing with their littermates. The puppies are still getting a milk snack from Ellie which they never turn down. Ellie is such a good mama and is slowly weaning them. The puppies have now made the transition to eating dry kibble puppy food which they get three times a day. It’s no wonder they are packing on the weight LOL!

new area for puppies to explore

INDOOR PLAY AREA

This week we set up a play area for the puppies. This area includes potty box, crates, toys, and an Activity Centre. The puppies always have fun exploring the Activity Centre. This area is separate from the puppies’ sleep area so, when the weather doesn’t co-operate, we have a change of scenery in the new play area.

LEARNING NEW THINGS

THE STEPS

The puppies are always learning. Not only do we want to build strong bodies, but we also want to build strong minds. Every day is a new opportunity to build our puppies minds by introducing something new. On Monday of last week, the puppies had the challenge of “Learning to go down the steps”. Watch to see which of our puppies mastered the challenge.

Just like children differ from their siblings, puppies also differ from their littermates. Some puppies are braver than others.

Even with lots of encouragement from me, Ellie, Maui, and his littermates, Red Collar Boy just couldn’t get up the courage to master the steps. He went back in the puppy area and cried. Oh well, there is always another day.

Over the next few days, we tried to encourage Red collar boy to master the steps but no success. On Friday, we tried again.  Can he do it? 

YES …….. that was easy!

Such an exciting day!

Puppy Selection Day

The rain held off for selection day and we were able to have puppy visits outside. As always, some puppies were tired during forever family visits but puppies at this age play hard and then crash to refuel. If your puppy was tired rest sure that they all have energy!

Tom and I had a great time on Saturday meeting all the forever families and introducing them to their puppy. It is a day that we always look forward to because we love to show off our beautiful puppies and share the in excitement of their forever families.

Our puppies are so lucky … We have the best Forever Family!!!
When the day was over, we had very tired puppies

Sunday the puppies had a quiet day catching up on their sleep. Can you find your puppy?

Puppy Play

I thought it would be fun taking a video of our puppies playing from afar. I stood on our deck unnoticed by the puppies and captured five minutes of our puppies’ lives. After a slow morning of lots of sleep our puppies had recharged.

A LOOK BACK

In this video we look back at the past week. It is amazing how much a puppy learns in one week. We explored a new play area, new toys introduced, interaction with adult dogs, playtime with littermates both indoors and outside, and learned to go up and down steps and met lots of different people during selection day. No wonder we have tired puppies!

Lots to experience

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK EIGHT

  • Puppies will continue exploring and playing together inside and outdoors as weather permits
  • The puppies will get to run in the BIG yard where we will work on recall 
  • Ellie along with our other dogs will continue teaching the puppies dog manners
  • Crate training begins
  • We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty area 
  • Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time
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HAVE A LOOK AT OUR SIX WEEK OLD CUTIES

six weeks old

Can these puppies get any cuter?

Ellie and Brinkley’s puppies are now six weeks old. We have had another busy week caring for the puppies and introducing them to so many new things. They have grown bigger, and you can see each unique personality developing.

Ellie continues to wean her puppies and they are doing well eating the softened kibble puppy food. The puppies are still working on potty training. They enjoy running and chasing each other during outside play time. 

the girls

Pink Collar Girl – Flatcoat Goldendoodle
Purple Collar Girl – Flatcoat Goldendoodle

the boys

Blue Collar Boy- Flatcoat Goldendoodle
Red Collar Boy – Flatcoat Goldendoodle
Orange Collar Boy – TeddyBear Goldendoodle
Yellow Collar Boy – TeddyBear Goldendoodle

Puppies First Taste of the Outdoors

Another first for our Puppies – On Monday we took them outside for the first time. The puppies spent their first few minutes slowly walking around and smelling as they went.

Tom set up fencing to enclose a large outdoor area for the puppies to explore and play. There is a tree for shade, rocks to climb, slopes for the puppies to practice walking on uneven ground and lots of room to run.

Progress being made

Potty training continues

This week we are continuing to encourage the puppies to use the potty boxes while they are in their puppy enclosure. As with each litter, some puppies are more consistent than others but all the puppies are making progress

introducing CRATES

Crate Training Begins

We start crate training by exposing puppies to the crates with the doors opened. It is important for the puppies to explore the crates on their own, choose when to enter and if they wish take a nap in them. They should think of the crate as their “safe place”. I put a blanket over the crate to make it feel safe and cozy much like a wild dog den.

On Thursday when the puppies were outside, I spent some time giving the puppy area a thorough clean, set up two crates on one side and put a Snuggle Puppy into each crate. When I brought the puppies inside after their outdoor playtime, they were curious about the new addition to the puppy area. They walked in, smell around, and some puppies even decided to take a nap in the crate.

A new toy

Puppies Play With Their New Water Bottle Toy

Saturday was raining so it wasn’t the best weather to have outdoor play. I decided the puppies needed something new to investigate. I made them a water bottle toy.

This is something that I do for all our litters. It is made from an empty water bottle and an odd sock from my sock bin. (Where do those sock matches go LOL!) I insert the water bottle into the sock and tie a knot in the end. and there you have it – A new FREE toy!

The puppies always love the water bottle toy because it makes a “crinkling sound”.

Watch the puppies enjoying their new toy
such fun!

A LOOK BACK AT

THE PAST WEEK

SWEET DREAMS PUPPIES

Lots to experience

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK SEVEN

  • Puppies time spent 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
  • Puppies will continue exploring and playing together outdoors as weather permits
  • Puppies will continue learning from their mama as she disciplines them and teaches them to behave 
  • As always, puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time
  • Puppies will meet their forever families
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Look At Ellie’s Adorable Five Week Old Puppies

Five Weeks Old

And So Adorable

Ellie’s puppies are now five weeks old. They have developed from the helpless newborn puppies that fit into the palm of my hand to the “mini dogs” they are today. The puppies are now awake for longer periods and enjoy playing with their toys, littermates, Nanny Maui, and cuddle time. We are seeing their personalities starting to develop. 

Solid Food

Introducing solids to puppies begins with a “Puppy Smoothie” I grind puppy kibble in my blender to a powder and then add water that is filtered, boiled and cooled. The consistency of it is very watery at first making it easy for the puppies to lap up. With each passing day I gradually reduce the water and the food becomes thicker. 

Today the puppies transitioned to softened kibble. By eight weeks of age, the puppies will have transitioned to eating dry kibble.

Loving Mama Ellie

Ellie is a loving mama that adores her sweet babies. She has a kind gentle disposition and is very patient with her puppies. With the introduction of solids and sharp puppy teeth, some mamas would end their nursing obligation but not Ellie. She still allows the puppies to nurse a few times a day. In addition to this, Ellie will regurgitate her food to feed the puppies. (Something wild dog mothers do to feed their young)

Ellie loves to share with her puppies. Yesterday all our dogs got a treat – a prime rib bone. As this is not a regular occurrence, when each dog received their bone they trotted off in the yard to enjoy their bone in their own spot. Ellie on the other hand went to the door and wanted back into our house. When we let her in, she proceeded into the puppy area and gave her bone to the puppies to chew on which they enjoyed. Such a sweet mama!

Ellie cuddling with her puppies while they sleep
Grooming

We handle our puppies from birth, touching their ears, mouth and paws and give them lots of cuddles. We want them comfortable with the human touch. Another thing we introduce at a young age is grooming. We brush our puppies daily so they will be accustomed to this when they go to their forever homes. Brushing helps keep mats from forming and removes dirt from their coat helping keep the puppy clean.

We also trim the puppies’ nails when needed. The puppies’ nails grow quickly so it is important to trim them. This not only protects our mama’s from getting scratched while the puppies nurse, but it also gets them familiar to having the paws touched and nails trimmed.

Potty Training

✓ Lots of practice and correction

✓ Accidents ✓ Cleaning and laundry ✓Becoming more consistent

Progress is being made

This week has been a busy one. The focus of the week has been on potty training. It always seems like a long week when we begin potty training. I put the puppies into the potty box when they wake and after they eat and hope that things will click. Some puppies are quick learners, but others take longer. It can be frustrating when you put a puppy into the potty box, but they climb back out. You put them back in and out they come again. Next thing you notice they walk away and have an accident. I wonder, will they ever get it?

Potty Training begins with the puppies in the whelping box with the potty box at the entrance. In a few days, most of my puppies “get it” so I then remove the whelping box and enlarge the puppy area.

This litter was more challenging than others. The puppies were just not catching on. I check on the puppies only to discover one, two or more puppies using it as their own personal sleeping area. How will the other puppies use it if puppies are sleeping in it? So, I decided to remove the whelping box and give them a larger puppy area. When puppies have too big of an area there’s a larger chance that they will have accidents. This was the case with this litter. It was a week of constant cleaning, laundry and, lots of correction! 

Finally on Saturday I knew we were making progress. The puppies were going into the potty box on their own. We will still have accidents and some puppies will be more consistent than others but, progress is defiantly being made!

Producing gentle loving puppies

Puppy Partys

✓Building a connection with people ✓Socializing with young and old ✓Socializing with other adult dogs

It is important when raising puppies to socialize them which means introducing them to as many new experiences as possible when they are young. Some of the new things that the puppies have been introduced to this week are music, various household sounds, new toys, access to a raised dog bed, our other adult dogs, solid food, and water. 

We are blessed with a large family so, when we have get-togethers, it is built-in puppy parties. Tom’s cousin was over from Finland for a visit so Saturday we had a large gathering of over 30 people for a BBQ. The puppies had lots of interaction with people both young and old. Everyone wanted to see and hold Ellie’s babies. This is great socializing for the puppies building a connection with people and in turn producing gentle puppies that will become loving companion dogs for their forever families.

Throughout the day there we many children in playing with the puppies. When the day was over, we had very tired puppies. LOL

This video takes a look back at the past week. The puppies have grown so much and have graduated to new collars. Hopefully this makes it is a little easier to distinguish our blond puppies from each other.

Lots to experience

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK SIX

  • Awake time will continue to increase
  • Puppies will continue learning to use potty box
  • Socialize with each other through play
  • Balance will continue to improve.
  • Puppies will be introduced to the outdoors
  • 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
  • As always, puppies will get lots of cuddle time.
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See How Much Our Four Week Olds Are Progressing

Four Weeks Old

Looking Back

This past week has been full of new experiences for Ellie’s puppies. They have progressed so much in that short period of time. 

Over the past seven days, the puppies’ milk teeth have erupted, their awake time has increased, their hind leg have become stronger and they are much steadier on their feet. Although the puppies still sleep much of the day, when they are awake they love socializing with their littermates through play. 

Time to Move to the Main Floor

GOOD-BYE

to the warm quiet space that the puppies have occupied since birth. 

HELLO

to the main floor, many noises of a busy household and many life lessons. 

moving to main floor

On Friday the puppies made the big move. We packed them into a laundry basket and brought them to the main floor. They were very vocal and tried to climb out of the basket on the way down.

Once there, I gave the puppies the challenge of trying to get to their mama. A few puppies climbed out and I helped the rest out of the basket. Ellie reassured her babies and fed them.

The puppy area has the Whelping Box in the centre, the potty box on one side and Ellie’s elevated bed on the other.

The puppies will only have access to the Whelping Box where they play and sleep and Potty Box that they will learn to move to to void.

Potty Training Begins

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.

For the first few days after the puppy move to the main floor, I spend my time moving the puppies to the potty area when they wake and after they eat. It is important that puppies start learning that they cannot “go” 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.

On the first day of of potty training, the puppies were curious and practiced going in and out of the box. We are making progress

The Potty Area is just outside the entrance to the whelping box. We use a plastic litter box filled with pine pellets.When the puppies were sleeping I walked by the whelping box and discovered that two puppies went to sleep in the potty box. 😂Lots of work to do before they start to “get it”.

We are making progress with each passing day
Puppy Party
Play Time

Discover New Things

This week the puppies had playtime outside their whelping box. This exercise will help develop strong muscles. Soon they will be running around.

Puppy Party – On Thursday my Grandchildren played with the puppies. This was great socialization for the puppies to interact with young children.

Play Time – Sunday the puppies explored the new area, toys and they experienced walking on a different floor surface.

The puppies love people. Whenever we sit in their whelping box, it doesn’t take long before we have a lap full of puppies who shower me with kisses.

🐾😘🐾

Weaning is beginning

Time for solids

Ellie is starting to nurse her puppies in the “Standing Position” This is the sign that she is ready to start weaning them. The puppies are ready to start eating solids.

❤️

Lots to experience

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK FIVE

  • Puppies will start eating solids
  • Puppies will continue learning to use potty area
  • Awake time will increase
  • The puppies will continue to socialize with each other through play 
  • Balance will continue to improve and puppies will begin to run
  • Enlarging the puppy area
  • Crate introduction
  • Mama will now add the invaluable teaching phase to her caring & protecting responsibilities over the next weeks.
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Look At Our Beautiful Three Week Old Puppies

THREE WEEKS OLD

LOOKING BACK

Three weeks old already – how quickly time passes! This week Ellie’s puppies have been progressing rapidly. They continue to gain weight and grow bigger with each passing day. Their eyes are fully opened and vision is improving. Their ears have open and they are reacting to sound. The puppies’ hind legs have become much stronger and they are becoming steadier when walking. The puppies are aware of their surroundings and have begun to play with each other during their short “awake” time. They have become quite noisy as they practice their vocalizing. The puppies still sleep much of their day/night.

Puppies In Action

Ellie’s 3 week old puppies are becoming very vocal – we have a noisy whelping box! 😂
Playtime before lunch – this video shows the puppies interacting with each other.

Critical Socialization Period (weeks 3 – 12)

The puppies have started to react to sounds. When this happens, it is the sign that the puppies have entered the Critical Socialization Period. We raise our puppies following many of the Puppy Culture protocols. Following these protocols helps us reach our goal “To Raise Healthy, Calm, Confident, Well-Adjusted Puppies“. Over the remaining weeks we will be working on as many new experiences for the puppies.

Socializing puppies by exposing them to as many new experiences as possible while the puppy is young is only part of the process of Socialization. Our goal is to raise dogs that have the emotional intelligence to connect with you. Emotional intelligence can be taught to young puppies and is one of the goals of the Puppy Culture Program. There are 7 key things that will nurture the emotional intelligence of a puppy.

  1. Communication – giving a puppy his own voice i.e. Communication Trinity: power up clicker, box game, manding and attention/distraction protocols
  2. Emotional stability – the ability to recover easily from fear as well as stress i.e., startle recovery, barrier challenges etc
  3. Habituation – familiarity with the maximum number of things (Puppy Parties, sound protocols, household noises , meeting different people, dogs etc.)
  4. Enrichment – teach that novelty and challenges are opportunities for enrichment not things to be feared or avoided (Ongoing introduction of new novelty items, Activity Centre, car ride, outdoors, etc.)
  5. Health – physical wellness and motor skills that will allow the puppy to develop in a neurologically and physically sound way (daily weight checks, grooming, proper nutrition, fecal checks, and deworming, if necessary, vet health checks and vaccinations)
  6. Skills – learned behaviors which teach the puppy to function in human society i.e. recall, manding, simple commands, potty box training, crate introduction, resource guarding, bite inhibition etc.
  7. Love – teach puppies to seek out the company of both dogs and humans as emotionally positive experiences: i.e., Daily cuddles with humans and puppy’s mom.
  8. Shaping emotional responses: happy and calm CER (Conditioned Emotional Responses)

Maui the Nanny

Our poodle Maui is almost two years old. She is a sweet gentle dog that loves to interact with our puppy litters. Maui has been waiting on the sidelines watching as Ellie cares for her puppies. Over the past few weeks I will find her peeking in the whelping box entrance or lying on the bed just watching the puppies.

Maui on the bed watching the puppies

A new experience for the puppies today

Today while Ellie was feeding her babies, Maui decided it was time to jump into action and begin interacting with the puppies. Ellie didn’t seem to mind. They were both in the whelping box together. When Ellie decided to leave, Maui stayed in the whelping box for a few more minutes until the all of the puppies had drifted off to sleep.

Great socialization – The puppies interact with another dog!

Sweet Dreams

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK FOUR

  • Puppies will still sleep much of the day/night 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 towards the end of the week