Tag: Puppies at play

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Already Seven Week Old and Learning so Much

Nova’s puppies are now seven weeks old. She has done a wonderful job raising them. She continues to be a loving and caring mama. During grooming time, while I brush each puppy, Echo licks them, giving them a good cleaning. Such a good mama.

This week has been busy. The puppies have mastered going in and out of the house on their own, were introduced to water, and had free play in the big yard. They puppies love to chase and wrestle with their littermates. They have also transitioned to eating dry kibble.

Seven weeks old

Water Play

It has been another hot week, so we added water play to help keep the puppies cool during outdoor play. In the puppy enclosure, we placed a container filled with water for the puppies to cool off in. It is important to let the puppies explore the water independently so they do not have a negative first experience with it. Pink girl and blue boy were brave and climbed in; the rest of the puppies use it as a giant drinking bowl and sometimes put their front paws into the water.

New Puppy Area

This week we moved the puppies to a new puppy enclosure. It is close to the back sliding doors. The puppies can now go in and out on their own.

Puppies Meal Time

The puppies have now transitioned to dry kibble. No more grinding puppy food to make it into mush or waiting while the kibble soaks in hot water. Feeding is simple now because I just measure the dry kibble into the dis and watch the waiting puppies gobble up their meals.

Teaching time from Willow

Nova’s mama Willow helps with the puppies. Willow was my strict mama who demanded her puppies listen. This week, she has been helping Nova with her puppies. This video shows her in the puppy enclosure working with them.

A look back week seven

Things to look for:

  • Puppies explore the big yard
  • Nova cleaning puppy
  • Willow visits puppy enlosure
  • Water play
  • New puppy enclosure
  • New bed
  • Playing in the red tunnel


Looking Ahead to Week Eight

  • Puppies will continue exploring and playing together inside and outdoors as weather permits
  • The puppies will contunie to explor in the big yard where we will work on recall 
  • Nova along with our other dogs will continue teaching the puppies dog manners
  • Crate training with the door closed during nap time
  • We will continue to encourage puppies to use the potty area 
  • Puppies go to the vet for their wellness check, vaccinations, and microchip
  • Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time

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Nova’s Adorable Six Week Old Puppies

Nova’s sweet babies are now six weeks old and becoming more adorable each day. 

We’ve had another busy week caring for the puppies and introducing them to many new things. They have grown bigger, and you can see each unique personality developing. The puppies love the outdoors and enjoy running and playing together. We’ve experienced very hot weather this past week and had to limit the puppies’ outdoor playtime to mornings and early evenings. We brought them inside for their lunch, playtime, and a rest where it was cooler. The inside puppy enclosure includes crates, a potty area, and new toys. It is important to introduce the puppies to something new each day.

Puppy Selection Day

One of the highlights of the eight weeks of raising puppies is Puppy Selection Day. We love meeting the forever families and feeling the excitement. 

We had a great day meeting everyone, and I know that each of our puppies has found a lovely forever home.

The puppies were exhausted after a lot of interaction with their forever families and spent the rest of the day having long naps.

A look back at week six

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 area inside
  • Puppies will continue to socialize and learn from each other through play
  • Puppies will continue exploring and playing together outdoor 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.
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Nova’s sweet babies are now five weeks old

Nova’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 more extended periods and enjoy playing with each other, their toys, and cuddle time. We are starting to see their personalities 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. The puppies have been introduced to different floor surfaces, new toys, our other adult dogs and Paisley, our eleven-week-old puppy. The puppies continue to get lots of interaction with humans of all ages.

Our main focus this week was teaching the puppies to go potty on the grass in their potty box and outside in the play area. They have done a great job of going in the right spot, so now it is time to remove the whelping box and add crates.

Introduction to Solids

This week, the puppies began eating puppy mush. Each meal we gradually increased the thickness.

The puppies have now advanced to softened kibble. Initially, it is very waterlogged. Over the next two weeks, we will gradually decrease the soaking time until the puppies are seven weeks old and ready for hard kibble.

And then we soak the kibble – Notice the difference in the dry and softened kibble
Kibble with boiled water
Lid on to help kibble absorb water
soften kibble

The puppies are still nursing from their mama any chance they get but, Nova limits this and makes a quick exit from the puppy area. They also get plenty of fresh water

Looking back at week five

Looking Ahead to Week Six

The puppies will begin their outdoor play. We have the puppy enclosure set up and ready to go – just add puppies!
  • Crates introduced
  • Awake time will continue to increase
  • Socialize with each other through play
  • 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.
  • Puppies will meet their forever families in one more week ❤️
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Nova’s Puppies Are Now Four Weeks Old

It is hard to believe that Nova’s puppies are already four weeks old. They have made significant progress in such a short time.

So much has happened this past week! The puppies’ milk teeth have come in, their hind legs have grown stronger, and their awake time has slowly increased. The puppies still sleep much of the day, but when they are awake, they socialize with their littermates through play and love to sit on my lap for cuddles.

Potty Training Begins

Last Saturday, on the twenty-first day, potty training began. We divided the whelping box into two sections— a potty area with potty pads and a sleep/play zone with bolster beds. Puppies naturally tend to move away from their sleeping area when they need to go potty. It’s impressive to see the potty pads being used on the very first day of training (see red arrows).

Whelping Box Separation
Puppies went on potty pad

A Visit To The Main Floor

On Tuesday, the puppies visited the main floor, where they interacted with some of my grandchildren. It was an exciting day for humans, adult dogs, and the puppies alike. The puppies enjoyed all the cuddles.

Nova was especially excited to have her babies out of the whelping box. She remained very relaxed as our other adult dogs interacted with the puppies.

 The next day, before the puppies were moved, Nova had all the puppies out of her whelping box and walking around the whelping room with her. It was definitely time to make a move.

 

Moving To The Main Floor

On Wednesday, the puppies moved to the main floor. The puppies are in the Critical Socialization Period, where socializing them involves exposing them to as many new sounds and experiences as possible.  This is part of teaching the puppies Emotional intelligence, one of the goals of the Puppy Culture Program. 

We placed the puppies in a large container while setting up their whelping box. Nova was surprisingly calm during this move. She is ready to progress to the next stage of motherhood – disciplining her puppies.

Notice the new addition to the puppies’ whelping box. Now that the puppies have had time using the potty pads in their whelping box, it is time for the potty box extension. This extension is lined with a washable pad and grass on top, and we encourage the puppies to use this area when they need to go potty. It is essential to keep their sleep and play area clean. Until the puppies are consistently moving into the potty box to relieve themselves, they will remain in the whelping box most of the day. We will take them out for a little exercise and exploring.

Puppies need to learn they can’t go anywhere. We teach them that “there is an acceptable place to go potty.” Teaching this early helps prevent bad habits from forming, which can be hard to break later. This effort benefits forever families by making housebreaking easier for puppies as they transition to their forever homes.

 

Puppies at play
Sleep with littermate
Sleeping with snuggle puppy
Nova cleans her puppy
Puppies nurse in standing position

A Look Back At Week Four

Notice:

  • puppies making use of the potty area
  • toys have been introduced to the puppies
  • starting to nurse standing position

Looking Ahead to Week Five

  • Puppies will continue learning to use the potty area
  • Start on puppy food
  • Awake time will increase as the puppies socialize with each other through play 
  • Introduce different toys
  • Mama will add the invaluable teaching phase to her caring & protecting responsibilities over the next few weeks.
  • Lots of cuddles
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Can You Believe Willow’s Babies are already Seven Weeks Old?

Can you believe Willow’s puppies are already seven weeks old? They have come so far in their first seven weeks of life. They’ve grown bigger and are adorable little furballs full of energy and curiosity about everything.

Dry Kibble

The puppies have now progressed to eating dry kibble, which makes feeding time easy—just measure into puppy bowls and serve.

Mama leaves…No Whinning

Willow has done an amazing job thus far raising her babies. She is a strict mama and gets respect with a growl.

Watch as Willow leaves the puppy enclosure — her puppies follow her to the fence but don’t whine. They watch her and no whining.

Willow has been working on teaching her puppies not to whine since they were two weeks old and could hear.

Outside Play

Our puppies love outdoor playtime where they chase each other and wrestle. Wrestling with their littermates helps develop a soft mouth. If a puppy bites too hard, the other puppy cries, letting them know it hurts. If the offending puppy doesn’t correct itself, no one will want to play with them.

Grooming

Puppies typically dislike being brushed, so we groom them daily to help desensitize them. When you bring your puppy home, it’s important to maintain a daily brushing routine. 

Please excuse my attire—I’m still in my P.J.’s. As I enjoy my coffee each morning, I hold and groom each puppy. 

Crates

The puppies have had access to the crates for a couple of weeks now. They can come and go as they please. The puppies are already comfortable playing in the crate, and some puppies love to go to sleep in them.

We want them to feel comfortable in their crates so that when we close the door, hopefully, they will quietly have their nap. In week eight, we will begin giving the puppies their afternoon naps in the crate and close the door. 

Enjoying the crate all to herself
sleeping buddy
Four puppies packed into one crate

Looking back at Willow’s puppies’s seventh week

The puppies had a couple of days of indoor recess due to the rain. On the second rainy day, they were able to enjoy an hour outside in the late afternoon.

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK EIGHT

The puppies still have a lot to learn from their mama and our other dogs this week. This is always a bittersweet week for me and our puppies; knowing that it is their last week together and that it will soon be time for them to move on to their forever families.

  • Puppies will explore in  the Big Yard
  • The puppies will continue exploring and playing together inside and outdoors as weather permits.
  • Mama and the rest of our dogs will spend time teaching proper puppy manners.
  • We will continue to encourage puppies to use the potty area
  • Puppies will be introduced to the crate with the door closed
  • A visit to the vet for Puppy Wellness Checks, Immunizations and Microchips
  • Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time
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Willow’s Six Week Sweeties

Willow’s sweet babies are now six weeks old and getting more adorable with each passing day. We took the puppies’ six-week photos one day early because Saturday was a busy one. Aren’t they adorable!

The Boys

The Girls

We have had another busy week caring for the puppies and introducing them to many new things. They have grown bigger, and you can see each unique personality developing. Puppies have now progressed to eating softened kibble. The puppies enjoy running and chasing each other during outdoor playtime. 

Puppy Selection Day

One of the highlights of the eight weeks of raising puppies is Puppy Selection Day. We love meeting the forever families and feeling the excitement. 

We had a great day meeting everyone, and I know that each of our puppies has found wonderful forever homes.

Becoming More Independent

The puppies are learning to come outside on their own. They are getting encouragement from our adult dogs. 

The last puppy came out at first but went back inside. He had to go potty and went where he was used to going.

This week, we have been working on teaching the puppies recall, with our “puppy call”. Recall is an ongoing learning lesson which our forever families will continue teaching their puppy when they take them home. 

This week we have been working on teaching the puppies recall, with our “puppy call”. Recall is an ongoing learning lesson which our forever families will continue teaching their puppy when they take them home. 

On Wednesday, we videoed them returning from their pen after eating. Two puppies needed my coaxing to go over the small fencing at the entrance of the puppy pen.

A Look Back at Week Six

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 area inside
  • Puppies will continue to socialize and learn from each other through play
  • Puppies will continue exploring and playing together outdoor 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.
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And Now They Are Five ……. Weeks Old

Willow’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 longer, but still need lots of sleep. 

Socializing puppies is essential when raising them, which means introducing them to as many new experiences as possible when they are young. This week was packed full of new Firsts. The puppies moved to the main floor, explored outside the whelping box for playtime, walked on different floor surfaces, played with new toys, and progressed to eating softened kibble.

Enlarged Puppy Play Area

This week, we enlarged the puppy area, giving puppies room to play and explore. The new puppy area includes an elevated bed, a potty area, different toys, balls, stuffies, chew toys, a slide, and a Wobble Disk.

Intro to Crates

This week, we added a crate to the puppies’ Play Area. This is the beginning of the crates. We want the puppies to explore the crate independently and feel comfortable going in and out.

Intro to the Outdoors

Today was a beautiful sunny day and the perfect time to introduce the puppies to the Outdoors.

Lots of new things to explore, and Willow will take the opportunity to teach them in the larger area.

Watch a time-lapse of the puppies’ first experience in the outdoors. Willow’s litters are always sure of themselves, and these puppies are no different …. their confidence showed!

A Look Back at Week Five

Looking Ahead to Week Six

  • Awake time will continue to increase
  • Puppies will continue potty training
  • Socialize with each other through play
  • Daily Outdoor play time as weather permits
  • 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.
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Four Weeks Old Already

It is hard to believe that our puppies are already four weeks old. They have made so much progress in such a short time. 

A lot has happened this past week! The puppies’ milk teeth have erupted, their hind leg have become stronger, and their awake time has increased. Although the puppies still sleep much of the day, they love socializing with their littermates through play while awake.

Moving To The Main Floor

On Wednesday, the puppies moved to the main floor. Now that they can hear, they are ready to experience the sounds of a busy household. We packed the puppies in a basket, carried them down, and returned them to their familiar whelping box. Notice that I started them in their potty box. They hesitated to go into the sleep/play area until I put their beds in, and Willow went in, too.

Potty Training

Because puppies instinctively move away from their sleeping area when they need to go, I want them to begin learning “where to go” before they start on solids. 

Puppies must start learning that they cannot “go” anywhere. We teach them “there is an acceptable place to go potty”.

This week, we added an addition to the whelping box. Last year, we invested in a new whelping box system from Pet Tech. I love this system. It is made of food-grade plastic and is easy to clean and disinfect. The puppies are contained and safe as they move back and forth between the two areas.

It is always easier for the puppies to succeed when the area is small, but the puppies are doing well with the bigger area too. Some puppies are better than others, but all are progressing. Keep up the good work, puppies!

Starting Solids

Willow is a strict mama. As soon as her puppies turn three weeks old, she starts weaning them. On Saturday night, I found the evidence: She had regurgitated her food for her puppies to eat. This continued daily, so we started the puppies on solids on Wednesday. We make a mixture of watery puppy mush containing puppy formula, ground puppy food, and boiled water. We gradually thicken the mush until the puppies eat soft kibble; they will eat hard kibble by seven weeks old.

Willow still nurses her puppies, but for shorter periods. She also makes them stand to nurse.

Milk Teeth

Friday, we noticed the puppies’ teeth are starting to come in

It isn’t easy getting the puppies to show off their new teeth.

Willow’s puppies Day 27

Exploring outside the whelping box.

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK FIVE

  • Mama will now add the invaluable teaching phase to her caring & protecting responsibilities over the following weeks.
  • Puppies will continue learning to use the 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, giving puppies room to play and explore

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Willow’s Adorable Three Week Old Puppies

Three Week Old Puppies

Willow’s beautiful three-week-old puppies have been progressing rapidly this week. The puppies are more aware of their surroundings and have begun interacting with their littermates during their short “awake” time. They have become quite noisy as they practice their vocalizing. The puppies still sleep for much of their day/night.

Puppy Culture Program

This week, the puppies were in the Transitional Period. We continued our ENS exercises, which cause tiny stresses, to benefit our puppies with greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat. Monday was Day 16 of the puppy’s 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 Critical Socialization. We know that puppies have entered this period when they react to sounds. We raise our puppies following many of the Puppy Culture protocols. These protocols help us reach our goal of Raising Healthy, Calm, Confident, Well-Adjusted Puppies.

The puppies are socializated with children of all ages.

Over the remaining weeks, we will work on new experiences for the puppies, exposing them to as many as possible to raise the best possible companions for their forever families.

Emotional Intelligence

Because Goldendoodles are companion dogs, teaching emotional intelligence to young puppies and giving them a great start is essential. With this intention, we follow the following seven key things that will nurture a puppy’s emotional intelligence.

  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.

Door Panel Added

The puppies are becoming more mobile and exploring their whelping box. Our grey-collar boy wanted to see what was beyond the box and climbed out. Before anyone escaped, I had already added one panel to the entrance, but clearly, they needed the two panels. 

Second door panel added

Potty Training Started

Something NEW – We are trying something new in our potty training – using grass instead of potty boxes with pine pellets. On day 17, we divided our whelping box into two zones. Play/sleep area with little bolster beds for the puppies and a potty area lined with potty pads. After the puppies wake, they leave their beds for the potty pads to relieve themselves. It is incredible how quickly they caught on. When we first added the beds to the whelping box, I often found the puppies sleeping on the one bed LOL! They are now starting to spread out.

After the puppies were going potty on the pads, we added grass trays to the potty area.

Next week we will add an addition to the whelping box. Their current whelping box will be their sleep and play area, and the new box will be used for their potty area.

Day Nineteen

The puppies are nineteen days old in this video.

Things to look for:

  • Hind legs are stronger as they walk upright
  • Puppies in the basket during cleaning time
  • Crawl on their mama and snuggle after eating
  • Beginning to interact with littermates by mouthing and wrestling
  • Checking out new potty grass

Three Weeks Old

In this video, we have a look at each puppy and their markings. Aren’t they so adorable!

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, strengthening their hind legs
  • Becoming steadier on their feet
  • Hearing will improve 
  • Puppy milk teeth will erupt
  • Potty box addition will be added to the whelping box
  • Puppies will be moving to the main floor towards the end of the week
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Eight-Weeks Old and Time to Say Goodbye

Today, the puppies are eight weeks old. It is hard to believe that eight weeks have passed, and the puppies are ready to head home to their forever families. Remember how tiny they were…..I 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.

See how they have grown!

We have had another busy week, and the puppies have experienced many firsts: car rides, vet visits, crate training, new toys, and exploring the big yard.

Vet Visit

On Wednesday, the puppies visited the Vet for a wellness check, their first vaccinations, and a microchip.

My husband, Tom, stayed with the puppies at the car, and my daughter helped by transporting them back and forth. I just watched as each puppy was examined and given their shots. I generally know which puppies yelp. Typically, it’s a couple of boys, and this litter was no exception.

Dr. Thompson and the staff complimented us on how calm and well-behaved our puppies were. It always makes me proud, and we get confirmation that the work we put into raising the puppies shows!

After the visit, we always head to Starbucks for a well-deserved treat. Nash, who came for the car ride, also got a treat – a puppuccino.

As you can hear in the video, some puppies complained on the way to the vet. It was their first car ride, and they were a little anxious. On the way home, they settled and went to sleep.

It’s too cute not to share

Stealing the BIG stick

Practicing Recall

Recall is a command that takes a while for puppies to learn. We practice recall by calling the puppies to come with our “Puppy Call.” It started by calling them from one indoor puppy area to another. We continued when the puppies went outside on the deck and in the large yard. This is a video I took on Saturday. All the puppies came except the Light blue-collar boy. He sat at the top of the stairs and just looked at me. LOL!

Preparing the Go-Home Packages

Preparing for puppy go-home day is always bittersweet. I’m always happy to know the puppies have found forever families, and I look forward to joining them. We shed a few tears when we bid our sweet puppies farewell.

Looking Back at the puppies’ Eighth Week

The puppies love to go into the big yard to run and explore. Piper uses this opportunity to teach the puppies to submit. Some puppies are very submissive, while others need more encouragement.

Looking Ahead

Puppies are leaving this week for their forever homes. You have a lot of work ahead of you: correcting, training, and caring for your new puppy. Be patient because they are still babies 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—unconditionally. You will be the most important person in the world to them.