Eight Weeks Old Now and Look How They Have Grown
Echo’s sweet babies are now eight weeks old. They have grown from helpless newborns to the adorable, active puppies they are today. The love to play together, chasing each other and go exploring.
Preparing for Puppies Go-Home Day
It is always bittersweet the day before puppies leave. You are excited for their forever families and just imagine the joy they will bring but, sad to say good-bye.
There is lots to do to get ready for puppies to leave. Paperwork, pack their puppy bags with some treats. Also the daily chores of caring for the puppies, cleaning, laundry etc. Keeping busy helps keep my mind from thinking of saying good-bye.
PACKING THE PUPPY BAGS
Puppy Adventure – gone wrong!
While I did the preparations for Go-Home day that begins tomorrow, my husband Tom took over the duties of watching the puppies by himself. The puppies were playing in the big yard while he kept an eye on them and every now and then he would practice the “Puppy, Puppy” recall. On one of the recalls when the puppies came to him, he noticed he was four puppies short. So he put all the puppies in the puppy enclosure on the deck and began looking for the four missing puppies.
Tom discovered that the missing puppies had gone under the deck and didn’t know how to get out. They had gone in a hole under the stairs and continued to explore under our deck.
We can thank Echo for the hole under the stairs. We noticed Echo digging a few days ago. When we noticed this Tom said “I had better fill that in”. Which he didn’t do it soon enough. The puppies found their way in.
Tom to the Rescue
I came out to try to keep the puppies calm. They were scared and whining loudly. Tom went in to gather some tools and returned to remove a board and rescue the puppies.
Not to worry, all four puppies made it out safe and sound but very dirty. Just for the record, all the lost puppies were girls – Pink, Yellow, Red, and Purple Collar.
It is never a dull moment around here. Taking care of a litter of puppies is a full time job!
After the puppy rescue, Tom went to work right away and refilled the hole LOL!
Crate Training
The puppies have started crate training this week. Some puppies love their crate while others love to protest. This is something that the forever families will continue to work on at home.
After our ordeal today we fed the puppies their lunch and put them in their crates for a nap. I forgot to cover some of the crates which I quickly corrected. Covering the crate with a blanket makes it feel like a cozy den. The puppy should think of their crate as their safe place.
I gave them a piece of a biscuit for a treat to help them settle. Some puppies ate their biscuit and went right to sleep. A few puppies complained loudly but soon settled and went to sleep too.
When we put the puppies in their crate I give them half a biscuit for a treat. Sometimes this helps distract them and think of their crate as something good.
LOOKING AHEAD
The 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 but be patient, they are still learning. The time and work you put in to 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.
It’s is always bittersweet saying goodbye to our puppies. I have enjoyed every minute of their care and they have a piece of my heart. It is with sadness I say goodbye to my puppies, but it brings me joy to see the excited families smiles and to know that our puppies are joining such wonderful, loving, forever families.
Share this:
An Exciting Day As Puppies Run in the Big Yard
Puppies Run in the Big Yard
The puppies have had another new and exciting experience. They got to go and explore the big yard. This is always a highlight for us as we watch the puppies experience this freedom. It never takes long before they are running around, chasing each other, and stopping to smell so many new things.
Teaching Puppies to Submit
When the puppies move to the big yard for exercise this give their mama Echo the opportunity of teaching her puppies in a bigger area. Of course Maui the nanny wants to give Echo a hand. They are teaching the puppies dog manners; to listen and submit. When the puppy submits, they lay on the back in the submit position.
I took a little video of Maui making one of the puppies submit.
Practicing Puppy Recall
While the puppies are playing and exploring, I will call them with the “Puppy Call”. This is how we beginning teaching recall.
When is was time to head back home, I called the puppies. You can see in the video the progress they are making. Such smart puppies!
Crate Trainning
Pictured above is our new set up. We have set up the crates and are beginning crate training. The puppies have been exposed to the open crate since we removed their whelping box from the puppy area. They have been able to come and go as they pleased. Sometimes the puppies go to the crate to sleep by themselves or with a buddy. Now they will be sleeping by themselves with the door closed.
I have covered the crates with blankets to make it like a den, but they can still see the puppy that will be sleeping in the crate beside them.
The first part of crate training, the puppies take a nap in the crate with the door closed. Next part, just before the puppies start to head home, they will sleep all night in their crate with the door closed. This can only be done just before the puppies turn eight weeks and can “hold it” for a longer time between potty breaks.
Share this:
Echo’s Adorable Seven Weeks Old Puppies
Looking Back
Echo’s puppies are now seven week old . The puppies had an exciting week experiencing new things. Saturday they met their forever families who will soon be their world. They love outdoor play time where they get lots of exercise running and playing with everyone! The puppies have now made the transition to eating dry kibble.
Puppy Selection Day
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 adorable puppies and share the excitement with their forever families.
It was a long day for our puppies interacting with so many people but a great opportunity for socializing the puppies with new people. I was very proud of our puppies! Puppies are full of energy but, I’m sure you can agree that the work put into the puppies over the past 7 weeks has produced a confident, gentle nature.
The puppies still sleep much of their time. They play hard for short periods of time and then drop off to sleep. When the day was over we had a litter of very tired puppies. After the last family left, the puppies ate their dinner and had a good long nap.
Becoming More Independent
The puppies are learning daily. They have learned to go outside and back inside on their own (without my help). Maui “the nanny” helps guide them. She loves socializing the puppies and teaching them.
(You can hear our other dogs in the background barking as the puppies come out 🥺)
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
- Echo 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 head to the Vet on Wednesday for their wellness check, first set of shots and their microchip
- Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time
Share this:
Echo’s Sweet Six Week Old Puppies Love To Play
LOOKING BACK
Echo’s sweet puppies are six weeks old today. Although the puppies are now awake more they still sleep much of the day.
We have had a great week caring for the puppies and introducing them to so many new things . They have grown bigger and we can see each unique personality developing. The puppies have now progressed to eating softened kibble.
This past week we have had “Summer Weather” with temperatures in the high 20’s. The puppies have spent their days outside on the deck exploring, playing, eating their meals, and of course getting lots of sleep.
Outdoor Play
Exercise is important for puppies to build strong bodies but, puppies must also be challenged to build strong minds. One of the ways this is accomplished by regularly introducing new toys.
On Saturday I was making puppy blankets by cutting up bolts of material. The material had an edging that had to be cut off. Instead of throwing out the offcuts I had an idea. I decided to make braided ropes from the offcuts. It was a great idea because not only did the puppies get a new toy which they love, it was FREE!
Water Play
Goldendoodles love the water! It is important to introduce water to them slowly so that they are not scared. Puppies need to explore water on their own. So, because of our unseasonably hot weather this past week I decided it would be the perfect time to introduce water to the puppies.
I used a boot tray filled with water. Because it is only two inches deep, it makes the perfect container for a little puppy pool.
Potty Training Continues
With the introduction of outside play, it is more of a challenge to teach the puppies to “go” in one spot which is the potty box. This is because when a puppy has access to a large area, they more away to “go” but not necessarily in the box. I have been correcting the puppies by taking them to the potty box. Some puppies are better than others but they are all making progress. Watch as Pink Collar Girl goes to the potty box all by herself!👏
A Look Back at the Past Week
The puppies love their outdoor play time. They are learning what is acceptable play when wrestling with each other. If they bite the other puppy too hard, the puppy gives a sharp high pitch yelp to let the other puppy know “that hurts!” If the puppy continues to play too rough, other puppies won’t want to play with them.
Things to watch for in the video
- Puppies playing in the tunnel
- Puppies wrestle with each other
- Puppies learn that Maui doesn’t have any milk 😂
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK SEVEN
- Puppies time spent awake will continue to increase
- We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty area
- Socializing and learn from each other through play
- Learning to submit
- Meeting their forever families on Saturday
- Will begin transitioning to dry kibble
- As always, puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time
Share this:
Look At How Cute Our Five Week Old Puppies Are
LOOKING BACK
Echo’s puppies are now five weeks old. They have developed from helpless newborn puppies to the “mini dogs” they are today. The puppies are now awake for longer periods and enjoy playing with their toys, each other, and cuddle time. We can now see their personalities starting to 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. Some of the new things that the puppies have been introduced to this week are: crates, different floor surfaces, new toys, the outside, and our other adult dogs.
Our puppy area. The puppy area has been expanded, the whelping box has been removed and we have added crates to the area.
Potty Training
We have been working hard on training puppies to use the potty box both inside and now outside. Some of the puppies are more consistent than others but, all the puppies are making great progress. It’s amazing to watch puppies wake up or stop playing and go over to use their potty box.
Meal Time
Puppies are always excited when they smell the food being prepared. They are now eating three meals of puppy mush a day along with drinking plenty of fresh filtered water. The puppies are still nursing from their mama any chance they get but Echo limits this and is beginning to tell them “NO”!
Puppy Parties
One of the bonus of having a large family is get togethers. This past Easter weekend has been a busy one at our house with three days of sharing meals with our families and three days of “Puppy Parties”. The puppies were held, cuddled and played with by both young and old. They especially love playing with my grandchildren and interacting with them. After many play sessions, the puppies were tired out and settled in for a long nap.
Adult Dog Interaction
When the puppies play outside it is a great time to introduce them to our other adult dogs. During this time I always keep a watchful eye to make sure everyone is getting along. It is also important that the puppies have somewhere to escape to feel safe and that our adult dogs have a way of escape from the puppies. This is why we make sure our adult dogs can come in and out of the fenced area on the deck as they please and our puppies can retreat to their safe place which is under the chairs.
Fun Outside
When our puppies turn five weeks old we introduce them to the outdoors. This is always an exciting time watching them explore and discover.
Things to Watch for in the video
- puppies “safe place “where they have their naps outside
- potty box where we are trying to teach the puppies to go while outside.
- Maui the puppy nanny interacting with the puppies. Maui plays an important role helping mama Echo teach our puppies proper “dog manners“
Puppy Pics
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK SIX
- Awake time will continue to increase
- Puppies will continue learning to use potty box both indoor and outdoors
- Socialize with each other through play
- Balance will continue to improve.
- 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.
Share this:
Outdoor Fun For Our Puppies
Just a short post today. It was a beautiful winter day full of sunshine and the puppies had a great time playing and exploring. They are becoming experts at coming outside on their own. We added a couple large stuffies and I opened up a new little area for the puppies to explore.
Share this:
See Excited Puppies Enjoy Their First Snow
Selection Day
We had a great day yesterday at Puppy Selection. It is one of my favourite times raising puppies. I get to experience the excitement of our forever families as we introduce them to their puppy.
Our puppies were very tired at the end of the day with so much interaction with people. Meeting lots of new people is great for the puppies’ socialization. Even though the puppies didn’t get their daily outdoor exercise, they were all tired and had a long nap after a late dinner.
Snow Day
Today we woke up to excitement of snow. Being Sunday, my husband Tom went to church with my grandsons who are sleeping over for the weekend. I stayed home to look after puppies (they are never left alone). This gave me a chance to take the puppies outside and introduce yet another new experience – SNOW! I have read and agree, “The only thing goldendoodles like better than water is Snow! Our puppies loved their time outside. While our puppies continued playing in the snow, I went inside to clean out the puppy areas. After their long outdoor play session, I brought tired wet puppies back inside for a long nap.
Tired Wet Puppies
Share this:
A New Toy For Puppies To Explore
The puppies are growing bigger and more active with each passing day. We have been fortunate with the weather and the puppies have been able to have daily outdoor play. Today Ellie’s puppies went out first for their outdoor exercise which included a new toy – a tunnel. The puppies know when there is a new toy, and everyone wants a turn. The tunnel makes a “crinkle sound” which the puppies loved. At first, they just jumped on it. I waited to see which puppy would be the first to go through. Watch and see.
Willow’s Puppies Challenge
Puppies are always learning and being challenged to build their brain. Today’s challenge was for the puppies to come out of their enclosure and go outside on their own. Watch to see which puppies succeeded.
Look At Our Adorable Puppies
Share this:
Watch Our Excited Puppies And Their Outdoor Adventure
Our first Outdoor Adventure with the puppies is one of the highlights of puppy raising. From five weeks on, the puppies will have outdoor play as weather permits. This is exciting for puppies, mama’s, and our other dogs. It is so fun to watch the puppies experience new smells, new walking surfaces, descending steps, and lots of room to run.
At first the puppies were a little timid staying close to the ground and smelling as they moved around. When they felt more at ease they started to relax, explore, run and play.
My husband Tom enclosed our deck with fencing making the outdoor puppy enclosure. This keeps our other dogs out while giving our mama room to teach their puppies without interference. Maui the nanny, doesn’t let the fence stop her. She jumps over with ease and comes and goes as she pleases. In the video’s watch as the mama’s along with Maui teach puppies to submit.
Ellie’s Puppies First Outdoor Adventure
Willow’s Puppies First Outdoor Adventure
Grandma Ruska Teaches puppies
Grandma Ruska wanted in on the puppy teaching. She loved being a mama and raised some amazing puppies. Ruska is now retired but still loves puppies. She wanted into the puppy enclosure to get in on the teaching. Watch as she calmed the puppies right down. They listen well!
