Two Weeks Old Today

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

MILESTONES

During the first two weeks of a puppy’s life, it is important to watch for milestones to confirm they are doing well.

Doubling Birthweight

Piper has done an incredible job feeding her puppies. With a large litter, they sometimes need a bit more time to reach this milestone. However, no extra time was needed because all of Piper’s puppies doubled their birth weight, and then some.

The puppies are doing well at their daily weigh-in

Puppies Eyes Open

In addition to the weight milestone, we were excited to see that two of Piper’s puppies reached another milestone on Wednesday, day 10. Yellow and Fluorescent Green Girl were the first puppies to open their eyes. It is always so exciting when I see the puppies looking back at me!

All the puppies eyes have opened except our little man. Blue boy has one eye open and the other partially opened. We will take their two week puppy singles in the next day or so.

Yellow and Florescent Green Girl were the first puppies to open their eyes.

Puppy Culture

We raise our puppies using many of the protocals from the Puppy Culture program.

Neonatal Period: Day 0-14

The first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life are incredibly important. This is an almost magical time when a breeder has the power to change the outcome of a puppy’s life by what we choose to teach them. Consequently, by doing just the right things at just the right time, we can give the puppies the best start possible.

Early Neurological Stimulation

This week we continued our ENS Exercises with the puppies. As we have previously mentioned, ENS begins on day 3 and continues through day 16. Research shows that tiny struggles and stresses in small doses are good for puppies and will help them grow into strong, healthy well-adjusted adults. The benefits include greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat. This is a gift that a breeder can only give their puppies during the 3 – 16-day window.

Transitional Period @ Two weeks old

Now that the puppies’ eyes have opened, they have entered the Transitional Period. Every puppy is different so “Behavioural Markers” are used to identify the beginning and end of each developmental period. These timelines are simply guidelines. The transitional period (approximately Day 14 – 21) begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds.

Learning to Walk Hind Legs

When puppies are born, they crawl around the whelping box in an army crawl because their hind legs need to strengthen before they can support their body weight. The puppies are starting to walk on their hind legs, although very wobbly. It is so adorable to watch!