4 Weeks!
- Posted on 5th February 2012
- in Blossom (Daisy) 2012, Featured
- by jvfairbanks
Busy is the best way to describe the coming weeks. This week the puppies really took off from barely getting in and out of the “puppy door” cut out of the whelp box to exploring and walking to running at the end of this week. The ugo dog was introduced, and they are all using it. The ugo dog is an indoor potty training system and it works great for the puppies at this stage. We test their hearing with sounds and little claps and all is well there as we watch them respond to our kissy sounds and saying puppies.
For their “hello 4 weeks” we introduced their first meal, that of a milky puppy mix which they walked through, lapped, and Wishbone slid :). Tomorrow is their first bath and hopefully eye trim as they have their eye guard hairs that are growing into their eyes at stage. We also see more firsts come…that of tail wagging! Their grooming session teaches the puppy to be handled and touched; as ears are cleaned, paws handled, and their coat brushed. The start of this week the puppies are so much more “restless” where the whelp pen was the stable confined environment, when placed in the box, they quickly go out the door cut out; and so marks the socialization period where the once safe box needs to be bigger…as big as the world. They are moving from sleeping more to being awake for longer periods, with more energy! Hello puppyhood! Time of learning just went from 0 to 60! Everything is new, interesting and to be investigated. This is when we introduce all kinds of stimulation for fun, brain development, and social development.
With all going on, this is also when pictures become more blurred as they are very busy puppies!
Connected to the being able to hear and see well, the sense of smell continues to develop and with all of this, we see a rise in investigation, play, and more of exploring each other. Teeth are breaking through their gums now and they will start to chew and suck on their siblings more. This is the first of real play emerging, and pack order begins to emerge as the play is a natural part of development of their pack. They are now ready to move into their natural social existence. Puppy playing also helps with muscle development and coordination, toys are introduced this week.
Daisy’s mothering is also changing, going from being in the whelp pen constantly she is modifying her time in the nest and leaving them more and more alone. She takes longer walks not so worried about leaving the puppies alone for a short amount of time. She has also begun nursing them standing up ans she prepares them for the natural wean.
At the end of this week and when Daisy approves they also meet other dogs in our pack to help the puppies learn about pack order. Below is a short video snippet of the first meal, enjoy!
