Day35 HAPPY 5 WEEKS!!! Can You Believe IT?!!

Pics to come......

What to expect this week....

First Car Ride

First Visit to some areas outside of the yard!

Visits from more people

Starting individual crate experiences

Start to weaning

WoW

LOTS TO EXPERIENCE IN ONE WEEK!

Day 34

Kids day!

Puppies had kids kids kids today. Too bad the weather was cool and drizzly or we could have been out in the yard. Despite that we had a fun time entertaining the first batch of kids... or I should say the puppies entertained.... in the usual puppy fashion. They played hard for about 30minutes and then crashed. They ate lots of chicken snacks (as did Laine :) Anne and her two kidders Keeler and Laine were first to see the pupperonies. They were nice and gentle with the pups and even left their socks for the puppies to play with. So far we now have a T-shirt and socks. Pretty soon the puppies will have a whole outfit!

Here are the videos that Anne took. I'll work on a few photos and videos that I have too.

Day 33

Lavena visited today and helped me get 'stacked' pictures of the puppies.

Purple/Leo- Top

Green/Greenie- Bottom

Orange/Poppy

Pink/D'Lay-Top

Blue/Lizzy- Bottom

Day 32

Very quiet day. We all needed a day of relaxation after all the excitement of visitors over the past two days. Corsa and Vita have their Therapy Swims so all the (big) girls exept TinTin and Ico went. There's a great grassy area that they can play while the session is going on. Afterward Eureka and Corsa FINALLY came home! Corsa was very excited about the puppies. She surprised me by trying to play with them. Eureka (who was auntie to Ico when she was a puppy) was rather growly. I think she was worried about Ico getting upset that she was near them. She hasn't seen the puppies at all and her last encounter was with TinTin's litter. I remember that she avoided even *looking* at the puppies until they were about 4 weeks old. She was respectful to Mama dog almost to a fault. I'm sure over the days she'll relax a little. She is my worry-wart after all :)

We're all relaxed out on the deck and watching the last of the sun go down. The only thing that happened to puppies today is that they discovered the ramp down into the yard and they got the base of their tails shaved. Hopefully this will facilitate clean bottoms.

Here is the lastest from the book on Applied Dog Behavior:

"From 3 to 5 weeks the puppies are in what is considered the Primary Socialization Period.

Due to increased sensory and motor abilities, an extra ordinary new interest in social interaction takes place. A constellation of interrelated behavior patterns and emotional tendencies appear at this time, heralding a lively social awareness and responsiveness. Puppies begin to exhibit more intense signs of distress (e.g., vocalizations and physical efforts to secure contact) when briefly separated from the mother and litter mates. Kinship recognition and preference is evident from an early age....

Allelomimetic (group coordinated) activity and social play begin to appear around this time, with the litter behaving like a miniature pack. Playful aggressive and sexual encounters occur frequently between litter mates. Various predatory components appear during play, including stalking, pouncing, and shaking. These behaviors are exhibited toward litter mates as well as inanimate objects that invite such curiosity and treatment. Additionally, a great deal of sparring takes place between siblings, but the dominant-subordinate roles are unstable, with social status shifting from moment to moment. Puppies spend large amounts of time mouthing and biting each other but appearing to take care not to bite too hard. This period may be a sensitive one for the acquisition of bit inhibition or a soft mouth. Some puppies that have been weaned too early in this period tend to bite more vigorously and harder than the norm (Fox and Stelzner, 1967). This inhibitory effect over had biting may stem from feedback reactions from the mother if a puppy bites to hoard while nursing, or from reactions elicited during playful jousting with litter mates.

This period is especially important for the development of a stable emotional temperament and affective tone. Many social and emotional deficits observed in adult dogs are believed to result from removing pupppies to oearly from the mother andl itter mates."

Day 31

Great to see Janet and Andy and Burkley today. They drove from Spokane to visit puppies despite the fact that Andy had worked until 3am. Luckily Janet did most of the driving but as you can see by the pictures... Andy still had a hard time keeping his eyes open ;^)

We had a wonderful visit. It started off a bit chilly and rainy and despite the fact that I'd put the canopy up on the deck, we ended up spending a few hours in the puppy room snuggled in puppies. Later that evening they returned for one last visit and we were able to hang out on the deck wrapped in puppies.

Here is the new set up for puppy land. They are doing so well with potty training (so to speak) that I was able to remove the paper from the floor and leave just one potty pad next to the door. Believe it or not... several of them are pawing at the door to go out! Most of the day the door is open for easy access for them so it doesn't impinge on their progress. Purple Leo is the winner for determination since he crawled through the cat door today, determined to get outside to potty. The most amazing thing about that is that the cat door is about 10 inches off the floor and he *really* had to work at it to make it up and over the frame.

This is a video showing the new puppy (human) living area:

Here's Andy and Janet relaxing with the puppies. They were smart enough (since I forgot to tell them) to bring a T-shirt from their home with Burkely's smell on it. I gave them a blanket that's been in the puppy crate for them to bring home. Unfortunately they wont be able to visit the puppies again until the day they pick their boy up.

Day 30

Day 29

NEW RELEASE!

Puppies have their faces clipped today!

I just did a rough and quick job and they sat in my lap calmly so I'm quite pleased. D'Lay was a bit of a squirmer. Next will be rough feet and bottoms. It was fun to see little poodle faces emerge from beneath all that hair. Some of them are showing a faint lightening of the hair around their noses. Their eye rims look a bit light too. Definitely D'Lay and Leo are turning silver already as their faces have blue/plum glow about them. Surprisingly Lizzy has the most lightening of the other puppies. I thought she'd be the darkest. Just goes to show you what I know!

We had a little time outside today since the weather is just beautiful. After a snack at the milk bar everyone dozed except Leo and Poppy who followed mom into the grassy yard. They were much more comfortable there than their last visit. As a matter of fact Leo ran laps around the yard.

What has been very fun for me is that each puppy seems to have his/her day. One puppy each day seems to say, Carpe Diem!!! and explores, sleeps alone out on the dog bed on the deck or ventures down the hall way. It's nice for mom too since she has a change to nurse the pups individually. On these occasions she tends to let them fall asleep while nursing instead of kicking them out 'at closing time.'

Here is a little info from my favorite book, "Applied Dog Behavior and Training:"

One of the outstanding changes in behavior at the beginning of the period of Socialization is the tendency of puppies to respond to the sight or sound of persons or other animals at a distance. The 3-week-old puppy approaches slowly and cautiously toward a human observer seated quietly in its pen. It finally comes close and starts nosing his shoes and clothes. After this, it may start to wag its tail rapidly back and forth. The tail wagging itself appears to have no directly adaptive function, but is simply an expression of pleasurable emotion toward a social object. What effect it has on other dogs is difficult to tell, but it seems to have the same effect on human observers as the smile of a child: i.e., it is a reward for the person who has initiated a social contact. (Scott and Fuller, 1965:104).”

Day 28 Happy ONE MONTH OLD!!!!

---HEY.... GO back TO these DAYS: 22, 25, 28. Days 26, and 27 are coming! I've updated all the days with videos and picks. So sorry I didn't keep the blog daily updated. The puppies have changed so much and it's amazing to see it!!

I can't believe that these pups have been here for a whole month! Wow.

What a big change they've gone through in such a short period of time.

Day 27

Just some puppy play shots for today

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Day 26

Puppies are starting to recognize my face and voice. For the first time today they ran out of the crate when I called them. They are also going outside by themselves to poop! I left the deck door open and found little piles of poo. Amazing. OF course it's a great start, physically they won't have full bladder control until about 12 weeks old. they'll also have to learn to "hold it," as right now they're running for the door when they have to go.... if the door isn't open they poop where they are. Still pretty darn cool!!

They're eating a full meal each day now. I wasn't planning on weaning them early but nature might be taking care of the decision for me. Ico has never been a great milk producer so it might be natures way of helping her out. We'll see. I hope to support Ico's nursing until at least 6 weeks rather than taking over the whole job! :)

It's next to impossible to get pictures of the puppies right now they're really moving around too much. I'm starting to think that I've taken enough pictures of them sleeping!.. ha ha ha.

Well they had a great trip to the grassy yard today. They got to visit with Raquel and we sat in the yard soaking up the sun and enjoying the smell of chorophyll. Puppies weren't too keen on the idea. It was a little too open space for them, strange footing and they got a little chilled being out on the slightly damp earth. Still a great 'First' for the day.

Day 25

New Look to the Puppy Room! Time to add a new lesson in life: The Crate!

We've had two out door adventures now. Luckily the weathers been cooperating so there's been a bit of sunshine in which the puppies can keep warm.

They've now had two solid meals. They seem to be about a week ahead of TinTin's puppies in some areas. Maybe they're going to be big chow hounds because eating is one of them. They were showing great interest in mom's food so I ground some up and offered it. They went for it without any hesitation. Not only did they enjoy the taste, they seemed to like the moisturizing properties of it too!

Jen and Adam came for their first visit with the pups. By the time they got to the house the puppies were covered in Chicken and Flaxseed oil. They stunck but boy were they shiny!

I had Ico away from the house for this. She went for a visit to Auntie Cat's. She seemed to thouroughly enjoy the outing; time away from the puppies, a long session of fetch and of course the famous Bone marrow-thon.

By the time Ico was back home everyone was exhausted and we all had a much needed nap.

Day 24

Wow, It's been a busy three days!

I'm actually writing this on Monday.... but I realized that I had way too much to catch up on so I'm back tracking.

Over the past few days the puppies have definitely gotten more depth perception. They are trying to run and jump. Ususally this ends up with a bit of a tumble but that doesn't stop them. Their learning curve is wildly steep right now. Every day there's a 'First' for something.

Wendy came for her first visit. Glad I could finally tell her yes! She's been so patient (as have many of you who've been asking to come for a visit). She came on a beautiful sunny day so we were able to have the back door wide open. She also came with arms loaded with goodies. She'd been saving up treats for dogs and people hoping that we'd have the much anticipated Deck Puppy Parties. I'm afraid, unless we have an Indian Summer, that hope will go unfulfilled.

Sigh.

In any case we had a wonderful time. Wendy sat for an hour just drinking in puppy breath. They are just starting to interact with people I don't think that mattered though... Wendy held them all and started her new relationship with each one.

Cat came to visit at the end of the day. Boy puppies will be tired tonight! Lots going on today with Wendy and Cat visiting.

Puppies have now moved from the Transitional Phase to the Socialization Phase of

development.

We're going to start seeing them showing more interest in each other, people and the other dogs. Hey! You mean the world is more than nursing?

DaY 23

Sigh... Looks like the days of writing regualarly might be over! I've gotten too busy with work and the puppies to spend so much time online. I'm also having a hard time getting sleep as Ico is a bit needy and has been waking me up during the night. Of course this comes when the puppies are starting to actually DO something! LOL

I've been trying to keep up with pictures so I will post later on today.

Tired Mama

First poop outside the box:

Sleepy time

This is the video I've been trying to download:

from several days ago.... puppies first time outside.

Day 22

Big fun Out in the SUN! Puppies second time enjoying the out doors. This time they shared lunch with the big girls. After the puppies relaxing meal at the milk bar they took a good long nap while the adults chewed meaty bones. Puppies didn't seem too interested even though the girls were willing to share the experience by letting the puppies get a good close up view.

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DAY 21 HAPPY 3 Weeks Old!

Developmental changes are happening rapidly the next few weeks and it's apparent from day to day that there's huge growth going on... both mentally and (eh hem) physically.

Here is the development chart from the past week. They are moving from the "transitional stage' to the "social stage." They're in a phase where they become more aware of their surroundings and particularly in each other! They are starting to play and as their sight and hearing becomes more accute, aware of the world around them. They're already wandering far and wide if allowed. Last night one of the puppies followed Ico out onto the deck! The little rascal :)

Where we were....

Where we are going......

Here's another video from yesterday:

DAY 20 (AGAIN!)

LOL...... There's that god complex again... I made a day disappear! So today the pups are 20 days old :) Tomorrow is their 3 week birthday.

They got to meet all their Aunties today! Corsa, Vita and Eureka came to the house for a few hours... just to test the waters. Ico let all the Aunties into the whelping room. She was comfortable enough to leave and play ball while Vita laid in the box with the pups. Eureka avoided the room much like she did with TinTin's litter. Corsa thought they were all long legged guinea pigs. I guess we were all too involved because I forgot to get pictures.

Today.... TOday.... TODay... TODAy... TODAY

Thier first day to greet the day. See the sky. Feel a breeze and see a Squirrel!

After Aunties left and we all had a nap it was time for Puppies Big Adventure. Mama Ico was a little trepidacious at first about her pups being out of the whelping box. She was pretty quick to relax after seeing the puppies settling down.. They experiencd all kinds of new things, like what it's like to roll off the bed! Crawl under Ivy. Walk on wood. Sleep in the sun.

Day 20 Continued

BAD HAIR DAY

Lizzy

You're so right Anne. They were born from 630pm to just before Midnight on Wed... so I think the next day counts as day one. I was getting myself confused because I've been making videos for the past three days and not able to load them to the blog. I JUST figured out what I was doing wrong.

So...

Everyone.. If you want to see those videos you need to go back a few days. I mean... com'on! they're worth it ;^F

It's amazing how the movement of the puppies has changed in only three days. they are getting so much more coordinated. Their play has changed from mouthing and licking each other to down right stalking. Leo actuactually played with me today! I had a toy and he pounced on it... wagged his tail and when I took the toy up he tried to crawl into my lap. What a clever boy :0) It is a hoot to watch Nickel too. She's not quite sure what to make of them.

Day 20

I'm getting confused :) Is it day 20 or 21? wouldn't day 21 be Wed?! Hummm.. where oh where did I go wrong.......

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Tomorrow I'm going to try to get the puppies outside. We'll have to see how Ico feels. She was a little uncertain about them venturing outside the box into the new potty area. She wants to keep them all gathered together and the way they're gallumphing around the whelping box is boggling her mind.

OMG.. they are starting to bark, pounce and bat at each other. Today Nickel went into the whelping box and one of them (I couldn't tell who it was because Nickel's body was blocking my view) was actually barking at her and scolding her because he/she wanted to nurse and she was dancing around. Ha ha ha. They are quite sassy little things. I can't wait until they interact more with grand ma TinTin and Aunties Eureka, Nickel, Corsa and (honorary) auntie Vita!!!! They will start to teach them some manners :) There's no way for us humans to mimic a good old dog glare~!!!

Still trying to get the videos loaded :*(

DAY 19

Puppies are getting really active and finally looking like real puppies. They are starting to hold their heads up instead of out straight like turtles. Of course this is upsetting their balance and they keep flopping over backward. They're now interacting with each other. Not only trying to chew but actually starting to paw and pounce. Well... they're Trying to pounce but actually end up falling ass over tea kettle.

They are also starting to try to leave the box to potty! So this weekend I built the addition to the wheping box. I added lattice sides to the platform. On two side it can be lifted out so people can still sit on the platform with the puppies, but allows for a 4 x2 foot area for them to potty. I was trying to make the last 1x4 feet inside the whelping box the spot, but they new intuitively that it was part of their 'nest' and were insisiting on leaving the box to do their 'business.' They're already like typical poodles in their potty habits too! They go as FAR way from the box as possible. Gee... reminds me of how I have to chase down the dogs at the park because they insist on going to the far corner of the field (in four different directions!) So, anyway, because they were trying to go clear across the room, it was necessary to add the sides to the platform.

Day 18

Wendy got to visit puppies Friday. It was very successful! Ico was a little concerned but we kept her occupied with treats and Wendy made a slow and calm entry. By the end of an hour Wendy was sitting on the floor holding puppies and Ico was laying down on a dog bed next to the whelping box (the place that TinTin usually occupies). Wendy was a great choice for Ico's next step since she has great body language, gives off a wonderfully calm vibe and Ico knows her fairly well.

I got Nickel back yesterday and her reunion was flawless. She came into the house and immediately stopped in the doorway to the whelping room. She gave Ico lots of space and it seemd that she hadn't forgotten who was the 'queen' of the house now (of course it had been Nickel!) She is very intent on seeing the puppies and it does keep Ico's eye on her. By the end of the day Ico was letting Nickel check out the puppies and eventually allowed her back into the box. Every so often she'd return to the box and kick Nickel out... almost to say... "give it a break!" So the three gray girls are back together.

Day 16

New firsts for the puppies again today. Looks like their teeth are coming in. Hard to believe that they start so soon... Ico says OUCH!. They are wanting to chew... chew on fingers, chew on each others ears, feet, tails and/or faces. You can feel little bumps along the tops of their gums. It will be a while before their needle teeth are a problem for mom.

Eyes are opening wider and already surprisingly dark. They are already starting to recognize me... well... they recognize that there is something/someone there and walk over to check me out.

Only the Nose Knows. See how light the noses are compared to hair color? This is an indication that their hair will be lightening up. If you look at a blue or silver dog's nose at first it looks black... but in fact it's a dark slate color. All the puppies have lighter noses.

The two littlest girls are catching up with everyone's walking talents. Orange was quite content to sit with me for a while and chew on my fingers. They are all starting to want to be touched... before it was all about finding a nipple. They're starting the fun stage where you can really see individual personalities expressing themselves.

Purple/Leo gave me quite a giggle today. He certainly is a sassy one! He was at the entrance to the whelping box looking through the lattice 'gate.' Ico walked toward him and then kept walking past the box. He saw her and started to paw at the gate. As she went by he let out one quick growl and three loud barks! I'm sure he was scolding her for not bringing him lunch!

DAY 15

ATTACK

OF THE

POD PUPPIES

Day 14 2 WEEKS OLD!

Wow are the spuds moving! We must be moving from the prehistoric era into the age of the Mastodon.

Puppies' eyes are open but their eyesight isn't fully developed yet. The pups are definitely moving with more purpose as they pick out paths rather than toddle in a straight line.

I've lined the walls of the whelping box with all kinds of objects to stimulate their minds. My friend Lavena suggested getting things to hang from above in order to help them 'look up.' For TinTin's litter I just had drawings on the whelping box wall.. this time I've added dangling things that the puppies can bump into. There are several International Dog Show Medallions, several baby toys (I got from the thrift store) and a small blanket with patterns. The blanket is draped down one side and the puppies love crawling behind it. You can see the blanket moving and hear the jingle jangle of the medallions behind it. Of course there's no scientific evidence that this helps the puppy's development.. but it certainly can’t hurt. I hope that different textures rubbing on them and different objects casually banging into will will help stimulate their nervous system and get them used to all kinds of 'touch.' I've already been adding different textures for them to walk on and started routinely providing a variety of noises.

The puppies are starting to poop and pee on their own. Ico is still keeping everything very clean so no work for me yet on that account. I've divided the whelping box into two sections now; one for living and one for potting. I made the whelping box bigger than normal just for this purpose (oh.... and so I can sit in it comfortably with the puppies :)

Here's a little tour of the puppy room: