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."