11Mar
I actually have tears in my eyes as I realised puppies may possibly be leaving in 4 weeks time... halfway through their puppy journey with us. I can't let it end there therefore I ensure puppy owners are willing to keep me up to date and allow me to meet up with them.
Our puppies are developing at a fast rate and their personalities are shining through. I can pick out more confident puppies, overly confident puppies and those who are a little quieter when I see how they interact with new activities in our socialisation programme. I can work with puppies who need extra support in various areas.
Not only does their playpen change often with new toys, layout changes, addition of a giant teepee, I also remove everything (on occasion) so when they come out of their sleeping area, they will see something different each time. I want puppies to become adaptable dogs because it is difficult seeing your dog get distressed when decorating a room or when the family routine suddenly changes. I have seen dogs struggle to settle in a home when they visit someone else's house and I want our puppies to have the skill set to remain calm, think clearly, be confident in themselves, feel safe and settle well.
Weaning
The puppies have great appetites. I weaned them on goats milk, then added nutriment weaning formula and over days, I lessened the amount of milk and increased the meat. Now the puppies are eating Nutriment puppy mince from feeding stations. They are learning to eat out of their own bowl and not to migrate to other's bowls. They have attempted to eat chicken carcasses so I can enable them to develop the skills they need to eat bones safely. Raw chicken bones are soft and the carcasses have a lot of meat and cartilage on. The puppies teeth are tiny and all they do at this stage is lick and nibble using their incisors. It is completely safe, fun and a form of mental and physical exercise.
The puppies have also tried chicken bone broth. They did not hesitate to lap it up. Bone broth is highly nutritious and great for dogs of all ages.
A Puppy's POV
I sleep, wake up and wee a little distance away from my bed. My siblings are waking but I will chew on my sleeping sibling.
I hear the human calling us- something great awaits us outside of our bed. This time it is food. I love food.
I now need to poop so walk a short distance away and poop.
Time to play and get my siblings but I spot a toy that I want to chew first. I will chew my sibling later.
That was fun... time to sleep again.
I wake up and wee again. This time I spot the human walking by. She sees me watching and comes to join us. She loves me. Always has a smile and a kiss and cuddle for me. I love her but I also love to chew her clothes. She is warm, cuddly and I might sleep on her for a bit...
Future Families
I have emailed or will email those who are interested in the puppies to come and meet them over the next few weeks. Not only will they meet the puppies, see where they grow and play but they will also meet and play with the parent dogs, big half sister, Alaska and the rest of my pack. It is a fantastic opportunity to get to know myself, all the dogs and to go through any questions.
It is starting to feel real now.. knowing the puppies really will be leaving at some point. It is hard for me. I can't keep them due to restrictions on the number of dogs for my breeding licence but I know I will be making families happy. Each and every puppy will bring so much joy and love to their future homes. They will get more one to one attention than I can provide. I tell myself this and know it is true but I will miss them. It doesn't matter if I have puppies at a later date- I will miss each puppy as an individual.
Claire 🐾
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