Week Four Flame Puppies

Last Update 08/06/2015

Monday, October 9, 2006 -- Day 21

Today the puppies went on their first road trip to the training center (above).  Laurie Cottier plays with puppies prior to teaching her home obedience classes.  Other visitors that afternoon included Cathy, Katrina and Sondra.   We spent almost two hours in the office, and as you can see from the photos, the puppies were worn out after exploring the office.  I did not take them into the training area yet because it's a little too cold out there for them right now and I want their first visit to the training area to be with just Flame (no other dogs present).  They still haven't met any of my other dogs yet, either.  In the next few days I'll let them sniff noses through an x-pen.  It's important that Flame not feel threatened with the other dogs coming closer to her puppies and it's important for the puppies that their first introductions to other dogs be quiet, relaxed and positive.   It'll be at least another week or two before I allow them to interact with Keeper, Journey or Tyler...I'll just have to see how things go.

In preparation for their first road trip, I got the puppies used to being in a crate by first setting up just the bottom half of a small Veri-Kennel in their play area at home.  I would pick the puppies up and set them in the crate, let them stay there as long as they wanted and then crawl out when they felt like it.  After a day or two of this game, I put the top on the Veri-Kennel but left the door off.  We did the same thing.  Within a couple of days the puppies were crawling in and out on their own, so it was no big deal for them to go in and have the door closed.

I transported the puppies to the training center in a 200 size crate, so they could all be together.  I planned their entire day around their first trip by making sure they had a good meal and lots of play prior to leaving the house about 2 pm.  That made it easy for them to sleep in the crate, which they did.  Although they didn't play all that much once we got to the training center, that was okay because the priority for the day was having a successful first car ride.  Traffic was light, so the ride only took about 20 minutes each direction.  We were back home by 5:00 pm.

As a breeder, I always try to look at things from the puppies' perspective and make sure that all new experiences are choreographed to be as positive as possible.  I want their first impressions & first experiences to be only happy memories.  Other things that I did to make the event a positive one for both Flame and the kids:

When we got to the training center I took Flame in first so there was plenty of her familiar scent in the office.  I set up an x-pen and brought a blanket from home to put on the floor (again, familiar scent for the puppies).   I then brought the puppy crate in and let them just sit in it for a few minutes while Flame made sure her kids were inside.  After that the crate was put inside the x-pen with Flame, the door was opened and their immediate reward for coming to this new place was seeing mom and getting to nurse.

Once the puppies had a snack and were awake, we opened the x-pen and sat on the floor while Flame watched from behind a gate in the hallway.  Puppies were allowed to roam (safely) in the office, climb on everyone's legs, play with toys that  Katrina brought for them, etc.   After 30 minutes or so of exploring, playing and handling by everyone, the puppies were ready to nap, so they were collected back in their x-pen while I did a little office work.  While they were still sacked out I gently placed everyone back in their crate to come home. 

When we got home, I set up a similar situation by bringing Flame in first and letting her into the puppy area before I brought the crate in.  When I opened the crate door, puppies were coming back into a familiar environment.  They had a brief snack and then crashed for several hours.  An exciting day for all of us!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 -- Day 22

I started offering the puppies "solid food" this past Sunday.  Stephanie came over and we stuck our fingers into a shallow Rubbermaid lid of warm, mushy kibble that had been soaked overnight in water, pureed in the blender and warmed in the microwave.  This delightful introduction to their eventual diet of Back to Basics kibble resembles thick cream soup.  We enticed each puppy to lick some mush off our fingers, but none of them were all that interested in lapping from the lid, which is pretty normal.

Puppies are getting their baby teeth.  Everyone has multiple teeth that have broken the surface, so nursing is going to become more painful for Flame in the next few weeks -- all part of nature's way to help with weaning.  The baby teeth will also help teach the puppies bite inhibition as they continue to rough house with each other and their mother.   A painful bite to mom's ear or a littermate's leg will result in an angry outburst!

Twice a day since I have repeated this mush introduction prior to letting the puppies nurse.  This morning was the first day where all the puppies successfully "ate" more of their mush than they got all over their bodies and blankets.  Only the Purple Girl still seems less than excited about this new diet; everyone else is eating eagerly.  I am still letting the puppies nurse after their mush to make sure everyone gets enough to eat.  I've also attached a small water dish to the side of the x-pen and am taking the puppies over to it a couple times of day.  Purple Girl was actually lapping water on her own.

The gate to the kitchen, which has a vinyl floor, was opened for the puppies today for the first time.  I used Flame to get them to follow her into the kitchen, which everyone took in stride except Orange Girl.  She just couldn't get her footing, so ended up crawling more than walking.  Puppies then followed Flame back to their puppy area and after a few minutes I put a blanket on the kitchen floor, an x-pen around it and put all the kids in there while I replaced all the blankets in the puppy area.

You'll also notice from the photos above that the whelping box is gone.  Mary came over on Sunday and helped me put it in my van.  I dropped it off at the training center yesterday and will use it next week when the puppies start coming to class with me.  Their box will be inside a double x-pen so they'll have a familiar area for a week or two.   What I've done at home is replaced a short x-pen for their whelping box area.  This is their bed and where I confine them when I'm not in the immediate area.  I wrapped sheets around the back panels to protect the walls and trap a little bit more warmth.  For the first couple of days I kept a heating pad on in one corner of the area, just to make sure puppies were warm enough.  Today I removed it as they were not using it.

In addition to their x-pen bed area, the entire dining room is bordered with additional x-pens so they can be turned out into the bigger play area.  In this bigger area I have a crate with the door off, a chair, a bunch of toys, etc.  To start the housebreaking process I'm keeping a blanket or pad or towel in the front portion of the x-pen and it also extends to the outside of the x-pen.  The theory here is that since they like to sleep against the back wall, and when Flame goes into nurse she lays against the back wall, they'll be less likely to potty where they eat and sleep.  Also knowing that when they wake up and Flame is outside the x-pen they come over to greet her and end up peeing while sniffing her through the gate.  I'll make sure to keep this area smelling like their pee to encourage them to return to this area to do their business, rather than pottying throughout their play area.

Puppies are learning to poop on their own now, too.  It can sometimes be frustrating for them, but they are all getting the hang of it.  Flame continues to be a super fastidious mother, so it's a race to see who cleans it up first -- her or me.

Now that Flame is over her low calcium issues, she is the model mother.  She is quite patient and gentle and very relaxed with all the puppies.  She is still on alert when true "strangers" come 'round her puppies, but is understanding that if I tell her the person is acceptable, she's also relaxing and accepting them.  On the other hand when her good "friends" come 'round, she is comfortable with them doing all of the same things that I do when I'm with the puppies.

The litter registration materials arrived from the AKC today, so it's time to start giving serious thought to the litter theme and possible names.  This week the puppies will become more interactive with each other and toys, as well as humans.  As this happens I'll be watching puppies for personality traits that will help me decide which puppy is best suited for the people on my puppy list.   Once the puppies get a little smoother on their feet, it'll be time to start evaluating their movement.  In the next day or two I'll also take my grooming table, lay it flat on the floor in their play area, and start using some mush or yogurt on my finger to begin "stacking" them.

In terms of time, the puppies are requiring more and more of it, and in different ways.  The first few weeks of a litter's life, their canine mother does most of the work.  She feeds and cleans the kids.  The breeder's job is to monitor mom/puppy interactions, make sure mom is getting enough to eat so she makes enough, but not too much, milk (which in Flame's case means eating four times a day) and change puppy bedding in the whelping box once or twice a day.  The breeder regulates the temperature in the whelping box (puppies cannot regulate their own body temperatures for the first three weeks), makes sure the dam is relaxed and comfortable, weighs puppies twice a day for the first week or so and then daily after that.  There's also laundry, which isn't too awfully bad the first few weeks.  In addition, I like to have visitors earlier than some breeders, but it's an approach that has always worked well for me.  I'm careful to make sure the visitors are good friends that the dam is comfortable with, and people who are comfortable handling baby puppies (so they feel secure as they're being handled).

The next month will be fun, exciting and rewarding, but also exhausting.  As the puppies continue to grow and eat solid food, there'll be more poop to clean up and very soon Flame won't be all that interested in taking care of it.   Puppies pee many, many times a day as well.  Since these are late Fall puppies in Seattle, taking them outside right now isn't an option.  I could (but wouldn't) move them into a garage or basement area to eliminate some of the smell and mess, but the puppies would miss out on socialization, getting used to the sights, sounds and smells of a busy house, etc.  Puppy laundry will increase to a couple loads a day.   Food preparation, feeding and clean-up will become more time consuming.   Organized outings and socialization activities will also demand more of my time.   As the puppies become more interesting and entertaining, it's easy to spend hours watching their interactions and trying to figure out what each puppy will grow up to be.

Today is the last day I'm concerned about bright lights with puppy eyes, so the next photos posted of them should be better quality and give everyone a better idea of what they're starting to look like.  They still resemble guinea pigs more than dogs, but their canine qualities are starting to emerge.   Today is also their second worming with Nemex II.

Thursday, October 12, 2006 -- Day 24

Today the puppies had a couple of big adventures.  In the morning I put everyone up on the grooming table for a little practice and videotaping.  I dipped my finger in some canned dog food (for the scent) and had them suck on my finger to do their first little "stack."  Unfortunately I didn't have anyone to help me with photos; I just put the video camera on a tripod and let it record.

The puppies were used to being on the table surface because it's been in their play area for the past day or so (collapsed, laying flat on the floor), and they had been eagerly going up on it on their own.   I also have a piece of rubber matting in their play area now, so they get used to that type of surface for dog shows and the training center.  When I cleaned their blankets I let the puppies play in the kitchen and they were much more relaxed on the vinyl floor today.  In the afternoon all the puppies got to spend a few minutes outside on the patio.  It was their first adventure into the great outdoors.  Fortunately our mid-October Seattle weather was cooperative with temperatures in the high 60s.  I made sure to put their x-pen in an area with sun as well as shade so they could find a comfortable place to hang out.   The last photo in today's series is Orange Girl napping in the crate.  I often find several puppies curled up in the crate together.

Saturday, October 14, 2006 -- Day 26

Today we took a road trip to the training center.  I got the puppies' x-pens all set up and prepared for next week.  I have three very thick foam pads in the back of the pens, with a couple of heating pads under the blankets, plus some additional crate pads in the front section.  I also put some heavy plastic around the perimeter of the pen to help keep the area warm enough for them.   Several people stopped by to visit, including Cheryl & Shannon Bednar (above).  Flame got used to the fact that her kids will be accompanying us as we start to teach classes next week.   The puppies did great, once again, with their car ride, lunch and field trip.

Sunday, October 15, 2006 -- Day 27

Thanks to Stephanie's friend, Elinor, for this first group of photos.  They turned out so much better than mine -- thanks for sharing!  The story behind these photos follows the images.

Here are photos I took without a flash.

This afternoon the puppies got to meet lots of Stephanie's friends and their children.  Stephanie did a great job of scheduling the visitors over a couple of hour window and everyone was very understanding of the puppies' need to alternate play with naps.  Flame came into visit, gave the puppies some lunch, saw her sister Crystal and Grandpa Tyler (first two photos above).  Tyler and Crystal got to meet puppies through the x-pen.  All the visitors took turns sitting in the pen, letting puppies crawl over them, cuddling them, etc.  It was a really wonderful experience for everyone!  The puppies' clear favorite was Daniel (in the green shirt).  He's the one they all gravitated towards, especially when it was nap time.  Daniel had the best legs for sleeping!

As I approach the puppies' four-week old landmark, it's just amazing to see how quickly they have grown and how much they've developed in the past month.  It's also amazing to think about them being old enough, independent enough and developed enough to go to their new homes in just another month. 

Now the puppies are all pooping and peeing on their own -- a lot!  One visitor asked me why the puppies were on blankets instead of newspapers.  Blankets provide the footing and traction they need to develop strong legs and muscles.  I also like the padding blankets provide so the puppies are not afraid to rough-house, play, tumble the two inches off the grooming table on the floor, etc.  Newspapers are certainly easier to clean up, but blankets are what's best for the puppies at this age.  Lots and lots of laundry!

All the puppies are eagerly coming to me when I call "pup pup pup" and bring their mush meals.  I'm feeding them mush twice a day right now and they're eating about 1 1/2 cups between all five of them.  In the next day or two I'll add a third mush meal.  Their puppy molars have joined their other baby teeth, but they're not really chewing yet.  Flame very rarely lays down to nurse now.  She does most of her nursing in a standing position, with a look on her face that tells me those little teeth are starting to hurt!

They still don't understand the concept of water or the need to drink out of a water dish, but all that will come.  Puppies are all starting to carry small toys, shake and grab at toys, clothes and each other's limbs.  There have been a couple of puppy fights that have erupted when someone bit someone else a little too hard.

Journey (my schipperke) has loaned the puppies a couple of his scent articles and a wooden dumbbell, so they've been added to the puppy pen along with some soda pop cans with pennies taped shut inside.  The puppies push the cans along and hear the sound of the pennies.   It will be fun to see them continue to grow and mature as we enter their fifth week of life!