Week Six Flame Puppies

Last Update 08/06/2015

 Monday, October 23, 2006 -- Day 35

Counting photos from top left to right, first row and then second row:

1) Puppies managed to take my robe off the bar stool in the kitchen and drag it around the kitchen floor.  Green Boy was the instigator.  2) & 3) & 4) After I finished temperament testing Deb's litter of whippets (while my puppies stayed in the training center office), I hung around for a while.  Cathy arrived with Tessa (GSD) who wasn't too happy to see a bunch of puppies that she might potentially have to teach some life lessons to in the future.  (As Cathy's class "demo dog" Tessa has taught many an uppity puppy manners student to show a bit more respect to his or her elders!)   5) & 6) After all the excitement Yellow Boy decided to take a snooze on the big bug.  7) & 8) It amazes me that Flame is still eager to let the puppies nurse now that they all have molars and know how to use them! 

It's becoming more difficult to keep the website updated because the puppies are taking up more and more of my time: LAUNDRY! is a big one -- several loads a day.  I'm starting to put newspapers & puppy wee wee pads in their play area and the puppies are accurate about 85% of the time.  OBSERVING! is a close second to laundry.  It's easy to sit, observe and suddenly an hour has passed.  It's fascinating to see their puppy personalities start to develop, and then change every few days.  SOCIALIZATION! is the big third.  It's critical to expose the puppies to new experiences, but imperative that each and every new experience be choreographed to be as positive as possible.  In the next few weeks we'll be doing more road trips to friends' homes, to training sessions with friends, etc. where they'll get to hang out in their x-pen.  From there they'll be put in groups of 2 and 3, and then exposed individually.

Purple Girl isn't as reserved in new situations as she was last week.  She's definitely an opinionated princess, however.  Orange Girl continues to be most like Flame; however, she's sweeter than Flame was at this age.  Flame was a terrorist and Orange Girl isn't quite that bad when it comes to harassing her littermates.  Blue Boy is the sweetest of the three males.  He has his moments, but he's not quite as uppity and bad as his brothers.  Yellow and Green Boys really seem to have a sense of humor.  (It's as though they intentionally do something, then sit back and smile about it.)  Yellow Boy is a butt biter.  He routinely goes to the human's backsides and bites their butts when they're kneeling in the play area.  And Green Boy is the big redecorator in the litter -- anything that's not nailed down and not too heavy has to be moved!   Purple Girl is a close second; she was hauling around a piece of rubber matting tonight!

At this age I like to build the puppies' confidence as much as possible and encourage uppity behavior, especially since everyone in this litter will be going to a show / performance home.  I will play gentle tug-of-war, do a little gentle rough-housing, etc.  I try to let the puppies win most of the time.  If they get "too" uppity it's easy to back them off a little later.

All the puppies are very oral.  They are biting and mouthing anything and everything.  If they bite humans at this age (playing too rough), I have the human redirect to a toy.  The pups are too young (in my opinion) for human mouthing corrections.  I like to let mother dog make the first corrections for biting too hard.  Interestingly, Flame isn't there yet.  I've watches as the puppies have chew on her ears and she's still tolerating it.  The puppies are less tolerant of one another chewing on various body parts -- there have been several skirmishes when tails have been bitten too hard.

One behavior that I find really cute in Belgians (so I encourage it) is a big, open-mouthed smile and "snap" at the air.  I've found that all my dogs will learn to imitate me when I do that behavior.  It's amazing how aware they are of subtleties in human facial expressions.  These puppies will sit back on their haunches, smile, snap and then launch themselves at me.  I get down very low so my face is at their level to really encourage their awareness.  (Obviously, I don't let this get out of control, so no concerned emails necessary.)

I also like to encourage climbing.  I have a couple small Rubbermaid step stools in the play area now and it's interesting to see the puppies play king/queen of the hill.  I put toys & pop cans up on the stools (which are only about 8 inches high) and the puppies get a new surprise each time they look up.  None of the puppies have managed to pull themselves all the way up on the stool, but they're all trying.  I need to keep my camera handy for those times when 2 or 3 puppies will put their front feet up on the stool -- it looks like they're having a meeting -- very cute!   This is another reason why I like to have the puppies on thick blankets at this age -- they are less intimidated because if they tip over, fall down, etc., it doesn't hurt. 

The puppies' senses are much more developed now.  They are noticing things more readily -- especially through their eyes and ears -- picking out different people, dogs, and even the difference between the sound of the telephone at home vs. at the training center.   They can see a toy from a few feet away, stalk it and pounce on it.  When they reach for a toy with a paw or mouth, they actually hit the target now.  I'm happy to see them taking the penny-filled pop cans (ends duct taped closed for safety) and paw at them, carry them around, etc.  I have added a couple metal food dishes (small inside a large one) to their play area and they are quite willing to bat the metal pans around.   In the next couple of days I'll get the vacuum cleaner back out, start accidentally on purpose dropped pots and pans in the kitchen while they're in the adjoining dining / puppy area, start playing the radio louder, start playing the CD with baby crying, laughing, etc., noises, etc.  I'm starting to play hand, face & paw games with the puppies, etc.  It's important that all of these new stimulants be offered in a mild form at first, so as not to overwhelm the puppies.

The puppies are getting so heavy (I'll weigh them again tomorrow when I also do toe nails) that I can't carry three in one crate, so they're now traveling 2, 2 and 1.  I have enough crates at home so every puppy can have his/her own little house.  Tomorrow they'll get to have a nap in their own crate.  Car rides continue to be uneventful; puppies simply go to sleep.  Everyone now drinks water from the dish hooked to the side of their x-pen.  Everyone now eats their mush most enthusiastically.  Now that they have molars and are chewing on toys, I'll start to make the mush a little thicker.

(PS to today's report:  We had a fun road trip to Stephanie's on Saturday where the puppies met Great Grandpa Tyler face-to-face.  Stephanie will send me pictures and I'll post them on the week 5 page, so be sure to check back.  Tyler was so good (as always), sniffing them, wagging his tail and being very gentle.  The pups were all happy to greet him, but most respectful.)

Tuesday, October 24, 2006 -- Day 36

No new pictures today, but some fun new experiences for the puppies.  First, I opened up the x-pen separating the family room from the kitchen to let the puppies explore as a group.  They had a great time!   Later in the day I took each puppy downstairs to the basement individually.  Keeper & Journey were in an x-pen down there.  Flame accompanied us as I carried each puppy down for a few minutes of exploring with mom.  Every puppy was equally confident going into the bathroom, laundry room, x-pens on the slick vinyl floor.

Everyone also got weighed today, so check out their weight chart.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006 -- Day 37

Pictures from our latest visit to Stephanie's house, including some with Great Grandpa Tyler, are now at the bottom of the Week 5 page. 

Sunday, October 29, 2006 -- Day 41

Today's adventure took us to the training center for about 6 hours.  It was raining, so outdoor play time at home wasn't an option and the big ring was empty prior to Cathy's agility classes.  Lots of room to run and play tug of war while we set up for the Halloween photos (below).  After the photos we hung out while Cathy taught two agility classes as I wanted the puppies to get to hear the banging of the teeter totter, the sounds of dogs doing the A-frame, etc.  While Cathy was teaching I trimmed everyone's toe nails (again!) and brushed everyone.  Cathy's students dogs were great at ignoring the puppies in the pen.   After that everyone had a vigorous play session in the lounge while Cathy and I had lunch.  Yellow Boy played king of the fort -- crawling under an upholstered chair with just enough room for a puppy underneath.  It was quite comical as his littermates antagonized him while he barked and tried to bite at their toes.   Several times all five puppies engaged in one big tug-of-war game using a double-tennis-ball-double-rope-toy.  All of these puppies have fairly long attention spans and intensity.

    Thanks to Cathy & Sondra for helping with today's photos.  My little digital camera was having a hard time focusing, so that combined with active puppies made the photo shoot challenging to say the least.  Overall, we did pretty darned good, I'd say!   From left to right:  Green Boy, Blue Boy, Orange Girl, Yellow Boy, Purple Girl -- and everyone together for a split second.  (You can see by the blur that Orange Girl is on the move!)

                    Thanks to Sondra for operating the camera in the above shots.  Again, mechanical problems with the camera combined with active puppies make these shots less than ideal, but you can see what nice bodies these kids have.  Please ignore my face -- good grief I make some strange expressions when I'm concentrating!  I decided to kneel by the grooming table because I was wearing black pants -- another good grief for a black dog photo shoot!
From left to right:  Green Boy, Blue Boy, Orange Girl, Yellow Boy, Purple Girl.

Highlights & observations from the past few days:

Wednesday & Thursday were teaching days for me again, so puppies happily spent their time distracting students as they hung out in their double x-pen.  During my breaks they ran wild in our lounge as Cathy and I ate our lunches.  

I made sure that each puppy spent some individual time in an x-pen in the center of the training ring.  Each puppy complained for a while when it was his/her turn in the middle of the room.  Complaints were due to lack of attention from me and the students working their dogs around the pen (not out of fear or separation anxiety).   Speaking of complaining -- all of the puppies barked and howled in their individual crates today -- both going to, and coming home from, the training center.  I think they're getting more comfortable riding in the crates, and weren't worn out when put in them, so it was a noisy ride.  In face, when I went through the drive-through latte' stand, the barista was curious as to the unusual noises coming out of my van!   The two puppies with the biggest set of lungs:  Yellow Boy and Purple Girl.

I've been playing CDs for the puppies this week:  One of baby noises and babies crying; the other is spooky Halloween sounds.  They started out at low volume and are now fairly loud.  I play each one once a day while they're hanging out in their play area.  As the volume increased they noticed certain sounds, but now pretty much ignore it all.

I actually left the puppies for a few hours this week while my husband puppy-sat.  I made sure to wear them out really well before I left, so all he had to do was listen for any problems, and fortunately there were none.  However, when I've been home, several of the pups have gotten their jaws caught in the x-pen wires (from chewing on them) -- so now the x-pens are sprayed with Bitter Apple.  No more chewing!

Gary had a puppy-sized fabric tunnel from when his PWDs were younger, so we set that up for the puppies this week.  Everyone went through it without a bit of hesitation.  Along those lines Cathy found a great Costco box with puppy-sized holes in each end so she taught them to go through the cardboard tunnel.   Cathy also brought out some PVC frames with fairly low horizontal pipes -- great for climbing over and going under.

As the puppies approach 42 days of age (6 weeks), they are taking more and more of my time.  More laundry.  More time observing patterns of behavior (which puppy will go to which home), personality traits (this litter has uppity, more uppity and most uppity!) and structure / movement.  More time with crate training and socialization, road trips, videotaping, etc.  I try to give them at least one brand new experience every day.   And I try to spend some time with each puppy individually each day -- away from the littermates.

Flame is still willing to nurse the puppies several times a day and she still wants to clean up after them.  (I try to beat her to it most of the time; there's a lot of 'stuff" coming out of those growing puppies now!)   She's also starting to play with them, and starting to discipline them when she doesn't want to be bothered, or what she is playing with is HER toy, not theirs.   The funniest thing is when Flame is laying on the couch and the pups all stand on their hind legs trying to get to her.  She smiles and mouths and paws at them as they bark at her in frustration.

We're getting to the stage where it's easy to become very attached to each puppy and realize how much I'll miss them when they're gone.  Fortunately four of them will be staying here in Seattle and I know that Carol (Shane's owner) will keep me posted with lots of updates and photos after she takes her puppy back to California.   It's going to be very difficult deciding which puppy I'll keep.  I like all of these puppies a lot.  Every one has a lot of the personality traits I hope for in a pet and conformation/obedience/agility/herding prospect, and each one has individual traits that make him/her special.  Some examples:  Purple Girl is demanding and opinionated.  She complains the loudest when she wants out of the pen to be with me and be where the action is.  She's also the most prey driven with a fantastic desire to play tug of war, and she wins most of the time.  She is often seen "stalking" her littermates.  Orange Girl is the sweet version of Flame -- very uppity, showy, confident and cocky -- but she doesn't go around beating up her littermates the same way Flame did.  Orange Girl has that show dog presence and she's the easiest to get good photos of.  Blue Boy is the sweetest of the boys.  He loves to play ball, with me and by himself, and he's the water dog of the litter -- constantly playing in the water dish, even though it's elevated on the x--pen.   Yellow Boy is the male version of Purple -- he really likes to be with humans, gives a lot of eye contact, and makes a lot of noise when he doesn't get his way.  He's second behind Purple Girl in tug-of-war wins.  He is very active and very dominant and he "smiles" a lot.  Green Boy has the sweetness of Blue combined with many of Yellow's traits -- but he's not quite as dominant or intense.    Orange and Yellow like to bug my schipperke and they are not the least bit intimidated when he growls at them through the x-pen.   (Journey growls to egg them on -- he really wants to play with them but I haven't let him yet because he'll play too rough -- and the puppies just encourage him with their uppity response.)

I like the mental balance in all of these puppies.  They can entertain themselves with a toy, or play with one other puppy, or engage in a pack game of tug or chase.  Every puppy likes humans and wants human attention and interaction.  Every puppy will go exploring and then check back in.   Every puppy follows well and likes to play with me, with or without a toy involved.   I'm also quite pleased with everyone's structure and movement.   It's turning out to be a very, very nice litter!

Only two more weeks before they go to their new homes.   Their temperament test is a week from Monday and their first set of vaccinations is the following day.  My how time flies!