The Transitional Period: 14-21 Days

In my last post, I briefly mentioned that the pups had moved from the Neonate Period of development into what’s called the Transitional Period: a short developmental stage of only one week that’s loaded with change and milestones.
Here’s what we can expect to see in the pups by the end of the week:

• Rapid improvement in their motor skills (standing, beginning steps, sitting, better control of their movement, etc.).
• Being able to eliminate on their own.
• Starting to move away from where they sleep to potty (it’s instinctive, and this not-pottying-where-they-sleep instinct is the foundation of housebreaking later on).
• Wider range of movement (will crawl and walk around more while beginning to explore)
• The beginning of real, voluntary tail-wagging.  :o)
• Showing more interest in their littermates (pawing at them, chewing on them)
• First teeth (these should erupt around Day 20)
• First hearing (their ears should unseal around Day 20 or 21, sometimes earlier). We’ll know their ears have unsealed with they begin to startle to loud noises.

And here’s what we’ll be doing during this important development stage:

• We’ll spend more 1:1 time with the pups, giving them individual interaction with humans and more socialization, but for only a few minutes at a time (they’re still quite young).
• We’ll also start putting them on different surfaces for one minute per day (probably when I need to move them out of the whelping box to clean it).
• Later in the week we’ll introduce them to a water bowl (they begin to “lap” during this stage as well).
• We’ll add bright colored objects and toys to the whelping box for their visual and sensory stimulation.
• We’ll “raise the drawbridge” (we’ll put up the side of the whelping box that currently rests open to allow Fiona to come and go).  The pups have already shown some interest in what’s outside of the box, so once they’re more active we’ll need to contain them (for their safety).
• Fiona will still be allowed to come and go with them as she pleases; she instinctively is already staying out of the whelping box for longer stretches of time. But we will give her more time apart from them.

We are now accepting puppy applications and deposits! Contact me at 1(307) 413-5892 or e-mail me at clancyaussiedoodles@hotmail.com. Thanks!

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