Update from the Whelping Box-8 Weeks

Once puppies are born, the week to week development can vary but most newborns stick to the same growing pattern. Unlike human babies, puppies develop quickly within their first two months of life and the changes are so quick that you may miss an important milestone. From the first week to the eighth, you are going see your tiny bundles of joy go from wriggling whimpers to full-blown walking balls of energy.

Here’s our report from the Whelping Box:

We were born April 21st, 2012 and we will be ready to go to our “forever homes” in late June. There are 4 boys and 2 girls and we all love snuggling together in a big “puppy pile.” Our names are Aiden, Brogan, Cora, Finn, Liam, and Éireann. Éireann, Finn, Brogan, Liam and Cora are already “spoken for,” but I (Aiden) am waiting for my  “forever home.” We’re all EIGHT WEEKS OLD now. You might think we haven’t been doing much for these first fifty-six days of our lives, but we’ve been quite busy. Just look!

Here it is, Day 56, and just look at what’s happened:

At this age, your puppy‘s focus is the basic needs of eating, drinking, sleeping, eliminating and playing.  Your puppy can remember which behaviors he is allowed and where and when he is fed. He can even begin house-training and start becoming used to being groomed. He is ready to leave his mother and littermates to go home with you, fully capable of taking his place in the family.
The following list will help you know what to expect from your puppy has he develops.

• How Big?– Most 8-week-old puppies are only a fraction of their adult height, length and weight.  Most puppies will gain or grow rapidly between birth and 6 months of age.  How much they grow or gain will depend on their breed, diet, and ultimate adult size.  Growth is generally steady until they attain their adult size.
• Teething– Puppies at 8 weeks will have all 28 of their baby teeth and may develop their first adult front teeth, called the incisors, between 8 and 12 weeks of age.
• Senses– 8-week-old puppies will show fear, whimper when hurt and bark when excited or wanting attention. You need to build trust with your puppy. Don’t ignore crying but address the cause for the crying with attention and care. Touch is the first sense a dog develops and remains a powerfully important sense throughout his life.  The entire body, including the paws, is covered with touch-sensitive nerve endings.  Although they can see and hear, their sense of vision and hearing is quietly maturing.  They are also developing their general sense of smell.
• Ability to Hold Urine– 8 week old puppies can generally hold their urine for about 3 hours.  This means you will need to take them out at least every 3 hours to get them “housebroken”.
• Intelligence– 8 week old puppies are becoming increasingly curious and interested in the environment.   Although capable of learning, they have a very short attention span.  Keep a variety of simple toys for your puppy to investigate. He will also play rough and tumble with his littermates and will gradually begin learning to play by himself.  It is extremely important that puppies socialize with people at this age.  Include lots of people of varying ages, sizes and shapes to interact positively with your pup. Some puppies have a brief phase of “fear” at this time as they may respond to noises or new objects.  Expose your puppy to new objects and allow them to investigate on their own terms until they are comfortable with the new situation.
• Play & Agility– Most puppies 8 weeks old are “clumsy”.  After all, most puppies just learned to walk at 3 weeks of age and run at 5 weeks of age, which was just a few short weeks ago. They are developing their gross motor skills that help them to run, play, and “hunt”.  Their fine motor skills will come later.  Puppies also learn to jump up at this stage. This is a normal behavior that can turn into an undesirable behavior when the puppy reaches adult-hood and jumps on every visitor. You can begin correcting your puppy and giving him positive reinforcement for good behavior.
• Physical Appearance & Hair Coat– 8-week-old puppies have a baby type hair coat that is very fine and does very little shedding.  Get your puppy used to the brush and comb by gently using them on him for very short sessions that are kept positive.  Don’t hold your puppy down to be brushed or combed if he does not want to be.  Their muzzle is getting longer but overall they have the characteristics of a puppy.  The ears may begin to stand up in some breeds.
• Sleep – Puppies that are 8 weeks old sleep approximately 18 to 22 hours per day.  The rest is spent eating, playing and eliminating.

Well that’s it for this week! Here are some pictures of us from week 1 until today!

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Update from the Whelping Box: Week Five

Once puppies are born, the week to week development can vary but most newborns stick to the same growing pattern. Unlike human babies, puppies develop quickly within their first two months of life and the changes are so quick that you may miss an important milestone. From the first week to the eighth, you are going see your tiny bundles of joy go from wriggling whimpers to full-blown walking balls of energy.

Here’s our report from the Whelping Box:

We were born April 21st, 2012 and we will be ready to go to our “forever homes” in late June. There are 4 boys and 2 girls and we all love snuggling together in a big “puppy pile.” Our names are Aiden, Brogan, Cora, Finn, Liam, and Eireann. Eireann, Finn, Brogan and Cora are already “spoken for,” but we boys are waiting for our “forever homes.” We’re all FIVE WEEKS OLD now. You might think we haven’t been doing much for these first thirty-five days of our lives, but we’ve been quite busy. Just look!

Here it is, Day 35, and just look at what’s happened:

During the fifth week, the puppies will be getting regular supplemental feedings. Small dry kibble is being introduced to wean from an all-wet diet. This is the preparation stage for full weaning of the pups from their mother by the end of the fifth week. We are taking the time to interact with the puppies individually so that the young pups begin their socialization training with humans and not just with their littermates.

Puppy Development: Stage 3

Week 4 to week 12 typically comprise the third stage of puppy development. During this stage, the senses begin to mature and socialization becomes an important part of the puppy’s life. The puppies are interacting with other dogs and with people during this key phase.

For the first few weeks of this phase, it’s likely that the only other dogs the puppies will have access to are his mother and littermates. The puppies’ normal body temperature is approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and their systems will begin regulating that temperature naturally. Additionally, the instinct to squat will take over and external stimulation will no longer be required for the puppies to move their bowels.

Early socialization will manifest as a basic kind of play with the puppy’s littermates – wrestling and a reserved play-biting known as “inhibited bite.” This is the way in which the puppy will begin to learn about social structure and pack ranking. Rules, boundaries, and limitations set by his mother begin to take shape. Physical co-ordination and eyesight are still not fully developed, but the puppy’s mobility will have progressed beyond wiggling, rolling, and flopping around.

Weeks 5 through 7 are the time for the puppies to begin their socialization with people. Their sense of hearing is well-developed enough to allow command conditioning using positive reinforcement, as well as name recognition. The puppies are responding when they are being called; which makes it so much easier to keep them all in line.

Well that is all for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s report and check out the pictures below!

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Available Puppies

Here’s our report from the Whelping Box:

There are 4 boys and 2 girls and we all love snuggling together in a big “puppy pile.” Our names are Aiden, Brogan, Cora, Finn, Liam, and Violet. Violet and Cora are already “spoken for,” but we boys are waiting for our “forever homes.” We’re all ONE WEEK OLD now. You might think we haven’t been doing much for these first seven days of our lives, but we’ve been quite busy. Just look:

• We lost what was left of our umbilical cords (what a nuisance — glad that’s gone!)
• We’ve discovered that we have hind legs that work.
• We’ve all more than doubled our weight, just as we should.
• We have round rumps now (unlike those bony bottoms we had when we popped out)
• We can squiggle like salamanders and we can push with our back legs, too (instead of just pulling ourselves with our front legs like we did before).
• We’ve learned how to find each other now (we sniff and feel our ways to each other).
• We can make a puppy pile!  (Oooooo…so roasty toasty warm!)
• We’re experimenting with making noises. We grunt and sigh and sing and call out for Momma Fiona. We yelp when Momma Fiona steps on us, and we sometimes bark in our sleep (but we don’t know what that is yet).
• We’re all willing to be cuddled regularly, too.
• We sleep 90% of the time now, and we’re mostly happy and content.

Speaking of sleep, that’s enough for now.  *yawn*  We’re tired, and we gotta get back to the hard work of growing.  We’ll check in with you next week for another puppy report.

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