By Heidi Clayton
The only silver lining of the blizzard currently happening is that I am trapped inside with four-week-old puppies, who have become professional time wasters! What a difference a week makes. The puppies are now full-fledged little beings who can hear, startle at loud noises, recognize me when I enter the room and even run towards the exit of the whelping box to greet me.
With the puppies now reacting to being startled and easily rebounding from the startle, they have officially entered the critical socialization period. At this age, a puppy’s brain is like a sponge. Now is the time to start exposing them to things in small, safe doses, and they should embrace these experiences. I start this process by putting blankets down on the bedroom floor where the whelping box is and letting them explore the room until they are less wobbly on their feet. I put rolled-up blankets and different soft toys around for them to learn how to climb over. At this age, climbing over a pillow is a lot of work. After about 10 minutes of exploring, the puppies are exhausted and will fall to sleep almost where they are standing.
I also expose them to something new and novel each day in the form of toys. Studies show that puppies that live in a stimulus-rich environment grow bigger brains and are more emotionally stable than those that do not. Every day, I add a different toy to their area, and they have just started to mouth and play with them. I use toys that make crinkly sounds or wobble a bit so they can also strengthen their muscles.
It is also time for them to start meeting as many people as possible and to be picked up, kissed, and pet. I have had people over who are very willing to just sit and cuddle with the babies after they collapse from a lap around the bedroom. It is not uncommon for puppies at this age to growl while they are picked up when tired or are busy exploring. This in no way means the puppy will be aggressive. It is just an emotional response to a new sensation, and they all grow out of it, so I pick them up, pet them and kiss them as much as possible. When I am sitting or lying on the floor with them, it only takes a split second to be pummeled by the babies as they start to understand the concept of seeking out human contact.
This week, I have also started feeding them a lot. While nursing from their mother is still important, they are starting to grow sharp little fangs and need more nutrition to keep up with their growth. Their meals consist of human baby rice cereal mixed with goat’s milk and a mixture of jarred beef baby food and the raw meat they will be raised on. I let my baby puppies eat as much as they want and offer multiple meals throughout the day. I also offer them warm goat’s milk a few times a day to give Miki a break. They are very healthy, good eaters, and Miki is now going as long as three hours at a time between feedings. She is a wonderful mother who still wants to clean them, and until now has only been licking their rear ends. However, as they mature, she shows them love by kissing their faces when they approach her.
This week, I will be setting up a weaning pen in another room of the house for the puppies to move into. This is where they will live instead of the whelping box and will learn to start to potty away from their bedding more until I can start to get them outside.
Follow the puppies’ growth on Facebook or Instagram at Four on the Floor Dog Training. If you have any questions, please feel free to email them to heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net.
