Lots of milestones happened this week with my puppies! The first being that all of them have opened their eyes. Plus, they are beginning to hear me when I come into the room. I absolutely melted when one of them, Mochi Donut, waddled towards me and wagged his tail. All of the babies now have names starting with Mochi Donut, Bento Box, Yuki, Soba Noodle, Oni, and our princess of the litter, Miss Kiyome Kim.
While their eyes are open and they are becoming more stable on their legs, my puppies are still in the transitional phase from the neonatal phase to the critical socialization phase, which is when I will get down to business and start exposing them to the world they are expected to live in by giving them daily enrichment and interactions with new things. I call this time of puppyhood “the potato with legs” phase. The puppies have fat little bodies, and their little legs are just starting to be able to support them to walk a bit more steadily.
Another milestone is they have started to go to the bathroom on their own. I have added a little puppy bed to the box and a plush toy that they will instinctively crawl away from to urinate. They have pooped on their own, but usually at this point in their lives, their mothers are still harboring intense maternal instincts where they are still cleaning the pups’ butts. It is a big deal that puppies learn to potty away from where they sleep as they age, especially when I start to crate-train them and begin the housebreaking process.
A big question I am always asked is when to wean the puppies off of mom. Every breeder I know has a different opinion and weaning method, but I personally have always let my mothers decide when they are done with that job. Right now, Miki is still producing a lot of milk and very much wants to be with her puppies. Though when she has had enough of them, she will get up and leave the box on her own. Last week, I had to enforce separation and nap time. I am still hand-feeding her to make sure she eats enough. Also, I decided the puppies might be ready for a meal after they all sniffed her food dish out and came crawling over to investigate.
Their first meal was warmed goat milk mixed with human-baby rice cereal and jarred beef baby food on top. The puppies dove right in and got just as much on them as they did into them. As they grow, I will transition them to the raw food diet mixed with goat milk and increase the amount they are getting. Right now, they have all tripled their body weight and are right where I want them to be growth-wise.
While they are in their potato phase, there is not a lot of true enrichment going on, but there is a tremendous amount of cuddling and snuggling going on. I am letting friends come to visit and enjoy themselves, wasting time just loving on them. Follow their progress on Facebook at Four on the Floor Dog Training.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net.
