Our sweet Opal x Laddie pups turned 6 weeks old on Sunday Aug 15. They are growing quickly, playful and active. Now weaned, they're eating a daily variety of mash and kibble. They were also dewormed during this time.
We had a week of family gatherings - which meant wonderful visits & extra socialization for the pups - but also a time crunch where I could EITHER work with pups OR on the blog... I chose pups...
Then an infected dental surgery, and a region wide internet outage all compounded things so that I was super slow on the blog, sorry!
**All green underlined words are links. With all videos, click on the link, then click on the thumbnail to open fully**
Sound desensitization is still ongoing. I've continued with exposure to various noisy situations, but also added some playlists from Sheepishly Me on YouTube, which gives more exposure to barn and equipment noises, as well as a calming sounds playlist called 15 HOURS of Deep Separation Anxiety Music for Dog Relaxation. I like that they include things like bird song (see 1:13:27) in with the music, so it gives more variety than either the radio or my targeted sound exposure list. All genres are good, so adding more doesn't eradicate the others, just means there's a lot of variety.
The puppies have been consistently using their litter since Aug 4. There were absolutely NO accidents - dry floors throughout! Yay!!!
UP UNTIL... we placed them outside for several hours starting on Aug 10 AND, since they're growing in leaps and bounds, also increased the size of their indoor pen.
THEN there was a bit of regression since they'd spent the majority of a couple of days practicing going wherever they pleased on the large expanse of grass.
So, we quickly reduced the size of their indoor pen to remind them that the rules haven't changed INSIDE. Since then we've been golden again even though we expanded the pen a bit after a few days :)
Puppies' very first day outside (see green links) - wagon was not ready yet so they got carried. The first 5 all went out quickly since it was not their turn for marker training:
Silver & Pink (Yes, Opal is much slimmer than I like to see & definitely needed to wean puppies, which is what we have been working towards for the last 2 weeks. We had to do it gradually because of the risk of mastitis reoccurring during the process. The process is done now with no recurrence :) )
Then after markers:
Purple & Red added
Sadly, I missed Diamond & Sables' intro when I pushed stop instead of record.
But didn't take one of Diamond after training, so just have to pick her out in the various video clips.
And more clips of pups playing first day outside:
Pups playing, drinking water, learning to be gentle when mouthing, etc
The following videos show parts of the puppies' first mobile adventure, second time outside. My dh made me a mobile crate wagon. It loads from the top, which keeps pups contained and prevents escapees when I open the door to take pups in or out. Absolutely LOVE it!
Please Note: Turn your volume down a bit. (Small stresses like introductions to new things help puppies develop confidence in their world as they gain experience and learn that new things can be fun. However, while they're acclimatizing it can be noisy.)
Puppies' very first excursion in the mobile puppy wagon & intro to Grandma Jazz
Pups' first time near goats during first wagon ride, so they were still getting used to that.
Barnyard puppy videos:
Puppies' intro to cows (from a slight distance.)
Same first excursion but gradually getting used to the crate. I got distracted and did not verbally release Jazz from her stay. Sigh :/
Other than the introduction to the Great Outdoors, one of the biggest changes during the past couple of weeks was the introduction of lure & marker training in conjunction with crate exposure starting on day 30. (Obviously, because we're working with very young pups, the lure is used longer than when starting an older pup or dog. However, we gradually speed up the hand movements and then fade out to hand & verbal cues once pups demonstrate an understanding of the expected behaviour. But not yet.)
The pups and I have worked on sit, up, off, down, come, turn and spin. (see their individual training videos under their names at the end of this post).
Up until recently I split them into two groups (5 pups per day) so nobody had too long of a wait to eat. Five pups were placed in the crate to wait for training and five pups were fed in the muffin tins. And then while I'm training each individual pup, I'm also noting 'good quiet' & rewarding with treats any pup that is sitting quietly of either the pups waiting in the crate or the fed group. For the most part, they have taken to it like ducks to water.
However, pups are old enough now to wait a bit longer for dinner, and we had a few days there where outdoor puppy excursions and family events took precedence, so I'm trying to do all 10 daily to make up time.
On week 4 I mentioned that we added some new infrastructure including a sink. Week 5 we also added a board over the tub to create a work counter,
and put an induction cook top that we had kicking around into use. By making a kitchen space within the puppy zone, we've been able to not only keep most of the puppy mess contained to the one area, but also expose the pups to more kitchen cleaning & cooking related noises and smells. A win, win :)
Puppy weights Aug 1, 2021:
VS
Blue is still the heavy weight champ of the litter, but Bronze has now passed several of the others! Pink is currently the lightest pup.
The majority of the pups will be a version of tri-color called saddleback (like dam, Opal) when they grow up. However, there are some variations.
Shown clockwise from top L: saddleback, saddleback, sable behind with tri-color in front, then, either saddleback or shaded sable.
Pics & vids of individual pups. PLEASE NOTE: Any temperament observations and suppositions are fluid yet.
*A few caveats before viewing the training videos*
These videos are a glimpse of a moment in time and not the full picture. Take them along with the other videos, pictures and explanations you've seen to form a more well-rounded idea.
Further, exposure to marker training does NOT mean fully trained. The commands are just becoming familiar to the pups and they're learning to pay attention to what humans say. They are not yet generalized nor proofed. That comes with time, continued training, and maturation.
As well, please keep in mind that these pups are just 6 weeks old. The potential they have at this point in time can be brought to fruition or hindered depending on how they are raised from here on out. There is a lot of maturation and training that goes on AFTER they leave here to make a dog into a trustworthy and pleasing companion. These pups just have a bit of a head start. :)
Please excuse the Tag / Search text overtop of one of the pup's pics. It only shows up on the published post; it does NOT show up on my editor, so still researching how to remove it.
1) Pink (f) Saddleback - This girl is fairly relaxed about being handled and has given me a fair amount of eye contact ever since her eyes opened; a waggy, personable puppy who has shown some dominant hierarchy towards her siblings thus far. She's a bit higher energy when interacting with me as well.
I have a cool story about Pink from Jul 27. She was sleeping on the far side of the nest - so out of reach - as I petted some siblings, praising each of them by name for sitting. Then I asked, "Where's Pink?" She picked up her head, made eye contact, and then, accompanied by verbal encouragement, made her way over to me through siblings who wanted to play, etc, from across the nest! At that stage they had only recently got their hearing! (A couple of her siblings have since done similar, but were several days older at the time).
This girl is a bit leaner and lankier in build.
2) Purple (f) Shaded sable This girl reminds me somewhat of her 1/2 sister from last year; she (along with Pink and Red at various times) has barked at me a few times to try to get my attention when I'm petting her siblings, lol, although she has a more submissive, gentle nature otherwise. She's also fairly relaxed about being handled. She's another one who has come when called when very young.
At the end of the training video Purple ended up exploring. She, along with her dam and several other siblings, enjoys playing with toys.
3) Red (m) Tri color
Was the first pup with hearing. This boy used to try to escape the weigh scale, but had settled down by end of week 2. Red likes to make eye contact with me, and responds to his name. He's a thinker, as seen in his 4 week video.
This boy is fairly outgoing and generally likes to explore.
4) Pearl (f) Saddleback. This girl is fairly middle of the road thus far. Gentle, agreeable, thoughtful. She's also currently the most daunted by new situations, but usually bounces back fairly quickly. Pups mature at different rates. ALL go through a stage where they realize that the world around them can be dangerous, some to greater or lesser degrees. We'll see how she progresses in the next couple of weeks. Her overall look reminds me of her dam at that age.
5) Peach (m) Tri color. Early on he started off quite daunted by certain situations, even "heading for the hills" the first couple of times I began marker training with him. However, both times that occurred I was able to convince him to work with me, he accomplished all tasks, and built confidence. Now, while he still doesn't super appreciate being carried, once all 4 feet hit the floor, he's a lot more sure of himself. As an example of his newfound resilience, I really enjoyed watching Pink and Peach's responses (as well as the other pups) in this video. I would give this boy the "most improved" award this week.
6) Sable (f) Sable color with some shading. Smart girl; she gives me eye contact, was a bit of an escape artist when younger, but hadn't attempted anything along those lines in the past couple of weeks until today (just trying to join the marker training to get at the mush). She has demonstrated some persistence, and was first to voluntarily utilize the litter box. I don't think she is showing as much independence lately as she did when younger. She and Bronze can sometimes be a bit more vocal than others at this point, but less often than she did.
7) Diamond (f) Saddleback; sweet, quiet, fairly laid back pup so far, although she isn't a complete pushover, either. She sometimes licks my chin when I pick her up. At this point in time, this girl takes anything but soft corrections to heart and has to mull over them for quite some time before recovering. A gentle, yet consistent response is the best approach for now.
8) Bronze (m) Tri color - He was the smallest pup in the litter, and naturally has a 3/4 tail. He's feisty and currently the most vocal - likely due to often being at a disadvantage for feeding, especially when his dam frequently chose to feed the litter standing up. Bronze has now caught up to some of his siblings in the weight department. He's still the most vocal, but much less frequently than he used to be now that he's no longer at a feeding disadvantage and learning what alternative behaviors are rewarded. Bronze has demonstrated a fairly strong chase drive. I'm looking forward to seeing if this carries over into his herding instinct test. Bronze also really enjoys playing in water.
9) Blue (m) Tri color This chunk is still reminding me a LOT of his dam at this age - she was a laid back, fat sausage, lol. He's quite self contained, and demonstrated an ability to ponder and then bounce back from a scare in his 4 week video.
This is a video with Blue, Bronze, and Purple in it. Blue was gently mouthing me, and had spent quite a bit of time focused on me during that outside play time. At this point he's gentle, relaxed, compliant, eager about training, food oriented.
10) Silver (m) Either a saddleback or dark shaded sable, he is the lightest color of all the pups other than the 2 sable girls. Pretty gentle, laid back boy at this stage. Enjoys food, playing with toys. He's a sweet pup with a natural sit.
We currently have a few puppy spots left available. Anyone interested in reserving a spot for this litter, or being on our wait list for future litters, please contact us & fill out our application form.
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