Day 19 Introduced to the crate

Today the puppies were introduced to a crate. A small crate is kept in the daytime kennel for them to explore with a familiar towel in it. The door is off so they can go in and out and there's no opportunity for them to be trapped inside. Morning and night they are transported from the whelping box to the kennel in their crate. They are getting so heavy now that only 2 or 3 can be carried in the crate at a time.

Day 18 Puppies go to the spa

Mr Red getting the best of Mr Yellow in a match that went 2 rounds.

The weather was 80+. Puppies enjoyed a cooler morning in rough and tumble play, after which there was a definite need for freshening up. They voted for a cucumber and melon spa facial and ... Ahem ... the other parts too.

Much better!

Day 17 Ears are working

Here's Ms Tangerine showing off her new ears.....

The puppies are now using rapid orienting movements to orient to sounds. The ear flaps have developed into ears and the external canals appear to be open.

During the first few days the puppies used tactile cues to find Mom. A brush of her hair aside their muzzle was enough to turn them around to find her. Soon we began to hear definite scenting sounds to identify "who" is the source of the proximal movement, "Was it Mom or us?" As their eyes opened we noted that they would orient to lights and shadows. As the ears began to develop rapidly about 3 days ago we noted some sluggish reactions to sounds. Now they are much more aware of their environment even those at a distance.

In addition to being outside for a good part of the day, which by itself, is rich with new sounds (e.g. airplanes overhead; we are on a flyway, sirens close by;we are on a hospital route), we have added periods of exposure to "problem" sounds. This will begin to habituate these sounds early and to form an emotional foundation based on association with "safety".

When the pups are resting and well fed, and Mom is elsewhere, the pups listen to high fidelity recordings of  rain and thunderstorms, fireworks and gunshots.  The volume is kept low at this point: just high enough to get an orienting response from one or two of the pups during the loudest portions of the recording and yet have the pups quickly settle down to rest, play or sleep.

Luckily Mother Nature has been helping with this part of the puppy enrichment program. We have had many days with thunderstorms and rain this spring. The pups even got a dose of Town fireworks on Memorial Day.

Day 16 Pics of the Pups

Mr Yellow "Beau"

Ms Pink

Mr Red

Ms White

Mr Blue

Mr Green

Ms Tangerine

Ms Violet

Day 15 Increasing Homeland Security

The pups are outside again today and boy are they getting pudgy. They appear to be starting a major growth spurt.

They actually tried to make a break from the puppy containment system I have devised. We had to increase homeland security.

Flo is very happy having them outside since she can tend to her maternal duties while still keeping an eye on her boundaries. She has them nursing and sleeping around her.

Puppies are walking on a variety of surfaces. Some familiar and some new. We put some scented "pee pads' in their environment and they are starting to use them.

Day 14 Video: Eight drunken sailors

And almost like magic, the whole business of puppies seems easy. Fat little puppies are sleeping then playing. Mom returns to the box and without a lot of fuss they are all fed and cleaned up lickety split. They are walking now. Ok it's a drunken sailor walk.

Video to follow:

Day 13 Video: First visit outside