Places to Go...People to See....

Pups are two-weeks old today!  Yellow Boy's eyes were the first to open yesterday and today his brothers and sisters are starting to see the world  too (well what they can of it at this point).  The puppies are climbing up on shaky legs and, though not quite walking, are a bit more coordinated than just a few days ago.  There is more tumbling and rolling than actual forward purposeful movement, but hey, they are just two weeks old.  In the next week, one brave guy or gal will venture up and over the side of the whelping box--the tumble to earth accompanied by a surprised cry.  The Monks of New Skete refer to the coming week (days 13-20) as the "transitional period" because the pups' sensory capacities--seeing, hearing, walking, teething and smelling--will increase dramatically.  At first the puppies do not see very well; it will be at least another few weeks before they will be able to distinguish shapes and forms.  Similarly, they can't hear yet, but that will change in the next week, and considering that they live right next to the kitchen, they will very shortly become used to the sounds of water running and blenders blending.   When the pups are not crowded around Sophie nursing, they are often found sleeping in clumps of two or three.  They have tripled their birth weight and have definite heft.  Must buy more rick rack tomorrow since they are outgrowing their collars on a regular basis.  They all tolerate the handling exercises comfortably and enjoy being held close to our skin.  Who can resist being nuzzled by a puppy?  Not me.  Sophie is comfortable leaving the whelping box for extended periods of time, sensing when she is needed and when she can take a break.  Big brother Clarence has finally met the puppies up close and personal and is very curious about these squeaky, wiggly little characters. 

Week One: They're Here!

 I went to bed Sunday night, April 15th,  with the sure knowledge that I wouldn't sleep until morning.  Sophie was already panting and restless, signs that labor would be coming soon.  Her temperature had dropped below 98 degrees, another telling signal.  Her due date, which I had calculated to be April 17th, was close at hand despite the fact that I had added on another day to account for "leap year."  I left the hall light on to make sure that whatever sleep I managed to get would be minimal.  At midnight I heard Sophie make her way out from under the bed and go into the hallway. When I opened the door for her, she ran to her whelping box and jumped in.  I guess she was telling me she was ready!  The rest of the night was spent in the baby nursery (aka the dining room) awaiting the arrival of the first pup - which always takes much longer than expected.  After hours of panting and shaking, finally around 10:30am, Sophie's waterbag broke and the first puppy - purple girl - arrived a half hour later.  Half an hour after that, baby blue boy arrived, followed every half hour or so by another puppy.  Boy after boy arrived - orange, green, yellow and blue until finally little pink-and little she was--arrived at 1:35pm.  People often ask whether the delivery was easy.  Not knowing what Ms. Sophie would say I can't say for sure, but what I can say is that there were no surprises.  With each delivery I checked to make sure the sac was off the puppy's head and if it wasn't, I removed it.  Each pup was rubbed down in a towel until she or he began to squeak, cord cut, and then presented to mom, who thoroughly, meticulously, and sometimes vigorously, licked each puppy from head to tail.  Soon enough every one was settled in and seven new lives begun.


As I write this post today, the pups are nearly a week old and have more or less doubled their birth weights from a starting point ranging from 5oz (little pink) to the blue and orange boys who were more than 7oz at birth.  During the first few days, we made sure to position little pink strategically so that she didn't have to struggle to find her food and as she finally began to gain weight, we were able to relax.  As I did last year, I slept next to mom and pups for the first few nights and again I will describe that experience as "intimate" since I can't think of another way to talk about those moments in the middle of the night when I rolled over to see mom and pups in the whelping box.  The sole focus of mom is pups and the sole focus of pups is mom.  


At six days old, the puppies' eyes and ears are both closed.  They locate their mom by scent, and increasingly over the first few days, they have become more coordinated and purposeful in their wobbly crawls from one end of the whelping box to wherever mom decides to be.   They let mom know when they need her with a unique series of sighs, squeaks, and trills.  And Sophie instinctively knows when it is OK to leave the box and join the family in the other room and when she needs to be nearby.  


On their third day of life, the puppies had their first "big world" outing, traveling to the vet to have their dew claws removed.  Every breeder would like to believe that this experience is harder on them than it is on the pups.  The vet carefully takes his time tending to each pup and tells me that he no longer docks tails; he just doesn't feel comfortable doing so.  The vet tech comments that she can't believe these are wheaten puppies and it's true--with their dark brown coloring, closed eyes, and ears pressed tightly to the sides of their heads, their identity to the uninformed, would be a complete mystery. 


We've begun our early neurological stimulation exercises, exposing the pups to a slightly stressful series of handling exercises known as the "bio sensor" or "super dog" program.  These exercises, recommended for pups between three days and sixteen days old, are believed to encourage greater tolerance to stress and improve the pups' health.  We will also be able to observe how each puppy responds to this stimulation and begin to have a sense of their individual temperaments.

Last Sunday together

“Throughout history, the dog-human relationship has shown that dogs can humanize us, and this is part of the magic unleashed in adopting a puppy…Something so simple as walking the dog takes us out of ourselves and reminds us that life’s beauty beckons to be acknowledged.” (from Dogs and Devotion).  As I write this afternoon the puppies are snoozing, tired from their busy day yesterday the highlights of which included a haircut, an evaluation and the first round of puppy shots.  All of us are moving a little slower today; my exhaustion is catching up with me and I am quite content gazing at them stretched out and napping on what will be our last Sunday all together.  Last night as they raced through the kitchen with Sophie charging after them there was pure joy in their antics.  Earlier this week, they each had their temperament “test” and it was of great interest to see them individually respond to the stimuli.  While there were some small variations among each of the pups, as a group, they were friendly, playful, curious, confident, interested in the toys, and for the most part, even retrieved a “ball” for the stranger-evaluator.  After evaluating each of the puppies’ structures and physical characteristics, and looking at their temperament results during this busy week, I am making some initial decisions about their homes.  At least one puppy will live with me as planned all along.  I’m pretty sure I know who it will be.  Without a doubt, the puppies and the experience of raising them to this point has been a tremendously satisfying and unexpectedly transforming experience.  For instance, for the first time, I heard today the sound that a puppy makes when he's snoring and his head is leaned into a water bowl.  The puppies have helped me see the comical in poop smeared all over a toy teddy bear or the endearing in the sweet gaze of a puppy sprawled out on his back with his legs in the air. Truly I will never look at a dog in the same way again.  I am thrilled to know that these amazing puppies who have spent nearly eight weeks in my home, will be adopted by the wonderful families I’ve met during these past weeks. During the next few days we will complete the remaining preparations for "adoption day" at the end of the week. 

The great outdoors

August 7, 2011: The puppies at six weeks old have a comment for every situation.  Walk into the room to say hello?  A chorus of excited barks and cries greet you.  Walk out of the room to take care of business…the same yips and barks serenade you.  They eat and they play and they annoy each other.  They gnaw on the sides of the pen and on each other’s legs and tails.  Their play fighting is sometimes brutally fierce, but like kids they usually work things out after a brief episode. They continue to thrive in every way and are “outgrowing their pen” and so in the last week their world has expanded to introduce them to the great outdoors.  Like human babies, they appear to have fussy times every evening so out they go to race around their outdoor pen, and on one occasion thus far, to test out their baby pool.  So far, the bravest have leaned over the edge to take a drink, or to place one paw carefully in the water.  Grass is now something to chew and eat.  Airplanes flying overhead created a stir of worry the first time they heard this unfamiliar noise, but this loud sound is now an accepted part of life.  If the weather is not up to an outside visit, the puppies race from one end of the kitchen to the other end of the dining room.  Sophie played with them this week, chasing and batting them.  Visitors to the house are greeted with excitement.  After a visit of an hour or so, it’s time for a nap and then “we’re back at it.”  If there is one word I would use to describe the puppies it is ACTIVE.  We take many many photographs in order to have just a few good ones that are not blurry.  I have a new appreciation for breeders who somehow manage to line up an entire litter of puppies and take a photo that shows every puppy looking in the same direction! (photoshop?)  This week they’ll have their temperament tests.  This series of activities will expand our understanding of the puppies’ personalities and reactions to new situations and help us understand what homes and lifestyles might be best suited for each of them.  Seven weeks is an ideal time to conduct the tests since “EEG readings indicate that neurological development has reached adult levels, thus allowing us to obtain a true reading of their behavioral tendencies…if [the tests] are done later, between eight and ten weeks, pups will be in the fear period, making assessments of temperament subject to serious misinterpretation.” (p.76, Monks).  While I have some thoughts about each of the puppies, I’ll be curious to learn what someone who has never met the puppies will think.  While all of the puppies are affectionate and active, some will be more submissive, some will be more sociable, and some will be more sensitive and obedient than others. 

From puppy to dog...

July 28: A chorus of yips and cries begins sometime between 5 and 5:30am.  The puppies are up and anxious for breakfast.  The morning routine is a predictable schedule: Sophie goes out for a walk and then joins the pups so they can nurse. While Sophie is not visibly impatient with the pups, she is not especially interested in spending any extra time with them, beyond what is needed to let them nurse.  I shower and feed Sophie and begin heating goat milk to be added to the kibble which has been soaked and ground into manageable chunks.  The pups take a turn with the kibble and Sophie happily eats up the leftovers. The pups turned five weeks two days ago and they are little dogs now!  They play and cry and sleep and show affection-to each other and to me.  They are alternately cuddly and squirmy and are incessantly curious about everything that comes in and out of their pen.  Several bottom teeth have now appeared and when the pups were out of the pen playing during a recent evening we were “owwww-ing” our way through their play session as they bit at our ankles.  The pups are increasingly focused on each other and their interactions have begun to establish a hierarchy. The Monks note that “puppy play is anything but frivolous.  Not only does it develop muscle coordination but it also exposes the pups to spontaneous social situations they must learn to handle…Play-fighting is usually kept friendly, and, particularly early in this period, pups easily exchange roles as play-fights become highly ritualized periods of learning.” Sometimes the play-fighting leads to loud (and presumably fierce) growling.  More typically they chase each other around the pen, biting tails and climbing on top of each other.  After this period of intense play, each pup flops down for a nap. I try to introduce new toys to the pen every few days.  Today the favorite toy was a tiny stuffed animal which Little Pink claimed as her own.  Once puppies are well socialized to each other, they will enter more fully into the development of relationships with the people in their world.  This period of “socialization with people” as well as increased exposure to the bigger world is a critical part of the pups’ development between five and twelve weeks of age. 

Happy Birthday - we're four weeks old!

July 23: The pups turned four weeks old earlier in the week.  When I sat down to write this morning they were all sleeping in one large pile, surrounded by their toys.  Once they heard me at my desk they began to stir, and within minutes they are on the move--tugging on each others’ ears, tumbling and play-fighting (punctuated by fierce growls and indignant squeals), running to the side of the pen to greet me, and checking out their toys.  I rearrange the bedding in their pen and they are instantly curious.  Everybody arrives at the corner of the pen to observe this exciting new activity.  This morning they began to explore the spaces outside of their pen.  On the floor and out in the larger world, they moved in every direction, some heading for the kitchen, others behind the dining room curtains, and eventually Lime was discovered wedged into the corner of the dining room behind Sophie’s crate.  I call to them and they come at a run, tails wagging.  There is much interest in their toys and every few days I introduce something new.  Their top teeth have been coming in during the last week and in the next few days they will have their first taste of kibble, soaked in water and ground into small chunks since their teeth are still small.  After 15 minutes of exploration and much peeing on the kitchen and dining room floors, they begin to sleep where they lay so I scoop them up and return them to the pen.  Some seem to have favorite areas for napping. Navy has a special corner where he is often found alone, laying on a pile of teddy bears.  Little Pink has a favorite spot opposite on the fleece bed where she is often joined by a brother or sister. This morning it is Emerald whose head rests against LP’s belly.  The remaining siblings are in an opposite corner, laying on the grate of the pen. This is Lime’s favorite spot, his head tucked again a small towel.  Finally the fourth corner, which is covered by a small fleece pad, seems to be the spot where they most frequently relieve themselves. It's time to take some individual pictures of each of them to show how they have grown these past four weeks.

Out of the box, into the world

July 17th::  Less that a day after writing my last post, Red Boy did indeed successfully scale the wall of the whelping box only to be rudely surprised by the fall to the floor--all was well after scared shrieks were calmed..  The next day two more siblings followed over the wall and by Friday, at 23 days old, the pups were moved to their puppy pen which will be their home for the next five weeks.  The pups quickly adapted to their new environment and Sophie continues to join them periodically to nurse and to visit.  Their nursing periods are shorter and often Sophie nurses while standing up. Later today we will introduce them to goat's milk, to be followed soon by kibble.  No teeth yet, but the hard bumps in their mouths signal that teeth will soon arrive. The pups are increasingly curious about the world around them.  A noise is heard outside of the pen and everyone is alert "what's going on?"  Tails are wagging and the talking continues: from musical trills and play growls as the siblings begin to play with each other to the moans and sighs that accompany their dreams.  Today I noticed for the first time that one of the puppies began to investigate a toy in the pen.  During these next weeks, their socialization experiences are critical to the development of their curiosity and confidence.