Days 0-14
Sitting beside a whelping box, watching newborn puppies jerk and twitch in their sleep, is something I don’t think I will ever tire of. I am always amazed at the miracle of life, and I watch them and I wonder… where will they end up? Who’s heart will they steal? 30 years from now, will they be the best dog memory that someone has ever had? I hope and pray this for every single one of my puppies. They are all so special in their own way.
The first three days, I stroke the puppies as much as I can while sitting there watching them. It is amazing what all is going on inside a puppy, and I love to learn all I can, but I am sure I will never understand it all. But even this young, just simple stroking will get them acclimated to human touch.
Once the puppies are 3 days old, we start ENS, early neurological stimulation. We pick up each puppy and gently tickle the pads of their feet, waking up their nervous system. Then we hold the puppy right side up for three seconds, then upside down for three seconds, and finally on their back for three seconds. This gets the puppy’s blood flowing down, and up, and back, stimulating the nervous system. It also puts the puppy under a wee amount of stress, which is incredibly good for the well being of the puppy for the rest of it’s life. Teaching a puppy how to respond to stress results in a chill dog that doesn’t freak out when something new comes his way.
Days 14+
Beginning on day 14 , we introduce toys. Yay! We have a whole tote full of dog toys, from soft and squeeky to bouncy and rubbery.
I throw a new one in every morning when I clean their area, and remove the old one to be washed.
Did you know that puppies raised in an enriching environment literally grow bigger brains? As the puppy grows, their brain is developing. And if you give a puppy a new experience every day, their brain will reflect that.
Puppies are usually toddling by now too, so we get those little paws on every surface we can imagine. Grass, gravel, concrete, wood , carpet, solid, smooth, wobbly, uneven, crinkly…you name it. We even started putting them on a platform and gently raising and lowering it to get them accustomed to the feel of an elevator 🙂
Days 21+
At around three weeks of age, a puppy’s ears begin to open and they will hear their first sounds. At this age, nothing is scary to them, only new. I look at it as a blank file in their computer, and my job is to fill it with as many sounds as I can so that they will store it in their “NOT SCARY” folder.
We introduce all the sounds we can, from soft, classical music to sweepers, from singing at the tops of our lungs to just banging around when we fill their stainless steal water buckets.
At this age, walking becomes less of a challenge for the puppies, and they learn to explore new places. We like to introduce some challenges, such as placing a rolled up towel in their path. We put them on a hammock bed and see if they can figure out how to get off. We teach them to run through a tunnel, just all kinds of fun things.
A fun thing for our kids to do is give the puppies soft treats. If a puppy learns to take treats from someone’s hand when they are very young, they receive treats much more softly when they are older. Who enjoys those big teeth raking over your hands?
Days 28+
4 weeks old! Such a fun age! We start giving the pups baths at this age, and spend more one on one time with each puppy. We begin playing games, such as the ” box game”. We place a box in front of us on the floor, and every time the puppy touches the box, we say, “yes!”, and give them a treat. This gives the puppy a voice, teaching them that they can do something in order to earn a reward.
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