Puppy Update, Week 5

The pups are five weeks old and over the last two weeks we’ve had some really major changes!

The puppies do not have all of their teeth yet, so they’re not ready to eat dry food, but as you can see in the photo above we no longer have to mash the soaked kibble with a blender. Although the puppies will try to nurse whenever Gertie gets close enough, at this stage they no longer depend on her for nutrition. This is a major benchmark. Gertie can begin the slow process of stopping her milk production and drying up so she can be spayed before adoption.

The other area in which we have had interesting changed is play style. The pups are now fully engaged in wrestling and playing “mouth games” in which they grab each other with their mouths. This is an important developmental step because this is how the puppies learn bite inhibition. If you watch the PuppyCam or check the ustream recordings, you will see that they engage in that type of play whenever they are awake. Watch closely and you will notice that they pups continuously switch roles as being “top” or “bottom” during these wrestling matches.

If you watch the pups in action you’ll see some quick play bows. That’s a recent development along with the interest in playing with toys.

We’ll have these puppies for about three more weeks, then they will go back to the Champaign County Humane Society and be available for adoption. If you’re interested in adopting one of these puppies please go to the Shelter and fill out a Match-A-Pet form to declare your interest.

Teslin (m)
Martha (f)
Gus (m)
Barbara (f)
Michelle (f)

The Champaign County Humane Society is always in need of foster homes. Without foster homes, litters like this one would have very little chance of survival. Foster homes take care of dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens for a variety of reasons. It’s a very rewarding activity. You can find more information about fostering on CCHS’s website or you can contact Laura Davis, the CCHS Volunteer Coordinator, for more information.

Afternoon Play Time

Harriett lets the pups out every afternoon to feed them and clean their room before we start broadcasting on PuppyCam. Since we’re going to Oskee Boo Wow tonight she gave them some extra play time. Here’s Donald getting in a few snuggles with Harriett on the couch. Is he handsome, or what?

Tug-O-War is a favorite game. Pluto’s on the left, Donald in the center, and Daisy on the right.

Pluto and Donald enjoy mouth games, the favorite activity of every litter we have ever had.

Daisy is worn out after a long series of chasing games with Pluto. Look at that hair! She’s going to be as beautiful as her mother.

Teeth and Bite Inhibition

What a difference a week makes. (Click on a photo to see a larger size.)

The photo on the left was taken at two weeks, the one on the right was taken at three. Although the puppies’ teeth have not poked through, they are clearly visible within the gums and the canines are about to erupt. By next week they’ll have teeth and we will be weaning them away from Daisy and onto solid food.

I never tire of watching puppies play. Their favorite game is one we call “Mouth Games,” a mock fighting game. Mouth Games involves mouthing and “biting,” usually on the face, head and neck. When two pups play this game they will usually take turns being on top and it’s interesting to see them switching roles back and forth as each pup tries to keep the other interested in playing. The game has nothing to do with aggression and is all about learning bite inhibition. The critical learning comes when one of them bites too hard and their playmate calls a halt to the game. That’s not fun, so they learn early on not to bite very hard.

It’s much easier for puppies to teach each other not bite than it is for us to do it. That’s not to say we won’t have to do our part to teach them not to use their teeth on humans—I’ll post more about that later—but that’s why it is absolutely essential that puppies grow up together, in the litter, for eight weeks. Pups that are taken out of the litter too soon, as often happens with pups given away in parking lots or classified ads, tend to be very mouthy. This can be a very difficult problem to correct. We only get one chance to get this right.

The puppies’ instinct for play is amazing. We did some video of Frank, a 9-week old puppy from a previous litter, playing Mouth Games with his 9-year old mother Boogie, as well as with our youngest dog, 8-month old Sidney. At only 9 weeks, Frank knows all about play bows, shoulder rolls, body blocks, taking turns on top and bottom, and general dog play etiquette. When you watch the videos, note how gently Frank plays with his mother and how rough he is with young Sidney. That’s R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

Mouth Games 1 - Boogie & Frank from Tom Schaefges on Vimeo.

Mouth Games 2 - Sidney & Frank from Tom Schaefges on Vimeo.

So how does this start out? Here’s a video of this litter playing mouth games. Watch for this type of play on PuppyCam.

Mouth Games 3 - Very Young Pups from Tom Schaefges on Vimeo.