Many Changes This Week

There have been a lot of changes in the puppy room this week. The first big change was to let the pups leave the confines of the whelping box and have a larger space. The puppy room has been divided in half and the pups can go in and out of the box as they like. They’re timid about exploring at first, but their curiosity soon gets the better of them and they start to leave the box to explore.

We’re now entering into what I think is the period in foster care in which the pups are the most fun. They are starting to take an interest in toys and playing games with each other. They are also beginning to seek contact with people. This is a very critical time in their development because it is now that they learn to like being with people and to accept handling without a fuss.

We spend at least an hour handling the pups each day and often have visitors come over to help with socialization. Harriett and I hold each puppy and touch the ears, feet, tail, muzzle, and mouth. It doesn’t take too long for the pups to enjoy being handled and start climbing all over us to get attention. Our goal is to have them seeking attention when they go back to the Shelter so they will approach and be accepting of handling by potential adopters.

The other important thing that happens is that the puppies learn to play with each other and how to play with other dogs. Lucille will teach them the basics of dog etiquette. They learn to play with other pups by wrestling and playing "mouth games” with each other. We like the pups to be well socialized so they can be adopted into a multi-dog household and will be friendly to dogs they meet in training classes, walks, or play times at the park.

The weekly headshot photos have been posted in the puppies’ albums. Check out the changes this week! Sierra (#2) and Cricket (#7) are developing a more obvious brindle pattern. It’s really noticeable in the profile shots. Click a picture below to see the album for that pup.

Tulip (1)		Sierra (2)
Juno (3)		Miki (4)
Morel (5)		Milano (6)
Cricket (7)

PuppyCam

PuppyCam is now live. I finally got the video software to work so we can stream video from the puppy room. By popular demand the audio will usually be turned on so you can hear the puppy sounds. The downside of having audio is that you’ll hear Daisy bark when she hears us leaving the house or coming home. You can't see her, but she's in the room and is usually laying just outside the box.

The video will be turned off at night when we put Daisy and the pups to bed sometime between 9:30 and 10:30 pm (central time). I can’t guarantee it will be on all the time during the day, but I’ll try to have it on as much as possible.

The whelping box you see in the video is in the corner of the puppy room. It’s a DuraWelp by Breeder-Base. The box was donated to the shelter and we thought we would give it a try. After the pups can walk we will remove the box and give them free run of that room.

In just two days we’ve had over 500 views. I can’t believe you guys are watching this at work. I hope there isn’t too much barking.

Eyes are starting to open!