9 beautiful Libby x Robby puppies arrived July 19, 2012
3 Boys and 6 Girls
Everyone was born a good weight and quickly set out to do what puppies do best...eat!
Everyone went in for the first vet check on the 20th. The vet confirmed that everyone was healthy and that it was a very nice group!
As expected, Libby is being an awesome mom. She is very proud of her pups and is doing a great job caring for them.
Not much goes on these days, mostly eating, sleeping and crying. Hopefully by next week we will see more attempts at walking.
Week 2 brings some very sad news. Orange boy earned the nickname "Stitch" because he was always crawled away and would get "lost." Monday night Stitch was found far away from his littermates on the bare floor and was suffering from hypothermia. Puppies this young are unable to control their body temperatures. Just from being away from the group and off of the blankets, Stitch's body temperature had dropped severely. He was taken to the vet immediately, but was unable to make it through the night. We have never lost a puppy and its pretty hard for us, but the good news is that everyone else is doing well.
Week 3 is here already! The pups have their eyes open, but while we can see their pretty blue eyes, they can only see shadows for now. They definitely can hear us when we come home and are quick to come find us for attention! They are so sweet and are already giving little baby kisses.
Playing is their 3rd favorite pastime (behind eating and sleeping) and they have fun chewing on each other as well as the multitude of toys that we have provided to them. We find that baby toys and cat toys make excellent puppy toys because they are so stimulating in texture and sounds.
Weaning has begun everyone seems to really like the puppy mash. They do, of course, still love to nurse and take any opportunity to overwhelm Libby so that they can nurse.
All in all, everyone is very outgoing and sweet with a dash of curiosity.
Weeks 4-5 update!
Well I finally have the opportunity to get online to share everyone’s progress. Since I missed a week this will be an extra long posting – so much has happened in just 2 weeks! I am happy to say (but knocking on wood as I am saying this) that potty training is going very well for 5 week old puppies. The success rate is about 60% overall, but the accidents tend to be piddles as opposed to piles. I am still anticipating the latent phase of training (apparent regression before comprehension), but hope that it will be short lived. The pen that the pups are in has changed a few times in the past 2 weeks, partly to expose them to a variety of sleeping arrangements and also to accommodate their rapidly growing sizes.
We started their living arrangements with a thick folded blanket as a bed and a combination of potty pads and potty trays. As they grew, we have had them sleeping in an airline (solid plastic) crate, on an elevated dog bed (like a hammock) and now have their beds in wire crates. This variety of sleeping arrangements will help them be comfortable sleeping in just about any arrangement they will encounter in their new homes. We have also eliminated the potty pads for right now, so they are left with only the potty trays for overnight and when we are at work. As part of potty training, we want to give them a clear distinction between a sleeping area and a potty area. Dogs are naturally clean and generally will not soil their sleeping area/den, so by giving them this distinction, we are encouraging this natural tendency.
When we are home, the crew is free to roam about our family room to play and socialize. We leave the door to the outside open during this time to give the pups free access to the outdoor pen. We encourage them to go out about every 2 hours or after feedings and naps. Since the yard is shared between our dogs and horses we do not let the pups in the big yard unattended. We do go on “outings” often and the pups have a blast romping around!
4 weeks marked the beginning of the socialization stage of puppy development. We are constantly introducing the pups to new situations, encouraging independence and strengthening their bond to people. Our goal at this point is to build confidence in new surrounding and experiences while setting the foundation for a close working relationship with people. We also, at 4 weeks, stacked the pups up just to see what we have – it is still way too early to really evaluate them, but so far everyone looks great!
We are gradually transitioning to hard kibble, but for right now the pups are eating a mix of a special mash and Taste of the Wild brand puppy kibble that has been soaked in warm water. They do eat the kibble dry, which we provide. Occasionally they are able to overwhelm Libby and she is content to oblige them for a little while. Eventually the puppy teeth become too much and she heads for higher ground (i.e. the couch).
This group gives us an awesome ego boost! They all get so excited when we come home and compete for attention by wiggling around our feet. I don’t think I don’t think I have ever seen a group of pups wag their tails as much or as fast as this crew and they absolutely love to cuddle and give kisses. They are also starting to learn the “ouch” correction when they try to “kiss” with their teeth. It’s still a work in progress…
Well I suppose that is about it for now. Only a few more weeks and these little guys will be ready to go home J
Bottom right: 5 week candids
Above: 4 week photos Below: 4 week stack photos (first stacks)
Week 7 already! By now the pups spend more time outside than in and have had a blast exploring. They are getting used to a lot of different experiences, the biggest of them being the 2 monsters that live in the back yard (the horses)!
They love to play with the big dogs and are gaining a great basis for social activity. Our deck has been converted into a fort (much to our dismay) and we often hear the cries of a trapped puppy (notice the photos of green girl with her head stuck in the lattice - she was only stuck mentally and gave us a good laugh!).
Another discovery was a hole, courtesy of a few of the other terrors, which proved to be quite entertaining! The game was much like "I'm king of the castle" in idea, only instead of a hill, the pups were a little recessed.
We also have some updated photos of the crew stacked up for evaluation. We take these pictures so that we can compare the structure of each puppy. So far we are very pleased with what we see and look forward to seeing these guys mature!