So between week four and five we’re actually starting to see little puppies emerge! There is playing, growling and toddling about. They’re gotten their “sea legs” well enough that we’ve switched the Ugodog litter box system to the plastic container (with the side cut down a bit) and wood pellets. The wood pellets tend to be a bit messy as they get dragged out onto the bed. But I prefer this system as it’s easier to clean.

Mom is at the stage where she’s saying, “um, I’m not cleaning up after you guys anymore!” Moms around the world can relate to this I’m sure! 😉 Thankfully, about the time she is DONE, the pups are really hitting the litter box well.

We have the weekly weigh-in, a dose of de-wormer medication (which we usually start at three weeks) and toenail trim.

Puppies are starting to investigate mom’s food dish too. I leave dry puppy food and water out for mom 24/7. But once the pups start to nose around in the dish, I add hot water to mom’s food so it can soften. These helps in two ways; one, the pups can chew it easier as they have little shark teeth now, and two, it keeps the food in the dish! You can imagine a puppy climbing into the middle of a bowl of dry kibble and watching it cascade over the edges. It’s messy and wasteful.

Puppies are still being introduced to lots of new toys. I have a favorite second hand store that I like to shop. The baby section has little grab bags with infant toys, which make great little puppy toys too. The bags are clear, but their packed pretty tight, so it’s not easy to see everything in them. Most of them have different textures, shapes and some make sounds. They’re perfect for this age, when puppies aren’t strong enough to chew them up.

After opening the bag, this is what I ended up with. Score! (The bigger ball in the back left was an individual item I picked up. I’ve had one before and love it for the puppies. It makes noise and moves around on it’s own.)

And lastly, this week we started puppy “training”. What?! Puppy training at four weeks of age? Yep, we started them on clicker training. Don’t worry; they’re only about one to two minute sessions. At this point it’s only what we call “powering up the clicker”. Which means their brains are learning and associating the “click” to reward. Next week we’ll expand on that.

These easy, squeeze pouches are the perfect treat for these little puppies starting clicker training.