It’s funny how the dynamics (and workload) in the household change with just three, little puppies gone.

But the work continues and evolves almost daily. Let me give you a rundown on each “family” today.

Our oldest puppy now is Genesis. I know some people had wondered how a singleton puppy is “socialized”. Socializing is much more than having other puppies to play with. It’s learning, interacting and growing in many other ways. Genesis was mainly able to interact with Jules’ pups with a barrier (exercise pen or Iris pen) in between because of the age difference. Even though they were basically the same size, they were developmentally on a different level with the three weeks difference in age. So the couple of supervised introductions that I tried ended up being only a super short time (probably under a minute) because they were just overwhelming her and way too rough and rambunctious. Having playtime with other puppies is counterproductive if it’s going to have a detrimental effect on the younger pup.

So Genesis is getting her canine socialization through adults; Hope, Cajsa, Reba and her mom. They will teach her how to play, what is acceptable, what is not okay and how to be a good pup! Plus she is getting the other puppy enrichment and such, that a normal “litter” would be getting. In fact, she might be farther along in her training when she leaves here since she’s the only older puppy. ( lucky new family 😉 )

Normally, puppies at this age would be moving upstairs to the puppy room to a bigger puppy pen, but since she’s an only, today she is moving to her own Iris pen in the dining area. She is mostly weaned from mom at this point, only spending the night with her. Right now, she is outside in the exercise pen getting some fresh air and exercise with Aunt Hope.

Our next oldest litter is Mercy and her kids. They are two weeks old today, their eyes have all opened and they are roly poly little chunks! Normally, I would move them into the small puppy playpen later at about three to three and a half weeks of age and introduce the Ugodog litterbox. But since there are six and they are growing so fast, I’ve moved them into Genesis’ now-vacated puppy pen in the living room to give them more room. They probably aren’t quite ready to toddle off the bed to potty just yet, but I will put the Ugodog in there for when they do.

The boys

The girls

Today we did new pictures, adjusted collars, weighed puppies, trimmed toenails and did another session of ENS. (They have two more days of Early Neurological Stimulation left as that ends on day sixteen).

Rosie’s litter is plugging along. To be honest, I’d like to see them gaining weight at a faster rate, but they are slowing coming along. I am still supplementing the two smallest ones to help them along. And because they have had a slow start and lots of handling, I did not start ENS until today and only on the bigger ones. The two littles are getting plenty of handling and stimulation through the extra feedings. Also, because of the rougher start, these guys seem to have had, I choose not to put them through the stress of having their dewclaws removed. So whoever their adoptive families are, they’ll just have two more little toenails to trim, that’s all. 😉

Lucy is our newest mom and doing great with her gang. Her pups also had a bumpy start because Lucy’s milk came in late! I also choose to not put them through dewclaw removal and start ENS a bit later because of milk issue and extra stress of having to supplement them. I have not started ENS on the little one either as I’m still supplementing it. But they are gaining and growing.

Since Mercy moved to the puppy pen with her puppies we have an extra, empty whelping crate. But it won’t stay empty for long. Yes, we have another mom due! Oh.my.stars….. 😳

Little Hazel, our silver beige parti Poodle (she is a young adult and daughter of Flower) is our next one due. I still need to add her picture and information to the “Our Poodle” page. But she is OFA certified eyes, heart and patellas and has had her genetic testing completed. I’m so excited to see what she will present to us!

Stay tuned for chaos and excitement that is our life! hehe