Puppy socialization starts picking up and things are getting busier the older the puppies get.
So what is happening between four to five weeks of age with Cavapoos puppies?
Well, they are starting to get more active, playing with each other and with mom. They are wanting to explore and expand their world just a bit. They’re really doing well with the litter box. In fact, we switched out the Ugodog now for a regular litter box. We just use a Rubbermaid-type container with the side cut down (they’re still not able to crawl over that side yet and we want it to be easy for them to use it) and we put a layer of wood pellets (the kind made to burn in a pellet stove) on the bottom. The pellets just crumble when they get wet, and the little poops are easy to pick out with a kitty litter scoop.
We continue habituating them to weird noises; clippers, hair dryer, vacuum, blender, and the noises on the sound app I mentioned last week. And listened to more classical music. (They seem to like it, but I can only handle so much 😛 )
They enjoyed their first “real” meal of meat and goat’s milk, which they happily lapped up.
It must have been good. Look at those messy faces!
Mom didn’t mind cleaning up the leftovers.
They have been having playtime outside of their pen with some new, big toys and obstacles and more strange things to walk on.
We’ve given them some more simple challenges to get their little brains working and also cause a slight bit of frustration. This helps them with their problem solving and dealing with stressful situations later in life. If you look at the picture above, you can see the small panel at the bottom of the door. The puppies did their own challenge one day when I opened the pen then left the room to get some more toys. When I came back they had all managed to crawl over by themselves!
Another day I did a food/barrier challenge with them. I set up a little fence, placed the food dish behind the fence and the puppy right up against the fence so it could smell the food. The dish was at the end of the fence and all the puppies had to do was walk around the fence to get to the food and their reward. We don’t want the challenges to frustrate the puppy too much or make it impossible for them to figure out. Later we’ll give them more difficult ones to try.
Here’s a sample. The rest are on our YouTube channel if you want to watch all the pups.
I’m continuing to get them accustomed to the clicker followed by treats. Also using treats in association with picking puppies up, handling their mouths and feet. etc. Life and all its challenges are just made better with cheese! 😀
And we’re starting to meet new people that come visit too.