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Week 7 -14th December
The seventh week will be remembered as a week of chaos!
All the puppies are sleeping less and want to play a lot more. They need a lot more space to play and socialise with each other now and our kitchen is adequate for a few minutes when they wake but it isn't long before they want the run of the house. If they have been to toilet we will let them through, as leaving them in the kitchen simply causes a lot of wining as they want to be with us in the living room.
They're now too lively to to allow them all through together, as often as we would like, as we just cant keep an eye of five puppies running around. We usually let one of them through so they can spend some one on one time which will help them get used to being on their own. They don't worry about where their brothers and sisters are or indeed their mum, they are happy to spend as much time away from them as we allow.
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We no longer feed them with soggy food and simply give them dry puppy food straight out of the packet 'Bakers Complete' provides everything they need and the chunks are soft enough for them to chew. Plenty of water is always available and we always add a cap full of apple cider vinegar to every refill.
The tear stains started to appear as soon as their eyes opened at just under two weeks old and they quickly started to turn into a reddish brown stain. The stains are still there but are starting to lighten in colour and it looks like the vinegar is working.
All the puppies are still attempting to take milk from the mother but this is proving difficult for them now as the mother very rarely keeps still. They are trying to suckle while she is walking around or when she is feeding herself, so as soon as she moves there is a little trail of puppies behind her. We are starting to feel a little guilty if Poppy is left in the room with the puppies, as she is now being puppy attacked, a popular pastime of the puppies is to play with their mum, jumping on, leg biting, tail pulling and climbing on are the best ways to exert energy.
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We are starting to have problems getting into our kitchen now as all the puppies are lined up at the door and at the slightest movement on the handle they all jump up ready to pile on through. The have learned that they can now jump over or squeeze under the foot we place in their way to try and block them. It is much safer having two people executing the 'entering the kitchen manoeuvre' as one person can step over while the other pair of hands contains them. Sometimes it is easier to let them all run through while we get what we want, before posting them back through the door one by one!
The transition to foods has been very good for all the puppies and they are all eating well. The main benefits of dry foods are that they are very easy to feed and very easy to clear up after. We will keep them on the dry biscuits until they leave and the new owners can decide whether to introduce any additional foods.
At night the puppies are very quiet, they all sleep well and the morning clear up is a lot easier than we thought it would be as the puppies are using the training mats, so we simply roll it up in a morning and throw it away, each day we place a new mat down which help to keep the puppies clean and ensures they don't keep walking over dirty mats.
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Although we have been playing with the puppies we are very conscious of the fact that too much play at this crucial time of their development will mean they will start to develop a bond with us. Because of this we are starting to limit our interaction quite a bit now. Twice a day for about ten minutes we play with them and let them explore, we don't want them to get to know their surroundings too much either as these will all change for them in 7 days time anyway. Their new homes will be an exciting place for them and they will see it as a new environment rather than a different one. We must admit though, that we are also ensuring that we don't get too attached to them either.
It has been wonderful having them but the time for them to leave is almost here and we will be pleased to see them off to their new homes. We remember how excited we were when we picked up our puppy and we know it will be the same for the people who are collecting them.
We have started to get the puppy packs ready for when the puppies leave. A puppy pack is one way of helping the puppy to settle into it's new home and usually consists of a scent blanket that they are used to sleeping on, some of the food they are accustomed to eating and a small toy that they have been used to playing with and a record of their vaccines to date. If the puppy is a pedigree, which ours are, there will also be a three generation pedigree certificate and a change of ownership form.
With only seven days to go we are starting to be asked how our daughters will feel when the puppies eventually leave? and the honest answer has to be that their minds will be on Christmas, they know that four days after the puppies leave is Christmas Day, the day they get their presents, so we aren't expecting it to be too much of a problem.
It's almost as if the puppies have become their advent calendar, a countdown to Christmas Day! >>> week 8