Developmental progress:
Transitional Period (14-21 days). The transitional period starts when eyes open and ends when puppies “startle” at hearing noises. Other developments: Eliminating on their own, emergence of teeth, onset of usable vision, and specialized vocalization. (See also: rawr!!) To help with visual interest, this is the week we started putting stuffies and other soft objects into the box, so puppies have something to look at, climb over, play with, etc. To build confidence with new experiences, puppies are also being placed on new surfaces for one minute a day (wood floor, granite counter top, marble counter top, concrete, etc.) Puppies also spend a bit more time awake now, and are playing with siblings. The also pee a lot, so I have to be careful where I sit down.
And mamma dog finally gets some independent napping time (out of the box) in.
Daily routine is as follows: Eat, poop, pee, sleep, squeal, wander, play, look for Mom. Repeat every two hours.
Photographic updates:
Click on these links to see puppies at three weeks of age:
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This week, we began taking them out of the whelping box, one at a time, to spend some quality one-on-one nighttime television on the sofa with them. Everyone got at least an hour in.
A recap in photos:
WALRUS from the 2014 Max x Friday litter. Blue eyes!
MARDI GRAS from the 2014 Max x Friday litter.
2014 Max x Friday litter: Puppy pile.
2014 Max x Friday litter: Sleeping puppies.
2013 Max x Friday litter: Nursing babies.
GREEN BOY from the 2013 Max x Friday litter: Demonstrating the look. The can definitely see now, and they move around the box with a purpose!
Max x Friday 2013 litter: It’s getting harder and harder to capture all the puppies nursing on Friday. They’re getting big! And also, bold about climbing all over one another.
Next week, we enter the Awareness or Identification Period (21-28 days). The goal for the week will be to introduce lots of lots of noises. So we’re gonna bang as many pots and pans as we can! We’re also going to start weaning the babies. (!!!) In short, a lot is going to happen next week. Stay tuned. Real time photos and updates are posted to Facebook.
