Most of the puppies have gone to their new homes, we have Miss Orange until Sunday, so I am taking her for her vaccination this morning
The second vaccination can only be done at or after they turn 10 weeks old
We have been winning with Miss Oranges toilet training, obviously as they get older it should get easier. However it is still about timing and opportunity. Some people use a timer, so that when the buzzer goes off they put the puppy out. If you put the puppy out and he or she doesn’t wee, then bring them back in and try again in a few minutes. Miss Orange has very simple signals to let us know she wants to go out. She is quiet and looks at the patio door, then walks away. The look lasts for approximately 1 second, every time we have spotted her doing this, we pop her outside and she has so far had a wee outside every time and we are not getting any accidents inside!
Clearly our efforts of starting the toilet training process are paying off! They still have immature bladders so they might have the occassional accident when in their new home as they wont be familiar with the environment quite so much. They are still very young so do need reminding to go out. So make sure you remain patient. Any accidents they have are down to you not giving them the chance. (so dont shout at them or rub their nose in it which is a very old fashioned method that some people would do). I am really pleased with Miss Oranges progress.
Miss Orange would be racing about all over the house if it wasn’t for the stairgate – she could easily make it up the stairs. Being so little with growing bones it is important to make sure she doesnt do stairs.
Our journey has been a busy one, so as most of the puppies left from the age of 8 weeks, we had a puppy leave at 9 weeks and the last puppy will be going at 10 weeks.
So all of the puppies were due to be wormed at 9 weeks, so I hope this has gone well for everyone!
Here are some videos that are from before they were 8 weeks old and through to the weekend. (Im still working my way through them all!).
I love the puppies with all my worth whilst they are with me, to my peril and detriment of my feelings I treat them like they are my own pups (to keep). I have done as much as I physically can to attempt some safe socialisation for them. This has involved either carrying them around the block or taking the last two puppies out in the pushchair.
It has been so hectic that I just haven’t had a chance to keep up to speed with the videos (there are still more to sort out). With two videos after four had left!!! I am now left with two puppas! They are doing great. I have heard back from the four puppy owners and all are happy!
My special puppies! They are all cracking little puppies
Puppy photo gallery updated … scroll through as some older photos have been added, but still in chronological order (photos of puppas in the Marchstone Labradors)
Wow – 8 weeks have passed so quickly! Some of it in a complete haze for me! However, I have enjoyed these wonderful little puppies. They have been so sweet, endearing and mainly calm. As they have developed they have got faster and way too entertaining!!
We do have some singers, gardeners, home decor designers and fashion gurus amongst us! They are an intelligent little bunch, I couldn’t be happier with how they have turned out and I look forward to learning of their adventures and seeing how they develop in the future.
I have done everything I can to ensure they are well rounded and socialised puppies, the toilet training has gone well but you need to keep it up – it is about opportunity. They haven’t had poos in the house for week (even with upset tummies after they were wormed they asked to go out!!).
To the new puppy owners…. please do not forget me, do not forget how much I have cared for these little guys! As part of my journey with the pups I need to know they are ok in their new homes!
The puppies were wormed at the weekend and unfortunately had quite a reaction to it. I had used the same wormer as the product I used at 5 weeks old. So since Saturday’s worming the puppies had quite soft poos from the Sunday onwards. This hasnt entirely cleared up but at least heading in the right direction. We then had vomiting puppies which can be very dangerous when they are so small as they can become dehydrated very quickly.. You have to act fast so off to the vets we went! Two of the puppies required an anti emetic injection which settled things down for them. Fingers crossed we are getting there as dealing with pups and upset tummies is hard work (worrying emotionally and obviously keeping them clean too) add to the mix a heatwave and keeping them cool, whilst not exposed to the heat has been an extra complication to give much more consideration to. The patio had to be covered with vetbed and towels to ensure we didnt burn there little paws!
On the upside, the puppies are in fact asking to go outside! So we are experiencing fewer accidents. whoop whoop!
The puppies are starting to get better poos now so hopefully we are on the up. Today is vaccination day so wish me luck as I am taking them on my own! EEEP!
The pups have upped a gear so more barricades have been erected (Im already having to clamber over the fence to get into the garden pen!).
I have started to take the pups on trips around the block whereby I carry them, to show them the big wide world! All pups have had one trip around.. I like to try and do it twice if I can! This gives them the experience that there is more to life than our garden in the security of my arms!
the photos of the puppies that have just been uploaded there are a couple of Miss Pink without her collar but mainly she has her collar on! (It happens sometimes… they are safety release collars)
Today has been busy – the pups have all been weighed and wormed! Now they are bigger this means they need more of the worming liquid!! EEEeeep!!!!!.
They have had their claws clipped too. This is now the sixth time they have been clipped….so thats 36 sets of paws I have clipped, totalling 648 claws that have been clipped on wiggling little puppas, so far!!!
The puppies are much busier now and are learning how to be dogs! This means they are playing rougher than they were. The playfights they are having now enables them to learn that biting hurts!
With the weather being so hot, we are covering the patio before putting the puppies out to protect their feet. You may not have heard of the 5 second rule – but you should check your patio, artificial grass or pavement. If you cannot place your hand comfortably on the hot surface then you MUST not be exposing your dogs (or in my case the puppies) to the hot surface. I am worried for the next few day as I have not had puppies during a heatwave before. I have spent the day organising yoghurt frozen pops for the puppies and the adult dogs, to have sporadically throughout the day (ie not vast quantities in one go) organising ways to keep them cool. I am as prepared as I can be. It is very important to not let them get hot in the first place. I dont want to have to implement protocol for heatstroke cases.
please read this article…heatstroke….noting my article refers to ice cubes… the small yoghurt pops I make are used for prevention and offered in small quantities is prevention, ice cubes for heatstroke is NOT treatment.
Some videos of the sweet chaos in the puppy room (formerly known as my tidy lounge).
Too much puppy activity – means more videos! Last night they sped up! So our workload is now becoming harder as they are under our feet and hard to catch!!They are funny to watch as they learn to master running as fast their brain thinks they can!
We have had our first escapee from the whelping box, came downstairs this morning to find a puppy looking back at me through the door!
We are now adopting the very unique walk that all puppy breeders eventually have to master, the slide stride. This is keeping your feet as flat to the surface as you can and slide along. This is to avoid accidentally catching an active puppy who is whizzing by!
Im half way through clipping their claws (3 pups left to do) they are so busy it is a two person job!
Please be so careful with this extreme heat. So the heat can be retained in hard surfaces such as pavements and your patio slabs in the garden! So don’t let your animals walk on these surfaces which could be boiling hot and cause burns! You can hose down the garden patio to take the heat out. Be aware the heat can be retained for quite some time so do the hand test. If you cannot leave your hand on the patio for longer than 5 seconds then it is too hot. Please use your common sense!!!
We have made a shelter in the garden by putting a ‘roof’ over one corner of fencing. Using the fencing will help with air flow at the sides. The puppies are not being left in the garden in the heat of the day as even in the shelter the air can become too warm.
Things you can do to help your animals and what we have been doing for our puppies and dogs, is spraying them with water, they have the paddling pool which they can walk into safely and giving them little ice pops. The puppies have liked the yoghurt ice pops – I have chopped them into small little bite size pieces to ensure the pups are safe eating them. Make sure you leave plenty of water available. It is so important to keep your animals hydrated.
If you are concerned your animal may be suffering with heat stroke please do not dowse them in freezing cold water! place a towel on them and spray them with cool water. This towel will need to be kept cool as it absorbs the heat from the animal. The importance of doing it this way is to have even displacement of the cool water. It is very important that the towel is also kept cool by continuing to add water to it. DO NOT COOL your over heated animal with VERY COLD water as the animal will go into shock.
PLEASE do not let your animal over heat. Use cooling mats, cooling bandanas, do NOT walk in the heat of the day. Keep hydrated and if you are in any way concerned about the welfare of your pet.. PHONE YOUR VET!
Well.. I say they are gathering momentum, the heat has slowed them down. So the only time they are really quite fast is first thing in the morning and last thing at night!! I am hoping this hot weather is going to disappear soon as it is way too much for our precious bundles and is causing me anxiety.
So …. I am spraying them regularly with water and ensuring they have plenty of shade when they are in the garden. They are not in the garden for any length of time when the heat is making everything unbearable.
Summer has never been my season, as I have so many animals to ensure are kept safe from the heat it is a full time job in itself.
I always have doggy ice cubes in the freezer however I have had to modify them to accommodate the puppies teeth. So I have made thinner ice cubes for them. If they are too chunky it could cause damage to their teeth. I will try the modified ice cubes later. Fingers crossed they are ok and then I can make them some more.
We have had a busy weekend of visitors so it is hard to get the diary done in addition to making sure everything else is kept up to speed.
So… the pups are just doing fabulously. They are adorable and still a balanced litter with regard their characters.
Here are a “few” videos. (ha ha… more than the last time – so another bumper crop!)
Paddling pool I am using Katherine’s sled as a first stage paddling pool. Im hoping to put them in the small paddling pool soon. They love the little duckies!!!
The puppies have ramped up a gear and have decided today is the day that the No List is opened. They were hanging off my trouser legs as I was putting them in the garden – let me tell you it is no easy feat to get puppies safely in the garden when they are under your feet and playing with your ankles and trousers!
So – toilet training…. going really well ! We are constantly putting the pups in and out of the pen into the garden. All poos are consistently in the garden. This mornings pen had only two wees in it from overnight – so this is a really good sign that they are hanging on! At not even six weeks old this is really remarkeable. Well done Puppies!
Tilly plays with her pups for the first time! This was a couple of days ago….Such a magical moment as Tilly has been finding it hard to spend time with them without them constantly wanting to feed, so this was a special moment as she has wanted to enjoy her pups!
