Oh I guess they’ll never know ...
The puppies were one week old this weekend. They’ve almost doubled in weight and certainly doubled in size. Time seems to have flown by and all those jobs I was determined to do in the first week, just haven’t been done! Puppies are big time wasters! If you are breeding and rearing correctly, you just have to watch them ... looking out for the pup with the best nose and so destined to do search and rescue work, the one who might be a little bit independent, the pup that likes to have its sibblings close by. All sorts of things need to be observed, that’s my excuse for puppy watching and I’m sticking with it!
The big dogs have been really good the last week or two, their routine has completely changed. They’ve had their walks reduced a bit - I am slightly concerned about meeting too many dogs in fear of bringing infection back to the puppies. Poor Cafe Latte Girl is on house arrest, I certainly don’t want her bringing infection back. I’ve been at the receiving end of what was a seemingly harmless infection and dealt with it’s devastating consequences. There’s been no training this week, oh dear ...
The pups have had busy days, they’ve probably spent 80% of the time, sleeping, the rest has been filled with feeding, they’ve been weighed on a daily basis, they’ve posed for photographs, there have been many photographs and they’ve been doing their exercises, oh and had the obligatory puppy cuddles.
On day 3 we started the Early Neurological Stimulation programme, other names it’s known by are Super Dog and Bio Sensor programmes. It’s a set of five exercises that are carried out between days 3 and 16. All exercises are done for about 3 seconds with the aim of subjecting the pups to very mild levels of stress so kicking the neurological system into action a bit earlier than would normally be expected. There’s been a huge amount of research carried out, not least of all by me (!), and the benefits include improved cardio vascular performance, stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and greater resistance to disease and enhanced performance. Only time will tell, but it’s a programme I’ve waited to use for a very long time.
Ears should start opening over the next few days, and in preparation for this I am now playing a noise CD, ‘Sounds for Behaviour Therapy’. The CD has sounds such as fire works, thunder, heavy rain, explosions, jet planes, trains, and many more. Starting off at a volume barely audible to myself, over the next 7 weeks the volume is gradually increased until at 8 weeks old the volume is so loud, I will find it unbearable and the pups will just be playing through it all, completely unconcerned. Womble Bum, Handsome Lad and Cafe Latte Girl were all put through this process when they were pups and are all rock solid no matter the noise as a result. The pups wont hear anything for a day or two, but I’ve started it slightly early just to get Cafe Latte Girl used to it at such a low level. It’s a few years since she had to put up with it. She is proving to be a fabulous mum, but then I knew she would be, her own mother Peg is also a super mum (pictured).
By next weekend eyes will be opening, oh dear, it wont be long before they're all grown up and they leave for their new homes ....
