Someone told me once that if the puppies have a really good mother they will not open their eyes at the normal 9 to 10 days. I don’t know that to be the truth but these puppies were 13 days old yesterday and they didn’t have their eyes all the way open. Maybe today. Once they have their eyes open they will move around more. They have just been sleeping and eating. Well pooping too.
Just hanging out.
An early picture when Abby was guarding the puppies.
Another picture of the puppies.
I have had a heat pad with the puppies since they were born. Even on the really warm days, with the air conditioner in the shed, the puppies use the heat pad, occasionally. They were about a 100 degrees inside their mother and they need this warmth.
A friend, Doug Myers, put a video on Facebook about the U.S. Army Super Pup program. (This may not be the right name for it.) In training their bomb sniffing dogs they determined that if they did a few things with the puppies early, day 3 through day 16, that the puppies were easier to train when they went through their training programs. So I am doing this with these puppies.
There is five steps in the program. Hold the puppy upright, with the head straight up tail down, for 5 seconds. I usually talk to them where they can smell my breathe. Then turn them with their head down and their tail up, for 5 seconds. They will twist a little in this position. Then hold them on their back with their belly up, for 5 seconds. The fourth step is to rub their foot, just one foot, for 5 seconds with a Q tip. The last thing is to lay them on something cold, for 5 seconds.
For the cold something I put an old T shirt in the freezer in a plastic bag and take it out each morning. This doesn’t take very long and if it helps it will certainly be worthwhile.
Each month June and I try to have a Sunday brunch for our kids, grandkids and great grandkids. We had one last Sunday and we had 5 kids, 10 years old and under. They wanted to pet the puppies before we ate and then again after we ate. There were several adults that came down to pet the puppies, also.
Today my friend, Robin Barrows, that has first pick of the females, came over and petted puppies. By the time he got here I had already put the puppies through the Super Puppy exercise. Later my neighbor brought a friend over and they petted puppies. Before they left I had two ladies and a little girl, wanting to maybe buy a pup, petting them.
Abby pointing a pigeon.
Until the puppies go to their forever home, there will be lots of people petting them. I have a lot of friends that bring their kids and grandkids over just to play with the puppies. In my opinion, this makes for bold, confident pups and older dogs. The dogs can’t be afraid of something they can and have climbed all over since it was a puppy. Later when we can get them outside there will be a lot of different things they will get to experience. The more experiences we can have these puppies to go through the more bold they will be.
Boss is in South Dakotas, with Mike Harryman. This is the first time I’ve sent a dog away where I can’t go visit. I really would like to go visit. I talked to Mike last week to get an update on Boss. Although, during the mid day it’s really hot, he’s able to work the dogs really early morning and late evening. He said that they were finding birds and that Boss was working well. He was pointing birds and chasing. That’s exactly what I wanted. He’s too young to make him really steady. He needs to chase enough birds that he decides he can’t catch them.
Abby pointing a chukar.
At this time, with the puppies I can’t leave. I may, when the puppies are a little older, slip away for a few days and visit Boss. I really miss him.