5. Start of Socialisation

It was going to be the start of the next exciting stage of their development. New Year’s Eve last year was spent watching the puppies happily playing and snoozing to the sound of fireworks outside, and at midnight I played them Auld Lang Syne!  

Week 3 - the start of socialisation

The puppies started to play with each other and learning to defend themselves too. This Critical Socialisation Period lasts from 3-12 weeks and during this time the puppies brains are like sponges, as their brain chemistry is pliable. So, with small exposures to novel items and sounds the puppies are able to learn and accept something new. The stimulation created is important as it causes the puppies to grow more brain cells, with 5% more brain mass and up to 25-200% more neuro-connections being formed. Studies have shown that the areas of the brain where their brain cells are formed is also the area responsible for memory, learning and emotional response. Scientists have shown that animals raised in enriching environments demonstrate increased learning ability, with better retention, appear more stable and less fearful and better able to cope with and recover from frightening or stressful things. This is known as the Enrichment Effect. 

I also started to test their Startle Response Cycle. Research shows that the more they startle and recover in this period of time, the faster their recovery will be as adult dogs. Doors were banged,  the hoover was used around the pen, and books and small objects where dropped in and around the whelping box, to see how they reacted, but none of them seemed at all concerned. I played the TV louder and turned up the kitchen mixer to full speed too.

Real Meat

Weaning also started on the 2ndJanuary when the puppies had their first taste of real meat. They had already loving goats milk with puppy rice.  So I started with ground turkey which they devoured and progressed to one meal of turkey mince a day. I also played different noises to them as they ate - the sound of traffic; children shouting; crash of thunder; a lawnmower noise; heavy rain; doorbells; clapping; construction noises; a hairdryer; gunshot and babies crying. The aim was to get them to associate these sounds with food, to make them more resilient to loud noises.

And as their weaning continued, I moved to using individual bowls so that I could closely monitor how much food each puppy was getting. I could also give slightly larger portions to the slightly smaller puppies too. I fed the smaller ones out the pen or in the kitchen in separate crates and fed the larger ‘chunky gang’ in the pen. I even started pairing the recall word or whistle with feeding times.

Phoebe was still feeding but this was happening less often and she was still getting lots of extra food. She didn’t like the Mother‘s Pudding I had made her (recommended in the Puppy Culture book to give her extra calcium)  but was getting oatmeal in warmed goats milk, extra liver and cottage cheese, honey, scrambled eggs and raw eggs, sardines, blueberries, and bananas to keep her energy levels up. As their teeth started to come through, Phoebe needed more breaks from nursing the puppies, so we changed the whelping box set up so she could get in and out safely whilst keeping her puppies in the box. I continued to trim the puppy’s nails whilst they were asleep to keep Phoebe’s tummy from getting red scratches.

Playarea created

The puppies were becoming more mobile, staggering around the pen like they had had one too many down the pub!  So I extended the whelping box and they had to also learn to manoeuvre themselves out of the pen to the new play area, which was good for muscle development and coordination.  I added a novel object into the pen every day – like a egg carton or a new toy. But the end of this week I had a small step outside the whelping box to help them get to the new playroom area, and even put in novel surfaces for them to walk on too. Firstly I tried a metal tray and some artificial grass. I had a large toilet area and a small sleep and nesting area in the whelping box and in the small pen attached was more novel items and some vet bed areas too. The puppies were all regularly toileting on the newspaper away from their sleep area which was great for me when I was clearing up. Plus my aim was to start their toilet training early to make things easier for their new owners.

And I was able to get out for the house for short periods – to do some shopping or go to the gym, watching my puppies sleeping whilst I was out on my Puppy Cam. I had even made it back to my own bed which was bliss. I could check them throughout the night on the app on my phone and kept the phone on just in case there were any loud cries but they all slept really well.

Escape Artist!

I was being very careful with Phoebe and keeping her exercise to little walks around the garden to reduce the risk of her picking up any bugs and bringing that back to the puppies.  But one day I saw a post on our local Simmondley Facebook page of a lactating Labrador wandering around someone's garden!  She had has found a hole in the fence behind our compost heap and gone off exploriong, something she had never done before.  I realised she was really missing her walks and started to take her to my training field for a short walk, and giving her a thorough wash down when she got home before she went back to feed her puppies.   And I hastily fixed the fence and monitored her very closely when she was out in the garden for any toilet breaks.

Cuddle Time

And I spent lots of time in the pen handling the puppies, cuddling & playing with them, talking to them which was very special time for me. Every night I would be surrounded by all the puppies, starting to get to know their individual characters. And I would share my insights and pictures with the puppy owners on our private WhatsApp group so that they felt part of the experience. I picked a puppy a day to take them for a little walk around the house, into different rooms, and to look out of the window into the garden, to experience different sights and sounds and smells.

It was a joy to watch them stagger around, clamber in and out of the whelping box; noisily play with each and then crashing out to sleep like someone had just removed their batteries!