Skip to main content

Sierra and Hudson’s Litter – Week Six

Whoo hoo is this fun!


“It Happens”

We’re not certain as to whether it was intended as a message or simply an accident, but there was no mistaking the end result. It was morning and the puppies had finished their breakfast – the bowl polished to its gleaming silver perfection. One by one each of the mini-pack members curled up for their post-breakfast slumber. When we went to retrieve the bowl, we discovered that one of the gang had apparently gotten up and left an unseemly treasure in it. In light of their usual impeccable English manners, we’ll chalk this one up to a sleepwalking incident.

Every Golden puppy, at least in this part of the world, is born with an innate desire to romp in the snow. So while the world is watching the proceedings in Sochi very intently, we held our own winter Olympics in our little corner of Caledon. Unfazed by the cold, the little minions explored every corner of the yard, danced, skated, skied, and body checked their way around until they were all adorned with frosty beards. They were having so much fun that these snow fairies needed to be persuaded to return to their warm little nest inside.

When they’re not eating or sleeping, indoor activities occupy the rest of the gang’s time. On one occasion, all four puppies froze simultaneously as a large, red plastic ball made a thunderous racket as it rolled across the floor in the foyer. After a moment, the four scolded the intruder and went about their business which on this occasion was career day. Mr. Moonbeam resumed his role as chief engineer examining every nook and cranny of the foyer. Miss Blizzard showed off her dancing skills with a few choice quick steps and promptly toppled over. A loftier undertaking was that of Miss Sunshine, the plastic surgeon who was attempting to jump up and remove our noses, while Mr. Frostbite the manager, barked instructions to the rest of the group, occasionally meandering over to get a closer look. After a time, the girls retired to the whelping box for a nap, signifying that playtime was over.

Now that they are almost completely weaned and eating solid food, the puppies are growing and gaining weight in leaps and bounds. Their muzzles are lengthening and are beginning to look a bit more like the adults they will eventually become. Their emotions are becoming apparent too, so they whine to show fear, whimper if they’re hurt and bark when they are excited or want attention. We are spending some time alone with each puppy, playing gently and teaching them to relate one-on-one in a safe, trusting situation, getting kisses all the while. With each passing day, their capacity for love and their bonds grow stronger. Before long they will want to share that love with their forever families.

That’s it for now, but be sure to join us next week for another captivating installment of “Puppy Tales”.


Click to play this Smilebox slideshow


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ruly and Tulip Litter - Week 1

Ruly and Tulip Litter - 1 Week Old What a week it's been! The Tulip puppies continue to thrive, gaining weight steadily and remaining fairly quiet. Tulip dotes on her family, rarely straying far from the whelping box. As you can see on the 24/7 camera, she is starting to spend a bit more time outside the box, but she consistently checks on her babies. Tulip currently eats around 4 pounds of food per day, along with calcium and pre-probiotics supplements. As her pups grow, her daily food intake will be gradually increased, reaching 5 - 6 pounds per day by the time the pups are about 7 weeks old. This increased caloric intake is necessary to meet the energy demands of milk production and to maintain Tulip's own body condition. Tulip still believes an outdoor den would be best for her pups, so we are monitoring her closely when she ventures out. The whelping box is lined with padded bedding and clean, white bleached towels on the bottom. The white towels allow us to quickly spot a...

Ruly & Tulip Litter - Week 2

Many viewers of the 24/7 puppy camera have raised questions, such as what are the pipes running alongside the whelping box. These are called "pig rails" and they are designed to protect the puppies from their mother accidentally lying on them, ensuring the puppies' safety.  Since the puppies are unable to regulate their own body temperature, we use a heat lamp over the whelping box to keep them warm when Tulip is outside the box. However, we turn the heat lamp off when she is nursing the puppies. By 3 to 4 weeks of age, the puppies can regulate their temperature, which should then be in the normal range of 100.5°F to 102.5°F (38°C to 39.3°C). The most significant event this week is that the puppies' eyes have opened. Mr. Devil's eyes (the one with the red collar) were the first to open. Each puppy followed and within 48 hours they had all opened.  The puppies are now weighing almost 3 lbs, and Tulip provides them nourishment at least every 2 hours, often throughou...

Ruly & Tulip Litter -Week 3

Three Weeks of Puppy Love: Tulip's Little Ones Are Growing Fast! Our "Spanish" Halloween litter is now 3 weeks old! As they enter their 4th week, we're seeing even more changes. The puppies are much steadier on their four paws and are actively walking around, as you can observe on our 24/7 camera. Mom Tulip continues to provide nourishment every few hours. Tomorrow, we'll introduce the puppies to their first solid food - a mix of pure turkey, ground bone, organ and muscle meat, along with goat's milk. This will be a communal feeding, and while the puppies may not know exactly what to do at first, they quickly devour the meal once they've had a taste. We'll start with one feeding per day and gradually increase to three times daily over the next few days. They'll continue on this three-times-a-day schedule until around 6 months of age, when we'll transition to twice-daily feedings. Mr. Broomstick cuddling with momma❤️ In other updates, the puppie...