Haydain and Misty’s Litter – Week Five

We love our adventures outside!

“Bite Me!”

The dynamic in the whelping box is changing. This is the beginning of the most influential socialization period for the puppies. They’re learning to communicate with each other and with us by wagging their tails. With the increased control over their facial muscles, they are making expressions and are beginning to reveal their personalities and communicate their opinions. They’re craving a lot of attention and affection which, of course is not hard to provide. Mostly, the little ones are getting better acquainted with their littermates. Playtime happens at all hours of the day. And it doesn’t matter if a potential playmate is awake or asleep. One such example was Miss Licorice gnawing on Miss Truffle’s tail as she lay there sleeping. As she was unable to achieve the desired result, Miss Licorice moved on to her next victim.

Since the little ones are getting more accustomed to eating solid food, they are drinking plenty of water to keep hydrated. Of course, Misty still nurses the puppies to supplement their diet. Another change in the pups’ habitat was the addition of shredded paper to the whelping box extension which is their first step toward house training. 

The gang has now had the opportunity to embrace the great outdoors and explore the vastness of the yard. Admittedly they got off to a slow start because walking on grass versus cotton is a whole other dimension. Once they overcame that, each took off to explore various areas or wrestled with a sibling, but when mom came around, there was a free-for-all trying to jockey for position at the milk bar. On one occasion they appeared startled when Misty inexplicably rolled around on her back for awhile and then got up to run laps by herself at top speed. If this happens to any of the pups, we’ll know where they learned the “wild dog maneuver”.

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