Our Labs. Best Friends. They Both Point.
The Puppies.
They were bred for the pleasure of their company, their high trainability, and oh, by the way, both of these guys point.
Black Forest's Lord Captain (AKC OFA Labrador Retriever) shown in a down / stay waiting for the throw ... A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 4 Weeks Old.
The Puppies Blog
First Entry Day 33
We moved the 4 week old pups (28 days) and their whelping box to the
garage puppy play pen area (10 feet by 20 feet with whelping box attached) as planned on Sunday October 7th. The play area gets morning sunshine. Now with this vast saw dust covered floor area, the pups are moving out of their whelping box to piddle and play, even play with proper puppy toys. After only 3 days in this larger area, the puppies are now moving as far away from their sleeping area, as possible (20 feet) to do their little poops. This is a great sign for future house breaking. Keeping the puppies in clean quarters is a high priority of mine. It makes for easier house breaking.
I have marked all the little puppies heads with nail polish, in order to distinguish one from the other. The girls have one to three white stripes, and the boys have one to three red stripes. As both Chocolates are girls, I only marked one of them with nail polish. This helps me make sure the thinner pups get their fill, and the chubby puppies don't squeeze the smaller pups out, (from the food). It also helps me know, which pup is exhibiting daring behavior, which pup is digging, which one is climbing the bales of straw and jumping off, and any other dog like behaviors they might exhibit.
I began feeding the puppies at 3 weeks of age (21 days), an oatmeal consistency of soaked puppy kibble, mashed with a dollop of peanut butter, for great flavor.
As of yesterday (day 32) the pups are eating this mashed gruel, without the aide of peanut butter. I call them to eat in a high pitched voice "pup, pup, pup".
They have access to a water bowl in their puppy play pen, but so far, as many pups have walked straight into the water, as have tried a tentative lick
(from these tentative licks, water must not taste as good as mama's milk, or their puppy gruel). Sally Anne (their mama) is still nursing them occasionally in a standing up position.
News Flash Day 29 Male #2 (2 stripes of red nail polish) --- Puppy Black Male #2 was in a solid left pawed point, this morning. I had no idea I would see this kind of behavior so early, but there is no doubt in my mind, that puppy was
pointing, and his object of interest, happened to be my knee. As the next few days have gone by, it is this very same pup who is exhibiting the boldest behavior (first to come up to you, first to try out a new toy). I have come to call this puppy "Rocket Man".
The pups are fed by me at 7am, 12 noon, and 5 pm. Both at 9-10am and at 2-3pm is play time, and I bring Sally Anne to visit her puppies. Sally Anne stays overnight with her puppies, but most likely lying on her dog bed, outside the puppy play pen.
Day 33, the puppies still appear to be able to hear, way better then they can see (so no retrieving yet).
From Week One on, the pups have lived with a softly playing radio (Country Music).
I have been introducing them to new loud noises while Sally Anne is in the puppy play area with them. That way, with their reassuring mama around, the pups take the
loud noises in stride, rather then be frightened of them. I have banged ladders, rolled garbage cans around, rolled office chairs around,
and drug around a folding chair around. This is their very early socialization to loud noises.
The puppies are now rushing out of their whelping box to greet us humans, just as they would rush out to greet their mama. I have discovered that the young puppy behavior of biting on our shoe laces, and the bottoms of our pants, are actually puppy nursing behaviors. So rather then correct the pups for this, I have been simply moving my feet out of their way, just as Sally Anne (their mama) moves out of the way when she is done nursing.
They are all getting early training of "Relax, get a puppy massage. I do this by lying them on their backs in my arms, and rubbing their bellies. They all seem to enjoy this. This early training will assist the new puppy owners in being able to get their pups to "chill out" and get a puppy massage.
During play periods, I call out the human command to them "Go play. Big fun". which will become early training for --- you are released from formal training, or released from from walking at my side. It is now time for you to go do whatever you want to do. "Go play. Big fun".
I have to watch out for what early commands I give these pups, because Sally Anne responds to my commands. So I am looking for words to give the pups, that won't confuse Sally Anne. I use the chatter "Yes, Yes, Yes" to indicate to both the pups, and to Sally Anne that they are doing what I want them to do.
While the pups do have some store bought toys (soft toys they can grab a hold of and shake), they also have some squished water bottles to play with that they enjoy the crackle of, a great deal. Today I offered a pup a pine cone as a toy. This turned out to be a great idea, as it is easy for the pup to carry around a pine cone.
As the pups wrestle with each other, they are learning "bite inhabitation". If I bite too hard, the other puppy will yelp and not play with me anymore.
This is the number one reason why staying with their litter mates is so important. Better then learn not to bite with their litter mates,
then by biting on us humans (which all puppies do anyway -- a puppies mouth, in much like humans hands, and they use it a lot).
Day 34, by moving my feet away, when the puppies are exhibiting nursing behavior by biting my shoes and pant legs ---
This seems to be working. More and more the puppies will come up to my feet, but instead of biting my shoes, they stand or sit quietly for doggie scratches under
the chin. I have noticed another of what must be nursing behavior. As Sally Anne stands when she nurses these days, the pups are quite adept at "sitting up" to nurse.
I have seen this before, where young puppies are easily balanced into the dog trick of "sitting up". My guess is, that if this trick was one of the first training
tricks to learn, "sitting up" might be an easily acquired skill.
Day 35 I must have spent 45 minutes playing with the pups, yesterday afternoon. They are learning to come up to me for pats,
rather then biting on my shoelaces. Yesterday was the first day they ate soaked (softened) kibble, without me having to mash it first, or add peanut butter.
And yesterday was the first day I saw several puppies lapping up water at the water dish. They are growing up very quickly. I will be looking for a nice fall day
this coming week, to have Sally Anne (their mama) lead the young puppies outside for their first explore of the outside world.
Day 37 Definitely, this whole litter has learned that tummy rubs are a good thing.
Whether lying on their backs in the saw dust, or lying on their backs in my arms; tummy rubs are a good thing, and you can almost see the puppies visually
relax with a delighted sigh. This is just a terrific way to get an overly rambunctious pup to chill out. The pups are getting more adept at carrying around their toys,
and I am beginning to see the first little tug games tugging on a shared toy. Sally Anne (their mama) has shown interest in the new puppy toys, I got just for this litter.
Sally Anne is still nursing twice a day and spending the nights with the pups, but this morning was the first I saw, where not every pup was interested in nursing.
Hurray, weaning is working. The little pups must be nice and full.
Day 38 I am semi adept at dog training, and purists would have you training 100% positive
methods. Always have the dog doing the right thing, so they don't learn bad habits. I
believe in this, but I also believe --- sometimes puppies, just need to be pupppies. I
sat down in their sleeping area with them, after their morning feeding today, and let all
8 of the puppies crawl all over me, while I stroked, patted, and scratched behind ears.
They are only little once, and all these warm bundles of soft fur were irresistable to me
this morning. I guess, in practical terms, they were exercising their climbing skills,
and while some pups eagerly tugged on my sweatshirt, other pups climbed right up and gave me little licks on the face.
I do this sort of thing in formal training also. Some days, a little pup is "not into
training". I don't force the issue, but go with the flow instead. There is always
tomorrow, for real training.
Day 40 I have had to reapply white nail polish to Female Black #2, and Female Black #3, and the one Chocolate Female
marked with nail polish. This morning, I needed to reapply the red nail polish to Male Black #3. I have to wait till the pups are sleepy to do this, as the nail polish brush
must tickle, and they move their heads while I am marking them. Today, the Male Black #3, promptly wanted down, and then ran nose down through the saw dust, getting his
fresh nail polish all dusty. Sometimes puppies are cooperative and sometimes they are not. They are puppies. I marked the pups, to know who is doing, what behavior. For
instance in A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 5.5 Weeks Old. picture #11 shows Female #1 pointing. It is a clip of a bigger
picture, and in the picture, there is a reason for that puppy to be pointing --- two other puppies playing, but my guess is the camera merely caught this pup
mid motion, rather then pointing. The marking of the puppies will allow me to get the puppies micro-chipped for their new owners.
Female puppy #1 is sold. Her name is Bella. She is the boldest of all the pups, so far. Bella has lots of "heart".
For the first time today, a puppy chased a tossed toy. They can see far enough to chase a tossed toy, they just seem to have their focus narrowed in closer, so far.
The pups pulled Sally Anne's leash out, which was tucked in my back pocket, and 4 or 5 puppies had a grand game of tug with that leash. We've now given them a
length of rope to play tug with, rather then to encourage the bad habit of playing tug with a regular leash.
Day 44 The nail polish marks are no longer working (the puppies are too big), so I went and got them each little collars this
morning. As typical of pups and their first collar, they scratched at their collars, bit at each others collars, and promptly forgot about them. I also got them some
raw hide chews which was a big hit, for chewing, for chasing the pup that had the chew, and for 2 pups to be chewing the same chew. Today was the day I first offered the
pups a look-see at the wider world, in this case, the other half of the garage, that was not their puppy play pen. All pups were timid at first, but then went merrily
exploring this new space.
The unmarked Female Chocolate puppy (whom is already sold) pointed, this morning. It was a cute little puppy point, much like how Sally Anne (their mama) pointed at
ducks when she was a baby. Sally Anne would sit at the edge of the pond, but even sitting - she would point at the ducks. This is what the unmarked Female Chocolate
puppy was doing this morning; sitting, but pointing even while she was sitting.
Day 45 The pups (and their mama) are officially weaning, as of the last 24 hours. Sally Anne (their mama) had been spending
the nights with the pups, the past 3 nights, and throwing up her food for them (this is natural for dogs. It is time for them to eat food, not just milk). The pups have
been eating water softened kibble and drinking water for the past 10 days, so there is no need to further "suck down" their mama (who has been eating 3 times,
her normal quota of food). I tried the pups on plain kibble (not softened by water) and while they did fine, it took them longer to eat. So as a convenience to me, they
remain eating water softened kibble. Sally Anne did better then I expected, spending the night away from her pups, for the first time, last night. It was time for
official weaning.
Are you all aware of the "doggie greeting ceremony"? Every time you are away, and return, whether you are a dog or a human, there is this "doggie greeting ceremony",
where for a brief moment, you renew acquaintance with one another. Dogs greet dogs by first sniffing faces. So here I go out in the morning to feed the pups, and I
place their food in their whelping box (next to their sleeping area), and then at the far end (as far from their sleeping area as possible) is where I proceed to
clean up all the overnight little poops. This would be easier, if I could carry the disposal bag around with me, but "no" there is this "doggie greeting ceremony",
and the pups run in two's and three's to the far end of their play area, and up to me for the "doggie greeting ceremony", before they run back to their food to
continue eating. I am amused, as this is such typical "dog" behavior.
Day 46 Goodness gracious, these pups are wound up first thing in the morning, and again before their evening meal. This morning,
I fed them, and began cleanup, but returned an hour later when the pups were mellower. Keeping the pups clean and well fed are my two highest priorities. I've taken
to raking their sawdust floor to make sure I get them cleaned up. The pups have taken to chasing my rake, and grabbing the handle.
I gave in to Sally Anne's demands (their mama) yesterday, to go see the pups. She was bursting with milk after 36 hours apart from the pups, and I felt it was in
Sally Anne's best interest to go get some of that milk drawed down some. Sally Anne stayed but a moment, but felt better for having some milk relief.
As it was 70 degrees out yesterday, I gave the pups a chance to explore the other half of the garage, with the door open. It was the biggest male and female that
ventured out into the world of sunshine. They both went 50 feet of so, before retracing their steps back to the safty of the garage. This is quite typical. It
is not until pups are 12 weeks or so, that they venture very far on their own.
Day 47 With another 70 degree day, I took the pups individually on little walks, complete with leash. I didn't use the leash,
other then to make sure the pups didn't run off from me. I saw quite a bit of pointing, as the pups discovered one "new interesting thing" after another. With
little collars on now (to tell the pups apart) it is important I check the collars every day. So the pups got a tummy rub, one by one, and got their collars checked. With
such lovely warm fall weather, and individual interaction with each of the pups, I had a very happy puppy day. They are adorable.
Day 49 Officially 7 weeks old. I let two puppies go to their new homes, yesterday. These two puppies were more then ready to go.
They showed a self confidence level best described by "these pups have a lot of heart". All puppies are eating dry kibble, and drinking water (okay, they also play
with their water bowl. Day 50 The pups got their first "peanut butter" stuffed "Kongs" and hollowed out bones. This exercises their little minds. Just
as in the wild, they have to work for their food, by figuring out how to get the "peanut butter" out of these stuffed toys, they work for their food, and
exercise their little minds. Don't worry. These are treats (toys) only. They get there regular kibble food three times a day, as always. The advantage went to me, as the
pups worked on the peanut butter, I was able to rake their sawdust floor, and clean up (without a pup chasing my rake).
Day 51 Several of the pups were chasing a tossed toy, this morning. Tossed within 6 feet of them.
Day 55 About 55 degrees out, I gave the puppies a try in the big fenced in backyard. Much to my delight, they scampered around
exploring far and wide. Some climbing steps for the first time. Some jumping the 18 inches off the deck.
Day 57 Today the remaining littermates are going to the trainers, to train to be hunting and pointing champions. The
litter is sold out. I will miss them, but they are the perfect age to go to their new homes --- 8 weeks old.
Black Forest's Lord Captain (AKC OFA Labrador Retriever) shown in a down / stay waiting for the throw ...
Sally Anne At Room 42 (AKC OFA Labrador Retriever) and her puppies, on Day One.
The Puppies asleep on Day Six and their Bigger Puppy Play Pen.
A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 4.5 Weeks Old.
A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 5.5 Weeks Old.
A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 6.5 Weeks Old.
A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 8 Weeks Old.
Sally Anne
The Puppies
Puppy Black Male green collar (Available) was witnessed in a hard left pawed point!
Puppy Black Female purple collar (Available) was witnessed in a hard right pawed point!
Sold Chocolate was observed in a loose point like her mother. The other two Black Male puppies were pointing in a pause. Were they really pointing? I'd say their
pointing behavior shows promise. No telling what they are doing when I'm not watching them in their puppy play pen.
Captain
The Puppies
Sally Anne At Room 42 (AKC OFA Labrador Retriever) and her puppies, on Day One.
The Puppies asleep on Day Six and their Bigger Puppy Play Pen.
A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 4 Weeks Old.
A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 4.5 Weeks Old.
A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 5.5 Weeks Old.
A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 6.5 Weeks Old.
A Puppy Slide Show of the Puppies At 8 Weeks Old.
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Black Forest's Lord Captain (AKC OFA Labrador Retriever) shown in a down / stay waiting for the throw, so he can go retrieve.
Captain is keen and keeps his eye on the ball (so to speak).
Captain is intense about retrieving and makes excellent use of his nose in locating a drop.
Click on the picture for a larger picture. |
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Sally Anne At Room 42 (AKC OFA Labrador Retriever) and her puppies, on Day One.
Click on the picture for a larger picture. |
Puppies born Sept 9th 2007, Sold Out
Expected pups that point. 4 of 8 pups pointed by 8 weeks of age. 2 Chocolates and 6 Blacks.
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Pedigree |
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