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Puppy Stages

Fi

Well-known member
Im sure Bruce can help me with this one!

ok i know that pups open their eyes at around teh 10 day mark, and noticed that one of them is actually trying to walk rather then walk like a frog!

what other mile stones are there to watch out for, teeth ect, i remember yers ago with my first dog, she made a mess on teh floor adn my x went to her to let her smell it and pet her out, but when he did it she cried and i jumped to find a tooth on the floor i thought he had really hurt her as dummy here didnt know they lost thier baby teeth too!!!! we had a massive row and i had to appologise!
 
You are going to really test my memory! The journal I'm doing is going to be a good thing for me because it's going to force me to write down all the milestones, something I have intended to do with every litter and never seem to do. So.......

Eyes start to open at about day 10 or 12; ears open and they can hear after that.
Starting to crawl around at about 3 weeks and start to acknowledge and play with each other around 4 weeks.
4 to 5 weeks teeth start coming in.
Start weaning them at about 4 weeks, depending on how they are progressing.
We take them outside for very short periods of time (10 to 15 minutes) at about 5 weeks only if very warm. at about 8 weeks they start going out with the adults, but under our constant supervision.
We start sending them to their new homes no earlier than 10 weeks, 12 weeks prefered.
They lose their puppy teeth around 4 to 5 months.

This is my best recollection, with some help from a couple of our books on breeding. Now we'll see if my journal makes a liar out of me :lol:
 
well all seems right so far ;)
:D

Ears already starting to open, and i picked p Lady first go last ngiht, she is a fine handsome pup, very solid and the cutest face, she looked at me and gave me a kiss, she however isnt like some of the other pups, she doesnt like to lay on her back!, but is a bit more tolerant of it then one of the others who goes mental if turned around!

my Max sleeps in your arms like a baby, upside down and looking into your face! bless! im sure this pup will come around to my way of thinking!!!! :)

only two at this stage [2 weeks yesterday] are trying to walk, must take my pictures tonight of them as i like to do it weekly to see the changes like i did last year.

im thrilled to have reached teh 2 weeks mark as i feel there is a possibility you can loose the weakest one or something can happen in those first 14 days, but after that they are safe.

However we are told to let the pups go here at 8 weeks. i had them all weened at 7 weeks.

we should start a puppy calander for birthdays [For our pets] and due dates!!!!
 
If the pups have made it 2 weeks and have doubled their birth weight, then they are past the major milestone. Isn't very often we have heard of anyone losing a pup after those 2 milestones. Just continue to keep an eye on them like you have been. Although its impossible not to keep an eye on them, right ;)

Keep turning those puppies upside down like you have been. They usually don't like it at first, but it's all about building trust in them.

I just love the stage where they start moving around and noticing their littermates. Right now they're kind of just cute lumps (sounds awful but lets be honest). But then you see that first paw go up for no apparent reason when they begin to discover play. As they get older, the play gets rougher and sometimes a couple of them have to be separated for a few minutes, but they're just learning how to play without hurting (too bad) and establishing dominance.

Oh, and please don't forget a little cheese for the mom every day; all those pups are pulling a lot of milk out of her and she needs the extra help. Several years ago I saw the sad result of too much calcium drain on the mom from another breeder friend. Fortunately, she found someone with a small litter that accepted the orphaned puppies.

You're coming up on the best time of the whole breeding process and, by far, the most work. Well, I think I've rambled on enough now. I wish you continued good luck with the puppies and mom.
 
LOL :) thanks for that, oh i just adore them, words cannot describe how i feel, but i do wish they wouldnt pee on my hand!

the eyes are so cure, again no words......

im so happy im keeping one and my emdest said to me last night isnt it great we will see a pup grow fully, i know i just bread a blenheim bitch to a ruby Dad, and got Rubyish pups, i wonder how it works the other way around, ie ruby Mam and blenheim dad, i wonder what the general concensus is for crossing these colours?

i know i did it but im not sure i agree with it, irish logic at its best there!!!
 
Fi said:
feel, but i do wish they wouldnt pee on my hand!

You can control that, sort of. The very young puppies cannot pee or poop on their own. They depend on the mom to help them and mom does that by licking them. So what you do is get a paper towel or cloth, wet it with warm water and gently stroke the anus and genitile area; if they have to pee or poop, they will do it then, not on you later. What you are doing is mimmicking the moms licking.

Sometimes if we feel a mom isn't doing a good job of peeing or pooping her puppies, we will do it for her a couple times a day. Makes for a much happier puppy. And for the life of me I can't remember when puppies start going on their own.
 
ah Thanks didnt know that but makes sence, they seem to pee without Mom around now, as wet patches, all over the place not just my hands and tops!!!!! one actually pooped on his sister last night, and seemed to be really strainging, probally a new thing for them!!!!!
 
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