Another rainy day. Asko visits puppies for the first time.

 Another rainy day so puppies are upstairs in our kitchen listening to the radio :-)

Fourteen-year-old Asko came to visit his great-great-great-great grandchildren. The lineage goes like this: Asko-->Elli-->Billy-->Keena-->Paika-->Sky-->U-puppies. Mielikki could care less. The only thing she was concerned was her ball as this was what Asko was looking for! Puppies tried to get some milk out of Asko but failed miserably.

Mielikki has started to play with her puppies, and they are ready for it. Here Uncas gets pinned to the ground.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

In the last few days the weather has not cooperated. We have been getting a lot of rain again, and yesterday we had water in the house...again. I have never seen anything like it in my whole life. Roads are closed in many directions. Two miles from us, the Rte 443 (a major road here) is missing - 6 miles of it got washed away.

Yesterday we were looking forward to Suzanne Clothier's visit as she wanted to come and see the pups. On her way here she got trapped in a parking lot in Cobleskill where a major flooding took place, and she was stuck there for seven hours. Never made it see us. How disappointing and frustrating.

In spite of the poor weather the pups have been expanding their territory. They sleep in my office, but during the day they can move freely downstairs through the hall to the downstairs bathroom and mudroom. They really like running and playing there. Today they had a nice playing session with Bella in the mudroom, and at the same time I had a washing machine and a dryer going there. It was pretty noisy but they did not seem concerned. When they get tired they go on their own back to my office and pile up to sleep in a crate. Pretty amazing that they do that. Paika is not sleeping with them any more, but in the morning she is very anxious to see them. She lets them nurse occasionally, but I also give them solid food about twice a day. Actually they like to crunch her dry food and now their teeth are up to the task.

Playing in the mudroom

Plastic bottles make good toys. Pups thrive on novelty!

Bella was pretty good with pups, and the playing session was beneficial to her and to them.

Bella is a retrieving fanatic.

The process of weaning has started.

Pups are four and a half weeks old and they change with every day. When the weather is good they are outside, and we move them from one pen to another. When inside, they are either in my office or in our kitchen/dining area, where they are being exposed to the sound of tv, dishwasher, fridge etc. They are getting more mobile and now can walk really well. My office is divided with a board so Paika could get away from them if she wanted. Though it is not easy for them, now they can climb over the board, and every morning I find them on the other side than they were left for the night.


This morning they had their first solid meal - raw 'diet" mix of meat, organs, bone and veggies, which we get from Omas Pride. They were very enthusiastic about it! Paika is reluctant to let them nurse as their teeth are sharp and they have no mercy  :) So now the gradual process of weaning have begun.

Pups have been exposed to a deer hide and deer leg, and they liked to munch on them very much. All in all things are progressing very well.

Puppies are having their first solid meal.

Munching on a deer leg

Thinking about joining Paika on the other side of the baord

Doing it!

Water bowl - what the heck is this?

Sound conditioning

This week we are working on pups' sound conditioning. They are being exposed to a variety of sounds and we watch closely their responses. Since their pen is located on the front lawn, close to the house, they can hear a lawn mower, car, tractor, weed whacker, and trap shooting coming from a nearby property. I also use bubble wrap. Popping bubble wrap creates a similar sound to that of a cap pistol. Most of the pups did not show any reaction at all, some noticed the sound but did not mind but one pup showed concern. It is interesting that this particular pup was not bothered by other loud noises (like the banging of metal dog dishes) but did not like the sound of popping bubble wrap. I also let pups play with the whole roll so they could pop the bubbles themselves.

Puppies start their 5th week - sound conditioning

We have started to do some sound conditioning, which is very important. Since pups are in my office, where I stay most of the time, they are exposed to the phone ringing, tv playing, dogs barking, door slamming etc. But they need more variety than that. Today I put some bubble wrap in their box, which was not only a completely new object to explore but provided a new tactile and sonic stimulation. Popping bubble wrap creates a similar sound to that of a cap pistol. It can be quite loud (depending on the wrap), and at the beginning pups get startled, but they get used to the sound quickly.

Today was also the first day when puppies were introduced to another adult dog. Billy is very easy going and gentle so he was the first one. As you can see he was a hit with the pups.