Puppies: week 6

puppies

14 Mar

The puppies are getting bigger and bigger. Along side this they are getting bolder, more inquisitive and starting to explore more. Their mum is quite content with this, she has been giving a lot of herself over the last few weeks. She has been feeding them, cleaning them, looking out for them, generally being a good mum. Part of being a good mum is to be able to encourage her pups to grow up and become more mature.

The pups are now eating puppy food quite happily. They still go back to mum for the occasional suckle of milk. They are less needy and Ziggy is increasingly finding their teeth quite sharp. There is a natural weaning process in progress.

Part of their development includes more and more play. There are now a number of toys they have in their pen to play with. They of course love playing with eat other. A little bit of chase within their puppy pen. Lots of rough and tumble. Often vocalising as if they really having a big fight. All of this is so useful in their learning process.

This week was time for them to explore the big wide world. A suitable puppy play area was created outside. Safely contained, yet allowing them to explore. Things to hide behind, things to climb over and more space to run around.

When they first were put in the outside pen not much happened. They sat there wondering what this strange new world was about. Pretty soon they were starting to explore, cautiously at first, then, as their confidence grew, they became bolder. They also liked to use their mouths to explore. Grass very quickly became a fun thing to chew on. Dry leaves had to be pounced on and carried in the mouth.

Chase games were a big favourite, now with many more obstacles to run round and hide behind. Not that much climbing, mostly all at ground level. The cardboard box was a big favourite. Some of the more energetic ones would grab hold of the flaps of the box and pull. It is amazing how powerful a puppy can be.

Before long everywhere had been explored. The tired out pups decided to take rest in the bed and watch the others continue. The more adventurous started to test the boundaries. Just how strong was the temporary fence the humans had made? Maybe the gap could be pushed through with a bit of extra effort? In the end close supervision and intervention as needed kept the illusion of being securely contained going for the whole play session.

The first outdoor play session came to an end. Lots of fun had been had and it was now time for them all to have a good rest. The old puppy formula of “run around , then sleep, run around, then sleep” had proved to be true and they all went back to their normal play area for an afternoon kip.

The rule of thumb “five minutes play per month of age” then a bit of rest before the next session is a good one. The idea is that as the puppy gets older, it will sleep less and less and have more stamina for continued play. For now a few short sessions of play with plenty of rest breaks in between is what is needed.