Raising puppies is a lot of work! It is also a lot of fun! Watching nine different little beings grow, learn, experience new things and express themselves is amazing.
I am starting to work with them one on one and taking them by themselves to a new place or to a place they have been before. I observe them and I am working on associating the sound of a clicker with food.
I have started taking them to "work" with me. They get to go to their own room at the training school which has a very enriched environment too. It has been great because I think they met over 30 people in the three days they were there last week. They met people of various ethnic backgrounds, men, women, kids, non-dog people, men with beards and got to hear lots of people and dogs. So I shuttle them back and forth so they have been having a lot of car rides too. This is great at 5-6 weeks old they have been learning about riding in a crate in the car. I put them in small crates, three to a crate. 8 out of the 9 are quiet and sleeping most of the time during the car rides.
This weekend I set-up an outdoor pen for them which they seemed to like. I modified their home indoor pen somewhat. I can open a expen door at the back of their indoor pen and they can go out the sliding door to the deck. Then there is a ramp off of the deck to take them to the grass of the backyard near their outdoor pen. They are following me wonderfully. I have plans to make some mazes for them out of the green fencing I have. They had a bit of a maze today and it was fun to see them try to solve the puzzle and to see who got frustrated first and who kept working at it.
Trying to figure out which home should get which puppy is a real challenge too. There is a lot of pressure in trying to make the right match. I spend a lot of time studying the four pups who have not been matched up yet. My impressions change daily of them as they change and grow.
Now to try to get some sleep to be ready for another busy day!
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