During the transitional period, the key behavior’s you start to see with the pups are the eye’s opening, teeth beginning to merge, and the getting up on all 4 legs to start to walk. Towards the end of the period they will begin to lap liquids and they will defecate without the mom’s stimulation.
The pups are now in the transitional period. I stopped doing the neurological stimulation on day 16. The pups eyes are just beginning to open. Heard the first ‘bark’ today out of the sable girl. She was looking for ‘mom’…and her milk supply. The pups have been defecating without mom’s stimulation for several days. (ahead of what they say is the ‘norm’).
The pups are now 3 wks. and 2 days old. They have changed SO much over the past week!! They are walking by themselves with no problems. Some are starting to get out of the whelping box. I started putting some warm goat’s milk mixed with a bit of pablum in a puppy saucer for them. A few boys used their nose to find it but didn’t have a lot of interest in lapping it up, but the girls went to the saucer and right away learned to use their tongues and have been enjoying it ever since!! Today, all of the pups are now lapping up some of the goat’s milk/pablum.
They are all using their voices now as well! Little blue paw collar boy came out of the box today and barked for a few seconds! They are all starting to play with each other, using their paws and mouths. This is pack oriented behavior. We hear barks and growls often from them. Right now, I think the only stock coat is the red collar boy. A few of the others are still borderline in my mind, so time will tell.
Yesterday and today, Tikka tried to get the pups to play with her. It was so funny to watch. She is trying to get them to ‘chase’ after her. Think she will have to wait a wee bit longer for the pups to catch on…lol. She is SO patient with them! They will all bombard her at once for their ‘meal’ and will be pushing/shoving/and sucking with all their might, and she will let them do it all. She will try to stretch out more so that they can fit in better.
Red collar boy likes to cuddle and is so cute to watch. He is still very dark in the face and body. He likes to interact with his siblings. Today he started to do a bit of dominance posturing along with blue collar boy. Blue collar boy can be quite feisty when he wants to be. I am wondering if perhaps he is also a stock coat. His head shape is similar to the red collar boy’s…..and sometimes his coat looks a bit longer than the others. He will start to growl at you when you play with him. Green collar boy is very similar to blue collar. In fact, so is the black collar boy, although I think black collar boy’s head is a bit bigger than the other sables. All the sables seem to have a pretty good nose! They can find Tikka when they want her! They are similar in type and size. Blue collar boy has a bit darker muzzle compared to the 2 others. Blue paw collar and no collar boy are very similar in type and looks, with the no collar boy being a bit more ‘streamlined’ in his looks and the blue paw boy being a bit more compact in his type. They have similar markings on their face. Blue paw collar likes to let me know he is THERE!! He barks the most right now. Sable girl is still the largest pup and likely right behind her is the black/tan female. Right now, the sable female is a bit more independent. However, the both seem to like being held and cuddled. Actually all the pups seem to enjoy being around people and being held.
Their eyes are all open and the ears are opening now as well. They recognize my voice when I get close and get up when I call them. When they are out of the whelping box they can move pretty darn fast!! They still sleep a lot but they are also engaging more with humans when they are awake. I will start putting some toys with them soon to help with their development.
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