Weeks three and four are exciting here at Whoosh! Puppies eyes open, they start to hear, they start toddling around the box, and they learn to lap food. We follow both Puppy Culture and Avidog protocols, which takes quite a bit of time but is worth it for super development. This means at Whoosh we introduce specific toys for them to walk over and crawl under. Puppies walk over different surfaces to help make them brave. The careful introduction of toys helps build strong bones and muscles.
We also start our potty training protocol this week by taking advantage of the pups natural instinct to move away from where they sleep to pee and poop. When we start this early, potty training is MUCH easier on us and on the pups new families. We move from the Puppy Box into a slightly larger area so there is more room to play, but not so much room that puppies are having trouble “finding” the litter box area. (Photo - Enlarged whelping box with puppy pad potty area)
Day 18 - Puppy Toddling
Our puppy pen is now in the midst of our house so that they hear and see all the normal household activity. Pups don’t do well in garages, basements or outdoor kennels - there isn’t enough stimulation for them to develop fully. We also start introducing the puppies to the louder household appliances like vacuums, garbage disposals, and air conditioners.
At the end of this time pups are also let out of their pen for supervised play in other safe areas of our home - the kitchen, living room and the yard on a nice day.
Daily cuddling and handling is vital to puppies becoming well-adjusted dogs that accept grooming and veterinary care. We continue to cut their fast growing toe nails every three days and start introducing the nail grinder.
We welcome visitors starting now, but with biosecurity protocols in place. Don’t be offended when we ask you to wear clothes that haven’t been around other dogs or dog activities, remove your shoes, wear clean socks, wash your hands...
Puppies playing in expanded whelping box with potty box with pellets.