The puppies also got their first bath in the past week.  We keep the first bath short and full of lots of positive encouragement.  Still, it is not their favorite experience, but they love the clean feeling after the bath and brush.  They smelled wonderful after the experience as well because we used our favorite pet shampoo.

These water buffalo bully sticks are a favorite among the Russell canines. They are much harder than the buffalo lungs, and they do have a bit more odor than the lungs. I like them because they last longer once the puppies are older.
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We've given the puppies plenty of new experiences since our last update - hearing the lawn mower from a distance, playing with various toys of different textures, going outside in the dark and in the drizzle, meeting new people, and much more!

On the house training front, these little guys are well on their way!  Thanks to the lovely weather we've been having, we take this litter outside every few hours.  It is amazing how quickly they prefer the outdoors to their "potty box" inside.  While I tell families taking puppies home that their puppy is not house trained, they are doing a very good job!  They are absolutely ready for crate training as they keep their bedding area clean.  However, with puppies, accidents are inevitable - enter Life's Abundance Biodeodizer spray!

If you'd ask us what are some must-have product for puppies, this biodeodizer spray would be at the top of our list.  It is safe to use around pets and children, and it eliminates the odor naturally with viable bacteria cultures.  I haven't found a surface yet that I can't use it on - including ones that come in to direct contact with the puppy, such as crates and bedding.  

As this will be my last post for this litter, I will answer some frequently asked questions for those families taking a precious bundle home with them soon.

What bathing and grooming products do you use?  My crew of mini schnauzers gets a bath using Life's Abundance Revitalizing Shampoo and a mist of Life's Abundance Bath Fresh Mist. The mist is also helpful to freshen them up between baths.  For grooming, if I were told I could have only one grooming tool in my house, it would be a simple comb (as in the human kind).  When brushed weekly, mini schnauzers do not typically get mats and tangles.  I occasionally use a slicker brush.  Rarely, I pull out my dematting tool to get a stubborn tangle.

What flea and tick products do you recommend?  We do not treat our puppies with any flea and tick medicine.  (We do deworm and vaccinate them, but no flea and tick medicine.)  We choose not to use flea and tick products due to their small size.  In addition, they live in a low-risk environment because all our adult dogs and cats are treated with Bravecto.  You should discuss flea and tick prevention at your first vet visit.  Since Bravecto is not recommended for use until after 6 months old, I would recommend using Frontline on your puppy once he/she is 10 weeks old or five pounds.

What do I need to purchase before bringing my puppy home?  See my blog about puppy shopping here.

Will my puppy be house trained when he/she comes home at 8 weeks?  No.  Your puppy will be ready for crate training when he/she comes home.  We do the Misty Method of house training for our puppies.  They have a basic understanding of a place to sleep, play, and potty at 8 weeks old.  They are ready to begin crate training at 8 weeks, but they are not house trained!  This litter definitely prefers to do potty business outside.

Is it hard for your children when the puppies go home?  Yes and no, and harder for some than for others.  My children understand the responsibility and the training an 8 week old puppy requires because we’ve had the privilege of raising our adults from puppies.  They love playing with the puppies and are, of course, sad to see them go.  At the same time, they get to see the joy a puppy brings to someone else.  We try to encourage them as the puppies grow that we are helping get them ready for their new family.  Another thing that softens the blow of seeing their puppies leave is that new life is part of a homestead - every year we typically welcome puppies, goats, and kittens.  So, our children may or may not seem sad when you pick up your puppy, but they say their goodbyes before your arrival to limit any teary last-minute goodbyes.

Thanks for following along as these precious little bundles "grew up."  We will spend the next week continuing their socialization and giving them the very best care.  They will have their first vet visit (other than their tail dock and dew claw removal at a few days old), and we will get them all ready to go home.  Thanks for joining us on this journey!  A few (mostly) sleepy pictures to conclude things.  My favorite is Tyke and Flicka asleep on LEGOs :)

This four to five week age is my all time favorite time to take puppy photos because they can sit, they are interested in the world around them, but they are not always on the move (yet).  What you can't see is that they do not always sit perfectly still.  Let's take Sadie for example....

The puppies' world and experiences is expanding daily.  Since we raise them in home (in RV this time around), they are naturally exposed to all the daily family things.  In the past weeks, they've experienced sitting around a campfire, watching us eat meals, watching/hearing the children play backyard games like Can Jam, kickball, and baseball, hearing sounds of cleaning (including the vacuum cleaner), hearing a myriad of far-off tool sounds, experiencing various terrains from rocks to grass to beds to pillows to concrete to linoleum, and so much more!  Even at this age, the puppies spend most of their day sleeping, but each day they are getting more awake and ready to romp.

If your are a long-time blog reader, you know that begin house training our puppies at three weeks old.  Please visit my past blog here to learn about how we do that.  For this litter with the beautiful Pennsylvania June weather, we take them out many, many times a day to go potty.  It always amazes me how quickly they prefer going outside.

This age is also the age we begin the weaning process.  We begin using fresh goat milk from our homestead.  Goat milk is great place to start because it is gentle on their tummies, and it teaches them to lap.  Starting today, we will begin offering them Life's Abundance Small & Medium Breed Puppy Food soaked in milk.  Through all this, they are still getting fed by and cared for by their attentive mother Violet.

Above are the sire and dam of our current litter.  Violet is the darker one in the back.  She is the daughter of Tachi & Cooper, and the only puppy of our own we've ever kept and raised.  She is sweet and docile, and loves to follow MJ or me around the house at all times.  Pickett is the great-grandson of our first schnauzer ever - Little Miss Jolly.  He is a very light salt & pepper.  (His son Tyke will likely look a lot like him.)  He is our son CJ's dog.  He's an energetic, fun-loving dog who enjoys a good run - see videos here and  here.

We will close the week again with some candid shots!  Several of these adorable little puppies are still available as of the posting of this blog.  Please contact us if interested!