One of my enjoyments in photographing puppies is trying to capture puppy yawns - this week I had two wins! And now for their new pictures...(remember to click on each one for more details)... The puppies continue to do very well. Their weights at 4.5 weeks old are as follows: Samson - 3lbs, 6oz; Whitaker & Charlie - 3lbs, 1oz; Silas - 2lbs, 12oz; and Lena - 2lbs, 9oz. We are beginning to teach them to lap from a bowl starting with goat milk fresh from our homestead. In the next few days, we'll begin feeding them Life's Abundance Small & Medium Breed Puppy food softened with milk. In addition to the food, we also start them on Life's Abundance Wellness Supplement. We use this supplement because the puppies are growing so fast at this age! At four weeks, we also deworm them for the first time - not because they show any signs of parasites, but because it is a standard, preventative measure. We continue to deworm them every two weeks until they go home. Though we teach our children NOT to stick their fingers in our puppies mouths, IF you were to stick your finger in right now, you would feel their little needly teeth erupting from their gums. As the teeth emerge, so does their desire to chew - enter chew time! My favorite chew for the puppies is the buffalo lung. They love it, and I love that it’s one ingredient – buffalo lung! Life’s Abundance has several wonderful chewing products that are one ingredient – no harsh chemicals, fillers, or preservatives! We use these products on our adults and puppies because chewing is an important part of a dog’s life. In addition to help easing the pain of puppy teething, it helps clean their teeth throughout their lifetimes. And, chewing is just fun and enjoyable for dogs! I think it can help relieve stress and anxiety, as well. We don’t believe in trying to teach puppies NOT to chew, we believe in teaching them what to chew on. We already are training our puppies there are things not to chew on – mainly our toes (which seems especially delightful to puppies) and the newspaper in the potty box. We instruct our children never to let puppies “play bite” or chew on them – even though it’s adorable right now before all their teeth are intact and before they have real jaw strength. Socialization is such an important part of the puppies' young lives. We spend lots of time with them - especially during our schooling hours because they sit well right now. They make a perfect companion during read-aloud time or a page of math problems. We intentionally have them experience different rooms in our home as well different sounds - blenders, radios, vacuums - in a gentle, non-scary way. As I was photographing the puppies for their update pictures, the radio was on in the kitchen just behind them. It did not even faze them because they are used to hearing it. So much of their socialization happens spontaneously because they are doing life with us, which you can see in the snapshots from this week.
Thanks for stopping by!
6 Comments
Colleen & Mije
4/1/2022 05:33:16 pm
Vanessa & Family ...
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4/11/2022 05:08:53 pm
Thanks, Colleen! It's not always easy getting good pictures and videos. It's always a bonus when I can catch a yawn!
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Laura
4/2/2022 01:39:17 pm
Brava — those yawning shots are perfect!
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4/11/2022 05:10:59 pm
Thanks so much, Laura! That truly means a lot. Yes, it is a labor of love with many fun-filled moments and some not-so-pleasant clean-up times, but it makes it worth it to know our puppies are well-socialized when they launch into the world. All the best!
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Christina Pucci
11/12/2022 03:24:23 pm
Hi Vanessa, my name is Chris Pucci. My husband and I are seniors looking for a small dog that we can manage. We had a miniature schnauzer several years ago. She was the runt and weighed not more than 10 lbs. Do you have schnauzer’s on the smaller side? My husband has Alzheimer’s disease but can still function. He’s been asking for a dog. I think it would be good for him.
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11/17/2022 03:40:56 pm
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AuthorVanessa from Russell Homestead. Follower of the Lord Jesus, wife of my knight in shining armor, mother of 5 wonderful children, and joint-keeper of the Russell homestead. Thanks for stopping by! Archives
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Vanessa Russell
Independent Field Representative ID#20249934. |