7 weeks old! These puppies are full of life and love! It is so sweet how they all come running when we call them in a high, happy voice. Their attraction to human voices is due to being raised around them from day 1. Photographing 7 week old puppies is no easy task. They've learned after 7 weeks that all my catchy noises behind the camera are just that - noises. Their interest is no longer piqued by me - they want to run and play and see new things. I was, however, pleased with this batch of pictures. I let them romp in their play yard for about 45 minutes before even trying pictures, which helped with the sitting still, but they still weren't amused by my noises. The puppies’ had a full week – first bath, a trip to the vet, vaccinations, and lots of new experiences. The puppies spent more time outside as we made a larger play yard for them to safely romp. They so enjoy running around in the grass and seeing all the sights and smelling all the interesting smells. They spent more time with our kittens, saw a school bus go by, experienced an umbrella opening and closing, heard an air compressor and sander, saw a tractor and wagon go by, met EJ with a hard hat (see pictures below), and got to meet some more new faces as families came to visit them. That may seem like a long list of new experiences, but, remember – brief, gentle, and positive! Seeing EJ with the hard hat lasted only a few minutes. It was something familiar – EJ and his voice – paired with something new – a hard hat. Below are some pictures of their first bath – admittedly not their favorite experience, but they weathered it well. They smelled wonderful after a bath in Life’s Abundance Revitalizing shampoo and a mist in Life’s Abundance Bath Fresh Mist. The puppies are now on dry food. Their 7 week weights are as follows: Amelia - 4lbs, 14oz; Zeke - 4lbs, 12oz; Zuma - 4lbs, 7oz; JD - 4lbs, 4oz; Chester & Ivan - 4lbs, 1oz; Auggie - 4lbs; Tracker & Everest - 3lbs, 13oz; and Faith - 3lbs, 9oz.
Their vet visit went well. My vet found them to be in overall good health. He did note that their patellae (kneecaps) in their rear legs are loose. This condition is called a luxating patella. Although it is a common condition in small breeds, we’ve never seen it in our schnauzers. My vet graded them all at a grade 1, which is the most mild form. Since they were only 6.5 weeks old at the check-up, we feel it may improve with age and plan to have the litter rechecked near the 8-week mark. (UPDATE: We had the puppies rechecked at 8 weeks old and ALL were cleared of luxating patellae!) I'm going to wrap up with a few more common questions we receive and snapshots. This will be my last post for this litter as they will heading off to their forever homes next week. 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 has been doing well with the Misty Method. They very faithfully keep their bedding area free of potty accidents. Most of their potty needs go into the potty box. We keep fresh newspaper in the potty box after they use it (preserving the scent but keeping it clean) and clean the play area several times daily. Even at this young age, they show a definite preference for pottying outside versus the potty box. When we let them out, they consistently take care of business first. 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 all our adults from puppies. They do 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. When our children ask, “Why can’t we keep a puppy?” we gently name off our adults and say, “We did 'keep' a puppy.” Another thing that softens the blow of seeing their puppies leave is that new life is part of a homestead. 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. 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 adults - dogs and cats - are treated with Bravecto. You should discuss flea and tick prevention at your first vet visit. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing a piece of our world! We are so blessed!
5 Comments
Tom solomon
9/27/2019 07:52:56 am
Up date on lacy. I love reading your reports on your litters the only thing lacy is afraid of is the opening umbrella as for thunder the louder the better we just put her on the adult life’s abundance food.she loves it in closing I have to say lacy is a great dog with no problems
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Hi Thomas! Thanks for the update on Lacy - I'm so pleased she's doing well for you. Maybe someday she'll learn that umbrellas aren't scary :). Most dogs have a thing or two in life they just don't understand. Thanks for giving her a loving home and for staying in touch. It's truly means a lot to us!
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COLLEEN & MIKE
9/27/2019 04:17:33 pm
VANESSA & FAMILY
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Colleen & Mike
10/4/2019 10:14:16 am
Hello to all ... Leave a Reply. |
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. |