RUSSELL HOMESTEAD LLC
  • Home
  • Mini Schnauzers
    • Mini Schnauzers - The Basics
    • Current & Upcoming Litters
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Nutrition >
      • Nutrition - The Basics
      • Recommended Products
      • Life's Abundance-FAQ
    • Past Puppies
    • Puppy Photo Updates
    • Testimonials
    • Past Puppy Blogs
    • Documents
  • Goats
    • Our Goat Herd >
      • Goats - The Basics
      • Velvet
      • Nickel
      • Llama
    • Available Goat Kids
    • Past Goat Kids
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog

Tachi's 2020 Puppies ~ 4 Weeks Old

10/24/2020

4 Comments

 
Here are our four week puppies enjoying the October sunshine!
4 weeks old!  It is hard to believe that half our time with these babies is already passed.  The puppies are becoming a lot more “fun” in the past week as they are now up and romping with each other and interacting with us.  These play periods are very short lived (5-15 minutes), as they still snooze away most of the day and night.  With their increased mobility and desire to play, we have changed their whelping area to continue their house training process.  See the area below.
Picture
We gave them a play area this week.  Notice the potty box (with wet newspaper - good puppies!) is right outside their sleeping area because they typically go potty upon waking.  They have free access to the sleeping, potty, and play areas.  As they learn to keep the sleeping and play areas clean, we will expand it the play area to include the now "off limits" area.  And, of course, they spend much time outside of their whelping area interacting with us.

​Feeding them is becoming more our responsibility and less Tachi’s.  Tachi has shown us some signs that she is ready to wean them – mainly spending less time with them.  As opposed to spending a lot of time with them in the beginning, she now goes in mainly to feed them.  Eight puppies at four weeks old is almost impossible for Tachi to feed – there simply is not enough room!  We have begun feeding them goat milk in the morning and evening.  In the next few days, we will start adding softened food with the milk.  We start our puppies on Life’s Abundance Small & Medium Breed puppy food.  We highly recommend this food for puppies!  When our puppies go home, they will be on this food with no added milk or water.
Picture
​The puppies continue to grow nicely.  Their 4 week weights are posted on their pages.  Their weights are as follows: Peace - 2lbs, 13oz; James - 2lbs, 12oz; Eddie & Gordon - 2lbs, 9oz; Benny - 2lbs, 6oz; Grace & Mercy - 2lbs, 2oz; and Theodore - 1lbs, 13oz.

We will deworm the puppies today and continue to deworm them every two weeks until they go home.  Deworming puppies is simply a standard procedure for us.  We also will be taking a fecal to the vet when they go for their health check-up to be sure they are worm and parasite free.​

Their week was full of new experiences; we keep them brief and positive in order to show them that new things are safe and interesting.  The puppies got to go outside for the first time and feel the grass, rocks, and leaves while hearing a leaf blower, traffic going by (including a loud motorcycle that caught their attention), and children playing in a leaf pile.  During one of their naps, I turned on an audio clip of various city sounds - horns, sirens, traffic - and some power tool sounds.  They slept through most of it.  Another new experience was joining us for our afternoon reading time on the couch.  For the most part, they snuggled down and went to sleep, but a few puppies listened very attentively to my voice as I read.

You may wonder why we have a focus on brief, positive, new experience for our puppies.  Puppies are naturally open to the world around them.  This "window of socialization" closes around a few months old.  If puppies learn young to accept new things, they will be much more flexible as an adult to accept new people and places.  When you bring an eight week puppy from us (or any breeder), do not consider them "socialized."  We lay a solid foundation of socialization, but then the responsibility rests upon their new families to expose them in positive ways to new things.  One of the best things we have done for socialization is basic obedience training at a local dog training club; it's an investment you won't regret!

I'll close with snapshots from the week - don't miss the last ones where they are experiencing their "first" meal.  Thanks, as always, for stopping by!
4 Comments
Laura
10/24/2020 10:40:27 am

I can't tell you the smiles this week's blog brought to our faces!

How is it possible that they keep getting cuter?!

Thank you for letting us be part of their most adventurous week so far, and of course, for continuing the magnificent job you all are doing at raising such happy and healthy puppies!!

Reply
Vanessa link
10/31/2020 03:52:29 pm

I know, right, how are they getting cuter?!? But they are :) And they are starting to develop their little personalities. Sleeping days are fading fast!!

Reply
Colleen & Mije
10/25/2020 10:42:47 pm

Your Blogs are so much to look forward to week after week. Just seeing the puppies all grow & interact with each other & of course with your Children is to be commended. A wonderful job done by you & your Children. You can certainly tell how much they enjoy being with the puppies. Looking forward to your next blog.

Reply
Vanessa link
10/31/2020 03:53:08 pm

Thanks, Colleen & Mike! Have a blessed day; thanks for reading & commenting!!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Vanessa 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!
    Read more about me here.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All
    Chickens
    Faith
    General
    Goats
    Homeschool
    Homesteading
    Motherhood
    Puppies
    Recipes

    RSS Feed

    Follow this Blog
    Vanessa Russell
    Independent Field Representative
    ID#20249934.

"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." Psalm 24:1

All photos and text are property of Russell Homestead.  Use only with permission.
  • Home
  • Mini Schnauzers
    • Mini Schnauzers - The Basics
    • Current & Upcoming Litters
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Nutrition >
      • Nutrition - The Basics
      • Recommended Products
      • Life's Abundance-FAQ
    • Past Puppies
    • Puppy Photo Updates
    • Testimonials
    • Past Puppy Blogs
    • Documents
  • Goats
    • Our Goat Herd >
      • Goats - The Basics
      • Velvet
      • Nickel
      • Llama
    • Available Goat Kids
    • Past Goat Kids
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog