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Happy New Year / 4 week old puppies
in thread news:2007010108542064440-montana@wildhackcominvalid: montana
wildhack whittled the following words: The puppies had their first visit from the UFO bowl this morning. That works much better than a dish or a bowl and I should have brought it to them before, but I was convinced it was too big. It's not too big. It became evident that we're in the weaning phase. Neo wanted to nurse the puppies, they clamped on to her and you could see the look on her face wasn't peaceful. She did not whine, but she hopped a little to get the pups off of her and backed away. The puppies aren't quite ready for the mushy dry puppy food, but the more experience they have with it, the better. They enjoyed the veggie slush, rice cereal and wet puppy food mixed with formula. They played a little with the mushy kibble, but this was their first introduction to that. Puppies are beginning to scamper about (I'll try later for video) and are generally entering their most appealing stage. They respond very well to humans calling them and clapping hands. Now is the time for puppy parties. Invite in friends (Don't forget the bleach disinfectant solution... the pups are very vulnerable now!) Allow them to play with the pups to socialize them. get in a circle on the floor, and make a corral with your feet and legs. put one puppy in the center (at a time.. repeat this game for each kid) appoint one person to call the puppy. (each person has a mixed bag of high value treats _ I use biljac, cheese cubes, pepperidge farm gold fish, etc) .. If the puppy makes a wrong choice, it's pretty much ignored except to be put unceremoniously back in the circle if it tries to leave, If it goes to the wrong person, all licks and puppy greets are also ignored. right person, pets, treats, kisses, makes a fuss over, and celebrates it's correct choices. right person appoints the next puppy caller. lather, rinse, repeat. this exercise develops making correct choices skills. It's great socialization, and a lot of fun. It helps ingrain the recall to the most basic level (something you want to do NOW) Another thing I do is in the yard, I cast a fishing line with the hook removed. attached is a light rag. I teach the puppies to follow and play. great focussed exercise, and teaches them to come to you You can keep them from catching it, and control it if they do catch it, so they can't play the grab and run chase-me games. Play with them on unstable surfaces such as teeter boards. A board across a rolled blanket works well, so they don't experience the harsh banging when it teeters. This develops a very confident puppy. Teach them "sit" say the word, and those who look and sit, get praised and treated. Those who ignore you, get, well.. ignored. They look at their siblings and wonder why they got favors, and pretty soon figure it out. Time for puppy collars. Tie a puppy to every leg of furniture in the house. They will scream, wanting to be with their siblings. When they quit screaming, take the quiet one and release. Until the entire group is finally released to play (away but visible if possible from the restrained puppies). This teaches the puppy all about puppy collars, restraint, and learn the skill of silence brings rewards instead of demanding things getting rewards ( prevents habitual barkers in the future) This is your intro to leash and collar training. 4 weeks is when these pups should be started with this. |
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