3 weeks - the social creature emerges

The puppies turned 3 weeks old this past weekend and are entering the next period -- the critical socialization period. Lilly is engaging with the puppies in a different way now, licking their faces and not just their hind ends. We are also starting to hear some vocalizations  .... like in this video on Day 17:

The puppies also make and hold eye contact with the humans now. This week they will be mastering the art of walking, though we are not quite their yet as they look like they're stumbling out of a bar late at night. ;) Holly was the first to "totter" a couple of days ago. They are all moving away from their sleep/nest area to eliminate on their own, though Lilly still inspects them and cleans them at the start and end of each nursing session. This morning, they each tried out a bit of warmed raw goat milk out of a syringe. As they are now entering the socialization period, they are making and holding eye contact and interacting a bit more. 

As we now begin to apply many protocols from the Puppy Culture program, perhaps this would be a wonderful opportunity to introduce you to some important Puppy Culture teachings and understand why it is so obvious to see the differences between Puppy Culture raised pups versus those not raised using these protocols. In quotes are some excerpts from Puppy Culture written by Jane Messineo Lindquist (Killion), also the author of the incredible dog training book, "When Pigs Fly".

"As the puppies turn 3 weeks old they can solicit and accept invitation to play, defend themselves from being hurt, ask for attention, and show an emotional response when they receive it. Their unique personalities are starting to emerge! The quality of these early communications will have an impact on the puppies for the rest of their lives. A breeder or puppy owner can positively influence these early communications by setting up an environment that avoids conflict." The way we handle weaning naturally is a wonderful example of this and we are protecting Lilly from becoming anxious as the puppies' teeth are coming in. Today, we started supplementing with a tiny bit of raw goat milk and special formula (liver water, baby vitamins, egg yolk, yogurt, etc.) and we are keeping the puppies' nails short and smooth and giving Lilly lots of extra attention and special foods and supplements.

Keeping the puppies' nails short also ensures that, as they begin to learn to walk, the feet stay in the correct position so that the bones and muscles will grow properly. Happy CERs - conditioned emotional responses - with toenail trims are important for future puppy owners, too so they will have an easier time keeping nails short throughout their lives.

Socialization:
Believe it or not, working on socialization actually begins now, before the puppies are even walking! Dogs have to go through 2 concurrent socialization processes ... "they have to become functioning members of dog society and also of human society. And these societies can be very different from each other. When most people think of socialization they think of exposing the puppy to as many new places, animals, and people as possible when the puppy is young. While this is certainly a crucial component of the socialization process, to us it's not enough. We want to raise dogs who have the emotional intelligence to connect with you on a deep and trusting level." Emotional intelligence can actually be taught to young puppies during the socialization process. This is where the Puppy Culture socialization program really shines. The protocols we use are always in service to these 7 key things that will nurture the emotional intelligence of the puppy and enable him to make the connections that define the human-animal bond such as:

• Communication (dog and human language skills)
• Emotional stability (the ability to recover easily from fear as well as cope with stress and frustration in a socially acceptable manner)
• Habituation (familiarity with the maximum number of things - facilitation of the "so what response")
• Enrichment (the view that novelty and challenges are opportunities for enrichment, rather than things to be feared or avoided)
• Health (the physical wellness and motor skills that will allow the puppy to develop in a neurologically and physically sound way)
• Skills (learned behaviors which allow the puppy to function in human society)
• Love (the desire to seek out the company of both dogs and humans as emotionally positive experiences)

The Enrichment Effect 
"Scientific studies have shown that animals raised in enriching environments demonstrate increased learning ability, with better retention and appear more stable, less fearful, and better able to cope with and recover from frightening or stressful things. Scientific studies have shown that animals who are raised in a stimulus rich environment with lots of toys, exercise, and challenges, have larger brains with more neural connections than animals raised in a stimulus poor environment. The stimulation actually causes the puppy to grow more brain -- up to 5% more brain mass with anywhere from 25-200% more neural connections. Furthermore, studies have shown that the area of the brain where these new brain cells form is the area related to learning, memory, and emotional response."

Each day the puppies experience one new toy, item, or new environment. For example, yesterday, each puppy was individually carried to the kitchen where they enjoyed sniffing the scent of fresh watermelon as we were slicing a melon. Their new toy yesterday (we only add one to the whelping box and leave in for short periods of time as they need clear space to learn to totter and eventually walk) was 2 crunchy tail plush dog toys. Today, they will get to experience a light-up toy. As they enter the socialization period it is important for us to start habituating them to humans so, tomorrow, they will be meeting some piano students of all different ages as I start back to work. (I've taken 3 weeks off so I can work with these puppies, overseeing each nursing session, giving nebulizer treatments etc. The music from Saturday Night Fever "Staying Alive" is the appropriate sound track for the first 3 weeks!) The visits tomorrow will involve a very controlled, sterile environment involving washing of hands/arms/removal of shoes/wearing of booties and surgical scrubs and constant supervision.

Startle/Recover:
Puppies at this age take everything in stride. Studies have shown that they have no real fear response to anything at this age which means that we have a small window of time between 3-4 weeks of age where we can exercise the puppy's recovery muscles without worrying about damaging the puppy psychologically. During this week we will be working on helping the puppies learn how to recover from fear. We condition the puppies to be emotionally resilient by triggering their startle/recovery cycle when they are 3-4 weeks old. The more times the puppies startle and recover during this window of time, the faster and better their recovery will be as adults. We have started making loud noises ... dropping dog bowls, slam doors, drop a stack of books, starting vacuum cleaners, startle them with rattle toys and objects etc. to help them experience "surprise" and recovery. When the puppies are 3 weeks old they have a startle response, but they recover almost immediately. 

Preventing future separation anxiety:
Additionally, we give them each LOTS of individual cuddle time away from their litter mates. Separating young puppies from their litter for short periods of time is key to successfully and humanely training them to be alone once they're a little older.

Potty Training: Yes, potty training actually begins before the puppies are actually walking! We keep their sleeping area clean and free of lots of clutter so that they can move away to the pee pads to eliminate. Also, we have added a very shallow box (cookie sheet for now) for a litter box in the whelping box. While they have all started to move away from the sleep/nest area to eliminate on their own (on the pee pads), they will eventually start to explore this litter box (filled with paper pellet litter). Navigating this litter box will help give the puppies exercise and develop physically as well.

Physical exercise:
"Scientific studies have shown that physical exercise is a key component of the enrichment effect. Exercise is one of the things that causes the brain to grow larger and form more neural connections. Sir Thomas Jefferson was right ... building a strong body does indeed build a strong mind." Therefore, we are giving the puppies some time now each day in their new pen in the den which is covered with material and yoga mats which help them learn how to walk. In the meantime, they are gaining quite a lot of speed with their seal sliding maneuvers around the whelping box.

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