Happy Four-Weeks-Old

Great time meeting all the new families last Sunday who are getting a puppy from this litter! It COULD HAVE BEEN a bit cooler but all-in-all, we swung with the weather and still had a good time! I know the puppies had fun; they were all exhausted after all the guests left and slept soundly… Until the next meal that is!

LOTS of info sent out yesterday  (Puppy Packets + Contracts) along with another email packed with info… Things I wanted to make sure I said on Sunday and may have forgotten?

Puppy Weights this week (4 weeks old):

• Blue (M): 4 lbs 10.6 oz
• Black (M): 4 lbs 14.8 oz
• Purple (M): 4 lbs 3.6 oz
• Green (M): 4 lbs 6.4 oz
• Pink (F): 4 lbs 13.0 oz
• Lime (F): 4 lbs 9.0 oz
• Red (F): 4 lbs 12.0 oz
• Yellow (F): 4 lbs 6.0 oz
• Orange (F): 4 lbs 6.4 oz

So our “biggest” puppy is Black Boy (4 lbs 14.8 oz) and our lightest puppy is Yellow Girl (4 lbs 6.0 oz). Essentially, the puppies are only ounces different in weight from each other! All are “chunky monkeys” and doing well eating solid food. We’ve now increased the amount in each feeding and have increased the number of times puppies are being fed per day. We have quit the goat’s milk substituting water to make sure pups stay hydrated. ALL have sharp puppy teeth; Deja is very grateful for the “help” in feeding her babies!

Speaking of sharp puppy teeth, everyone needs to make sure they buy “teething” chew toys (Nylabones are great!). This is a great way to substitute chewing on hands or clothes that puppy will likely do. And those puppy teeth are SHARP! When puppy puts their mouth on hands, just put the chew toy in their mouths (and remove your hands) instead! Pups will soon learn that hands are a “no!” but chew toys are all right to chew. You will definitely want to make sure they are chewing on these types of toys and NOT your furniture! Goldens are definitely “chewers”. And for those with kids, have them be consistent with substituting chew toys also. I would suggest that when you go to pet puppy, have a chew toy in your other hand as they will likely respond to your petting with chewing first!

After their initial bout of teething, pups will again teeth at around 4 months of age when their permanent teeth start coming in. Have those chew toys handy! ESPECIALLY for the kids when playing with puppy!!

As I may have mentioned to some folks on Sunday, we have a visiting girl with us this week. Rooster is quite enamored with his new girlfriend! I want to specifically thank Terri for helping stack puppies “just for fun”. We were just playing around and only did a few puppies but Terri has promised to come back to help evaluate puppies when they are older. This is great as I can’t stack puppies and take photos at the same time! Terri’s method of stacking puppies is very different from the way I stack puppies… I was very pleased at how well the pups did her way!

Meanwhile, I was worried about pup’s “going home” packages. I’m happy to report that everyone will receive a Royal Canin sampler pack courtesy of Royal Canin! These sample packs are now on order and should arrive soon! YEAH!!

(Pups were sleepy when we woke them up to stack them. But for the first time being stacked, they all did very well. We only stacked these puppies this time; we’ll do all of them when they are older!)