Being a breeding/whelping home connects you to the puppies you have raised for the first 8 weeks in a very special way.  You feel a bond with them even though you don’t great start, puppy raise, foster them or do their final training.  You are a silent partner, rooting them on from the sidelines hoping they become the fabulous dogs you had tried to develop in those beginning weeks. You think about nature vs. nurture and what part you may have had in their development; would they have been the dogs they are regardless of the effort you put into it? You wonder if you did the “right” things when they were puppies to help them become great adult dogs; did you give your whole heart to them for the time they were with you, and was that enough? Being a home for newborn assistance dog puppies is not just a job of feeding them and loving them-for me, it’s a mission of magic.

And then as you follow them because you love to see them grow, change and learn! You start to anticipate the day they will either graduate or become part of the breeding program so that their contributions will continue.

And if you’re lucky you get the opportunity to have a brief encounter with them on the journey with the organization when they are in for final training.  I was fortunate enough to have that opportunity this week while I was in at Can Do Canines picking up puppy capes.  I got to see my first litter “all grown up” at 16 months and I got to take some pictures of them to share:)  (Thank you Can Do Staff!)  Here are 3 of the Spice Girls born in 2015 and on their way to great things!!!

 

 

 

 

 

It’s around 9:30am when I am writing this portion of the blog-I am on my 4th load of puppy laundry, and they are busy running around which insures I will have many more loads before the day is done!

They are getting so fun and active!  They come running when they see us at the door of the room, and when we step in to play with them they literally light up with joy!  I love watching their faces and excitement for the new things each day!

As the day progresses, I begin introducing some new things-Christmas has come a little early for them in the way of a large box of toys that I’ve been saving for them!  I have more than enough to keep them busy for their next few weeks at our house, and it’s interesting to see which puppy likes which toy.  Some of them prefer the little bird toy (hunting dog genes I think coming out…..) and others prefer the teeny, tiny, tennis balls.  Purple is definitely ball driven while White is more of a bird dog:)  They can finally wrap their little mouths around the small toys and they are starting to carry them places.

It was also a day to just start the process of putting some shirts on to get them used to having capes on their backs.  Not all dogs are comfortable with this and I would say most if not all need training in this area at a very young age to give them the best shot at not minding the capes on their shoulders and back.

I had fun introducing them to my face today as well!  I laid down on my back and let them crawl all over and explore my face-I think that dogs typically don’t get this type of exposure and I personally believe that this takes the excitement out and desensitizes them as they get older that peoples’ faces are really no big mystery to be all excited about. They were really excited at first and as time wore on, the excitemet wore off and they went to play.  I will continue to do this to see if that helps them regulate at a higher level. Next is vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, train whistles, piano music, and various other noise exposure to help them understand that there is nothing to be afraid of regarding noises.

And, so, as quickly as it began-the day is now over and the puppies are snuggled in their whelping box for the night.  Some days I wonder where the time has gone and then I realize just how little I got done, how much I was in the play area with the puppies, and how happy I am that I was able to prioritize in that order…….. 🙂

I’ve been getting asked a lot about why we are called whelping homes and what that means.  My honest answer is “because that is what the organization calls us”. 🙂  While the term whelping is the process of a dog delivering puppies which we are a part of doing in our homes, the term “whelp” when looked up says “It doesn’t sound as cute as “puppy,” but whelp means the same thing: a baby dog or wolf”.  So that’s the long answer to why we are called whelping homes!  We are the process of helping the dog deliver puppies and we deal with the baby dogs (puppies) until they are ready to go to their training homes!

“The puppies are starting to become more vocal, and they are learning the appropriate times to use their voices!  They are starting to grumble with their playmates while jostling each other around the play area; they whine and yip when I put them in the whelping box for bedtime (hoping I will change my mind I’m sure); and they have the fun “bark and pounce” which is adorable because they can’t quite control the rest of their body and they typically go tumbling somewhere that they didn’t intend to go!

Sugar is increasing her playtime with them as well as her corrections for inappropriate behaviors which is fascinating to watch.  I will sit in a corner of the play area and just observe-and she will watch them playing, decide which one is not meeting her expectations and then she will single them out to start playing with them and guiding their behavior.  I would love to know what is going on in that mind of hers as well as the puppies because it’s very clear that this is not JUST playtime, but rather the beginning of learning how to be a certain type of dog. Her “corrections” include using her paw to stop a behavior, nibbling them, pushing them with just enough energy to let them know who’s really in charge, and she also will nudge them away from a puppy that seems to be the underdog in almost a protective manner.  I realize at this point that I would LOVE to be able to follow a researcher that was working on animal behavior to gain more insight into this area.  I just can’t seem to pull myself away from the activity in front of me!

The puppies are all making fabulous strides in using the potty pads and it’s now become somewhat of a game for me.  I try to see how many puppies can use the pads successfully when I am in the area with them and I keep stats! (I know-it’s a sad statement of what my day entails, but it’s necessary to keep things interesting in the box!)  Today on three separate occasions I had a 5/7, 6/7, and 7/7 in my success ratio-and yes, I call it MY success ratio because it still does require some active participation by me to teach them where they should be going:) By the time the first litter left my house in 2015, they were 95% potty trained but we had the advantage of the month of September as the training time frame with LOTS of time outside, so it will be interesting to see what this winter litter will be like in that category.  But there is no doubt that I am giving it my very best shot at success!

With this blog I want to give a BIG thank you to the volunteers who also help with these litters as they grow!  Obviously, staying home and not doing anything for 1 1/2-2 months during this process is impossible, but it’s also understandable that these puppies need a high level of care due to their hopes of becoming awesome service dogs-which means that sometimes my husband and I have activities that we need to attend, ESPECIALLY during the holiday season! So, what do we do when we have to be somewhere but we have a houseful of puppies needing care?  We call on the volunteer village of Can Do Canines! We are so fortunate that volunteers are so willing to help the whelping homes and give us the much needed breaks during this process!  For example, when I was gone this past week and Ken had a business function to attend, a whelping home volunteer came and took the reins for the whole afternoon to make sure Sugar got outside, make sure that she got in to feed the puppies, kept the puppy area clean and gave the puppies some socialization and much more; yesterday when we had a family celebration that was going to mean we would be gone for approximately 5 hours (which of course was over the feeding/dinner times!) another whelping home volunteer came over to help out, and that was after a snow emergency was called!  I sent them an email saying it wasn’t necessary with the bad weather, and yet they said no problem, drove over 45 minutes and showed up so that we could enjoy a family night out! I have always been appreciative of the volunteers in this organization that consistently use their time, talents, energy, and money to make this organization successful but I appreciate them in a completely different capacity after becoming a whelping home! It requires a heightened level of intense time requirement and I’m not sure I could pull it off without the help of other volunteers-and I’m sure the other whelping homes would agree!

It’s interesting, because even my family didn’t understand the difference between raising a litter of puppies and raising a litter of “future assistance dog” puppies.  People sometimes have experience with puppy litters, but it’s safe to say this is a totally different ballgame~but a totally awesome one to be a part of!

So, thank you to all of the volunteers who help to make the process of getting puppies to the next stage of their journey possible!

48 hours under our belt with real puppy food and WOW, it’s been a mess! It required an 11pm, 4am and 8am box changing to keep the puppies in a clean environment.

But the story of today is their activity level increasing drastically.  They are awake more, and when they are awake they are drumming up a play date with one of their siblings!
After saying yesterday was a typical day in the box without much of a change, today made up for it!

Yesterday I started putting down potty pads to get them used to the idea of having a set “area”.  While yesterday was hit or miss, today I noticed a definite change in their behaviors and I saw them actually getting up from a nap, going over to use the pad and then going back and laying down!  Not every one of them is that intentional, but I’m seeing a definite increase which I think is absolutely amazing considering they are only 3 weeks old!  I’m not an expert in dogs, but I personally would find it hard to believe that 5 out of 7 puppies went over to the pads on more than one occasion and it was nothing more than luck.

They are actively playing with the puppy play gym that I made for the first litter as well.  They are figuring out how to grab the ropes, how to get inside of it, and how to get back out.  It’s like I’m watching their brains develop in front of me!

The really fun part is that they are actively seeking me out on a regular basis.  They are starting to try to climb in my lap for a nap or snuggle, they are starting to “pounce” on me in a playful manner and they are staying awake for much longer periods during the day.  When I put them in the pen at night for bedtime, they now are coming to the door and looking up at me with those unbelievably adorable puppy dog eyes.  I have to quickly turn out the light before I succumb and take them all out of the box and play with them for “just a little bit more”.  I have to work hard at reminding myself that what I let them do now could have an effect on what they are like once they get older-that I have to be the one who sets the parameters and insures they follow it so that they can be confident, well adjusted service dogs in training. But let me tell you, that is not easy when I look at them!

Today, Red seemed to be the most animated and he is the first one that has learned a lopsided “gallop” across the play area.  I burst out laughing the first time because he couldn’t stop his movement and went right into the side wall of the whelping pen! He looked stunned for a moment before he turned and galloped off to run into one of his siblings, which I’m sure was a much softer landing 🙂

Sugar has decided that TODAY is the day that the puppies are ready for her to start playing with them and for her to start teaching them some rules.  She waits for them to walk over her head, (which they all seem to do and I’m not sure why) and now she starts to very lightly nibble on their legs and neck-partly I think a sign of affection and the other part the beginning of dog socialization for appropriate behaviors.  This is why it is so critical for puppies to stay with their moms during those critical weeks.  Research has shown that puppies taken away from their moms before they’ve had a chance to be trained in litter mate and dog behavior are typically not as well adjusted and have more behavior issues.

Something I heard someone say about dogs in your care; They’re singing your praises by their behavior and contentment. So, today I enjoy spending time with them, wondering what their futures hold and how proud I will be as they grow into fabulous assistance dogs in training knowing that I played a tiny role in their journey of greatness!

Well, today was a special day as it was the FIRST day that the puppies got to try real puppy food!(I posted a video on the Life of Sugar Facebook page.) As you can imagine, introduction to the puppies of real food means “messy” is typical, and that there is also  other things that change as part of being at this stage-namely their bathroom habits. When one goes to the bathroom, Sugar hunts me down with her eyes in what seems like a pleading expression like “please tell me you are going to start cleaning up after these puppies?  I can’t do this anymore——–”

Some other firsts-I got my first night of more than 3 hours of sleep with puppies!  When I was leaving for my mini vacation this week, Dora had said it might be a good time to try seeing if they would go a chunk of the night without needing anything.  They slept until 445 am which is a great accomplishment since it was the longest they had been away from their mom and they seemed to do fine. The best news is that I am not sleeping on an air mattress anymore!  Hallelujah because I’m not sure how many nights more my bones would have let me continue to do that!

They are developing so fast that it is hard to even keep track of all of the changes. They are getting great at playing together, they are more content between feedings like they might be willing to allow me to actually create some type of schedule for them, they are sleeping for longer periods through the night,  they get excited and perk up when I come to the doorway to check on them and they continue to develop their personalities.

None of them have changed much from the initial names/personalities that I attached to them when they were much younger;

Yellow-Still the happiest guy of the bunch willing to give you a tail wag for just about anything! (AKA Happy/Chunky)

Orange-Yep, I still have a soft spot for him and I have no idea why! He’s figured out how to bark to make sure we don’t forget about him, but he is quiet, content and laid back. (AKA-Doc,

White-still a quiet female of the group, she continues to be unassuming, yet she is starting to get a playful attitude with her littermates. She loves licking your face and I have no idea why!(AKA Bashful)

Blue-Blue likes to stir up trouble with his litter mates by trying to nurse on them and you can bet that doesn’t go over well:) Because of his efforts he is also known as Dopey! However, he has a petite face, he has a quiet attitude otherwise and there’s something very gentle that you can almost feel about him.

Purple-She’s a little bit of the “under” dog and she is too polite if you ask me.  She will sit back and wait for a feeding like she’s saying “Don’t worry, I will get whatever is left over when you are done”.  That’s when I pick her up, designate her feeding space and I take control and make room for the little peanut! (Of course, that’s not my typical personality to just jump in and take control…..) AKA Dollie/Sneezy because she was the first puppy to have little sneezing spells.

Green-still quiet, still reserved and nothing seems to ruffle his feathers!  He’s not the first to try anything, but his gentle spirit speaks volumes! AKA Junior

Red-What can you say about Red?  He previously seemed like he was going to be the sole troublemaker of the group; but as time passes they are all clamoring to get out of the box and explore their territory and Red seems to be the leader of the litter.

They had their first field trip out to the entry way in an x-pen.  They seemed to enjoy it and I put up towels and blankets to cover the x-pen walls so that the draft didn’t get the best of them. Ken loved it even more because he was able to sit in the pen WHILE watching the nightly news; that was a win for him and it gave me a little time to pick up some of the loose ends around the house.

 

You know you have it bad for puppies when every new development and change regardless of how messy brings a smile to your face and a skip in your step!

Mark was out today to do some filming of the first feeding and it was funny because part of me was just really enjoying watching them try to navigate the muffin tin of gruel, and the other part of me wanted to jump in the pen and keep them neat and orderly!  I told Mark that it was hard for me to just stand back and watch but I’m so glad I had the opportunity because I think you lose some of the joy of the moment if you don’t just learn to step back and watch without having to fix, change, or control it.  Another great life lesson learned because of a litter of adorable puppies that have no idea what they are teaching me along the way!

My first full day alone and in charge, well I am at least in charge in my own mind as I know who is really pulling the strings behind the scenes to make sure that I am a success with her pride and joy.

I am rating today as a success, I still have 7 puppies and a momma and they all seem to be content. I can’t believe how much Sugar is eating, every time I turn around I seem to be giving her more food and she does not hesitate in consuming it with delight. She really needs all this food to keep her energy and milk production up as the puppies are voracious every time she enters the pen to feed them. I feel sorry for her as she lays down and the puppies attack from all directions each searching for their food supply. You always get one or two of them that lose their spot and sit on the outside trying to find an opening in the line so they can get to their meal. 
When I watch this the outsider looks like Adrian Peterson trying to find a hole in the line so he can break the big one and find the promised land.

The hardest part of today for me is how low key it is. I love to stay busy and keep active but watching the pups requires you to be low key, have patience, and be content sitting around playing with the puppies and Sugar. I was able to get Sugar out for a walk this afternoon after she had fed the pups and they were resting. We both really enjoyed it, the fresh air and exercise. I let Sugar take her time and smell the roses while she could. When she gets out she reverts back to the non-mom Sugar and the spunk returns with a little giddy up in her step. When she returns to the house she reverts back to mom dog and becomes serious and immediately goes to the pen to count the puppies.
  

 

I think Sugar is also beginning to accept reality and she knows that her mom is gone for a while as she is not waiting for someone else to walk in behind me anymore. She is stuck with me and now comes to me when she needs things, I think she is becoming more confident in my abilities. I think she has accepted me as her temporary stepdogmom, I consider this a success.

Day one, done!
 

Today is the first full day that Ken is holding the reins in the puppy world with me away. It sounds like he is doing everything well and this is just the first in a series of changes that these puppies will encounter during their training. They need to be easygoing, flexible and adaptable as they will be placed with a variety of families and  locations and learning to adjust to changes is just as important as any other training during their early months.  I’m approaching this time away as one more step in their future success (and maybe a good step for me as well!). 

So, how’s Ken doing with them?  Here’s the text I received this morning from him-“Going to be a great Sunday. My goal is to have the puppies potty trained and on 10 second stays by the end of the day”. Shortly after that another text….”How about a pic of them playing in the snow?” I had to wonder-he certainly knows they can’t go outside, doesn’t he ???? Just to make sure I sent a follow up text (“no, no playing in the snow”). I didn’t want to leave anything up to chance!

So, here’s Ken’s blog post from Saturday in his own words! 

December 2, 2016

Today is the day, the pressure is on. Holly did not want to leave the house and hung around the whelping room looking for things to do and watching over me for the longest time. I finally realized that she was procrastinating; maybe hoping she could delay long enough that she would miss her flight and have to stay home. Sugar on the other hand was watching Holly knowing something was going on and she had a nervous look as well. Her look was DO NOT leave me alone with him, he does not know what he is doing. I have never seen a more concerned look on her face. This got me more concerned wondering if I could handle it as Sugar is a dynamite dog who is bomb proof and can handle anything, if she was concerned then I should be concerned. 

I had to put my concerns aside and get Holly moving, I looked at her and told her “It is time for you to leave” She gave me a nervous chuckle, delayed some more, yet after another 15 minutes she was finally out the door.

Holly has left for the airport and I am now in charge of her precious cargo. Seven service dog puppies who just opened their eyes, are walking better, are beginning to bark and play fight with each other, each day they are developing more and it is amazing to watch. On top of all of this I have to live up to high expectations of Holly.

For those of you that do not know Holly she is very detailed and everything she does is done with passion. She has reviewed her dog bible with me several times, gone over the reporting that needs to be done on a daily basis. When do the dogs eat, how do I change out the bedding, how much and when should I feed Sugar. I actually went in to puppy overload but I was not going to let her know this. I am used to running a business not raising a pack of adorable puppies, what did I get myself into? Wish me luck…

My first night did not start off good and it was not due to the dogs. I was having a craving for some sweets and I knew that we had some cookies in the freezer downstairs. I went down to ease my craving and upon opening the freezer I realized it was not running and the food was thawing. The GFI outlet had blown and now I had something else to deal with. Too much for tonight so I just took inventory of the food throwing some out, turned the freezer back on, did some google research and went back upstairs knowing this would still be here tomorrow.