The Mouss x Lexi Puppies are 6 Weeks Old

The 5th Week

Time is passing by very quickly with the Mouss and Lexi puppies.  We are now in what is termed the "critical period" of development which lasts from three weeks to sixteen weeks.  What we do with these puppies in the next few weeks can have a big impact on their development and we work hard to offer them positive new experiences and an enriching environment.

Playing in their pen on January 10th

We've had lots of visitors come by to enjoy the puppies and to help socialize them to new people.  Some of our visitors are new puppy homes and they have enjoyed following the growth of the litter.  We also have neighbourhood friends and past puppy homes drop by and it's really nice to catch up with old friends and cuddle and play with puppies.  

One of the things we do with the pups while they are in our care is follow the "Rules of Seven" developed by Pat Schaap, a longtime Sheltie breeder.  By the time the puppies are seven weeks old they should have:

• Been on 7 different types of surfaces:  carpet, concrete, wood, vinyl, grass, dirt, gravel, wood chips
• Played with 7 different types of objects:  big balls, small balls, soft fabric toys, fuzzy toys, squeaky toys, paper of cardboard items, metal items, sticks or hose pieces
• Been in 7 different locations:  front yard, back yard, basement, kitchen, car, garage, laundry room, bathroom
• Met and played with 7 new people:  include children and older adults, someone walking with a cane or stick, someone in a wheelchair or walker
• Been exposed to 7 challenges:  climb on a box, climb off a box, go  through a tunnel, climb steps, go down steps, climb over obstacles, play  hide and seek, in and out of a doorway with a step up or down, run around  a fence
• Eaten from 7 different containers;  metal, plastic, cardboard, paper,  china, pie plate, frying pan
• Eaten in 7 different locations:  crate, yard, kitchen, basement, laundry  room, living room, bathroom

The puppies playing in their pen on Jan 14th.  You can see how much they enjoy 

The 6th Week

Miss Piggy chewing on a rope toy

The puppies had a lot of fun this week.  So much growth and development is occurring that you can literally see the changes from one day to the next.  They have lots more teeth that have erupted and as a result they need to chew!  We want to establish good chew toy habits so provide the puppies with many appropriate chews that we rotate in and out of the pen on a daily basis.  

New items are added to the pen regularly and the puppies are introduced to a crate and very much enjoy sleeping in it.  They are busy learning how to use their bodies; climbing on stools, navigating barriers by having to go under, over or around, crawling under furniture when they are out playing in the living room, chasing, pouncing and carrying toys.  It's all so entertaining to watch and so important for their development.

Lexi playing in the puppy pen with her little ones - Jan 18  She is very good with her puppies.

The weather outside has been very cold but it is warming up now and we will be making more trips outside with the Muppets.  Here are some photos from their first trip out to play in the snow.

I hope you enjoy our blog posts about Northrock's "H" litter.  If you would like to see more photos and videos of the pups I invite you to like our Facebook page Northrock Barbets where I try to post photos of the little Muppets on a daily basis.