10-12 Weeks At A Glance
We now hold our puppies for 12 weeks (to insure they get the best start in life, they receive their 2nd protection vaccine prior to going to the forever homes )
At Westlane our puppies are raised in our home 100% of the time until they go to their fur-ever homes... We choose your puppy based on the questionnaire that you filled out. We try to take as many photos and videos as we can during their first 12 weeks, sharing on here and on social media (FB, Instagram). We include ENS and Puppy Culture into our daily interactions with the puppies. Good news if you have a cat(s), we do too and the puppies get to interact them. Pixie (black) and Liv (calico) spend the most time with them.
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Birth - 2 Weeks Old
Someone is with them 24/7. We've been blessed with the fact that our momma dogs have excellent maternal instincts, but with the first two weeks being the most stressful (since their eyes and ears haven't opened), it is important to us they always have someone nearby (looking out for both them and their Moms).
Once their eyes/ears open, we start introducing toys to them. The toys hang from above as well as ones on the ground (they have different textures and make different types of noises).
2-4 Weeks Old
The puppies are growing and developing their personalities, learning & getting used to their surroundings. They get introduced to blended food and water, as well as having the toddler slide to play with now.
4-5 Weeks Old
We add a raised bed and introduce the potty box (generally they start to get the concept in about a week or so). Depending on the size of the litter, we start expanding the whelping box to accommodate their growth.
We switch to bigger toys for them to explore. By now with eating puppy mush and utilizing the puppy box, they all have had experience a full bath. We also introduce them to standing on our grooming table (for exposure to new situations and for the purpose of evaluating their growth/structure.
6 Weeks Old
We've started crate training (typically for about 20-30 mins, with a buddy and by themselves). Weather permitting we try to take them outside as much as possible. By now they have already been exposed to different types of louder noises - puppy culture style play list of mix of sounds - vacuum, baby crying, music, video games, fireworks, etc.
6 to 12 Weeks Old
Before they go to their fur-ever homes, we try to keep expanding on the experiences they have already been exposed to as much as possible (crate & leash training, independence, exposure to cats', noises inside/outside home, introduced to water and wings, car rides and appropriate trips out into the community, etc).
