My Puppy Project

A Twelve Week Chronicle of  Puppy Development and Training

Third Week—See Video Here

The third week (Days 14-21) of a puppy’s life is known as the “transitional period.”  This is an apt name, because in this short week, the puppies go from deaf, blind, helpless loaves of fur to real puppies, who can see, hear, toddle, and play.

The puppies also started eating on their own this week.  Their first meal was warmed goat’s milk in a flying saucer dish.   I thought it might be a little early to start them eating on their own, but Zulu was beginning to get exhausted from feeding them all, and they seemed to be showing a lot of interest in her food.  The instant I put the dish down, they swarmed  over it in an enthusiastic puppy-pig pile and lapped the milk right up.   They were obviously quite ready.  Puppies at this age tend to get into the food dish—they seem to believe that having their entire body in contact with the meal will somehow  get food into them faster.

The next day, I added some lean, pureed, wild venison meat to the milk.  The puppies loved that and vacuumed it down with amazing speed.  In no time, they figured out  that only the front part of their bodies eat, and they learned to keep only their heads in the dish.  We still have to clean each puppy individually after each meal, but it no longer has to be a full-body sponge bath.

Zulu is much happier about letting them nurse now that they have supplemental food.  They are less frantic and abusive to her teats when she gets in the box as they are not quite so hungry.

Video of Puppies’ first meals coming soon