Dogmatique Standard Poodles

Week Three

The pups continue to grow like crazy, and are all well over double their weight and length from what they were at birth. Their eyes opened this week, and they're all walking (though they're still sometimes a little bit shaky). They're starting to break up their regular routine of eating and sleeping with a little bit of playtime now that they can see each other. This mainly involves climbing over and "tasting" each other right now, but they'll be scampering before too long -- and will need more space than they have in the whelping box. Their teeth are starting to come through but they aren't yet aware of how sharp they are. Gwyn will let them know.

Eyes open and standing up, but the pups still don't get too far from each other.

All dogs instinctively know not to soil their dens, so the puppies have a natural instinct to pick one corner of the whelping box to do their business. We use this instinct to begin to paper train them, which will continue as they learn to go outside in a couple of weeks.

Tonight we made the journey to the front deck for a little outside time. It was short and sweet, but gave some of them a chance to stretch their legs a bit. Others really weren't too sure about the strange texture of the deck. Thankfully, Gwyn was there with us to reassure them.

Only 3 weeks old, the pups have doubled their size — and the number of hands it takes to hold them.

Our other dogs (Danté, the father of this litter; Raine, and Bé) are getting lots of love now that everyone's home from school, but they still feel a little bit left out because they know that something mysterious is going on with Gwyn in our bedroom. Bé (our 8-year-old female and a former mom herself) can hear the puppies squawk and bark, and she instinctively wants to come to them. She sits outside the bedroom door sometimes, waiting to be invited in. A couple of days ago she made a few steps in but was firmly told by Gwyn to "get out". Her time for playing "auntie" will come in the next couple of weeks, when the pups will get to meet her and the other dogs for the first time, as well as our cats.

More at Week Four!

Dogmatique's summer 2010 litter (from our dogs Danté and Gwyn) is here! Mama and babies (all ten of them) are doing great, and the pups will ready to go to their new homes starting in mid-August. Our family-raised puppies are vet checked, microchipped, and will have had their first vaccinations. They are registered with the Canadian Kennel Club and have a lifetime of support from Dogmatique.