Pleasant Meadows

Maewyn's puppies are now 4 weeks old and we have moved them from the Nursery to our front entrance sun room where they will be for puppy-choosing starting next week, but the reason for the move is four-fold:

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1.  the puppies are ready to move out of the whelping box at this age, if they aren't already climbing out, they would be soon!​

2.  the mild stress of changing "location" is helpful for teaching puppies coping skills and to aid in the transition from our home to yours.​

3.  furthering desensitization and socialization in a new location with new experiences.​

4.  a bio-secure area for puppy choosing for the safety of all our dogs and puppies.​

The puppies need more space to play and the new pen area offers double the space of the whelping box, and the puppies also have the exposure to a potty area in the form of a washable potty pad (the green side of the pen). 

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And while the puppies did absolutely amazing transitioning to a new area with tail wags and curious exploration -- the inner (and normal) stress of change is still present and something that the puppies have to go through in order to learn proper coping skills.  In the wild, the equivalent of this would be in the form of changing dens.

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In our sun room the puppies will be able to see and hear many new sights and sounds.  And winter time provides the perfect opportunity to desensitize the puppies to seeing us put on winter apparel (winter coats, gloves, hats/toques, boots, etc.) while going outside to shovel/move snow or to do chores which may include the use of a flashlight on dark winter mornings and evenings.  They will also be able to see us carrying in groceries, courier deliveries, and all of the comings and goings of a normal household.  Their pen space will rotate between the sun room and our living room between now and 8 weeks to continue this process but also to allow the puppies to hear cooking sounds and smell food being prepared, etc.

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The sun room also acts as a necessary bio-secure area when families come to visit.  It's an easily cleaned space and prevents disease and parasites from unknowingly being tracked into our home when visitors remain in the sun room, and we can quarantine there if necessary to protect any younger current litters or exposure of our adult dogs.