Day 17

The puppies are awake for longer periods of time now and are much more mobile.  They have started  to playfully bite at each other and are making playful growling noises as well.  I can't help but chuckle and smile watching the puppies experiment with play. They waddle over to each other then attempt to grab at the other puppy and nearly every time end up falling over onto their side, rolling around a bit before getting back up and trying again. They just don't have the coordination yet for long bouts of play. 
  I have started to add some toys to the whelping box too.  The puppies are starting to climb on the toys, bite at them and burrow under them.  As they get more coordinated I will begin to rotate toys to expose them to lots of different objects and play things. 

The boy does not have his eyes open yet, but it's amazing to see how well he navigates around the box without the use of sight.  I image his sense of smell is quite good and the puppies should be starting to gain some sense of hearing now too.  Starting tomorrow I will begin to play the puppies various sounds CD's to expose them to a wide variety of noises. We will start with classical music for a few days. The many highs and lows help to develop a wide range of hearing in the young puppies.  Then I will begin to play a sounds disc which includes noises from construction sites, children playing, fireworks, dogs barking, household noises etc. I also have an agility trial sounds discs, with all the noises you would find at any busy dog show. 
  Some pics and videos from today with the puppies learning to play.

 

playful puppy bite from sister to brother

 

boy

girl