Wednesday, July 20, 2022

So far, this has been a very eventful week for the pups! They started on weaning foods last week (still nursing on mama, but this gives her a break!) and have been enjoying various foods this week - soaked and cooked ground oats / barley / corn, lots of raw milk, kefir, yogurt, raw eggs, and even raw meat! (The dairy, eggs, and meat are from our farm.) Last night we fed their mama, Joy, and papa, Teddy, some fresh raw mutton (sheep). One curious pup got close to the meat on bone that we were offering to her mama, and she began wildly tearing at it. Within moments, the whole gang was tugging on the hunk of mutton, and pulling off little strips of meat. This was fascinating to watch. I am glad they are into the super raw meat, as tearing at the meat will develop their jaw strength and their health.

The chicks and pups are getting regular social interactions. The chicks now live in what was the whelping box for the pups, so the pups are familiar with the space they are in.

Some chicks come and eat with the pups in the pups’ new area, but most chicks stay within the grassy fenced-in enclosure we’ve made around the old pup whelping box. We put the pups in with them earlier this week to get them used to one another. After a couple of pups tried to nibble at the chicks for a minute or two, they all got acclimated to one another and co-existed for about a half hour before a few of the pups began to fuss or fall asleep.

The pups are soaking everything up. They are ready to be trained. I’m planning on starting Puppy Culture training this week. This will give them ways to interact with me, and will help us to grow together. The pups are eager to learn new things right now.

Teddy, the papa, has also begun playing with the pups. He likes to nuzzle them, paw them, and he will even gently fight with them (Great Pyrenees like to nibble on one another). The pups are also playing together a lot - wrestling, growling, and running around. It’s a lot of fun watching them.