Bernevirtus

Still puppies... In new homes and families: ADAMA, AMIDALA and AVA

Nice life in bernevirtus:

Breeder diary page - from birth to leaving to new families

(videos on FB and google bernevirtus page)

Week 1

Newborn puppies are blind, deaf and unable to regulate body temperature. Their birth weight is on average 400 to 550 grams, sometimes more and sometimes less. There are puppies with lower birth weight, although this is rather rare. In litter A, the birth weight of the puppies was: from 490 g to 590 g. The first was born a dog, which was marked with a blue ribbon and got the name ADAMA Bernevirtus. Why ADAMA? After biblical Adam, first created by the God... and after the William "Bill" Adama, Battlestar Galactica character with powerful strength, the boy born in Caprica SF world that fascinated me so much! Extraordinary newborn puppy... and firstborn. Soon, with Christmas cheer, another puppy male and 4 puppy bitches came to the world.

In the first week the bitch does not want to leave puppies. This is good for puppies, because constant care promotes milk production, and washing puppies stimulates emptying. And yes, my Ora cleans the delivery room and the puppies sleep, eat and grow. Puppies should double their birth weight in the first week to the tenth day. Appropriate weight gains and condition of the little ones testify to the proper development of the little ones. With each passing day puppies become stronger and more mobile (also "by voice"). In the first week, pigment begins to appear on the nose. At the end of the first week, sibling interactions begin, puppies are already trying to stand on four paws and take their first steps (although these are still quite inept attempts).

At the end of the first week, I gave names to all puppies from litter A.

Purple bitch (the largest puppy from this litter at his birthday) - beautiful, smart, strong and very successful - she got the pedigree name ATNIS Bernevirtus (the name was created from the character Katniss Everdeen - good, sensitive beautiful and very intelligent, and at the same time an individualist, brave, rebellious and confident).

The red bitch got the name ARYA Bernevirtus (Remember Aria from Game of Thrones? Arya Stark is an eager girl interested in exploring the world around her. Clever, she has a special ability to survive difficult situations and accept brutal reality, she has a fiery temperament and at the same time is delicate).

In turn, the girl marked as green got the name AMIDALA Bernevirtus, like the beautiful, good and wise Queen Naboo of Star Wars.

The second male from the litter (marked as Yellow) got the name ANAKIN Bernevirtus, from the figure of the most famous Jedi.

The orange bitch got the name AVA Bernevirtus (like AVA from "Ex Machina" - full of extraordinary charm, seemingly gentle and submissive, yet confident, clever and liberated).

Puppies are entering the second week of life, they still can't see and hear, but they have strong jaws! Because the most important thing they do now is food. They are still gaining weight at an amazing pace and spend most of their time sleeping and eating.

At this time awkward attempts at mutual communication begin. They are interactive when they are held by us, they lick, nibble and try to suck (sometimes very hard!) chin and fingers. The power of their jaws is quite large for such babies: if a puppy feels, for example, our chin while hugging, then for a few days we have a bright red trace "raspberry" on the chin ...

At the end of the second week, the eyes open, but it will take several days for the puppies to see. Initially, it seems that the eyes are less tightly closed, a small crack appears in the corner of the eye. It takes a long time to fully open your eyes, and your eyesight will develop for a while, even when you open your eyes. In addition to opening the eyes, in the second week the puppies take on a sitting position more and more often, they start to stand and even trod (though quite ineptly, but quite quickly). They have quite large heads and still very small bodies, they move unsteadily and in a rather uncoordinated way: the head and tummy are pregnant so it is difficult to stand, sit and walk.

In the third week, puppies start to learn more about the world. They are more active, in the short intervals between sleep and feeding they gnaw, lick, box and walk more and more. They can already see and hear and react energetically to the sounds coming from home. They are already beginning to respond enthusiastically to humans. They eat a lot (and still hungry!) And grow quickly. We are getting to know their character more and more. When I am with them I can see that ARYA will probably be a brave, energetic, clever and curious bitch. AMIDALA and ADAMA love to cuddle - calm and very cuddly bears. A confident ATNIS will surely show that she can cope in various situations and will not blow the grits. AVA is stable, subdued, calm, seemingly a bit submissive and confident at the same time.

Four-week-old puppies are very funny. For me it's a wonderful time in the development of puppies in breeding. The males want to have fun, react quickly and vigorously as soon as they see or hear a household member in the area of ​​their delivery room and nursery. They are quite efficiently climbing to their knees, demanding caresses and plays with their voices, hooking them with paws and mouths. Now they sleep less - they play longer with wrestling, scuffles, gnawing, and start playing with toys. They will learn different sounds - this week they got to know the sound of a working vacuum cleaner, a blow of the dryer and the scratching of various tools that we usually use at home for DIY or minor repairs. They are more and more curious. They are starting to move very quickly: they run and bounce looking for each other whenever they are not sleeping, or trying to catch up with mother, when they feel like "little what not". In the middle of the fourth week, puppies begin to get raw meat: very finely ground / chopped veal, venison and turkey (with the addition of adequate calcium to get its proper supply in relation to phosphorus) - once a day after feeding by my mother, I give it to the babies with HUGE taste they eat almost 100 g at a time! They love and serve them well: they grow / grow properly, they don't cry, they don't complain, they don't have any health problems or diarrhea, they are joyful, energetic and full!

This week, group games are underway, a herd hierarchy begins to settle, rapid growth and development occur. Teeth sting like needles, but you can't interfere in puppy fights: this is how they learn to interact with a dog in a herd. Sometimes Ora's mother intervenes, but it is enough for her to approach the little ones during a fierce fight and the little ones stop fighting - they diverge. Ora freely plays with them, teaches them different behaviors.

The nursery, which replaced the delivery room in the third week) has already been made. Puppies walk freely around the house (although cleaning becomes a bit of a nuisance because the little ones, although they are taught to settle in front of the house on the grass, sometimes in play or immediately after waking up, they will not be able to leave the living room) - they visit, get acquainted with all manifestations of human life. They love to get on their knees and play with people. They are also happy to be outside. Socialization and taming with different sounds, smells, devices in the home and garden begins. Even in winter there are many interesting possibilities!

AMIDALA is the most inquisitive, open to everything new, followed by ANAKIN, ARYA and ATNIS. ADAMA also eagerly joins in the fun, but as befits a sleepyhead, it is only when he sleeps soundly and drank. Instead, the AVA has taken the observer role in the group: it calmly follows siblings' games, sometimes it will join the group fun, but not for long. She is more of a thinker type.

This week I set relatively regular times of eating (7, 12, 17, 21) - puppies are already eating ground, boneless, bone-in meat and offal. They like veal, rabbit, turkey, mutton and goat best. Of course, mother Ora does not stop feeding yet. Puppies at the end of the fifth week weigh from 4.1 to 4.3 kg.

Puppies are already dewormed and will soon be vaccinated.

Puppies sleep less and less, and during periods of activity begin to resemble sometimes a hurricane. They are very active and further explore the secrets of dog communication in groups. Although sometimes their games may seem brutal to us (squeaks, barking, growling), it is a completely natural behavior - they acquire the skills of getting along in a dog pack. Mother Ora and grandmother Efi are very happy to be with puppies, and whoever is fooling too much is scolded by them - a light snarl of the mother is enough and there is peace. For every child there is time for group and individual fun. And puppies are very creative - they continue to venture into the garden. Fresh lying snow fascinates and pleases them very much.

The appetite is great: puppies eat more (about 0.5 kg a day each), because they grow and develop very intensively. For this they need calories for their activity. I always have a rule that children eat from one bowl (serving food in several bowls does not work, because it is always more tasty and interesting, which is in the bowl of a sister or brother!): I put in about 1 kg for everyone and everyone eats as much as they want / need. If you eat it, it leaves the bowl, and if the bowl is empty and licked, and any of the puppies is still looking for food, it is a sign that you should add it - someone has not eaten.

This week the litter has been registered in the Polish FCI (ZkwP): birth certificates and litter card were bought, litter review and breeding control are planned.

Puppies seem to already possess most of the skills they need to live, but are still learning basic behavior and independence. They are still growing and changing every day, but the changes are less fast than in the early weeks. They are more and more charming and cozy - perfect, because then we are more forgiving when one of the kids bites the end of our nose. Puppies bite right and left - this is how they get to know their surroundings. This week, more siblings bite more and spend more and more time having fun. They socialize very willingly.

This week they are still breastfeeding, even though they are already getting their solid food. This is completely natural and in my opinion the most appropriate - mother Ora will decide when to put her babies to rest. Some wonder how puppies can suck when they have sharp teeth, and that's a good question. The answer is simple: you can't suck and bite at the same time - did you know that? Try it - it's impossible! Therefore, it is not painful for Orca to feed a puppy - unless the puppy stops sucking, pulling the food and starts to bite. In this case, Ora's mother gives the toddler a snarl signal that this is not right and is removed from the toddler's fangs.

This week, differences in the character of puppies are beginning to be visible. Some puppies are just constantly busy and active, while others are more lazy - they love sleeping or taking a nap. This week is a very important time for socialization, and if it works well, puppies will be open to new people in the future. Puppies are now sweet and disheveled, excited about everything that surrounds them, adore people.

When they are at home, they have continuous contact with household members and other animals, they move freely around the house in order to get to know various domestic nooks and crannies - in this way their curiosity is satisfied and their "intellectual" development is not limited (puppies are not kept in closed pen!). When we are in the garden, the whole area is at their disposal (everything is so interesting, even cones, sticks, grass, flowers, worms, trees, bushes): playing with people and other dogs freely on the grass they will know the sounds of wind, moving trees , whimpering birds, running squirrels and pheasants.