I can’t believe that the puppies are now 8 weeks old. Only 2 more weeks and they will all be off to their new homes. This will be the first time that all of the puppies leave here about the same time. I am grateful to all of my puppy buyers and the trust they have placed in me to raise these puppies to the best of my ability. I hope they fill everyone’s expectations. Over the next 2 weeks, I hope to get them accustomed to a harness, collars and leashes, as well as take them out to the little town of Hotchkiss so that they see and hear different things, as well as different smells. (A harness is best to work these puppies in, as they can very easily slip out of a regular collar if spooked and pull back or away from you.) I will be taking them off individually to play with alone, so that they begin to look more towards people and less towards their littermates, although they will still have plenty of playtime with each other. House training will also commence, as I will crate them at night and take them out to encourage them to go potty outside. I hope they will be close to house trained by the time they go to their new homes.
As I can, I will do my best to take pictures and videos of the puppies as I work with them. I may not cover each puppy every day, but will get them all posted individually over the next 2 weeks so that you may see how each puppy is improving and how I am working with them.
We took them out to the ‘dobies tonight with the rest of the gang. The gang took off (thought we’d just about lost Sammie as she wouldn’t return), but luckily the puppies stayed close enough to us. I’ll start bringing a treat bag with me so that they are rewarded for staying close by and coming when we call them. Interestingly, I think they were better at coming when called when they were a bit younger! More scents to intrigue them now I guess. LOL
They continue to learn dog manners taught by my very patient older dogs, and manners around cats. They must be getting a bit too rough with Billy the Cool Cat, as he’s starting to get defensive with them. Some of them have also learned that chickens should be left alone. We have a hen that was attacked by a neighbor’s dog last year that will peck the puppies if they come to close. Perhaps my chickens will stay intact this litter!
I will also be teaching them some very basic obedience, mainly sit and down. Stay is a bit hard for a puppy, but I may squeeze that in too. So much to do with them now that they are more alert and interacting with us. One problem that I’ve been having is that it has been so hot that when I come home from work, all they want to do is snooze! Hard to train a snoozin’ puppy!
They have been spending most of their days outside, either in their pen with a small obstacle course, or out playing with the big dogs or romping around with their littermates. They follow me out to the garden and join me there, and all but Hannah will come down to the chicken coop with me when I take care of my birds. Not sure why Hannah won’t come to the coop anymore. She used to. Don’t recall anything bad happening to her there, but she chooses not to go with us anymore. I’ll have to bring her on down to see if I can encourage her to check out new areas. My husband has taken a few with him for short rides on his 4-wheeler, so that will continue too.
Here is a video and pictures of them out in the ‘dobies.
Rat Race Rat Terriers 