I'll be watching over a litter of pups for a couple weeks

In My Humble Opinion
1

And I would like pointers. I’ve raised puppies but never as a litter. There are 7 pups and they will be 7 weeks when I start watching them for my niece next week. They will have their first set of shots and vet visit so I won’t have to worry about that. The mom is a pitt mix and the father is something from their neighborhood

Personally this would be a good time for me to start potty and obedience training, but how is this done with 7 pups? Wake all the pups up and bring them outside at the same time to get them used to doing their business outside?

Yup…only a couple weeks so I’m not expecting training miracles. And yup pics will follow as I can.

2

Isn’t the breed kind of already determined?

But seriously, what is the weather like where you are – what would they be facing outside?

3

LOL

This will be in Anchorage Alaska.

Next week seems to be mid 30’s highs to mid 20’s lows. Cold but no real snow as yet. It will be frosty in the morning and I don’t see long romantic walks in our future. The house is big enough to run around in so them getting exercise isn’t an issue.

Will having 7 puppies around make for too many distractions to start basic obedience?

4

http://www.echowyn.com/Ruleof7.html

Try the “rule of sevens” for puppies. Expose them to different things so they learn to be confident and well-socialized.

5

Thanks for the great article!

6

Also, please advocate spaying the mom as soon as medically sensible.

7

I read somewhere that a good way to socialize dogs is to start when they’re puppies. Invite some friends over for a quiet party and as part of the activities, you have them spend some time handling, petting, and holding the puppies.

Protect what you don’t want chewed on.

8

Will you be laying on the floor, letting them climb all over you? Because that’s what I would do.

9

Can I come help with this?

10

Seven weeks is the time to start working on house training. They won’t be successful at it yet, that’s ok, but you can start getting them on a schedule of outings at breakfast - lunch - dinner - bedtime. I don’t know if you can get up with them in the middle of the night, but if you’re free to do it, it would help cement the idea that eliminating is an outdoor activity. Praise them extravagantly for successful poopings. They won’t be able to hold it all night, so you’ll want newspapers for that time.

You can start getting them used to stairs by setting them on the bottom stair and letting them get down by themselves. You can put a collar on them for a little bit of time. Obviously, they will need to be supervised closely while all that’s going on.

See that each one gets some individual face time and handling. Look in their mouths, examine their teeth in a business-like fashion - no baby talk or coddling, just matter-of-fact examine their teeth, eyes and ears. Say the same phrase every time you do it - “tooth check”. “Ear check”. Like that. They’ll get the idea over time.

If they nip you, do your best Dowager Countess impression and scold them firmly, telling them how shocked you are at their appalling manners. They’re listening to your body language and tone of voice. They’ll forget all about it in five minutes but they’ll learn, over time.

Seven puppies is a lot of puppies. Have fun!

11

Oh, use a laundry basket to gather them to take them outside. And bring them back in.

12

Frequent head-counts.

13

Sailboat; I’ve brought up spaying but my niece has not been very receptive of the idea. I’m sure she will be after this litter of pups though as she was unaware of how much time has to be invested in a litter of pups.

Ranger Jeff; The pups have been well socialized! There is much love and snuggling going on. I did designate a laundry basket and blanket for transport after watching my niece and her boyfriend try to herd mutts.

Son of a Rich; I went over for a pre-pupsitting to get an idea of what my niece and sister do when they watch over the mutts. There was cuddling and playing with a sickening amount of love and laughter ensued.

Merneith; That is something that I did get on my niece about. The pups need to start on the potty training. She is going through ‘first time mommy’ syndrome and she is protective (it’s too cold/they’re too tiny). I wish I had time to train my niece. The pups do surprisingly well going up and down steps.

So I went over and it went very well for the most part. Momzilla and pups are doing very well.

I show up at the house and make my typical entrance for Momzilla asking in my Dadvoice ‘Why am I not laying in a pool of blood? Why are you not standing over my rapidly cooling corpse?’ and Momzilla shows up in puppy mode (This is how I’ve always greeted Momzilla so don’t think this is somehow a command for her to go into Terminator Mode). Much squiggly-butt-ery, whining and yipping ensue and as I kneel down to love on her I hear ‘The Thumping’ from the hallway.

7 pups come chasing Momzilla and we are at the center of even more squigglery and puppiness. With all the pups around I forget I’m supposed to be a responsible adult and Momzilla and I go jogging into the kitchen (2 entrances), fleeing in the face of puppy slobbers. Momzilla and I lead them on a merry chase around the kitchen and living room and we are chased onto the couch. Laying down on the couch in fear of our lives.

Momzilla knows the command ‘Shhhh’. So we are hiding from The Horde. The ominous sound of puppy feet thumping and whining and yipping promise of death by licking should we falter. It gets quiet…no thumping…no whining…and this is somehow worse than being stalked. The silence before the storm. Momzilla and I peek over the edge of the couch. As our eyes crest the couch we see the end of our lives.

7 sets up bared teeth launch at us in a fury! The energy only puppies and kids have are unleashed all at once, the jump at us…they don’t even get close to getting up onto the couch. Dummies, they are only puppies.

They are whining and giving Momzilla and I their puppy eyes. Like vampires that live off of love they hypnotize me, commanding me to bring my doom to myself. What can I do? I’m only a dummy and have not the power to resist, so I bring the a pup up. Much snuggling and licking as I rub the puppy and the puppy rolls over my body…checking legs and bones as I play with the pup. The pup checks out good and I exchange it for another pup and repeat this until I’ve handled all the pups.

Again all the pup are on the floor with Momzilla and I on the couch and we play peek a boo. The pups sit and we peek over and I ask ‘What are you doin?’ and they launch at us. Momzilla noses and licks and I play with them before we disappear again. When it gets quiet we peek over to do it all over again.

I sit on the couch like a Responsible Adult and bring all the pups up with me and Momzilla. This must be a treat for the pups because they go full on puppy mode. Puppy Swarm. It moves between Momzilla and me. All of us couch surf for a while, long enough for the pups to get worn out and all is calm again.

I yell for my niece to come and get her damn puppies. Stupid things. Making me laugh and stuff…seriously what the eff is wrong with them?

Sorry I didn’t have my phone. I was outside working when my niece picked up as a surprise. No phone means no pics or vids. I beg forgiveness.