Toomevara English Jack Russell Terriers

What's going on with your pup in the first few weeks...
FROM BIRTH to 2 WEEKS
At this point in time, it is impossible for a pup to regulate their body temperature or eliminate without their mother's stimulation. They are blind and deaf yet very aware of direct contact.

During this period, we keep the pups very close to us. They are moved from room to room as we go about our day. At times, they are in the office, while I work, in the kitchen while we prepare meals, in the dining room, living room, etc. When we go to bed at night, the pups and mom are moved to our bedroom, and sleep beside our bed. Wherever we are, the puppies are.

Mom is maintained on a raw, nutritious diet and always has access to fresh water to keep her milk supply up. Usually, she will want just very quick potty breaks and will want to get right back to her puppies. She spends all of her time nursing them and cleaning them.

Handling the pups properly during days 1-16 have been proven to develop "super dogs"  when in learning or competitive situations. They are better able to handle stress, are more social and learn more quickly.  Mild stress at an early age has even been proven to increase brain size.

The pups are seen by our vet when they are a few days old, for a quick check-up. We keep a record of their birth weights and check every puppy's weight every single day through 2 weeks, to make sure that they are all getting adequate milk from mom.

Puppies will meet and be held by many different people during this stage.

2 to 3 WEEKS
The puppies' eyes and ears begin to open. They now hear and can respond to taste and smell. This is when we introduce items to the whelping box such as a stuffed toys, small squeaky toys, balls and chew toys.  Several times a day, all members of our family pick up and interact with each puppy individually, loving them, holding them, handling their feet, ears, looking at their teeth, etc. This is also a time of rapid sensory development. Keeping in mind not to stress them too much, we begin to take them two at a time to new floor surfaces for a few short minutes at a time. We take different pairs each time and introduce a new surface such as concrete, tile, wood, carpet, pea gravel, etc. Taking them in pairs will make it less stressful to the pups.  Very mild auditory stimuli is also introduced, such as a radio or television playing softly in the background.

During this period, the pups are still maintained in a crate with mom and moved around the house to different locations, depending on where we are in the house.

Puppies will meet and be held by many different people during this stage.

3 to 5 WEEKS
During this time, the pups really become mobile. They start to walk and explore (backwards first!), play with toys and continue to stay close to mom. Sometime during this timeframe, we will move them into the puppy pen, where they will have a potty area, play area with toys and bedding. Mom continues to stay with them and they continue to nurse. They are continually and appropriately introduced to new textures, surfaces, toys, environments inside the home, sounds and other stimuli. They are used to hearing the dryer running, dishwasher running, kids playing, television and radio sounds, slamming of doors, people talking, etc.

We introduce the clicker to the puppies around 3-1/2 weeks, by using a ballpoint pen. Because they are not weaned onto solid food yet, we do not use treats and instead click and give them lots of love and praise, gently petting them and holding them. This begins their positive association with the clicker sound.

Puppies will meet and be held by many different people during this stage.

5 to 8 WEEKS
During this stage, puppies will start to be weaned by mom. We allow her to do this at her own pace. She will naturally and gradually start to wean them as she wants to. Once she begins the weaning process, we introduce the puppies to solid food in the form of locally bought, fresh goat's milk and hamburg. These first few meals are fun to watch and the puppies get very excited about this new diet. As they start to eat solid food, mom will stop cleaning up after them and we begin to clean out the pen 4-5 times a day, cleaning out the potty area, replacing toys with fresh toys, putting in new fresh bedding, etc. Pups are still rotated through different rooms of our home and now they can begin outside excursions, weather permitting. Mom is still kept with the pups at all times, as her input into their behavior is critical in their development. They start to play fight, bite, chew on and wrestle with their littermates, which gives them valuable feedback about bite inhibition and appropriate social interaction. We also introduce individual crate training during this time, giving every puppy a little bit of time alone every day in their own crate (usually 15 minutes to start, building up to 2-3 hours before they go home at 8 weeks). This helps the puppies understand that sometimes they will be by themselves. We take the pups on car rides around our neighborhood, to condition to them riding together and separately in a car. Our more gentle older terriers are allowed playtime with the puppies and the pups enjoy this time to play with an older dog.

At 7 weeks of age, our dining room is transformed into a full puppy playroom. We remove all the furniture and roll out rubber flooring to protect the hardwood floors and let the pups have space. They have a potty area, nap area, toys of all varieties and Mom still with them. At night, they are now sleeping in individual crates, to prepare them for their lives at their new homes.

Pups are taken to the vet at 7 weeks of age, for a final checkup before going home with their new families.

Puppies will meet and be held by many different people during this stage.