Day 42 A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag July 7, 2020

As I consider sending the Wildflowers to new homes, I feel the need to revisit the importance of avoiding adverse experiences.

I have been so careful to support and encourage the puppies’ expanding developmental capabilities, giving them ample and different opportunities to support mastery while avoiding situations that could send them into a fight-flight-freeze response, which floods the developing brain with stress hormones (to say it simply).

This is not just a time of learning — this is a time in which the puppy brain is being wired, so to speak, for the rest of their lives — good and bad. I am doing my part to set the puppy brains on a good circuit — new homes will need to take over with the same care and thought.

What does this mean?

New puppies should not be unduly stressed — and stress is in the eye of the beholder, as I have said before.

You may know the big dog is friendly but the puppy might not. You know the new house is safe but the puppy may be feeling, “what the actual heck is going on and where is my family!?” You know the crowd of new people who want to meet the puppy are loving and kind — the puppy may see them as a scary stampede with no maternal protection in sight.

When a puppy is concerned or stressed, you will likely see either an attempt to run/hide or the puppy will shut down/freeze. Both mean the puppy was put in a situation that was too much, too soon.

The solution is not to try and convince the puppy everything is fine — the solution is to make the situation fine from the perspective of the puppy.

Put the big dog behind a gate and let the puppy decide how much to interact. Close off the house except one room, and let the puppy gain confidence in one space with a buster cube or stuffed kong before adding more. Have the new people sit on the floor and let the puppy decide to visit (and get a tiny treat when she makes that choice).

In other words: Puppy Steps.

One cannot force or bribe confidence — it develops from mastering developmentally appropriate experiences. Positive experiences help the puppy understand it is wonderful to try new things — scary experiences teach them to be hesitant and nervous when confronted with novel.

This means we should offer the puppy new situations and environments but remain keenly attuned to the puppy’s reactions. A puppy who is accepting and fine with a new thing explores it — he does not suddenly lie down/shut down or try to get away from it.

This is all important stuff — not only are we constantly teaching the puppy but we are actively creating long-term neurological changes in the brain. Yes, the puppies will have inherited temperament tendencies but it is not Nature vs. Nurture — it is Nature AND Nurture.

Bottom Line: New homes need to avoid letting their excitement over their new family member cause massive flooding of novel experiences for a puppy.

Further, the humans need to fine tune their assessment skills so as to recognize when a puppy has been pushed beyond their current developmental capabilities and/or comfort level.

My advice for new puppies and the pandemic is the same: Dial back to the point at which everything feels manageable.

After a bit of rowdy and fun play this morning, the Wildflowers found their places and started to drift off…

And then they were all out…

Please have a wonderful and amazing — and manageable — day!

EVENING: Photos from the Day

We redesigned the outside area to both enlarge and include more grass — it was a big hit!

The puppies had a canine visitor — this is SPARKLE.

Good Night, Friends!

Day 41 A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag July 6, 2020

My camera card wasn’t inserted properly and so my morning photos were a bust — except this one…

But I did make a fun video — click HERE for a look at our morning.

Evening: Photos from the Day

These first two photos are at the end of the outdoor session today.

Sage, Buttercup, Mallow, Paintbrush, and someone in the back

Do you notice a theme?

Something new — a tippy thing. No problem!

Thanks to all who sent ideas for our Collaborative Puppy List — it is ready for your review. It is not meant to be inclusive of all specific instructions for the Wildflowers (or any litter) but more of a general list of recommendations of what people need when getting a new puppy.

Is your credit card ready to do some shopping?? THIS is the link to the list.

A special visitor tomorrow — we are excited!

Good Night, Friends.

Day 40 A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag July 5, 2020

Kai and Heidi (H Moon Litter) are the same age — both now 8.5+ years. It has been fun to watch this wonderful child grow up, hasn’t it? Thank you to his parents for sharing him — and his brothers — with us.

Maddie from the F Litter is older than both of them — she is closing in on twelve!

Barb reports that Maddie still does walks twice a day and is doing very well. We shall wish all the Wildflowers take after their great-great-auntie Maddie.

Puppies are not unlike humans — what works for one, doesn’t always work for another — and it can change from day to day. Daisy brought her stuffed (frozen) kong to her puppies — some thought it was interesting and some did not.

I have puppy kongs as well and again, some like them stuffed/frozen (with their homemade food) and some are not impressed.

Stuffed kongs are a wonderful way to feed dogs and keep them entertained while you drink your coffee. My big dogs get one each morning stuffed and frozen with homemade food.

After a breakfast of ground beef, brown rice, spinach, and some goat’s milk to make it puree well in the blender, the Wildflowers moved to the living room play area.

We had a tunnel collapse issue — this bothered nobody, including the trapped puppy, and it quickly popped back into shape once puppies were moved.

I change things every day — a different configuration, and/or toys that have been out of rotation for a day or two.

Play now involves leaping at and on each other, lots of growling, and howls of protest when one is too rough.

The puppies are starting to understand those howls as a clue to let go — at first they are upset by the howls of their playmate but do not understand how their actions are related. Like human children (and some adults), action and consequences are not immediately linked in a puppy’s mind.

Puppies do not seem to enjoy hurting each other and so this loud howling feedback mechanism both works well and promotes prosocial behavior. We can use this to our advantage — a very natural OUCH! if a puppy is too rough can be an effective way to help a puppy understand not to bite us.

Sometimes — like a cranky toddler — puppies spin out of control and cannot manage themselves; this is a clue that it is nap time.

The Wildflowers play for a while and then start to wind down.