Puppies are getting visitors for early, gentle handling socialization and new smells!
The pups are officially one week old, and it’s already fun to see how much they’ve changed in just a few days! They still can’t fully regulate their temperature like an adult dog, so they pile together or snuggle up on Mallow to stay warm. It makes for the cutest interactions. They’re also little sniffy buggers since they still can’t see or hear — you just hear their tiny noses going as they try to get to wherever they want to be.
I’d say Fluffernutter and S’more, our big boys, seem to be ahead of the game when it comes to trying to stand. We’ve seen them both raise their chubby bellies off the ground instead of just scooting around. Some of the pups have already tripled their birth weight — including our tiny girl, Snoball — which is absolutely wild to me because they still feel so small. I am starting to notice, though, that they take up way more space on Mallow!
Every day, we do brief Early Neurological Stimulation where we hold the pups in different positions, tickle their toes, and introduce them to something cold. The research behind ENS is still developing, so I don’t view it as some magic recipe for producing a certain type of dog. I use it as one small part of a broader goal of giving the puppies early, gentle human handling and safe, novel experiences.
I also wanted to share one fun little feature of this litter that you may have already noticed: several of the puppies have some pretty extensive white markings, from their chests and toes all the way up their faces. It’s incredibly cute and pretty unique, even among field-bred Goldens. I’m not too surprised to see it, given that Zeus has quite a bit of white on his chest and Mallow was born with some white on her forehead that faded as she grew.
For those curious about the breed standard, the Golden Retriever Club of America allows a small amount of white on the chest, while more extensive white markings are considered outside the standard. That said, the standard also emphasizes that the Golden Retriever is, first and foremost, a hunting dog, and that overall appearance, balance, gait, and purpose should be given more emphasis than any one individual feature.
When I planned this litter, my priority was temperament, health, versatility, and working ability. White markings don’t really affect much of that, so I’m pretty happy to let these little guys be their adorable, unique selves.