Pictured below are pictures of our current litter of London’s 4 week old puppies.
These pictures were taken the day the puppies turned 4 weeks old. The temperature was in the 50’s. The next morning as I’m posting the pictures, the temperature has dropped to only 11 degrees. 11 is almost unheard of in Alabama. Needless to say, our puppy socialization exercises will all take place inside until it warms up a bit!
Scroll to the last picture to see our current set up with all 3 litters.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas everybody!
The Boys
Mr. Teal
Mr. Black
Mister Yellow
Mr. Red
Mr. Gray
Mister Orange
Mr. Blue
The Girls
Miss Purple
Miss Pink
Current Set Up For 3 Litters
Sydney’s litter is in the black pen. Paisley’s puppies are in the left back corner and London’s are on the right side of the back wall. To the right of London’s pen is a strip of fencing that makes a hallway to our side foyer which is behind the wall you see in the picture.
Starting right at 4 weeks, we work with the puppies to walk themselves around the corner and out the door. There is a gate from London’s puppy pen to the hallway on the back side next to the potty pans. Having the puppies pass through the potty pans before entering the hallway encourages them to pee before they walk down the hallway. Our goal at this age is for all pees and poops to be either in the potty pans or outside.
London’s 4 Week Old Puppies: Developmental Information
Between three and four weeks, puppies change a huge amount. Personalities are starting to emerge. Four week old puppies are ready to venture out of their pen and explore our home. They are old enough for brief introductions to outside. By four weeks, puppies are beginning to stay awake for longer periods of time and are actively engaging in play.
Indoor House Training
Between 3 1/2 weeks and 4 weeks of age, we spend a lot of time training them to potty in the pine pellet potty pans. We keep the area outside the pans almost perfectly clean. We gradually decrease the amount of area that is covered by pads as puppies show increasing dependability with doing all their business in the pans. By the time puppies are 4 weeks old, almost all of them are close to doing all their business in the right place.
Started on Puppy Food
Shortly before 4 weeks of age, we start puppies on puppy food as the moms naturally start the weaning process. At 3 weeks, puppies have teeth which makes the nursing experience less pleasant for the moms. By four weeks, it can be rather painful for large litters to be biting and pulling as they nurse. Almost all moms will begin pulling away somewhat from the litter between four and five weeks.
We offer soaked dog food three times a day. The puppies are fed in one large bowl all together at this age. They eat as much as they want and the mama will finish off the bowl.
Introduced to the World Outside Their Pen
Right at 4 weeks, puppies are introduced to the world outside of their pen. We take them initially in groups to various rooms in our home. As confidence builds, we take them out individually. Puppy socialization becomes increasingly important. Puppies are staying awake for longer periods of time. This is the week that our socialization program becomes very intentional and scheduled.
Four-week old pictures are usually taken in our front yard. This is usually their first trip outside. We will occasionally take a litter outside for the first time the day before they turn 4 weeks. They don’t stay outside very long on these first days, but within a few days, they are ready for slightly longer outside experiences.
Shortly after 4 weeks of age, we begin pushing puppies through the doggy door every time they go outside (and we go in and out with them many times a day). This process acclimates them to the feel of the flap on top of their backs.
By the time puppies are 4 1/2 weeks, they are ready to be trained to navigate the two steps from our puppy play yard to our side porch. Then when puppies are fluent with these steps, we begin more serious doggy door training. Four weeks of age is the optimum time to introduce puppies to new things. They are anxious to try new things and to explore their world.
For more information on how we raise our puppies, see our Raising Puppies page.
We’ll continue keeping you posted on how London’s four week old puppies are growing on a weekly basis. See our Available Puppies page to get to pages of London’s 4 week old puppies at other ages.
