In the blink of an eye, they understood that the one who sits down nicely gets the reward. Of course, some tried to get back in line more than once… Topáz’s puppies are now 7 weeks old, and why wouldn’t they have grown up with a bit of cunning?

Topáz’s 7-week-old puppies already weigh 5 kilos; the little one is trying but is well behind — only half the size of the big siblings. The team is uniform, meaning all eight of them are big and healthy, and in many other ways too: for example, they love to retrieve, carrying the plush toys back and forth, which will later be useful when their visually impaired owner drops something — they will gladly help. They love tugging toys, tunnels, moving seesaws, and swings. They no longer nurse and are slowly transitioning from baby food to junior kibble.

They are very people-oriented — often they’re not even interested in the food placed in front of them; they would rather play with me. They are also good at entertaining themselves: bigger wrestling matches between them are common. It’s already noticeable which ones resemble which parent. The third-born boy is the spitting image of his father, Elba — a medium-sized, lanky dog. The sixth-born yellow girl resembles her mother in both face and color

 

— said Ménesi Gizella, the puppies’ volunteer caretaker.

Just like their father

Just like their mother

They do not meet adult dogs in the household. According to Gizella, there is no need, because there are many, they socialize beautifully and play well with each other. It’s better for puppies of the same age to stay together.

During the cold rains of the past weeks, they spent a lot of time inside their little house, which has enough space for wrestling. The door only has a heat-retaining plastic flap — we never lock them in — they can come out anytime, but they usually don’t go outside when it’s raining; they don’t like the cold, wet weather. If they can stay warm inside, they don’t choose the rain.

There were times when it was raining as I went out back to check on them; they stuck their noses out, figured out I didn’t bring food, and went straight back inside.

 

They Get Back in Line Several Times for Treats

The puppies of litter N are beautiful, healthy, and very teachable. In a split second, they understood that the one who sits nicely in front of our volunteer puppy-raiser gets the treat. Whoever pushes ahead has to wait longer. We’re not teaching them to sit at these times, but rather self-control, thinking, and problem-solving: no command is given — they figure out on their own how to earn the tasty bites.

“We show the little ones through playful interactions how nice it is to cooperate with humans, how to take treats gently from the hand, and we encourage them to think, since everyone finds their own strategy to get the treat,” said our foundation’s professional leader, Komondi Piroska.

This was confirmed by our volunteer, Kiglics Nadinka:

I was feeding them by hand… and somehow, I saw this face more often than usual. Then I realized that the fourth-born black girl outsmarted me: she took the treat from my hand, then scooted to the other side, blended in with her siblings, and once again waited politely, sitting, for the blessing. And of course, her tail was wagging like crazy.

Watch our YouTube video about the gentle lambs waiting for treats.

Read our latest article about the puppies.

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The Baráthegyi Team