Malina’s puppies spend most of their days eating and sleeping but are having more experiences. Their eyes and ears open, they move with more skill day by day.
On August 1st, seven labradors were born in our foundation’s breeding program: they are our 28th own litter.
More and more senses
After puppies are born, they primarily rely on their sense of smell and and heat, this is how they find their mother and food. At two weeks their sight and hearing starts to develop, thus more senses reach them.
This period of time is also important for early socialisation. Our litter raising volunteers often handle the puppies, holding them, touching their paws, laying them on their back and petting them. These experiences make later medical exams easier, along with grooming and other instances where the dog has to calmly tolerate human touch.
Trimming nails isn’t merely a cosmetic procedure. We have to pay attention, because the tiny sharp claws can harm Malina’s breasts during feeding. We weigh the little ones daily to accurately track their development.
The milk bar doesn’t have reservations
When Malina comes to the puppies, everything changes in an instant. The seven tiny puppies immediately perk up and enthusiastically try to find the best place for themselves. They fight a true battle while suckling and massage their mother’s breasts with their front paws when they reach their target to encourage milk flow. During this, rearranging and changing places is constant.
What’s new is that beside milk they have started to eat puppy food, this is another important new step in their development. Then when their bellies are full, the puppies scatter: one here, another there and after a few moments everyone is sleeping.
Malina spends more time resting. In the first days she was almost always by the puppies, now she leaves more often when they fall asleep.
Seven puppies, seven separate stories
For now, they are very similar to each other, but in a few weeks their individual personalities will be more prominent. In the puppy exam we do at six weeks of age, we will observe how they react to unknown humans, objects, sounds and different surfaces. How curious they are, how they play and how enthusiastic they are to cooperate with people.
We use this information over the course of their development. They will move to puppy raiser families when they’re nine weeks old. During this, our foundation offers professional support for every puppy to develop at their own pace.
Support opportunities
Every individual who contributes to the training of guide dogs through their support is important to us. We announce with great pleasure that even companies are making this decision now.
If you would like to take part in more guide dog couples starting their journeys together, then there are several ways you can support us.
Our central bank account number:
OTP Bank – 11734004-20466859
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