Tails from the Whelping Box: Week Seven | Toy Aussie Puppies Learn Leash & Recall
Growing Up Fast 🐾
Welcome to week seven! Our Toy Aussie puppies in week seven are fast, loud, and full of opinions, and the leash training, recall work, and outdoor housebreaking we’re doing right now is laying the foundation for a lifetime of good behavior. This week is one of the busiest and most rewarding of the entire eight weeks, and it’s also when the real work of preparing each puppy for their new home kicks into high gear.
Little Dogs, Big Personalities
This week, each puppy’s personality is becoming impossible to ignore. The bold one, the snuggler, the instigator, the thinker… they’re all emerging more clearly now. Litter dynamics are in full swing, with puppies vying for favorite spots, toys, and the last bite of food. Real squabbles break out, and that’s actually a good thing: through these interactions, they’re learning the fundamentals of dog communication and bite inhibition from each other and from mom.
We take careful notes on each puppy’s temperament this week, not to make final decisions, but to start building a picture of who each one is becoming. That information will be invaluable when it comes time to thoughtfully match each puppy with the right family.
Leash Introduction
This week we introduce the puppies to real collars for the first time. We give them a few days to get used to the new sensation. Some will scratch at their necks initially, which is completely normal. Once they’ve settled in, we attach a short length of cord to each collar and let them loose together. They grab, tug, and pull on each other’s leads, and in doing so they learn that leash pressure is no big deal. They won’t be fully leash trained when they go home, but they won’t panic the first time their new family clips on a leash either.
Adventure Walks Level Up
Our Adventure Walks get more sophisticated this week. We continue heading off-trail so the puppies are challenged by uneven terrain, logs to scramble over, and new smells around every corner. But this week we add a new element: we start hiding from distracted puppies. Nothing dramatic — stepping behind a tree or crouching down is enough. The goal is for a puppy to realize no one is around, feel a little worried, and come find us. When they do, the relief of being reunited is the reward. We’re teaching them that keeping an eye on their person is their job, not ours.
Housebreaking Transitions Outdoors
We begin transitioning the puppies from their indoor potty box to going outside first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Within a few days, most puppies are holding it through the night to go outside, which is a big developmental milestone. Their indoor potty box stays available during the day as they continue to build bladder strength, but this outdoor routine is an important step toward the housebreaking success their new families will appreciate.
Individual Time
This week we carve out one-on-one time with each puppy. We take them to a new room or quiet space on their own and observe how they handle being away from their littermates. Are they bold and curious? Cautious but recoverable? Do they engage with us readily? These individual sessions give us valuable information about each puppy’s confidence and adaptability, and they also give each pup a chance to simply be a puppy with us — no competition, no chaos, just connection.
We continue individual training sessions too, building on the marker word and lure work we started last week. The puppies’ brains are developing rapidly, and it shows: their ability to focus and respond to cues is noticeably sharper than just a week ago.
Recall Training Intensifies
A reliable recall is one of the most important skills a dog can have, and the foundation we’re laying right now matters enormously. We call the puppies every single time before their food goes down, and we reward every recall without exception. The rule is simple: if we say the cue, we pay it every time, no exceptions. Inconsistency at this stage can undermine a puppy’s recall for life, so we’re vigilant about never using the cue casually without following through with a reward.
Crate Training Continues
We push hard on crate training this week. Individual crate sessions are getting longer, and by the end of the week most puppies are settling comfortably on their own for 20-30 minutes at a stretch. A puppy that goes home comfortable in a crate is a gift to their new family; it makes potty training dramatically easier and gives the puppy a safe, calm place of their own from day one.
Mama Knows Best
Mom’s nursing sessions are becoming less frequent as weaning progresses naturally. We allow her to come and go as she chooses, never forcing her in, never locking her out. When she does choose to correct an overly enthusiastic puppy, we let it happen. Her corrections, even when they look and sound dramatic, are teaching bite inhibition in a way that no human can replicate. She is still the best teacher in the building.
Stay tuned for week eight, when the puppies have their first vet visit, receive their first vaccinations, get microchipped, and begin the final preparations for heading home to their forever families!