Welcome to week one! I’m thrilled to take you on this pawsome journey through the first week of our adorable Toy Australian Shepherd puppies’ lives. Let’s dive into all the joy and challenges that come with raising neonate Toy Aussie puppies. Get ready for all of the cuteness without any of the sleep deprivation—lucky you!

Stress-free Queen Z

First things first, let’s talk about mama dog Zola, our reigning queen. We pack her food bowl with nutrients and make sure to keep her stress levels at bay, so she can be the superhero mom our puppies deserve. We also give her lots of belly rubs, because a. she loves them and b. we want to check for any signs of mastitis (an inflammation/infection of the milk duct). She’s doing 99% of the work this week, so supporting her is the absolute least we can do!

Sanitization Station

With puppies on the ground, cleanliness is next to dogliness. We clean the whelping box 1-2 times a day, sanitizing the walls with peroxide and swapping in freshly-laundered bedding—we keep a basket of fresh fleece pads nearby for quick swaps. Our washing machine gets a workout when we have puppies in the house, and so do we, because there are two flights of stairs between the whelping box and the laundry room!

Weighing In

In the beginning, we weigh the little puptatoes twice a day to make sure they’re getting enough to eat at the milk bar. The goal is for them to pack on the grams every day, if not every weighing. We log puppy weights in a spreadsheet, so if a puppy isn’t thriving, we’ll know ASAP and can intervene swiftly.

Temp Check

Our tiny tater tots can’t regulate their own body temperature just yet, so it’s up to us to keep them cozy and warm. But it’s a balance—we don’t want the box to be too hot for them or for Zola! Depending on the ambient temperature and where the pups are in our drafty old house, we adjust the thermostat on our heating pads to keep everyone comfortable.

Trimming Tiny Talons

If you’ve ever been kneaded by a cat, you know that it can HURT. Newborn puppies knead when they nurse, so for a Toy Aussie litter of four, that’s 40 tiny daggers (counting the dew claws) stabbing into mama’s nipples! The word “ouch” doesn’t even start to cut it here. That’s why, starting from day three, we clip the pups’ claws with (human) baby clippers to help prevent injury and infection, and to ensure mama doesn’t end up looking like she lost a kitten brawl. We continue nail trims every 2-5 days until the puppies go to their new homes, which also helps them get accustomed to being handled and groomed!

Cuddle Time Galore

Who doesn’t love a good snuggle session? We sure do! That’s why we make it a point to give each pup their daily dose of cuddles. Cuddling isn’t just a joy for us (although puppy snuggles are pretty much the best thing ever); it’s crucial for helping each puppy develop healthy social skills and grow into a well-adjusted dog.

Puppy Preschool

The puppies’ eyes and ears are sealed shut at this age, but there’s still plenty we can do to help kickstart their brain development! Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and Early Scent Introduction (ESI)  are two simple yet effective techniques that help give our pups’ brains a boost. Starting when they are three days old, the babies each get a brief, structured daily “workout” that stimulates their hormonal, adrenal, and pituitary systems and that may help them be more resilient dogs when they grow up! Each day, the puppies are also introduced to a novel odor (e.g., dirt, leaves, banana peels, some cat hair, etc.), so they can start building neural pathways for scenting.

Active Sleep

Jane Lindquist, the founder of Puppy Culture, calls the puppies “fur dumplings” at this stage, and she’s right on point. These precious, tiny little blobs don’t do much besides sleep, eat… and GROW. A big part of their physical development happens while they’re sleeping! All the twitching and jerking they do while they snooze is called active sleep, and it’s helping them strengthen their muscles so they can get ready to crawl and walk soon. If only we could all work out in our sleep, am I right? 

Say Cheese!

And last but not least, we can’t forget the puparazzi duties! We’re snapping photos and shooting videos like it’s going out of style. Because let’s be real, when you’ve got a litter of puppies this cute, you’ve gotta capture every precious moment!

24/7 Puppy Patrol

During the day, we might tear ourselves away from the pups to get some administrative work done (litter registration, website updates, correspondence with prospective puppy families, etc.), or—gasp—maybe even attend to our day jobs! These are the times we’re most grateful to be able to work from home, with colleagues who just love seeing puppies in our Zoom background! 

We may be Getting Things Done, but in these first weeks, the puppies are rarely out of sight or earshot. A Ring camera acts as baby monitor for those rare occasions we leave the room. But you won’t find us dashing to the whelping box to respond to every little puppy squeak. If a pup finds herself in the far corner of the box, wailing that she’s “lost,” we’ll let her find her way. It may seem cruel, but as long as no one is in danger, it’s important to let the puppies solve problems on their own.

As the day winds down, it’s time for lights out… well, sort of. We may be catching some z’s, but you can bet we’re still on high alert, sleeping in the room with our precious pups to make sure everyone is safe and sound.

And there you have it. We made it through week one in the whelping box. Just seven short weeks remain to give our puppies the best possible start in life. Bring on week two, when our little explorers start to get more mobile and begin to open their eyes!