Happy 1 week to the "Sulaco crew"!
As some may know, Ripley was named after the strong female lead, Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) in the Alien(s) movie so, in honor of her we are naming this litter after the crew members of the ship in one of the movies.
Nerdy ones out there will know that the two partners, "Vasquez and Drake" were referred to as, "dobermans at play". We couldn't think of a more fitting litter theme! Edit: I also learned that the novel "Nostromo" which is where the movies get the names of their two ships, the Nostromo and Sulaco from, is written by Joseph Conrad...a distant relative of the litter's co-breeder!
Now, these guys will most likely not keep their names when they go off to their new homes, but these will be their names for now!
Pink Girl - Ferro
Purple Girl - Dietrich
Teal Girl - Newt
Black Boy - Drake
Yellow Girl - Vasquez
We are starting to bark, growl and are getting a lot more mobile!
Some preparation for their new homes and life ahead of them include: currently receiving early neurological stimulation (ENS) and early scent introduction (ESI) from 3 days old until 16 days old.
ENS is a series of 5 exercises done daily to stimulate the neurologic system by kicking it into action earlier than would normally be expected. These exercises begin on the 3rd day to the 16th day, which is a period of rapid neurological growth and development.
Research has shown that canines exposed to ENS have improved cardio vascular performance, stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress, and greater resistance to disease. ENS pups were also more active and exploratory than their non-stimulated littermates.
ESI involves introducing a new scent to a puppy each day for a brief time. These scents are typically strong or unique, and can be scents that they may encounter later in life that you want early recognition of such as essential oils used in nosework, gamebirds for hunting, wood & leather for obedience, or even the scent of other household pets. ESI can improve scenting ability in the adult dog for use in nosework, hunting, tracking, barnhunt, search & rescue, obedience, and service dog work. It also enhances confidence & stability for even companion dogs and most of all increases brain function starting from an early age.
Resources:
Introduce your puppies to scents when you do Early Neurological Stimulation to improve their scenting ability as adults, as well as their outlook on life.
www.avidog.com
If anything, the extra bit of stimulation and interaction is far more engaging for them than not handling them at all. I want to be sure to give these pups as much of an advantage as possible and set them up for success for their future homes.
They also receive: every other day nail trims, have been introduced to the vibration of a Dremel currently set at low. They get loved on, held, stroked on the back, head and chin, and belly scratched multiple times a day!!! Will be started on crate training, will be litterbox trained and started on potty training. After their ears open they'll be exposed to a variety of sounds from a playlist at a low volume, gradually increasing the volume. Once weaned, they'll be in the kitchen/living room/main part of the house to get used to all sorts of sights and sounds of living in a home. They'll be introduced to different surfaces in the puppy weaning pen. We will be incorporating puppy culture skills which includes a skill called "manding" or demanding attention via an appropriate behavior and thus getting rewarded for it. They have a play date set up with some "strangers" of varying genders and age at 5 weeks old, and again at 6 weeks old for good and safe socializing. They'll go on car rides so they find car rides relaxing and safe. Their conformation will be graded by an outside source at 8 weeks old and temperament testing will be evaluated by an outside source at 9 weeks old!
Can't believe it's been 1 week when it feels like they've always been here...but I know it will go fast! We are enjoying every moment loving on them and preparing them for their future homes.
Pics in no order because the forum randomized all of them and I'm not about to try and post them by date. I have individual pics of the pups I'll post in a second post since that's easier to tackle. Enjoy!
Mama Bear comes out!
Daily updates there, weekly here. I'm doing my best!
