6 weeks, 1 day (May 6)

Names – again

I’ll refer to the puppies by there (provisional) names from now on because it’s a lot of fun to name dogs! Here’s the run down again, matching names to collar colors. Also and perhaps most importantly, I’ve decided what Black’s name is going to be! Since she is the one puppy who has stood out to me in having more tentative days than the others (so far! It may change tomorrow!), and since she had a few days where she very much did her own thing rather than hanging out with the puppy pile, she’ll get to carry the litter theme forwards: she’s Rebelde (rebel.)

Blue is Chispa, Purple is Oso, Green is Bravo and Red is Fierro. Three puppies have ended up with the names I had on my list of rebelde-themed names. Oso and Rebelde weren’t on my list. Oso just works for Purple (right now anyways; he’s a big fluffy teddy!), and Rebelde fits better than anything else I had on my list. It’s also a strong, brave name, and I want Rebelde to be strong and brave! If she is the most sensitive – which may of course change – she will need it the most.

Back to today!

Before heading back to Teotihuacán, we went to Fresa Parque early in the morning and got in some more dog interactions:

Park time before our puppy road trip.

Once again, two strangers asked me to sell them a puppy. This is getting old!

By 8AM, we hit the road. The shade structure did a great job and we got to our temporary yard before it was unbearably hot.

Open roads (with good music) and cats symbolize freedom for me. To be untethered to places because you choose rather than need to feels sleeping-under-the-stars kind of good.

More de-parasiting

Everyone had their first round of Heartgard, on the same day it was Game’s and Chai’s monthly turn. Oso (Purple) had the easiest time eating his and did so right away without hesitation. The others took a little longer. Only Rebelde (Black) needed hers diluted in a little milk or she wouldn’t touch it.

6 weeks, 2 days (May 7)

Game and Chai enjoyed a round of morning fetch in the yard while the puppies (who were smart and got out of the way) watched with curiosity. When a ball became available, two of them went for it!

Solo adventures

Bravo

I took Bravo (Green) on a 20-minute solo trip in the carrier. Even though it was already very hot when we got out, he didn’t complain at all. We met a free-roamer I let him sniff to bring up his dog count, which is the lowest of them all right now. He walked up to the wagging dog lying in the shade and investigated the waggy tail. No pictures because I wanted to safe myself some editing time! We went to a butcher shop and got ground chicken: the better food I’ll start adding to most meals in order to teach the puppies that hands near food are great news rather than a cause for concern. I also got chicken feet to gnaw on for everyone. I took Bravo out while the store owner ground up our meat and he got to see the goings-on.

Fierro

At 2PM, it was Fierro (Red)’s turn to go on a solo adventure to El Chichimeca. It was hotter now and he hung out under the bench, panting. For the first time, I saw him startle at a motorcycle sound. He didn’t respond to the second motorcycle going past.

A thought on socialization periods

I wonder whether we really are in the most important socialization and environmental exposure period now, and whether my early socialization has made a difference. OR if the main socialization period is already over, contrary to common knowledge, now that startle responses have intensified and fear responses set in. I’d probably have to have at least another litter with the same sire and do things differently to find even a little bit of an answer.

… and Fierro again

Tonight, I took Fierro on an errand without the carrier. At first, he was a little stiff in my arms, then he relaxed and soon fell asleep. I had been hoping we’d run into a free-roamer to catch up on his dog count, but no luck today.

Preventing resource guarding

This is what the ground meat is for! Today was the first day I added something better to the puppies’ kibble: raw meat! The idea is to create the association that my hand near food means good things for dogs: I will either add something better to what the dogs are currently eating or trade something they are playing with or chewing on for something better; then give the first object back right away. The hope is that by learning this from the beginning, the thought of guarding food or toys won’t cross their minds in the future because human hands near food mean good things. If someone happens to visit while I feed the puppies, I’ll have them do it too to generalize a little.

My raw meat is in the tiny plastic container and I just sprinkle a few flakes of it over the kibble every time my hand approaches. It doesn’t have to be a lot – it just has to be yummy!

So social, so interactive, so mobile!

Everyone continues getting bitier, which is delightful. Tonight, Fierro and Rebelde tugged with each other on a rope for the first time, and Oso discovered that he could try and dig holes!

For the last three or four days or so, they’ve also shown a new play move: they will sneak-stalk up to each other Border-Collie style and then play-attack! It is VERY cute. Yesterday, Bravo had the first puppy zoomies in the yard. Today, the others followed suit!

6 weeks, 3 days (May 8)

There were morning firecrackers – I suspect the left-overs from the saint’s day last Friday. The puppies are most playful in the morning, and we played through all of the firecracker background noise for about half an hour. (These aren’t the next-door firecrackers anymore, but a little further out. Still – good practice for any dog who’ll live in Mexico State!)

A thought on noise sensitivity

We could, of course, wonder why most dogs I know in Mexico, including free-roaming ones, are not comfortable with firecrackers, given the fact that most of them grow up with firecrackers. I wonder if the population – pre-firecrackers – started out average: most of them not noise sensitive, but with the possibility to sensitize (like Game.) Once they had sensitized, they had litters and those litters socially learned from their dams to be afraid. OR they themselves sensitized later in life. OR it is something epigenetic. In any case, my favorite scenario would be the one where the puppies socially learned to be afraid: that is the only scenario in which my puppies won’t eventually be afraid of firecrackers because I’m removing my adult dogs when the firecrackers get too loud and pairing firecracker sounds with play. I have no idea how likely or unlikely the social-learning hypothesis actually it is. (If you read this and know – show me a study; I’d love to read it!)

Here’s a few excerpts from our morning play! The puppies now play with each other as well as with anything they find: figs from the tree in the yard, a rope, my socks, my pants, balls, toys, Chai, long grass roots, twigs from a shrub, sandals, my phone’s lanyard. Everyone and everything is a toy, and I love it!

Chispa (Blue) and Rebelde (Black) say, lanyards make great tug toys!

Here’s Bravo having fun with a sock I let either Fierro or Chispa win – both of them got one each. I’ve been slipping socks for particularly fervent pulls like we do with bite sleeves in bigger dogs.

So! much! play!

It strikes me just how much play there is. I knew there was going to be a lot – but not the true extent of that lot. The puppies must be using ALL their muscles this way! By now, they chase each other as well as wrestle, and they roll all over the place in all the ways pretty much nonstop. What a way to exercise and learn about their bodies and each other! I would absolutely love to have another litter for them to play with – I bet this would have HUGE advantages for them: the newness of dogs AND play. It would be an amazing opportunity! I’m hoping to find someone on Facebook who is willing to have a playdate with us.

Solo adventures

Purple

went on today’s Chichimeca trip. He left the carrier, lied down in the shadiest place he found under the bench and complained: the heat. I feel it too. It’s too much!

Frontlining

Everyone got Frontline-sprayed again while asleep. I want to minimize them having to deal with the terrible smell, so half-asleep puppies are perfect. Nobody complained! Now that the pups are bigger, I’m using the spray the way it’s supposed to be used (more of it and massaging it in.) This way, we’ll hopefully be able to go a little longer before the next round!

Crate training

Fierro

mastered his 9 minutes (slept through them like a stone) and

Oso

mastered his 8!

Once they are up to 10, I’ll increase duration in 5-minute increments rather than 1-minute ones. My goal is to get up to 30 before one of these two boys goes on their plane trip.

Husbandry

everyone got the nails of their right front paws clipped – for the first time today, with the “big dog” clippers! They all did well – Fierro, Oso and Chispa were rather awake during their turn though and struggled to get off, having more important things to do and places to be. It’s not a fear-based but clearly a “Hold on, I’d rather be on the ground and do that other thing” kind of struggle. Big difference! Rebelde and Bravo got their turn later at night, and were very chill and relaxed – it was sleepy times already. Nobody batted an eyelash at the big dog nail clippers.

6 weeks, 4 days (May 9)

Velociraptor morning greetings are getting more fun by the day! I’m still slipping socks and sandals when they pull strongly. I’m loving my mornings: it’s the good kind of pain. Like getting a tattoo.

When I took Game and Chai for their morning walk, EVERYONE flooded out the gate. So far, it has always only been one puppy, and they’d been more tentative about it (usually Fierro or Chispa.) Today, everyone wanted to come!

I wish I lived in a street where I could let them come on an abbreviated morning walk, but as is, this is not a puppy-walking street. There’s about 2-3 cars a minute, but they are fast and I have already seen them not stop for dogs. It’s not that kind of town – other towns – even with more traffic – absolutely are. It is fascinating to me how within the same state, the human/dog culture differs.

This particular street also has a lot of barky dogs behind fences. This, too, isn’t the case in all towns, even if the number of resident dogs is similarly high! In any case, to get to the place where walking is enjoyable (it’s still a cactus desert, but without cars), we need to walk through the street with barking left and right and cars who won’t stop for dogs. Walking two adult dogs who mostly stay on the sidewalk is just the right number to do so relatively relaxedly. I’m going to drive to the cactus wasteland with everyone and the puppies though … maybe tomorrow. That way, they can have a little walk with the big girls without getting run over. And we can stop to meet our free-roaming friends. When I’m not bringing the puppies, I’ll have to move the x-pen to the gate to create an airlock … this morning, the simple act of leaving took me a couple minutes because they were very determined. I don’t expect them to want to go to the same extent if the adults don’t head outside, but just seeing Game or Chai them step over the threshold is now enough to make them want to come along. It would be fun to live in a super quiet street where I could watch them naturally expand their home range without worrying about cars. This morning showed me that they’d venture off this fenced property by now. Bravo even ran a few meters after a pedestrian passing! Yay for being attracted to new folks!

Social life

Solo adventures

Chispa

went on a brief out-of-carrier solo adventure to the store, and the person attending the store briefly held her. One new human – check!

Rebelde

went to El Chichimeca in the carrier. She was fast to leave it, briefly explore and soon fell asleep under the bench in the shade. It is SO hot!

Fierro

went on my evening hunt for ice cream. I wasn’t going to take anyone, but he was latched on to my sandals when I tried to leave – so picking him up and bringing him along for an adventure was the easiest solution. The first two places were out of ice cream (have I mentioned it is hotter than in Mexico City?) So our adventure was longer than expected – and Fierro got to meet a friendly free-roamer and take turns eating pieces of kibble with him!

Heading home with Fierro after finally succeeding at our ice cream hunt. Marveling at the beauty of not only murals, sidewalks and fading paint, but also rooftop water tanks. Everything turns beautiful under the right kind of sky.

Visitors

Around noon, Carla, Emmerson and Axel visited for a bit. Every puppy got held by either Carla or Axel – we’ll count them as new people again! Fierro was the first puppy to show object play with a person other than me: he tugged with Axel! What a good boy!

All puppies played with each other while Emmerson (the 3-year old) ran around the yard. These little social visits are perfect: they usually stay for about half an hour because by then, Emmerson gets bored. Both for me and the puppies, that’s an excellent amount of time to socialize.

We’ve done these visits over my lunch break so far, which is also convenient: during the hottest hours of the day, none of the puppies have enough energy to eat visitors, making it a great time to have a kid over and running around. Earlier or later in the day, I’d worry, especially since Emmerson is a bit tentative around the puppies. They are fast now, and I can see Emmerson running and screaming while 5 Malinois puppies think this is the best game ever, catch up with Emmerson, latch on to them and … ahm … like the cute tiny dinosaurs in this Jurassic Park scene:

In the evening, when it cooled down, I decided to try 2-puppy adventures this week as a change from solo- or everyone.adventures. The first two puppies got to go today:

Oso and Fierro’s 2-dog adventure

I carried them a little in the carrier, then set it down and gave them a chance to come out (once we were off the car street my temporary house is on). Both did so pretty quickly – when there are two rather than one, their confidence doubles! I walked a few steps and called them. Sure enough they came running! A piece of kibble for everyone and the opportunity to go back into the carrier. Both ate the kibble and wanted to stay outside, so we walked some more along the sidewalk. We saw several people, got touched by someone and Fierro responded slightly suspiciously when someone shooed him away from their plastic cup of beer. With a little encouragement, he then ran past them when I called. Brave Fierro!

I walked ahead and called a few times, feeding a piece of kibble or two each or offering water. I LOVE that they are already eating kibble out and about, and it was great to see their confidence on the sidewalk, and how they approached rather than retreated from two strangers (who reatreated into a portón before the puppies caught up with them.)

They also met a free-roamer, upping both their weekly dog count by one! Go puppies!

Tomorrow, I’ll take the next two. I’ll spontaneously decide who gets to go!

Crate training

Fierro

was tired and did his 10 minutes without issues as I was getting ready for bed.

Oso

was still wide awake. Both he and Chispa were in sleep deprived toddler mode, which goes along with panting quite a bit. I waited until Oso had chilled out and then went for his 10 minutes. Unfortunately, I hadn’t given him enough time to be able to modulate his energy down from crazy to asleep. He complained at a noise level 1 in the carrier, starting about a minute in. He stayed at a level 1 though and there were brief pauses. He was tired … until he saw Game head outside for her evening pee. At that point, he escalated to a level 3, and then back to 1 when she came inside again. Don Oso will do another 10-minute round next time!

Changes!

Purple used to be a very even-keeled and slightly lazy puppy until about Sunday. Now, he’s becoming more and more active and intense! They change SO much, all the time!

6 weeks, 5 days (May 10, 2024)

Adventures, field trips and socializing!

We went to our usual morning walk spot, but I drove the part that has cars and dogs barking behind fences so the puppies could come! I parked at the cactus wasteland and let everyone out right away. It is wild how much of a difference it makes in the puppies’ confidence when Game and Chai are around – especially Game! Since the big girls couldn’t wait to get out of the car and get to their running spot, the puppies followed suit. Chispa needed a bit of convincing – she was the only one who observed from under the car for half a minute before taking off into the open field. (Once again: notice how much they change: last week, the hesitant puppy would have been Rebelde while Chispa would have been one of the first ones to explore. Today, the tables are turned!)

What I was most fascinated by was that the puppies weren’t big on exploring this new environment. Instead, they did what they usually do in the morning: latch on to my pants and sandals to tug ferociously! Chispa, once she had decided she wanted to come, was all wiggly and happy when she finally got to me and then, of course, cashed in on her price of tugging away. Not a second look at the environment even though the big dogs were ahead and exploring! (Chispa is my current favorite because out of all the puppies, she seems the happiest to see me, and she has a facial expression that goes with an open mouth, ears back and fast wagging. She turns into the personification (canification?) of joy. None of the others can do that kind of expression. The random details we love about them are fascinating in and of themselves!)

My left leg and my right leg as I’m trying to walk further into the field!

I’ve only consciously reinforced tugging on my pants (it is something that typically only happens in the morning, when everyone is extra excited to see me and it’s still coolish) a few times – maybe between 3 and 5, for no more than 30 seconds each, and not with every puppy each time. And WOW, what a result! Going forwards, I’ll carry toys for them to latch on to instead. Unfortunately, I have no closed shoes, and my feet are pretty scratched up by now. It IS fun, but it’s also a lot to put on the puppies’ new homes! It would be nice to get them to target toys instead over the next few days, before they move out. Without having done any conscious drive building except for letting them tug on me a few times and slipping socks/shoes, I have unleashed the monsters! It is WILD to me how easy a genetic disposition to be mouthy can be turned up! (I continue being delighted, of course, but since they won’t stay with me, it’s time to tune things down in the eating-humans department.)

There is a very easy trick to get a puppy to let go, by the way: pick them up. The puppy, that is, not the thing you don’t want them to tug on.

After doing so a few times on our wasteland adventure, they shifted their focus to the environment (phew!) Here’s our first encounter with a cactus:

After meeting Mr. Cactus, we saw (well, at least Game did) cattle in the distance and I used the opportunity to whistle-recall the adults, knowing that the puppies would come running after them. Not only was there a scatter – the puppies also got reinforced with social attention (praise and pets) as well as an opportunity to reach Game’s teats for a drink (it is warm already and milk is liquid – the perfect reinforcer.) The scatter is mostly for the big dogs, but some of the little ones snatched up kibble as well. I believe social reinforcement is still pretty strong for them, but food is starting to increase in value.

I’m only putting down one new dog for Bravo since he was the one who directly approached and sniffed the dog up close. I’m excited it was Bravo, since his dog count is currently the lowest (he had the least dogs “roll over” from last week.)

… and for the final adventure puzzle piece of this morning, we all climbed a wall (i.e. a wall that’s part of a ruin, making it climbable even for puppies:

This entire outing was around 10-15 minutes – there was just a lot that fit into a short time. If I walked at my normal speed, it would have been 3 minutes to do this small loop from the car and back to the car. The reason it was 10-15 is that we first spent a bit of time with me standing still and puppies hanging on to my pants, I stopped a few time to take pictures, I recalled them, we waited when they checked out the cactus …

Rebel & Bravo’s 2-dog adventure

Around lunch time, I craved quesadillas, so I walked to the quesadilla plaza with Rebel and Bravo. I first had them both in the carrier, then let both out and they followed me, then carried them both, let both of them walk a little again and, on the way back, took turns having one in my arms and one in the carrier.

We made it to the quesadilla plaza, and I let the puppies have a drink and run around. Rebel was out first. She had also been the first one out on our first stop in the street, and the first one to say hi to a person we met. Not a shy puppy this week at all!

Apart from seeing passers-by, we interacted with 3 people: two who pet them for a little bit (without lifting them up) and a 3-year-old (whose pink tulle dress looked like a great toy to rip up; I’m glad it was hot enough for the puppies to not sink their teeth into it!) who didn’t dare touch them, but danced and ran around them, came close and retreated again while we waited for my quesadillas. The puppies were, at this point, tired and watched with interest, but not in a hurry to get up or appraoch: they had just interacted with two of the four dogs on this plaza as well, staying on the ground, approaching voluntarily. Both dogs were friendly to them; it was great! By the time we met the kid, everyone was ready to pass out.

I’m counting two dogs and one human for both puppies. I’ve decided my human count will be 1 for every person who holds the puppies and, now that they are at an interactive age, 1 for every 3 people who interact with the puppies without picking them up.

When walking a bit along the sidewalk on the way to the plaza, I called the puppies successfully with Pup-pup-pup a few times, reinforced with pets and kibble and the opportunity to go into the carrier if they wanted, and occasionally a drink of water. They both took food (even though they had just had lunch before we left!) and were doing great. Bravo found his first scavenge-able little pieces of meat under the quesadilla stove. I had forgotten my phone, so no pictures or videos of this outing – but it was a most successful one! I just wish it wasn’t quite as warm. By the time I got home, I was ready to take a nap too!

Crate training

I usually crate train when everyone gets tired at night … but this morning, they were all wiped out from our field trip, so I used the opportunity to get some sleepy training in before it got too, too hot!

Oso

started talking to himself half-way into his repeat-9 minutes. He talked to himself on and off (lower than a level 1) until almost the end; I took him out when he happened to be quiet after 9 minutes. Since I’m aiming for total calmness, he’ll repeat the 9-minute stage again.

Fierro

took his first stab at 15 crate minutes. He started complaining softly 11 minutes in, talking to himself, escalated to noise level 1 around the 12 minute mark and to levels 2 and 3 another minute later. 15 again it is for Fierro! He started out really well though!

Oso – again

I gave Oso another go at 9 minutes after Fierro’s turn because everyone was still wiped out from this morning and it wasn’t yet UNBEARABLY hot. He aced it this time! On to 10 minutes for his next round!

Fierro – again

After Oso, Fierro took another stab at his 15 minutes – and he DID it! What a superstar! He woke up twice during his turn. Once because of a firecracker – he fell back asleep a few seconds later. And once at about minute 15, when the neighbors’ dog started barking. He was awake, head up, listening and looking for his last minute, but no complaints! Go Fierro! His next turn will be 20 minutes!

Oso aces his 10 minutes!

Tonight, Oso had another go at sleeping in the carrier for 10 minutes – and he DID it even though he woke up in the very end when the dog next door started barking! Go puppy! On to 15 minutes tomorrow!

Resource guarding prevention

Apart from Oso’s crate training win, we only did two things tonight: I used the mop as a “don’t eat my feet” toy (it works great for most puppies except Fierro!) and then added little pieces of raw to the puppies’ dinner kibble. I’ve been doing this for 1-3 of their 4 daily meals over the last couple days and am now starting to see cheerful anticipation when I approach!

6 weeks, 5 days (May 10)

Caden’s don’t-eat-me protocol

Below, day 1.5 of The Mop Mission for unteaching your litter of Malinois puppies to eat you. To successfully apply:

• Have a baby gate between you and the puppies. Entice them with the mop before stepping over the baby gate for a better chance that they will target the mop (rather than you.) See 02:26 in the video below. The camera angle isn’t great, but at this point in the clip, I’m behind the baby gate in the front door to the house – and the puppies are outside. I’ve already moved the mop back and forth in circles and ∞ movements for about 20 seconds when the clip starts.
  
• Move your mop AWAY from the puppies rather than towards them. Just like you would when teaching them to tug: toys try to escape like prey animals; they don’t try to jump into the preditor’s mouth.
  
• Only if absolutely necessary use the mop as a barrier between you and a puppy. Note that this puppy, if there’s a reinforcement history for eating you, is learning to fight past the mop to get to you rather than to target the mop! My puppies have this reinforcement history.
  
• If a puppy latches on to you, don’t pick up your leg or foot or shoe – this tends to cause Malinois puppies to latch on even more strongly! Instead, pick up the puppie. They are likely to let go (at this age anyways.) Place them behind the mop so they get another chance of chasing something they will be allowed to keep biting.

After daily practice, I’ll show you what this looks like next week!

Tugging with three puppies (the two sports prospects and my favorite)

Why? Because I have TIME for it. If I had gone to the city and done what I originally planned – socialize, socialize, socialize – I wouldn’t have. I’m using this time wisely to have a little fun!

• Play with one puppy out at a time – but if you have several puppies, let the others watch from behind a barrier! They’ll want to go next!
  
• Tug for 1-2 minutes (stop before the puppy gets tired!)
  
• After some 50/50 strength struggle (thank you for that percentage suggestion, Shade Whitesel!), let the puppy win the toy when they give a good tugging effort: let go of it and let them have it.
  
• Let the puppy keep the toy and do what they like with it for at least 20 seconds.
  
• Announce a trade: show them something edible and delicious, take away the toy, give them the food, give back the toy.
  
• Let them have the toy for about 20 seconds more and then distract them away from it if they are still interested. In Oso’s video, I start tossing figs since we happen to be under a fig tree. Pick up the toy when the puppy doesn’t notice.
  
• Session over! Transition gently from interaction to puppy-amusing-themselves time, for example with snuggles or personal play.

Oso

Fierro

Fierro impressed me: he didn’t let go of the toy throughout his session! This is one tenacious puppy (today he is anyways – remember that at this age, you’ve got a different puppy every day!)

Chispa

When it was Chispa’s turn, she was too tired to play – or in any case, she didn’t feel like it. It was HOT! I first played in the usual spot by myself, but quickly gave up. These are Malinois puppies. If anyone is going to beg to play, it’s going to be them begging me!

I then briefly tried engaging her up closer – and she started chasing the toy! However, she soon stopped again and I ended the session. Take home message: don’t beg your dog to play. If it’s not the right moment for them, just try again later.

At night, after the rain, Chispa was big time into tugging with Chai on that same toy!

2-dog adventure

Chispa and Fierro went on their 2-dog adventure this morning. I hoped to find a person for Fierro and a dog for Chispa to meet. We found someone for Fierro: the tamales salesperson I bought my breakfast from was happy to hold him. No dogs for Chispa though. We saw one, but he was mistrustful so we left him alone.

The most interesting part was when we walked past a rubbish fence (made out of car parts, steel mats and corrugated metal) that had three (?) dogs behind it who started barking suddenly and all at once. Both puppies got scared (very clearly a fear response, not a startle response) but responded differently: Chispa booked it towards home and stopped maybe 15 meters from me on the sidewalk. The barky dog yard was between us. Fierro ran my direction and gladly jumped in the get-away carrier the door of which I held open. I tried pup-pup-pup calling Chispa, but she couldn’t come. Only once I had walked back towards her side of the barky dogs did she come (which didn’t require her to run past the barking, but still towards it rather than away from it – brave girl!)

Both puppies recovered within no more than 20 seconds. They voluntarily left the carrier again – Fierro before Chispa – and walked with me for the last part of the way home. Fierro even latched on to the belt of the carrier and tugged. And yes, that last bit was on the car street sidewalk, but the puppies were tired enough I trusted they’d stay with me.

The fascination of opposite responses and the onset of fear

I found two things fascinating today: one is that the two puppies showed opposite responses to the barky dogs: away from me and towards home (Chispa) and towards me (even though that was the opposite direction from home): Fierro.

It also was a clear sign that by now, at 6 weeks and 5 days, every single puppy (maybe except for Bravo? I’ll have to go back over my notes to see if I’ve seen a fear response in him yet) is physiologically capable of experiencing fear. The earliest I’ve gotten a puppy was at 7 weeks. That puppy was also a Mal. So really, there is very little chance that when you get a (Malinois) puppy, that puppy isn’t already past the sensitive socialization window (if we define that window as the time the puppy is socially receptive, yet entirely unable to feel fear.) The 7-or-8-week-old puppy’s fear response will still be smaller than the fear response of an older puppy – but like it or not, it’s going to be possible to show up while being entirely impossible at an earlier age.

The puppy you invite into your life

This is why I give young puppies ALL the opportunities to socialize that I can. As much as possible, even if it’s hard on them and they are very busy as a result of my socialization efforts.

I also advise new owners to do a lot in the very beginning (the no-fear opportunity is gone, but the fear response is still smaller than it will be in a week or two.) Once the fear response is noticeable when confronted with new experiences (depending on the breed and the individual, this may be at 7 weeks, at 12 weeks or anywhere in between), we slow way down and I suggest one or two calm days a week where the puppy learns that sometimes, nothing much happens and we still don’t tear the house to shreds.

Once the opportunity to reap the unique benefits of the time when curiosity is greater than fear has passed, we’re not in a hurry anymore and can focus on other important, but less time-sensitive things such as learning to be calm and not not always “be on,” crate training, marker cues, play and other life skills we may practice at home.

Up until then, we very much are in a hurry and quite busy socializing, going all the places and having all the visitors! But starting when the fear response is more than just a moment’s hesitation, I want the puppy to have the greatest possible agency over approaching or not, being touched or not, and the distance from whatever stimulus that feels right to them. This is when we may introduce CU games, desensitization and other more systematic (and hence less “organic”) protocols: while we didn’t need them for very young puppies, we do now!

Solo adventures without a carrier

Oso

came on an errand to buy milk. I had hoped to hand him to the convenience store person to hold while I scrambled through my wallet, but unfortunately, the store of our choice was closed and the person in the one we went to instead wasn’t quiete as dog-enthusiastic. Oso is still missing one human to complete this week’s count. This is the first time all puppies needed their rollover extra humans from last week because I didn’t go to the city today, where socializing puppies is easier!

We’ll go dog hunting tonight and tomorrow and find Oso a human to complete this week’s quests for everyone!

Rebelde

came on an ice cream mission in my arms a little later today. Almost everyone is out of ice cream! But we hunted some down!

Resource guarding prevention: toys

Everyone got a round of toy-guarding prevention: my hand approaching a toy means I’ll take it away, feed something delicious and give it right back. I worked with all of them, but didn’t take video of them all. It was fun to observe how some went right back to the toy while others were looking for more food!

While only 3 puppies got to play with me this morning, everyone got a round of playing by themselves with the resource guarding protocol!

Rebelde

Bravo

Fierro

Going forwards, I’ll only do toy play and trade after. Toy play is way too much fun to swap it for boring toy – food – toy exchanges!

The adventure that didn’t happen

When it cooled down a little, I put all the puppies in the big dog crate and drove them to the town center in the hope of human and dog socialization. However, just as we got there, it started pouring. I waited about 10 minutes, but the rain didn’t let out, so we drove back home – not having left the car. Silver lining: the puppies got another car ride in the big dog crate, and they heard rain on the roof of a car.

A note on play

It is fascinating to me that the puppies seem much more interested in playing with each other and with me than in playing with the adult dogs. Never before has it been THIS clear to me how important puppy/puppy play must be! Sadly, no news on my search for a litter of a similar age, even though I’ve now posted in two more local and semi-local dog Facebook groups.

Thought of the day

Grief comes in waves.

7 weeks (May 11)

Socialization adventure

Since we – that is I – had been too tired to go to the city this weekend, I took another stab at the town center this morning. No more rain and today, we were much luckier! Not a lot was going on yet on a Sunday at 7AM, but this made the stimuli there were the more salient. We met 5 dogs at varying levels of closeness. I’m counting 2 per puppy. This gets almost everyone to their weekly dog-interaction count (taking the rollover from last week!) There were also several people who touched some of them. I want one more round of this, and I’ll count one person for everyone too, which would also get everyone the required people count.

Everyone came and ate when I called, ran away and sprinkled breakfast kibble. Eating out, getting pets, practicing puppy recalls – check.

Curiosity, approach behavior … and scaring off two big dogs once they noticed HOW MANY little raptors were coming to say hi to them. Thank you for being kind to the first ones, you two!

Fierro also barked at another non-threatening free-roamer. This is the first time one of them has barked at a stimulus! Plus: we’re climbing stairs as if it was the most natural thing in the world! See for yourself:

We then met a fourth free-roamer and almost got run over by a trash cart. Almost! What’s most interesting in this clip to me is how Chispa approaches the dog with her tail tucked. She is clearly feeling tense. There is no reason for her to approach. I am at a distance from this dog, taking video – she could come to me or go any other way. And yet, she chooses to approach despite her tail saying that she isn’t entirely at ease! Curiosity wins – and nothing bad happens! Go Chispa!

Thank you for the person with the trash cart for stopping when I asked you to! We were getting in your way, after all!

After meeting the trash cart, the puppies found bread crumbs to enjoy and reconnected with the black free-roamer. They also ran after a bike for a few metters and after a pedestrian (I had to call them away from the pedestrian; they themselves stopped with the bike.) Bravo tried eating the pedal of a different bike. That’s not on video – but here’s Bravo and Rebelde learning to scavenge and our free-roaming friend! I usually don’t feed free-roamers, but I do these days because I want them to stick around me and the puppies. You’ll also see me having to call Rebelde away from a stranger in this clip. I lowered the camera when calling because the person looked like they’d like to be left alone, so you can’t see Rebelde’s nice response.

Folks were just starting to set up for the Sunday market when we got ready to leave (to avoid going home in the heat!) Everyone walked through the market corridor together – including our new found friend, of course! In the video below, you see me calling the puppies after the corridor. They are slower to respond – Rebelde seems to not be sure which direction my call is coming from, and everyone else is just tired by this point! Our new friend, funnily, is fast to respond to the recall she doesn’t know!

At this age, social reinforcement tends to be most valuable. I feed now and then anyways because I want the puppies to learn how to eat, and that food can be a consequence of behaviors. But not always: I want social reinforcement to stay strong and not turn every interaction into a transaction.

I would love to go to the city at least once this week before returning there on Thursday … but due to the heat, I think I’ll leave it at working here in town. I’ll just have to head out every morning and every evening (as long as we don’t get rained out, like yesterday.) Hopefully that way, we’ll come close to meeting our dog and people goals. We’ve still got tonight to break even for this week, and I hope to make it count!

This evening’s social trip

I looked for other plazas in and around town, but the only other one there is (as far as I can tell) – the quesadilla plaza – was pretty dead. So we headed back to the center again. And wow, was it fun! Much more alive than at 7AM! There were not as many dogs as there usually are at city parks, but plenty of people who wanted to interact with the puppies, including kids. Older kids running, couples lying on the low walls of the grassy parts, a balloon salesperson, a few arts stands (probably the same we saw setting up in the morning), people with strollers and lights in the trees. It wasn’t crazy crowded, but just right. Everyone met a tiny 8-months old Chihuahua who wanted to play (until my guys became too much when they found all their confidence) and another friendly free-roamer who was approached by Bravo (he’s the most confident, ventures the furthest and is the first to approach people and dogs these days), Rebelde, Fierro (who first barked and then had a good time) and Chispa (who I held up to both this dog and the Chi to sniff because she was being sleepy or tentative.) Oso got held by a new person, so he officially mets his people count for the day as well. Since everyone else got touched by all kinds of people, but not picked up, I’m giving them all an additional people mark too. Plus one Chihuahua for everyone and one free-roamer who wanted my pets, but not my food for 4 of the puppies. It’s going well! We’ll make this park a staple, twice a day for as long as the puppies are here and it doesn’t rain!

Crate training

Oso

Shortly after we got home from our evening adventure, there was a power outage. Nothing much we could do – but Oso got 15 minutes of crate time and rocked it! Both he and Fierro are looking at 20 minutes next.

While Oso slept in the carrier in the kitchen, everyone else was asleep outside the baby gate, outside the house … except for Rebelde. She vocally complained about wanting to be let in. I did something I haven’t done before. Since everyone was out there with her and peaceful, it was a familiar place and she wasn’t confined, I knew she wasn’t scared – she just wasn’t content and wanted inside, and she is someone who says what she wants. I waited her out, puttering around nearby but not letting her in. She calmed down after 20 minutes. About a minute later, I let everyone in for the night.

Did we meeet the new dogs and new humans goal (at least 7 a week for everyone?)

YES! I tallied up this week’s dogs and people, and thanks to today’s two outings and Carla, Emmerson and Axel’s visit this week, we made or overshot our dog and human goals this week as well! (Granted this is the first time we counted rollover dogs and humans from last week.) I have a good feeling that we’ll get things done in week 8 as well, now that we have a plan for mornings and nights!