We have two litters of puppies currently on the ground who are about a week apart. Today I brought them outside for a bit so I could change out the whelping boxes and newspapers, as you can imagine puppies poop ALOT...more than you can probably imagine, so it was nice to be able to put them on the grass and get their areas clean rather than moving them into one area in the house to clean the other to turn around and have to clean up the temporary area...having pups outside is one of the nice things about Summer pups! :)
My children also enjoy playing with the pups in their play yard as we have slides and different play structures for the pups. It's very good for the pups to have a variety of different experiences while they are still very young. With my own puppies I follow the rules of 7
THE RULE OF SEVENS ... TIPS ON PUPPY SOCIALIZATION
Pat Hastings, AKC judge and author of The Puppy Puzzle offers
these hints for socializing very young puppies.
By the time a puppy is 7 weeks old it should have:
Been on 7 different surfaces, such as: carpet, concrete, wood,
vinyl, grass, dirt, gravel, wood chips, newspaper, etc.
Played with 7 different types of objects, such as: big balls,
small balls, soft fabric toys, fuzzy balls, squeaky toys, metal items, wooden
items, paper/cardboard items, milk/soda jugs, etc.
Been in 7 different locations, including: front yard, backyard,
basement, kitchen, car, garage, laundry room, bathroom, crate, kennel, etc.
Been exposed to 7 challenges, such as: climbed a box, climbed
off a box, gone through a tunnel, climbed up steps, climbed down steps,
climbed over obstacles, played hide and seek, gone in and out of a doorway
with a step, etc.
Eaten from 7 different containers: metal, plastic, cardboard,
paper, china, pie plate, frying pan, etc.
Eaten in 7 different locations: crate, yard, kitchen, basement,
laundry room, bedroom, x-pen, etc.
Met and played with 7 new people, including children and the elderly.
