Play-fighting is the name of the game this week. The pups started by chewing on their mum's ears and ruff in the last few days. When they were smaller and weaker she ignored it. In the last couple of days she has started brushing them away with one paw. Sometimes she just nudges them with her muzzle; if it gets too annoying she simply gets up and leaves, thereby showing that the time-out technique is based in nature :) 
With each other they have moved onto chewing and tugging on tails and stalking and pouncing on one another. Leif was the first one to launch successful attacks, not too surprising since he was the most advanced puppy when it came to walking in the direction he wanted to go :) Leif and Viggo have been in some knock-down fights and even little Skonsa has been seen telling Leif off. They are all playing more vigorously with their toys, picking them up and running with them, shaking them, and tugging on the fleece braids I've tied to the sides of the x-pen.
There's some sense of progress in the potty-training department. They use the pee pads quite a bit. Often they were making it to just a couple steps away from the pee pads, so we moved the carpet so that the potty training area is on vinyl so puddles are more noticeable and easier to clean. I'm sure there've been a number of "accidents" on the carpet, usually around the perimeter of the play area. I spot-clean with an enzyme solution (Nok-Out or Urine-off) when I notice spots although I'm sure I've missed several.
We can introduce the clicker soon - they have had a couple days of supplementary food in the morning, so now we can use dabs of ground meat and soft cheese for rewards. Not every puppy will continue training with the clicker but as many breeders have discovered, introducing the clicker to puppies at this age seems to awaken them to learning and set the stage for the back and forth communication of positive training. We've also begun basic manners training by only picking up puppies that are sitting down, and the puppies have to be sitting down (or at least not jumping up) before the food bowl goes down. We'll continue to work on the Rule of 7s which is a fun way of tracking the puppies' rate of introduction to new experiences and people. By the age of 7 weeks they ought to have met 7 different people, walked on 7 different surfaces, been in 7 different locations/rooms, played with 7 different types of objects (of different materials, sounds and textures), experienced 7 different challenges (like steps, tunnels, etc) and eaten from 7 different containers, in 7 different places. This helps accustom the pup to variety. Socialization needs to be on-going over the next several weeks - every new experience and encounter will build the puppies trust, confidence and adaptability to the world. In general, puppies should encounter every aspect of their normal, everyday life before the age of 4 months, with the most intensive benefits coming from socialization that occurs during 7 to 12 weeks of age.
The pups had their first set of visitors during the last week, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and more visits planned during this week and the coming weekend. Most of their evaluations and health tests have also been scheduled.
Superstitious behavior: Animals have it, too
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