Wow it is hard to believe these beautiful puppies are 2 weeks old already! Our overall average weight per each puppy is 2 lbs. Of course there are those who a little less and those who are a little more. They are up on their feet and trying out their 'sea legs' staggering around like a drunken sailor! I love watching the wobbly legged young puppies learn how to balance their bodies on their newly discovered legs.
The stage up until the pup's eyes open is considered the neo-natal stage. If you are reading the books we have recommended you'll be familiar with this developmental period as noted in "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete. There are a couple of pups whose eyes are completely open already! There are others whose little eyes can be seen peeking out through the little halfmoon slits where there eye openings are developing. I almost missed one of them because it was a liver and white puppy whose eyes opened first. Those pups just remind me so much of little baby panda bears in the beginning. For now I keep the curtains drawn for a few days shielding the pups from the bright morning sun. Just think of what it feels like to come from a darkened movie theater and walk out into the sunlight. That's what it must be like for the puppies. Speaking of light I have started to reduce the amount of time they are under the infrared heat lamp. That too is part of their acclimating to the world they will live in. John created a great way years ago to safely use overhead heat lamps. Ironically, even though it is summertime the pups area I like to keep their area above 90 degrees in the beginning. This is not only to prevent them from becoming chilled but because they cannot generate their own body heat but it also helps to prevent certain viruses from thriving. The puppies behavior in the whelping box indicate to us when the heat lamp needs to be adjusted. 
Holly is such a meticulous mother! Her 'nest' is spotless. This will definitely change in the coming weeks. Holly does not like to be away from her puppies for long at this point in time. It did take her a few days before she'd even lay out onto her dog bed. She would lay under the heat lamp despite her own discomfort. Lately she simply stays within earshot of her puppies. Our whelping area is uniquely set up away from the hustle and bustle of a multiple dog household so she does not have to deal with the curiosity of others in our pack.
It's been fun to watch these very young puppies respond to the daily specific and intentional handling exercises of the Bio-Sensor puppy program. They are so accustomed to having their paws gently touched that the first time I clipped their toenails there was very little struggling involved. I begin clipping toenails at about 4 days old and will do it a couple of times a week. Part of this is because I believe it helps desensitize them to the inevitable regular nail clipping throughout their lifetime. I also do it with Holly's abdomen in mind. 
Those vigorous little nursing puppies use their feet to knead and hold onto Holly's abdomen which inevitable becomes tender as their demand for food increases. It may seem early to be talking about weaning but Holly will cue me as to the best time to start. Weaning is teaching the puppies about a whole new way of eating. Our method is to introduce them to a puppy saucer pan containing a combination of Gerber baby rice cereal mixed with warm water and Goats Milk Esbilac. It's messy but it is fun! They climb in and get covered head to toe. And then it begins.
The next day they are offered Purina Pro Plan Puppy food that has been pulverized in the food processor and moistened with warm water. It doesn't take them very long to become accustomed to the solid food and as this is going on Holly will be nursing them less and less. But for right now she is being fed a special diet and allowed to eat as much and as frequently she desires. The demands the puppies place on her are great and quickly deplete her. As of late Holly enjoys the supplementation of her meals with steak, chicken, or hamburg. Not bad, HB!
We're truly experiencing the calm before the storm right now! By this I mean to say things are fairly uneventful with the pups. This will change and very, very soon. I'm sitting here next to the whelping box and watching as one of the pups is raising themselves up onto the pig-rail. A pig-rail is a board that goes around the inside of the perimeter designed to prevent a puppy from being crushed by it's mother. It's just a matter of time before one of the pups is strong enough to raise themselves up and over the side of the box. Consequently, John will attach higher side panels to prevent this. Holly will still be able to get in and out with ease but pups will stay inside until they are old enough to handle the expanse of the entire whelping area. Eventually, the whelping box will be removed entirely and the room will once again be transformed. The puppies will have free access to the entire gated area and they will love it! This will be where they explore, climb, run, play, and have a ball just being puppies. We will add a litter box filled with alfalfa pellets and they will learn to use it to eliminate, making clean up in aisle 7 much much easier! Sometimes we also use shavings in the area which keeps pups clean and smelling fresh. That's when they are much older! As the pups grow and mature they will be taken outside and allowed to explore under close supervision. We have eagles here so it is not possible to just let them out and run free as we once did. But that's okay. There is also a really nice outdoor pen where they can be in covered shade. As they get older they'll get to have a kiddie pool, toys, and an activity center.
I'll start to put the pups on a grooming table daily as soon as their legs support their bodies fully. This is a great way to get them ready for vet visits and also for the necessary grooming of the Brittany. No formal 'stacking' is attempted until they are older. A breeder can gain a lot of information about the structure of a puppy by observing it closely, especially the way it stands on the table. Structure, conformation, and a thorough understanding of the breed standard should be important to every breeder. Knowing why a Brittany possesses this or possesses that goes way beyond the show ring.
Sometime, when the pups are around 4 -5 weeks old they will be briefly visited by their new families. We really never want to know which particular puppy someone may be interested in until they visit and meet the pups. It's not fair to anyone to make that decision prematurely. We take puppy selection very seriously and ask everyone to simply fall in love with the entire litter! There's always going to be that one puppy that stands out to everyone but that one puppy may not be the best fit for everyone. We do ask people to let us know their top 3 picks AFTER they've met the pups. At 7 weeks we perform a formal Puppy Aptitude Test, the results of which narrow down the best puppy for each family. John and I review the results of the PAT's as well as the information we know about each family and within a few days, everyone knows what puppy they are getting and are always happy with the results.
Last but not least, pups will be introduced to bird scent while still in the whelping area. Then just before they go home we will put a pigeon out to observe their instinct. We know that we will see glimpses of instinctive pointing, instinctive honoring, instinctive retrieving, and strong natural desire surface.
The 8 weeks truly do fly by. Right now it may not seem that way especially if you are one of the families waiting for that day when pup goes home! Speaking of which, if you peruse this blog you'll note that there are pages here specifically geared to bringing a new puppy home. Additionally we have amazing handouts for our new puppy owners to bring home with them.
Guess that's about all I have for now. That's enough! Now... back to that delicious puppy breath ... AHHHH....
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