Nalu and Kai’s puppies enjoyed their weaning food, and the weaning stage went very successfully. As they ate weaning food, I could see they grew much more and started to show their dognality (personality) a lot.
If you missed Raising Healthy Happy Puppies Part 1 and Part 2 here are the links:
They played with each other, also with Nalu mama and Kai papa and continue played with Eric (my husband) and me very often. They had fun with many different toys and cat’s tunnel.
They became more active, so Nalu mama’s job is mostly done feeding and cleaning. My turn to take care of puppies has come into the spotlight. I needed to spend more time cleaning them up, feeding homemade puppy food, play and take care of them carefully with love.
As much as I spent my time and committed to puppies, I felt that this was essential work and my favorite time.
I think Eric had so much fun in their whelping box and play-pen.
This is a sample schedule that I and Eric did for puppies every day.
I did not write here, but we sang, danced and slept together also.
6 am: When puppies got up, they did poo and pee right away, so I cleaned up them and whelping box. Hugged each puppy and told “good morning” and “I love you so much!” and played with them, and they also played with each other while I was preparing homemade food for them. Fed them and made sure they had enough food. If they were not eating enough, they were just licking and wandering around. If they ate enough, they did poo and pee again (of course, I had to clean up again), and they played and fell asleep again.
Meantime, of course, I had to take care of their parents, Nalu, Kai and two aunties and one uncle with their homemade food and took them out to the yard. Also, fed cats’ family and cleaned their litters.
This whole thing took about 2 hours.
8 am: Ate my breakfast and rest a little bit and take care of other things.
9 am: Set up the play-pen in the living room or if the weather was suitable then set up the play-pan outside.
10 am Puppies got up, cleaned up again, moved puppies to the play pan, gave snack and played again.
This time, when I cleaned their body (fur), I rub/massaged with an organic cloth (cotton or hemp), dip in a loquat leaves warm water. They loved this body(fur) rub a lot. Loquat leaves are very medicinal. Read my blog ” Loquat Leaves Body Acrub/Rub”
I comb them also then massaged their paw as they need and they fell asleep. I took some of the dogs out for a walk.
12:30 am: When lunchtime came, they got up so I cleaned up again and fed lunch and cleaned up another time and played and slept. Then I ate my lunch. Take other dogs out for a walk.
3 pm: As they were getting up, I cleaned up again, gave snack and played also, and I gave Animal Reiki this time, and they went back to sleep right away.
5 pm: They got up, I cleaned up, fed dinner, and played again and they just stayed around me in the living room and played each other while I was preparing my dinner or watched Netflix or news or Japanese show.
7 pm: Ate my dinner and checked puppies how they were doing.
9 pm: They got up, I cleaned up and played and moved them to whelping box to sleep.
Additionally, they love to play and talk with us.
They also really enjoyed holistic modalities (animal massage, animal reiki, etc.) and gentle touch.
It is so privileged for me to be their human mom and to take care of them and choose what good for them.
I wish I could keep them all, but physically I can’t take care of all of them as they grow bigger, so one of the necessary commitments for me to do is finding a trusted people to be their guardians.
I have met wonderful people through this process, and also some of my friends, students, and clients became my dog family.
Once in a while, some people would say what I want to hear, and they did not keep their words to raise puppies holistically or mindfully or blame me when something happened. So finding suitable guardians are not easy and have created my heartache and sadness. But I believe they came into my life to teach something, and wherever they go, they would teach everyone there too.
No matter where these puppies have gone to live in a new home, I continue to communicate with them and send metta to them because they are my dog’s grandchildren.
The puppies are leaving home usually around 8 weeks old. I need to get ready for puppies to leave home completed the weaning stage, giving the first puppy vaccination a few days before they leave home, and deworm them the next day.
Conventional veterinarians would give the first puppy vaccination 6 weeks or sometimes even younger, but we wait till close to 8 weeks and also giving them only necessary vaccinations, which Distemper-parve only/puppy DPV and deworming separating date.
Unfortunately, most conventional veterinarians give maximum vaccinations of 5 combinations at once and give deworm on the same day which is very harsh for puppies. I thought that I had to give all these 5 combination vaccinations, but it is not true. I found out the truth after I met a holistic veterinarian and studied myself about vaccinations.
I appreciate holistic veterinarian doctor Sally Lane who wrote Healthy Happy Pooch book forward to have taught me so much about vaccinations and other holistic approaches.
Here are photos of puppies getting check up to be ready for their first vaccination by holistic veterinarian doctor Sally Lane before they left the home. The number of puppies are the order of birth.
Getting vaccination from a holistic veterinarian doctor is important so you are not giving them vaccination at too young age and only unnecessary vaccination it means give only necessary vaccination to puppies and not maximum vaccination and no mercury and unhealthy preservative vaccinations. The better and safer vaccines have limited antigens.
Love,
Sanae ❤️