August 19

Today the puppies are 4 weeks old! They have gotten so big. Most of
them have doubled their weight in the last 10 days!

Because I strive to expose the puppies to as many things as possible I
set a goal each day to introduce them to a new person, new item, and a
new sound each day. The new person can be tough as I don't want to
overwhelm the puppies and new people rarely come to my house one at a
time, but the puppies have probably met 20 people from a 6 month old
baby to an elderly gentleman who fought in the Korean War. Because
Annabelle is allowing me to socialize her pups with kids this early
on, there is no excuse for these dogs not to be awesome family dogs!

One of the things that I do to ready the pups for a "family"
atmosphere is try to build one here. My husband and I don't have kids,
but to make a "family" home we have resorted in borrowing children,
their toys, and their equipment (like strollers). The puppies have
been exposed to some of the child acoutrements and will be introduced
to more and more as they learn not everything is for them to chew on.

Let me preface this by saying all interactions between dogs and
children need to be closely monitored. Children will try to pick up
the puppies but may not have the strength. They will pull ears and
tails. Puppies, regardless of how often you trim nails, puppy nails
can scratch. Puppies mouth EVERYTHING! And you don't want a puppy
scaring a child because "the doggy bit or scratched me". The
experience needs to be positive for the puppies and the children.