From Whelp to Wean: Confidence Blossoms

The Whelping Box Update

Week 7 arrives with a noticeable shift — the Toybox Trio are no longer tiny explorers but little learners with big opinions. Their world has expanded yet again, and they’re meeting it with confidence, curiosity, and a surprising amount of strategy for such small creatures. Their play now has layers of intention and social nuance, and their interactions feel more like thoughtful choices than random puppy chaos.

The living‑room Playpen has become a bustling hub of activity, with pups trotting in and out like they own the place. But the real excitement this week is that their horizons have stretched outdoors. The Trio now have access to the sensory garden and adventure play area, complete with digging zones, water play tubs, tunnels, tents, balls, and all sorts of natural textures to explore. They’re splashing, tunnelling, digging, and investigating every corner of their expanded world with growing confidence.

And their adventures don’t stop at home. The pups have also begun getting about the village in their pram, taking in new sights, sounds, and smells. They’ve met friendly neighbours, waved their tiny paws at passing dogs, and soaked up the gentle bustle of village life. These outings are short, sweet, and full of valuable social learning — the perfect introduction to the wider world.

This week feels a bit like puppy primary school — still playful, still chaotic, but with a whole lot more thought behind their actions.

Milestone Moments

• Mobility: Confident running, climbing, splashing, digging, and navigating both indoor obstacles and the outdoor sensory garden with ease. Their coordination is sharper, and they’re tackling tunnels, ramps, and uneven terrain with growing purpose.

• Teeth: Milk teeth are fully functional — tug toys, chew logs, rope pieces, and anything with texture are in constant rotation. Chewing is now both a pastime and a developmental need.

• Play: Social play has become wonderfully complex. The pups now engage in role‑swapping, negotiation, gentle boundary‑setting, and cooperative games. Their interactions show clear communication cues and growing emotional intelligence.

• First Bath: Another milestone ticked off — their very first bath. “Enjoyed” might be a stretch, but they bravely tolerated the experience, complete with wide eyes, wiggly bodies, and a few offended glances. Once wrapped in warm towels, they forgave me instantly.

Future Parents

Week 7 is when puppies begin to feel like real little dogs — curious, confident, and deeply connected to the world around them. Families can expect pups at this stage to be interactive, playful, and increasingly responsive to early training cues.

This week is all about social skills, emotional resilience, and cognitive leaps. Puppies are solving puzzles, navigating new environments, and showing clear preferences in play and people. With structured enrichment, gentle handling, and consistent routines, they’re blossoming into adaptable, thoughtful companions who are nearly ready to take their next big step — joining their forever families.

Playschool Puppy Curriculum

The curriculum steps up again this week, introducing more structured learning, broader horizons, and plenty of resilience‑building adventures:

• Environment: More complex obstacle paths, tunnels, wobble boards, and gentle challenges both indoors and in the outdoor sensory garden. The pups now explore digging zones, water play tubs, tents, balls, and natural textures that encourage confident movement and curiosity.

• Textures: Continued rotation of grass, carpet, rubber, gravel, bark, and uneven surfaces — plus the added sensory richness of soil, leaves, and gentle water play.

• Solo play: in safe indoor or outdoor spaces to build independence and emotional regulation.

• Crate conditioning: Longer naps with the door closed, supporting future transitions and helping pups settle calmly in new environments.

• Name association: Reinforced during play, feeding, recall games, and during their pram outings around the village.

• Recall games: More consistent practice with food rewards, cheerful repetition, and even short recall moments during outdoor exploration.

• Handling exercises: Brushing, paw handling, collar practice, gentle restraint, and positive interactions with new people during neighbourhood meet‑and‑greets.

• Sound desensitisation: Exposure to household sounds, outdoor noises, village ambience, passing dogs, pram wheels on different surfaces, and mild novelty (car rides, clattering objects, distant vacuum).

Temperament tracking now highlights resilience, adaptability, curiosity, and emerging social roles, giving a clearer picture of each pup’s future strengths and ideal home environments.

Health & Care

Weekly weigh‑ins show steady, healthy gains across the board. I continue to monitor teeth, gums, eyes, and overall body condition, ensuring each pup is thriving.

• First Vet Visit: A huge milestone this week — the Trio had their first vet check, complete with health exams, vaccinations, and microchipping. They handled it beautifully, with only a few dramatic squeaks and plenty of cuddles from the vet team. It was a big confidence‑building moment and a gentle introduction to lifelong healthcare.

Poppet is now in full “big‑kid mum” mode — checking in for comfort, supervising play, and offering the occasional milk‑bar visit, but spending most of her time relaxing away from the puppies and rebuilding her strength.

This week’s observations include:
• Confidence in new environments — who adapts quickly and who prefers a moment to assess.
• Recovery after novelty or stress — how each pup settles after new experiences.
• Play preferences — tug, chase, chew, or puzzle‑solving.
• Crate comfort levels — longer naps, calmer entries, and reduced vocalisation.

These insights help guide enrichment and support thoughtful puppy‑to‑home matching.

From Mush to Meals

Just when I thought they might never wean, the truth revealed itself — they simply weren’t impressed with traditional puppy mush. The moment I switched things up and started offering kibble with a few tasty treats mixed in, plus a spoonful of lightly warmed Big Dog Raw Food, everything changed. Suddenly, mealtimes became an event worth showing up for.

The pups now have moments of real gusto, especially when meals are presented as a game. Hand‑feeding is still a favourite, and scattering kibble across the floor turns feeding time into a lively treasure hunt. The puppies dive straight into “go fetch the kibble,” snuffling around with impressive determination.

Feeding sessions are messy, playful, and full of learning — and now that they’ve discovered food they actually like, Poppet is breathing a very relieved sigh.

This week, Poppet has re‑joined the play sessions, and her presence adds a whole new layer of learning. Her play style is noticeably rougher — pouncing, rolling, mouthing, and darting in and out with speed and precision. While it can look intense, this is exactly how a good canine mum teaches her pups the skills they’ll need in the real world.

Through her “big dog” play, Poppet is teaching them:

• bite inhibition — how to control pressure

• body awareness — how to stay balanced and respond to movement

• social boundaries — when to pause, when to try again, and when to back off

• resilience — how to recover quickly from excitement or frustration

Her rough‑and‑tumble style is safe, intentional, and deeply educational. The pups adore it, and you can see their confidence bloom every time she joins the game

• Awareness: Puppies recognise routines, anticipate events, and respond to familiar voices with enthusiasm. They’re also taking in new sights, sounds, and smells during pram outings around the village, meeting neighbours and friendly dogs with curiosity and confidence.

• Elimination: Toilet habits continue improving, with pups consistently seeking out designated areas both indoors and outdoors. Their ability to pause play and move to the right spot is becoming more reliable each day.