Time goes by quickly when you have puppies and a Mama dog to care for. We are trying to make sure to make time to enjoy the pups, as they grow and change so quickly.
We expanded their area a bit yesterday, opening up one side of the whelping box and adding a pen area that is about as large as the whelping box. We are planning to litter box train these pups, which is a first for us. We have not put the litter boxes in their area, but have added pee pads, strategically placed to encourage them to pee there instead of in the area where they sleep.
Starting in the next day we will offer the pups some puppy formula out of a shallow dish to encourage them to drink. Supplementing them a bit will help relieve a little of the burden of feeding from Kodi and begin the weaning process. Offerings will start with formula, then transition over the next week or so to a gruel with a little rice cereal added. The next change will be to add a ground raw meat blend or soaked puppy kibble.
The pups already have lots of appointments on their calendars for their final weeks with us (starting on Week 7) which will allow us to make informed decisions on which pup is the best fit for each home. We do a temperament test, a structural evaluation, an eye exam and finally a "well puppy" visit to the vet for a checkup and first vaccination. Whew! We expect those appointments to take place between 10/31 and around 11/11. Once we have all the information from those checks, we'll let each of our puppy homes know who will be going home with them. 
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