Leaf Peeper Puppies, Born Oct. 28, 2020

There are no puppies available from this litter

Oliver x Rainey Litter
Puppies born October 28, 2020
2 Boys and 4 Girls
Click HERE for details of this breeding

These puppies were born at the height of fall foliage here in Lancaster County, PA. Leaf peepers are out in full force enjoying nature's display of beautiful autumn colors so we've decided to call this litter the Leaf Peeper Puppies! All of the puppies in the litter will have a registered name that includes the name of a deciduous tree.

7 Week Puppy News
This will be the last website update for the Leaf Peeper Puppies

This a fun-filled pack of little puppies! But not so little anymore. All but one of the puppies weigh between 15-20 pounds. Little Willow, born less than half the size of the others, weighs a bit less but she's catching up to the rest of the pack. Some puppies are more rambunctious than others, but there are no shy or withdrawn puppies in the litter.

The poor little Leaf Peeper puppies are orphans now; their Mama Rainey has left so she could go to her home for Christmas with her family. But Grandma Friday and Great Aunt Molly have stepped up to the plate! Molly loves playing with the puppies and Friday delights in being the disciplinarian. Friday keeps the puppies in line in no uncertain terms! Good training for puppies.

The Great Snow Adventure, or, Why Do I Have Frosty Paws?

We were excited to have a snowfall arrive in time for these puppies to have their first snow adventure. Puppies didn't take to getting frosty paws quickly... they started by crying and running after their mama... "Help me mama!". Then they settled into the snow and began to explore. Too cute!

Click photos below to see videos

Anything's Fun for a Puppy!

Everything is a fun game for puppies, even a broom!

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Beware of Puppies!

Visitors to the puppy play area are likely to be victims of a pack attack! Puppies think pant legs are great chew toys.

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7 Week Puppy Portraits ~ See how we've changed!

Aspen - Purple Girl

Aspen 7 Weeks

Aspen 1 Week

Aspen 2 Weeks

Aspen 3 Weeks

Aspen 4 Weeks

Aspen 6 Weeks

Buck - Blue Boy

7 Weeks

Buck 1 Week

Buck 2 Weeks

Buck 3 Weeks

Buck 4 Weeks

Buck 6 Week

6 Week Puppy News

The puppies were 6 weeks old on December 9th. They are quite an active pack of puppies now and are keeping us busy. They're now at an age where they beg for attention; a sure sign that they'll soon be ready to go to their homes.

The Great Tunnel Adventure!

The puppies spent a week running through the giant tunnel that took up most of their play area. Unfortunately, I failed to capture the tunnel adventure in pictures but take my word for it... they had a GREAT TIME!

Pool Ball Puppies!

There's a lot of action in the pool of balls... puppies go wild jumping in and out and rustling through the balls.

Outdoor Adventures

Puppies are becoming more courageous in exploring the great outdoors.

The Wobbly Saucer Experience

Puppies love playing on the wobbly saucer.

Puppies Meet Shiloh Sheppard!
Puppies were curious to meet Zeppelin, my son's Shiloh Sheppard, but Zeppelin wasn't very interested in the puppies.

Fun Photos!

6 Week Puppy Portraits

Aspen - Purple Girl

Buck - Blue Boy

Chief - Orange Boy

Pumpkin - Yellow Girl

Tulip - Pink Girl

Willow - Green Girl

5 Week Puppy News

The Leaf Peeper puppies were 5 weeks old on December 2nd and are getting to be hefty little puppies! They weigh about pounds now.

Good-bye Sweet Puppies ~ Hello Piranhas!

Those sharp little puppy teeth are in full force now and puppies stand ready to attack the pant legs of anyone who dares to enter!

Puppies now engage in very rough and tumble play with lots of ear, neck, and tail biting and frequent yelps. But we don't interfere because the puppy rough housing is teaching them bite inhibition. Puppies love to play but when a puppy bites too hard, the other puppy stops playing and the fun ends. So puppies slowly learn to use a softer bite so the play will continue.

The Adventure Box!

Puppies had a great time exploring various objects and textures hanging from their adventure box. We periodically change out the items on the adventure box so they always have something new to discover.

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The Adventure Box works for children too!

The Great Outdoor Adventure!

Puppies had their first outdoor experience and were not happy to learn that the whole world isn't always warm and cozy.
They started with a wagon ride and then got to put their little paws on grass for the first time.

Many more outdoor adventures are in store for the Leaf Peepers!

Fun Photos

Visitors

Puppies have had many visitors during the week. They love being held and petted.

5 Week Puppy Portraits

Aspen - Purple Girl

Buck - Blue Boy

Chief - Orange Boy

Pumpkin - Yellow Girl

Tulip - Pink Girl

Willow - Green Girl

4 Week Puppy News

The L:eaf Peeper puppies were 4 weeks old on November 25th and their world is changing rapidly. They've said good-bye to their whelping pen and now have a puppy play pen that includes a sleeping area, a play area, and a potty area. Their play pen will expand as they learn to use the potty area.

Yikes ~ It's a Crate!

We've begun introducing the puppies to crates. We put them in their crates several times a day when we clean their play pen. They weren't very happy with their first crate experience!

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It didn't take them very long to get used to the crate and settle down. We leave the crate doors open when the puppies aren't on lock-down and puppies wander in and out of the crate to take naps.

We like to get puppies accustomed to crates so they won't be traumatized when they go to their homes and are crated for house training.

The Great Mush Mess!

The puppies have started eating puppy mush and so begins their lifelong addiction to food! Puppy mush is puppy food pureed with water. We start with a porridge consistency, gradually make the mush thicker, then transition to kibble soaked in water, and eventually just plain kibble.

We introduce puppies to the food bowl by putting mush on our hands, letting them lick it off, and then guiding their heads to the food bowl.

Puppies start out eating in a pretty puppy pinwheel. But things quickly spiral downhill as puppies plunge into the food bowl.

When the food frenzy has ended, mama Rainey moves in for clean-up duty.

Puppies Love Tunnels!

Tunnels are always a favorite puppy toy and the Leaf Peepers are having fun crawling through their little tunnel. Bigger tunnels and other adventures are soon to come!

Puppy Visitors

Early socialization is so important for puppies so we always encourage and welcome visitors. Our puppies always meet at least 100 people before they go to their homes at 8-9 weeks of age and we want new owners to be sure they meet another 100 people before they're 16 weeks old. So far, both litters (the Leaf Peepers and the Presidential Puppies) have met 33 different people. We have a house rule for visitors: All visitors must hold all puppies!

4 Week Puppy Portraits

Aspen - Purple Girl

Buck - Blue Boy

Chief - Orange Boy

Pumpkin - Yellow Girl

Tulip - Pink Girl

Willow - Green Girl

3 Week Puppy News!

The Leaf Peepers were 3 weeks old on November 18th Puppies now weigh between 5-6 pounds. They're not quite as chubby as they were but that will change quickly when they begin eating puppy food next week.

Puppies are keeping us very busy and I've fallen slightly behind on puppy website updates but will try to do better this week.

Don't Be Fooled!

Don't be fooled by these innocent looking sweet little puppy faces. These clever little canines are conspiring to make their great escape from the whelping box! We expect them to start tumbling over the sides any day now.

But we're ready for them! We've placed a big fluffy Swissy for them to topple onto when they spill over the sides of the whelping box. We've also set up a small platy area for them which includes a play space and a potty space. As the puppies learn to use the potty area, their play space will expand and they'll eventually take over the entire room.

Puppies

People!

The puppies are learning to like to be petted and come running to the opening of the whelping box when people visit. They've had several visitors over the last week; unfortunately I forgot to take a lot of pics!

Fun Photos

3 Week Puppy Portraits ~ We're BIG dogs now!

The Leaf Peepers have outgrown their newborn collars and now have BIG DOG collars. Willow has changed from light blue girl to green girl.

Aspen - Purple Girl

Buck - Blue Boy

Chief - Orange Boy

Pumpkin - Yellow Girl

Tulip - Pink Girl

Willow - Green Girl

2 Week Puppy News!

The Leaf Peeper puppies celebrated their 2 week birthday on November 11, 2020. These puppies are exploding ~ we already have some 5 pound puppies in the pack! That's a huge weight gain for 2 week old puppies who were born at about 20 ounces. I should mention that puppy size is no indication of adult size, but it does indicate that the puppies are thriving.

It takes a good mama like Rainey to raise good puppies!

Peek-a-Boo Puppies!

The puppies eyes have opened and they can now see the world around them. They are out of their warming box and are free to explore various objects that we place in their whelping pen for them to discover. They still have a warming pad under the whelping pen which they move on and off of as needed but at two weeks of age puppies begin to be able to control their body temperature.

When puppies' eyes open, their ears also open so the puppies can now hear. We've begun playing CDs of puppy sounds to start exposing the puppies to every imaginable sound and providing them with constant stimulation. \

First Steps!

The Leaf Peepers have begun taking their first steps. A little wobbly, but they're working on mastering the skill!

By next week, these puppies will be climbing out of their whelping pen. Let the trouble begin!

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Puppy Play!

Puppies are discovering that littermates are fun to play with!

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Tough Days!

Even puppies have tough days.

The puppy in the corner of this video pretty much captures what life is like for us raising two litters of puppies!

Fun Photos

2 Week Puppy Portraits

At two weeks old, puppies muzzles are almost all white, their noses have turned black, and they've had their first nail trim. That's 144 little nails to trim!

Aspen - Purple Girl

Chief - Orange Boy

Tulip - Pink Girl

Buck - Blue Boy

Pumpkin - Yellow Girl

Willow - Light Blue Girl

1 Week Puppy News!

The Leaf Peeper Puppies were 1 week old on November 4, 2020. They're a very vigorous and healthy litter of puppies and are really thriving. Five of the six puppies were right around 20 ounces at birth and are right around 2 pounds. One little girl was born at only 8 ounces but she's catching up quickly. She's grown from 8 ounces to 22 ounces in just one week!

Mama Rainey keeps a constant vigil over her puppies. We keep the puppies in a box when the puppies aren't nursing or when we're not right there to watch closely. Puppies can easily crawl under a mother dog and get smothered or mama could accidentally step on them so we use a box with a heating pad underneath it to keep puppies safe and warm.

Good-bye Dewclaws!

Dewclaws are an extra claw on the inside of the front and rear leg that are higher on the leg than other claws; dewclaws never touch the ground. Dewclaws, particularly rear dewclaws, are poorly attached to the dog with only a ligament or flap of skin and make the dog very vulnerable to injury by having the dewclaw caught on something and being torn from the leg. The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Breed Standards states that rear dewclaws should be removed and front dewclaws may be removed.

The Leaf Peeper Puppies had their front and rear dewclaws removed at 5 days of age. It's important to do the removal during the first 5 days of life. During that time, it causes the puppy little if any discomfort. After 5 days of age, the puppy would have to be anesthetized to have the dewclaws removed.

Early Neurological Stimulation

Early Neurological Stimulation for puppies was developed by the U.S. Military to improve the performance of the puppies they raise to become service dogs. It was originally know as the Biosensor Program or Super Dog Program. Research has concluded that when puppies are exposed to certain forms of stimulation during their rapid neurological development period from 3 to 16 days of life, dogs will have a stronger cardiovascular system, a greater resistance to certain forms of cancer and other disease, will mature faster mentally, will have more tolerance to stress, and will have improved problem solving ability and greater trainability.

We want our puppies to have every possible advantage so they have begun receiving daily Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS). ENS consists of a series of five simple exercises, each performed for 5 seconds:

Puppy is held in upright position

Puppy is held with head down

Puppy is held laying on his back

Puppy is tickled between toes

Puppy is placed on ice pack

One Week Old Puppies

One week old puppies don't do very much except eat and sleep! They cannot see or hear, but they can smell and crawl which enables them to find their mama as soon as she enters the whelping box. A dog's nose just can't be fooled at any age!

Puppy Videos: Click on each photo below to see videos

Crawling through the leaves!

Rainey and her babies!

Unhappy puppies waiting to eat!

1 Week Puppy Portraits

At one week old, puppies are already starting to change. Their muzzles and paws appear less pink as the white hair begins to fill in and some of the little noses are beginning to turn black. Over the next few weeks, there'll be a dramatic change in the white markings on their head and neck. The white always diminishes as the puppy grows.

Aspen - Purple Girl

Buck - Blue Boy

Chief - Orange Boy

Pumpkin - Yellow Girl

Tulip - Pink Girl

Willow - Light Blue Girl

Newborn - Puppies have Arrived!

The Leaf Peeper Puppies were born on Wednesday, October 28th; 2 handsome boys and 4 beautiful girls. All the puppies are healthy and vigorous. They'll be keeping mama Rainey (and us!) busy over the next two weeks with feeding every two hours round the clock.