The story of a Samoyed litter
The story is updated weekly – come back and watch us grow!
Before the birth
Our big and hairy mother visited a veterinarian about a week before we were born to check on us. We all were photographed with an X-ray machine, and they tried to count our heads. Wise people thought there were 6 or 7 or 8 of us inside our mother. However, we thought that we should keep our final number a secret and reveal it only after our birth. Our very own “kinder surprise”.
The birth and the first week of life
Our mother started giving birth to us already on February 27th, but we met this world and her only on February 28th. The first of us was born at 06:25AM and the last at 08:30PM. And there was 7 of us. The biggest surprise of our birth was that we were all boys. We are like a football team! The largest of us weighed 430 grams and the smallest 350 grams. We were lovely medium sized Samoyed puppies at birth. After we were born, we dedicated ourselves to drinking our mother’s milk and gaining weight.
We are very fond of our mother and complain loudly of her absence if we stray too far from her in our nest box. We all love our mother’s milk and, to be honest, get very competitive in the milk bar. Every brother for himself when it comes to milk. Although we can’t hear or see yet, we can smell our mother and her milk. And each one of us tries to get that very best position in the milk bar. At this age, our mother and her milk are our whole world.
The next important thing in our lives, after the milk, is a good sleeping position. To find the best possible sleeping position, we have a big game of nudging going on all the time. One pokes someone and then the other one nudges another. Then, someone gets knocked over, and someone is again poked in some way. And … just then … the best possible place to sleep is found! Good night world and happy growing!
The second week of life
In our first week of life, we drank so much milk that the top pups among us gained nearly 400 grams of weight compared to our birth weight by the start of the second week. To eat and gain weight is our top goal, also, in week two of our lives. To achieve this goal our brotherhood has a daily weight competition. We get put on the scale each night, and our gains get written down in a fancy notebook. And you know what? Milk is our golden prize for bulking up like champs!
The biggest milestone in our short lives hit on the 12th day. Since birth, we’ve been stumbling around with our eyes and ears shut tight, relying only on our noses and dear old mom. Talk about being totally helpless, right? Well, on the 10th day, the first of us cracked open their eyes, and by day 12, we were all peeking out at the world. How cool is that? Sure, our eyes are still tiny, and we’ve got to squint a bit, but let us tell you, it’s a blast exploring our cozy little nest and catching a glimpse of our big, furry mom!
Once our eyes popped open, we started feeling like real big dogs. So much so that one of us even attempted the classic dog move—scratching behind the ear with a hind leg. Quite the proud moment, let us tell you, even though none of our ears were actually itching at the time. Yep, we’ve got ears alright, but they’re still pretty useless. It’s like they’re glued shut tight, our ear canals are still closed and for now we can´t hear anything. But hey, who needs ears when we’ve been navigating just fine with our noses and eyes so far?
As big dogs, we’re practicing walking on our own four paws every day now. Sure, to someone watching, it might look a bit wobbly or even downright clumsy. But we’re not sweating it—we’re proud of our progress! So what if it’s a little wonky? World – here we come!
The third week of life
With our eyes wide open, we’re tottering all over the nest box now. We still feel a little bit unconfident on our feet, though. Our steps continue to be a bit wobbly and our bodies sway as we move. But hey, we’re totally happy with ourselves, so we just keep on truckin’, mostly in the direction of our mom and her milk. After all, practice makes perfect, right?
By the third week of our little lives, we were really packing on the pounds and feeling like big dogs. So much so, in fact, that we started to feel that mom’s milk alone wasn’t quite doing the job anymore. It was time to try some real-life food this week. Gotta keep those bellies satisfied, right? At first, we weren’t quite sure what to make of this new offering. We sniffed and poked our noses into the food, thought for a moment and then, quite literally, mayhem began. Each pup for themselves, grabbing and pawing at the food like it was the last meal on earth. And you know what? Once we were stuffed to the brim, we didn’t mind one bit that we were all covered with food. Mom came in afterwards, giving us a nice, clean lick down to tidy us up.
Slowly but surely, the little canals of our ears are starting to crack open. Some of us already have these tiny openings in our ears, but not everyone’s quite there yet. The fortunate few are already tuning into the world around us, perking up at the slightest sound near our cozy nest. Meanwhile, the rest of us are blissfully unaware, patiently waiting for our own ears to catch up. Until next week!
The fourth week of life
Now that we’re hearing and seeing the world around us, we decided to put our newfound senses to the test this week by exploring new horizons. One side of our cozy nest box was opened up, unveiling a spacious enclosure just waiting for us to toddle around in. At first, we were a bit hesitant to venture into this new territory, but once we did, we realized it was actually pretty awesome. It’s like our nest box magically expanded!
To our breeder’s dismay, we stumbled upon the wonders of our water bucket this week. We love splashing water around, making a mess, and then cozying up to the puddle of wetness we’ve created. It may not be ideal for our breeder, but for us, it’s pure satisfaction.
This week, we tested out also some fun puppy games. The bold ones among us took a shot at tugging on each other’s tails, prompting immediate protests from the poor pups on the receiving end. And then there were those superstars who dared to grab onto our breeder’s pants for a bit of fun. Even Aunt Chiara got in on the action, nudging us with her nose and inviting us into playtime. We try playing with her, and if that doesn’t work, well, we resort to barking. Ah, life’s a riot!
The fifth week of life
We’re all legs and energy this week, running around like there’s no tomorrow. We’re everywhere, all the time, poking our noses into everything we can find. Well, except for when exhaustion hits and we collapse into a heap for some much-needed shut-eye. We are still tiny and need our beauty sleep.
We’re all about toys, but you know what? The best toy is each other. Our ultimate favorite game? It’s this wild poke-and-bite game. It’s simple yet oh-so-fun. One of us starts by biting someone, then the bitten one pokes the biter, and before you know it, it’s a full-blown frenzy of poking, kicking, and biting. Round and round it goes! Another gem of a game? Tugging on each other’s tails. And let us tell you, if the one being tugged gives a little squeak back… well, that just adds to the excitement!
One slightly less thrilling episode this week was when our breeder decided it was bath time. We weren’t exactly thrilled about it. Being soaked, lathered up with shampoo, and rinsed clean wasn’t our idea of a good time. And as if that wasn’t enough, we had to endure the indignity of being blasted with a dog hair dryer. Talk about a rough day! By the time it was all done, we were feeling down and tired. But a nice, refreshing nap perked us right up. In no time, we were back to our lively selves, even agreeing to strike a pose for our breeder’s camera and let ourselves be immortalized in a photo.
The sixth week of life
Our world is getting bigger week by week. This week, our breeder took us outside for the first time. We got to smell the grass, soil, and the yard. At first, all these new smells and sounds startled us, but we soon realized what a nice place we were in. Oh, the abundance of leaves, straws, and sticks to grab in our mouths! It’s so much fun to pick up a leaf and run across the grass. And if someone else sees that leaf in our mouth and runs after us to take it away, even better! Our aunt Chiara runs with us and shows us how to enjoy the outdoors the most. We try to keep up with her, but we still can’t run as fast as she does.
Indoors, the first brave ones among us are already trying to climb the stairs. With a bit of effort, we can go up and down two or three flights of stairs all by ourselves. We have to admit that going up is much easier than going down – per aspera ad astra! Our breeder can no longer hide her shoes from us at the top of the stairs – we’re onto them!
At six weeks old, we weigh 3,9 kg. We’re big boys now!
The seventh week of life
This week, our breeder has been closely watching us all the time. No, not because we’re being naughty. Well, we still get into a little mischief – it’s part of being a puppy. But nobody is angry with us for that. Our breeder is keeping a close eye on us to understand our personalities and compare our development. All to choose the best home for each of us. To see which of us might excel in a show career, our breeder took pictures and videos of us. The big decision about who will go to which family will happen next week, just before we start going to our new homes. It’s all so exciting!
Until then, we’re slowly getting ready to go to our new homes 😊 Our puppy packages are already put together and waiting on the shelf for the big day. Each of us gets grooming tools, a toy, and food. Of course, we also have our veterinary passport and pedigree certificate. We´ll even have a visit from a doctor who checks our health and gives our breeder an important certificate about it. Everything is almost set, just a little more patience!
This is the end of the blog story about our growth. We’re already chubby little pups, however becoming big dogs takes some more time. Throughout our first year of life, we’ll keep growing and learning new things. This week and the next, we’ll be joyfully playing around our breeder’s home as our new homes are readied for us. Then, our journey with our new families begins. How exciting!
Lots of happy hugs to us in our future homes! Woof-Woof!