{"id":25583,"date":"2017-11-09T01:11:14","date_gmt":"2017-11-09T09:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/puppyintraining.com\/?p=25583"},"modified":"2022-11-05T14:38:01","modified_gmt":"2022-11-05T22:38:01","slug":"our-litter-of-golden-retriever-pups-week-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/puppyintraining.com\/our-litter-of-golden-retriever-pups-week-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Litter Of Golden Retriever Pups – Week 8"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On November 9th, 2016 Raven gave birth to 6 beautiful Golden Retriever puppies.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Birthday, Berlin, Koru Bear, Buster, Patriot, Spirit, and Gunner!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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YAY! We’ve finally reached the finale! Week 8 with our litter of Golden Retriever puppies!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this is your first time visiting our series about our litter of Golden Retriever puppies then first start by checking out week 1 with our Golden Retriever pups<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Our<\/a>
Our litter of Golden Retriever pups – Week 8<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

There were some big milestones during week 8 including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Temperament Testing.<\/li>
  2. We had to make our final decision on which 3 puppies we’d raise as service dogs.<\/li>
  3. It was time to send our puppies to their new homes. \ud83d\ude41<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Without further adieu let’s get on with week 8 of Golden cuteness!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Want to know what you should do during your first week home with a new puppy? Check out our post on what to expect from your 8-week-old puppy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Golden Retriever Pups Week 8<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    We decided to bring home a litter of stuffed Golden Retriever puppies from IKEA. That makes 12 puppies in this litter!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    QUICK TIP:<\/strong>\u00a0One thing we always do is get the scent of the litter mates on a plush toy and send it home with new owners. This way puppy’s will have a similar smell when they get to their new home. Our favorite toy for getting the scent of the litter is the Calmeroos Puppy w\/ heartbeat and heat pack<\/a>. While it can’t replace a littermate it’s the next closest thing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I love the little guy in the bottom right corner \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"Golden<\/a>
    Golden puppy pile x2 – Can you tell which are real?<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

    Everyone continues to grow at an accelerated rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To get an idea of how big these puppies will be when full grown, Mommy Raven weighed about 70 lbs and Daddy weighed about 90 lbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Puppy<\/strong><\/td>Shave Mark<\/strong><\/td>Color<\/strong><\/td>Weight (Day 50)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
    Liberty (Berlin)<\/td>Right Back Leg<\/td>Green<\/td>10 lb 15 oz<\/td><\/tr>
    Tank (Bear)<\/td>Left Back Leg<\/td>Black<\/td>12 lb 12 oz<\/td><\/tr>
    Trooper (Buster)<\/td>Right Shoulder<\/td>Red<\/td>11 lb 1 oz<\/td><\/tr>
    Patriot<\/td>Left Shoulder<\/td>Blue<\/td>13 lb 9 oz<\/td><\/tr>
    Spirit<\/td>Lower Back<\/td>Pink<\/td>11 lb 11 oz<\/td><\/tr>
    Gunner<\/td>Upper Back<\/td>Brown<\/td>12 lb 4 oz<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Half of our Golden Retriever puppies went home on day 54.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Two days shy of their 8-week birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here’s their final weight the day our 3 little guys and gal went home:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Liberty (Berlin): <\/strong>12.6 lbs<\/li>
    2. Tank (Bear):<\/strong> 14.5 lbs<\/li>
    3. Trooper (Buster):<\/strong> 12.4 lbs<\/li>
    4. Patriot:<\/strong> 15.5 lbs<\/li>
    5. Spirit:<\/strong> 13.3 lbs<\/li>
    6. Gunner:<\/strong> 13.9 lbs<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Golden Puppies Week #8 Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Day 53 – Temperament Testing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Let’s start with temperament testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We took each puppy individually and did a rigorous (eh, not really) test to find out which puppies would be best suited to do service dog work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We already had a general idea of each puppy’s temperament based on observation over the past 8 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Overall there wasn’t a lot of variance between our Golden puppies on the ten temperament tests we performed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      However, there were two tests that stood out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. The Retrieve Test<\/strong> – We crumpled up a piece of paper next to our puppy to get his attention. When we got our puppy’s attention we threw the paper about 5 feet from the puppy and then observed his reaction.<\/li>
      2. The Umbrella Stability Test<\/strong> – We took an umbrella, opened it about 5 feet away from the puppy, placed it on the ground then observed the puppy’s reaction.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        I mentioned we performed 10 tests, but the results of the above two ended up determining which puppies would be our next service dog puppies in training.<\/p>\n\n\n

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        \"Puppy<\/a>
        Puppy temperament testing is tiring!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

        Day 54 – Choosing Our Service Dog Puppies In Training<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        And the next service dog puppies in training are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. Liberty (Berlin) <\/em><\/strong>– While she performed about the same as all the other pups on every other test, Liberty stood out during the Umbrella Stability Test. She was the only puppy to enthusiastically approach the Umbrella. We knew from day 1 that Liberty was a confident puppy and had a good feeling that she would have no problem with the Umbrella. She lived up to our expectations boldly and playfully engaging the umbrella.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        2. Tank (Bear)<\/em> <\/strong>– One of the larger puppies in the litter, Bear was our little cuddly buddy. He did not do well on the Umbrella Stability Test and neither did three of his siblings. However, Bear was a standout when it came to the Retrieve Test. Bear was the only puppy to run out, pick up, and bring back the crumpled-up piece of paper. Not only was he the only one to do it once he did it several times! I’ve read that Guide Dog Trainers have great faith in the Retrieve Test as it shows a willingness to work for the owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        3. Trooper (Buster) <\/em><\/strong>– Our smallest puppy by over 3 lbs. Trooper was our mini-mite. Even though he was the smallest he may have been the mightiest as he was the first of only 2 puppies (Liberty was the other) to climb out of the whelping box. While not exhibiting the enthusiasm of Liberty during the Umbrella Stability test Trooper had a more curious attitude towards the opened Umbrella as he approached, sniffed, and explored showing a more calm demeanor than Liberty. While Liberty showed exuberant confidence, Trooper showed a more a quiet, calm confidence and that’s what I was looking for in a potential service dog puppy in training \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Patriot, Spirit, and Gunner went home with the breeder and she found them homes as loving family pets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        *For your information:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n