Welcome to Honey's Puppy Page
Honey had a litter of 7, which includes 6 males and 1 female! She is thriving as a mother and never wants to leave her babies sides. She takes amazing care of them, and mama Honey is recovering well!
Please refer back to this page weekly for updates! We will be posting updates every THURSDAY, give or take a few days, as we can get very busy! We will write about their growth, developmental milestones, and provide plenty of puppy pictures.
Important info to know:
Born: 10/31/24
Puppy temperament testing date: December 13th
Vet check date: Week of December 16th with Pets Request Mobile Veterinary Services
Puppy picking day (NOT take home): December 21st
Puppies are ready to go home on: December 26th- 28th
Please bring final payment in the form of zelle or cash (NO checks) when you take your puppy home.
Please view our puppy checklist to learn more about products we use and recommend. It is a good idea to purchase these things before the puppy comes home!
What to expect:
Around the age of 6-7 weeks, we conduct temperament assessments prior to selecting your puppy. Please note that these assessments reflect our current observations regarding the puppies' development. Regarding their appearance, the puppies are likely to lighten as they grow their puppy fuzz, with their adult color generally turning out darker than their puppy color. The color of their ears can provide a reliable indication of their eventual hue. It typically takes approximately 2 years for them to fully develop their adult coat and color. However, it's important to recognize that personality traits are not guaranteed and may evolve and adapt as the puppies acclimate to their new environment, interact with new people, encounter new stimuli, and adapt to a new routine and rules.
We emphasize the significance of maintaining an open mindset and dedicating ample time to acquaint yourself with your individual puppy. Upon their arrival, initiating socialization efforts is crucial to foster a strong bond and enable effective teaching methods tailored to their needs, ensuring their optimal growth and development.
All our puppies are raised in a nurturing and interactive environment, ensuring that every choice is a positive one. We prioritize socialization and enriching experiences to lay a strong foundation, but the responsibility to sustain this falls on you. Your puppy will be exposed to a variety of stimuli, including new sounds, environments, and interactions with children.
Golden Retrievers are wonderful additions to families and seamlessly integrate into active lifestyles. Renowned for their adaptability, they are generally receptive to training and exhibit a strong desire to satisfy their owners. However, they thrive on regular physical activity and mental engagement to prevent boredom and deter the onset of undesirable behaviors.
Puppy Updates
Week 1: Here is a little puppy update! Honey''s puppies are one week old today. The puppies have been gaining weight, and feeding off of mama constantly. We started ENS (early neurological stimulation) and ESI (early scent introduction) at 3 days old, and this will continue for around 2 weeks. They also got their own collars. Mama Honey is doing well, she is an amazing mom. She takes such good care of her pups, and is very loving and nurturing.
Week 2: Honey's puppies are 2 weeks old today! They are in the “Transitional Period”, meaning their little eyes begin to open and they begin toddling. I start loud noise exposure near the end of the week, since they are starting to get their sense of hearing this week. It is brief (such as dropping a dog food bowl on the ground) and it is good to get them accustomed to these sounds while small. At this early age, puppies do not yet fear sound, so we use this opportunity to get a jump start on desensitization of loud noises. Overall, puppies are growing quickly, and mama Honey is also doing well.
Week 3: Puppies are 3 weeks old, time is flying! They are in their “Awareness Identification” period, where their eyes are open and they are walking around. They have finished their ENS (early neurological stimulation) and ESI (early scent introduction), and are transitioning to a new level of socialization. We are starting to introduce tactile items for their enrichment, so they can see and smell toys/common objects with different textures and sounds. The puppies are now able to hear well, so we are also introducing them to new sounds every day (vacuum, dropping items on the floor, different types of music, etc). We are also starting new handling exercises with the pups, to get them accustomed to the human touch.
Week 4:
The puppies have reached 4 weeks old, and the fourth week is a fun one! Puppies really come alive and engage. While puppies' ears and eyes opened almost two weeks ago, they were not fully developed or functional. Now, sight and hearing have greatly improved. Some puppies love to hear their own voice! They will practice different types of vocalizing, specifically barking. As puppies become more aware of their surroundings, they start mouthing and playing with each other and begin wagging their tails. They start building muscle strength and control, which helps to develop more balanced and coordinated walking. Pups can move forwards and backwards, and they will also start to acknowledge voices. Puppies have low fear at this age as well.
During what we call the “Socialization Period,” we continue with much of the same protocol as the prior period, with slight changes to accommodate growing puppies with changing needs. By exposing them to a variety of tactile (footing) options, situations, shapes, sizes, and movement, we begin to foster confidence in puppies, encouraging them to believe in their own abilities.
Week 5: Puppies are now 5 weeks old, and this is when they move into another phase of curriculum— a little more advanced, a little bit more unpredictable. They are introduced to items with wheels, snuffle mats, items that move, etc. They are becoming more confident by the day, it is tons of fun seeing them interact with different toys and items! Puppies are getting so fluffy and chunky, are eating well, and are starting to use their pine pellot litter box consistently to potty!
Week 6: The pups are 6 weeks old! They are starting to eat more solid kibble now, as their teeth are fully erupted and they are loving chewing on new things! Puppies’ individual temperaments have been emerging and this is the time that the puppies start going through a growth spurt right before going home. They had their first bath today, which you can see in the pictures, they are a little bit wet. But they all did really well!
Week 7: The pups are 7 weeks old!
Puppy picking is soon, which is a very exciting day! I wanted to outline some things below in order to better prepare you for that day.
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You will be given 30 minutes to choose your puppy. Please show up at your scheduled time, as we have back to back appointments scheduled and want you to be able to utilize all of your time to choose your pup!
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Before visiting our home, please do not spend time with any dogs or puppies, or visit ANY pet stores, shelters, humane societies, dog parks etc, for a minimum of 48 hours prior. Parvo is a very dangerous, highly contagious canine virus that can be innocently transmitted on clothing and shoes. It will kill an entire litter, if they are exposed.
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Before you visit, please make sure you are wearing close-toed shoes, with a sole. We recommend not wearing valuable shoes (for purposes of our sanitation protocol below)
Our sanitation protocol is as follows:
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Right after you enter through our fence, you will see a black mat on the ground filled with bleach and water directly inside. Please stand on the mat in the solution for a minimum of five seconds
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Before entering the house, please choose to either remove your shoes completely, or place slip-on, disposable booties over your shoes. Please keep in mind that small children will likely have to remove their shoes.
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When you enter, you will be directed to the sink to wash and sanitize your hands
Thank you so much for partaking in our efforts to keep our home clean and free from parvovirus and other harmful germs! It really does make a big difference. Please let me know that you read through this before you come next week. My address is 627 Claire ave, Sacramento CA 95838.
