Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Water Pups: Girl Scout Puppies

Guest post by Girl Scout Troop 11967


The puppies just received their shots, and they are now allowed to go outside and play in the grass. The weather has been very nice lately, so our troop has been taking the dogs outside to play around. We also bring out a little kiddie pool for the puppies to splash around in.

The puppies enjoy exploring under the deck where they are covered with shade, and they play with sticks and inner tubes. They also like lying near the house to get shade and water from the hose.

Between the dirt under the deck and the water in the pool, the dogs often get very dirty. After we wash each dog and dry them, we take them inside to rest.

Going outside is a whole new adventure for the puppies and one they all seem to enjoy, although it is often difficult to control nine puppies playing outside for the first time! It is a great experience for us and them.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Girl Scout Puppies Eat Real Food

Guest post by Girl Scout Troop 11967


The puppies are growing so quickly! Their small, pointy teeth have started coming in, so we started feeding them gruel. Gruel is dog food soaked in hot water and then mashed up.The puppies get so excited that they walk all through the food bowl.

Also, they play with each other, wrestling and jumping around. Some, like SSD Scout, even play-growl.

We have to put mini vests on the puppies  so they can start learning what they feel like. Another thing we do is hand brightly colored objects from the side of the pen. Their eyes and ears are now fully open, so we have to get them used to bright colors and loud sounds.

Friday, August 12, 2016

The Girl Scout Puppies Explore the Outdoors

Guest blog post by Girl Scout Troop 11967



In most recent days, the puppies have been moved outside to get used to their new surroundings on the patio. In our preparations, we swept the patio to get rid of all the leaves and weeds. Then we had to bleach and scrub the patio with brushes.

After the patio cleansing, we set up the pen with a tent overhead for shade and brought out half the puppies. Although they cried and whined, the puppies adjusted to their new surroundings smoothly.

The next day, we bathed and dried each little puppy, only to have them all fall asleep. They're all adjusting to the new surfaces quickly and feeding well.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Girl Scout Puppies On the Move!

Guest blog post by Girl Scout Troop 11967


SSD Juliette wears her little harness while she practices going up stairs.
The last two mornings with the puppies went very smoothly, and they are doing great. They started to wear their harnesses, and they look adorable in them. the puppies are even learning to climb up and down small stairs, and some of them, like Juliette and Tagalong, did it with almost no help at all!

We had to wash the puppies, weigh them, and clean the whelping box, too. SSD Aunt Megan is also doing extremely well and is a very good mom. 

Keep watching the puppy cam for the rest of the many weeks we are whelping them to see how they are doing.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Girl Scout Puppies: Early Neurological Stimulation

Guest post by Girl Scout Troop 11967. Troop 11967 is caring for SSD Aunt Megan and her nine puppies, who will be trained as service dogs.


Yesterday was my first time meeting and working with the SSD puppies and their mom, SSD Aunt Megan. When I first got there, I met Megan and bonded with her before I met the puppies, so Megan would trust me.

Shortly after, I got to meet the nine puppies and rub and scratch their stomachs and ears. Next is when the real work started. We first started by doing ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation)* by holding the puppies toward us, holding them with their back toward the ground, holding them upside down, and placing them on a cold, wet washcloth. Then we picked them up and tickled their toes with a Q-tip. this process is to stimulate the puppies using different sensations.

Then we put all the puppies into a separate bin and we cleaned the whelping by by removing the dirty towels, wiping down the sides and bottom of the box, and putting in fresh towels and toys. After putting the puppies back into the box, I went upstairs to feed mama Megan.

Once we returned downstairs, we cleaned the puppy toys using water and bleach. Finally to finish, we mopped the floor.

Although all of these tasks are repeated several times a day, I was only there for a small amount of time, and I only got to do each step once. Even though it was hard work, I enjoyed working with the puppies very much.

*Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) helps to create dogs who are better equipped to handle stress, which is extremely important for service dogs, who will be going everywhere with their partner.