Barley whelped her final litter on the 21st April 2022, producing 3 beautiful puppies, 2 boys and 1 girl.

The pups are raised in our office, which has a mini kitchen, lounge, tv and is right by the yard, so they frequently hear vehicles arriving and leaving. From an early age puppies become used to the hustle and bustle of daily life on a farm, often hearing tractors, cars, crow scarers, the kettle, the tv and people chatting.

From day 1 we’ve made sure to handle them lots, cuddling them and touching their paws to help them get used to being handled.

The first 2 weeks passed with Barley tending to their every need, feeding, cleaning and caring for them perfectly. Their eyes began to open around 12 days old, as seen in the picture on the left.

Once the pups turned 3 weeks we began weaning them on Natures Menu raw puppy food, which they gobbled up eagerly. We also wormed them this week. They are a good healthy weight, and have been gaining consistently since they were born.

At 4 weeks they began socializing with a few family members and children, the pups were lovely and outgoing. By this point we had also introduced Skinners Puppy kibble into their diet, and they had their first lap of bone broth.

The 4th week is a good time to slowly introduce new things into their lives, so we began playing Classical music, and various other types of music. The TV was on more often, playing numerous shows to help desensitize them to noises like cars, people talking, and many different types of animals.

They are also walking on different surfaces, like blankets, vet fleece, soft beds, newspaper and concrete. It’s important for us to get them used to all of these things so they’re less likely to develop a fear of them in the future.

At 5 weeks old we had some nice weather, so they all went outside for playtime! They loved it, charging around without a care in the world. We were pleased to see how confident they were in a new environment, even with planes flying over head and various loud bangs going off in the distance they weren’t at all nervous.

6 weeks old and the pups have begun to eat their food in different places. They sometimes share a bowl, sometimes eat individually. Every day they’re let out of their pen under supervision to explore the office, and they have great fun pinching shoes and exploring all parts of the room.

They’ve thoroughly enjoyed tucking into some sprats and carrots this week.

Puppy viewings began this week, so we’ve had several new people come and view the pups. The pups engaged wonderfully with them showing no fear or caution, instead they leaped on them joyfully, licking their faces, nibbling their shoes, playing with some balls and each other.

All pups have now moved on to their new homes! It’s always sad seeing them move on, but they’ve all gone on to amazing homes who are thrilled to bits with them, and they’ve all settled in well to their new homes. Barley has enthusiastically greeted retirement with a celebratory swim and a long run with our other dogs.