At two weeks they have moved on

The Nursery litter are two weeks old now and so much has changed! Their eyes are fully open and they are using these to navigate around. This means they can stand up, walk off their bed and onto the newspaper to go to the toilet. Clever puppies!

Two weeks is not very long but they are around three times their birth weight and they look so much bigger. They are changing shape, with their noses becoming more pointed and darker. The puppies can now see what is going on around them and are more aware of people and dogs.

No hearing yet

Their ears haven’t opened yet, so they are still not able to hear. That doesn’t stop them from making a noise though! They are still spending a fair amount of time squeaking like guinea pigs, especially when something isn’t quite right. The puppies can also bark, although it doesn’t sound very fierce just yet!

The other noise they make is a desperate cry if something is really wrong. They make this noise when I am cutting their sharp little claws. Poor puppies. Well, poor Murmur if I don’t trim the end off – those claws are sharp.

Two weeks – the current routine

At two weeks of age the puppies are settling into much more of a routine, with decent gaps between feeds. Having said that, they will still feed more often at certain points in the day or night, then have a longer gap and a bigger sleep.

The puppies still don’t have much time awake, but after they have had a good feed and done their toileting, they are now spending a few minutes playing. Here’s a video I took yesterday.

Play analysis at two weeks old

One of my owners also happens to be my agility and scentwork trainer at the Canine Hub, and she is a good friend. Lucky me!

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Kate paid her weekly visit to see her boy and then when I sent through the above video she asked AI to analyse the puppies’ progress. The report makes fascinating reading:

“The puppies are in a clean, well-arranged pen with a fleece nesting area that leads onto a paper-covered section, which gives them a change of footing to explore. A person stays outside the pen throughout, and the camera remains steady and doesn’t interrupt the puppies, so they set their own pace from start to finish.”

“There is a stretch of gentle mutual mouthing, where puppies take turns exploring one another with their mouths in a soft, reciprocal way. Alongside this you can see light paw swipes, tumbling, and puppies rolling onto their backs and showing their bellies, with the roles swapping back and forth.”

“Puppies break off contact of their own accord and wander away, and when one partner tumbles or moves off, the other eases off straight away rather than pressing on. Their movement has the wobbly, slightly uncoordinated quality you would expect while balance and body awareness are still developing. Bodies look soft and rounded, tails are loose, and mouths are open and relaxed during play, with no stiffening or freezing recorded. Towards the end of the clip the more active play settles down, and the puppies move into resting together against the edge of the fleece and calm sniffing around the pen.“

I love this summary of the play given:

“What reassured me most is the way the play regulates itself. Excitement stays at a comfortable, gently alert level rather than climbing, puppies take turns, and the session winds down naturally into rest. That pattern of engaging, easing off and settling is what I would hope to see.”

Looking ahead from two weeks of age

What fascinates me most is that this description matches my understanding and expectation of what ‘good’ play looks like in dogs. There is then a description of what should happen next. This includes providing more stimulation in terms of the area they are kept in, the toys they are given and the stimuli they are exposed to.

I do all that naturally, because I have learnt what to expect with their development and how to continue supporting this. But I have been reflecting that there are many dog breeders out there, doing it commercially, caring about profit and not puppy welfare. They don’t care about progressing development and providing an enriching environment. And you know what? It really does make a difference. Please read my posts about judging breeders to find out more?

All homes are sorted

I’m really lucky that my puppies are highly sought after, so it doesn’t take long to make sure that their homes are confirmed. The great news is that all visitors can now relax, knowing that there is no chance of them having one! I just have to make sure I check bags on the way out!

Buy the Book

A Year with Your Puppy – Everything you need to know to survive the first year with your puppy is available to buy. Puppies are hard work! There is a lot to learn and it can be daunting and difficult. This book has weekly lesson to take you through the first year of owning your puppy.

You will probably attend puppy classes, but this book is designed to help you cope with all the challenges the first year brings.

A Year with Your Puppy is designed to help you learn about your dog in a way that is manageable. This book is divided into weekly chunks, covering problems, training tips and information. Best of all the book is interactive, with questions for you to think about and prompts of photos to take. At the end of the year, you should be proud of your dog and all that you have achieved. More details can be found by looking at the Contents page.

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.

Absolutely over the moon to be able to announce the safe arrival of Murmur’s litter on Saturday 24th October 2026. Three girls (one blue), four boys (two blue). Homes already nearly sorted. Murmur was an absolute superstar and continues to be perfect.

The journey

It’s been a journey. In December 2024 I was hoping to have a litter having mated Murmur to Quin using Artifical Insemination. Unfortunately she produced one puppy that was already dead, just after Christmas. I was heartbroken and felt that this was the end of my breeding journey. After another couple of attempts to mate my two Dentbros Dogs, I was ready to give up.

I’m incredibly grateful to my mum, Julia, Sam Wilkinson who does the scanning and to Helen Berry, fellow breeder and owner of Milo, the dad of this litter. They all encouraged me to keep going and have been really supportive. It was felt that it could just be that Murmur and Quin were not meant to have puppies together. So with Helen’s support, I chose to try with Back in Time Unique Mind at Sunnydean (Milo). And now here we are!

It has been an anxious nine weeks, wondering if the mating had taken and whether Murmur would deliver the puppies successfully. In the end, the puppies arrived right on schedule and with a very straightforward whelp.

The colours

We have four boys, two black and white, and two blue and white. Then we have three girls, two black and white and one blue and white. Their weights ranged from 250-330 grams. When you put black and white to lilac and white, you produce these two colours. The blue and whites are lovely but the black and whites are all super smart looking. All the markings are ‘classic collie’ on this litter. They will be gorgeous dogs!

The homes

Four of this litter will definitely be doing agility. But they are not ‘from agility lines’ so I have anxiously asked the homes how important that is? They all said – pet first, living in the home first, then agility a fun activity. I’ve always thought it would be fun to have a Dentbros dog in the main arena at Crufts and I’ve come pretty close already, but honestly, my dogs are primarily show lines, making amazing family members.

In fact one of these puppies is lucky enough to be going to live with my son and his young family. Unlike rescue centres, I am able to home my puppies to people with young children, people who work, people who have other dogs and homes with cats, dogs and other pets. I can do this because I know where my puppies come from. Their parents have fantastic temperaments. The puppies will be handled every day and will be used to family life.

I do vet my homes very carefully. Amazingly, five of these puppies are going to people I know well, including local friends and an existing puppy owner. Even so, I ask them to fill in an Application Form. One puppy is currently available – a beautiful black and white boy.

Pupdates and Visitors

I will do a weekly pupdate on this website and more regular posts on the Facebook page.

Visitors who are known to me are very welcome! I usually expect to see most of the people I know over the next 8 weeks. It is an essential part of the puppies’ socialisation process to be exposed to people and probably a few family dogs. Of course I can’t accommodate unfamiliar people and there is someone here at all times.

Feeding frenzy

At a week old, the puppies are so sturdy and mobile, even though their eyes are not yet open. Here is a video of them waking for a feed and getting settled. I look forward to sharing how they are doing.

Buy the Book

A Year with Your Puppy – Everything you need to know to survive the first year with your puppy is available to buy. Puppies are hard work! There is a lot to learn and it can be daunting and difficult. This book has weekly lesson to take you through the first year of owning your puppy.

You will probably attend puppy classes, but this book is designed to help you cope with all the challenges the first year brings.

A Year with Your Puppy is designed to help you learn about your dog in a way that is manageable. This book is divided into weekly chunks, covering problems, training tips and information. Best of all the book is interactive, with questions for you to think about and prompts of photos to take. At the end of the year, you should be proud of your dog and all that you have achieved. More details can be found by looking at the Contents page.

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.