Hey guys!

The puppies as you can imagine have become VERY active, and those of you who have visited recently know! It’s now taking more to wear them out for naptime and they are playing HARDER.

The biting seems to have become more gentle (believe me, they can BITE!) as they learn that biting HURTS. This is one of the biggest reasons keeping them with their littermates for 8 weeks is so important!

Their ears are STARTING to go up!

Duffy of course has had his up the last several weeks (he’s an over-achiever), but the others are STARTING to begin to flip them upwards when they are curious. Some of the pup have half-stance ears . . . they are half up! As they mature their ears will begin to stand more solidly, but some pups take up to a year for their ears to stand.

If you are ever in doubt about your pup’s ears standing, consult your vet on how to properly tape them. Taping them helps the cartilage take the form it needs to correctly stand.

Funny enough, even floppy ear dogs need this at times. Our imported Italian Boxer ended up with a crooked ear at 14 weeks of age. With boxers you actually “glue” the ear into place with a special glue. A few days of glue and the ear was good to go!

Ginger (Mom) is still nursing 2-3 time a day. If she’d had her choice she would have quit at 4 weeks . . . Frenchton pups grow VERY quickly and having 6 monster babies fighting for time at the table can be a bit overwhelming! So we began cycle feeding where only 2-3 pups nurse at a time. This also allowed me to ensure every teat was emptied so she didn’t develop mastitis!

Now the pups are only nursing when I feel Ginger’s milk bags are too full and she needs assistance. They have been sleeping on their own (together) the last few nights, and they have managed to sleep through the night!

They are eating dry puppy food!

Believe it or not, this was one of the biggest milestones. Once their teeth have grown in solid puppy food is a fun way for them to try their new pearly whites! They are on Purina Proplan Puppy food, the puppy version of what we feed our adult Frenchtons.

Yes its expensive! But it WORKS. When Carl was young Erik couldn’t find any dry food he would eat. Carl was a picky eater. After another breeder at the local feed store suggested Purina Pro Plan, Erik gave it a shot and it WORKED! Even the cats dive in!

Don’t worry, we will send you home with a bag for your little pup!

Outdoors!

The Pups have been LOVING recess time outside! The weather has been BEAUTIFUL and they enjoy nothing more than a good romp in the cut field! They behave and stay close to me, and SO FAR I haven’t had to chase any pups down!

I had read somewhere that Pups don’t learn their names until they are much older . . . but they seem to respond well to “Pup Pup”! So I challenge the theory 😉

POTTY?

A few of you have asked if they will be potty-trained. The short answer is NO.

They have a “designated potty place” inside their puppy pen where they go #2. Since they like to do it in private, I made a small partition inside the pen and most of then choose to go there. They DO potty outside, usually as soon as they go out (#2). Gaining control over their bladder however will take time.

Puppies, and Frenchtons in particular take TIME to potty train, and Frenchtons can take up to 6 months. When dogs breeds are less similar to their wolf ancestors, they lose many of the key survival skills. One being bladder control. French Bulldogs in particular are tough to train simply because they can be stubborn.

Bostons I’ve heard have less issue, so the Frenchton is created with the hope that trainability will fall somewhere between the two. In our own experience, Carl was easier to train than Ginger. Ginger also suffered from a bladder infection when Erik brought her home, making it difficult for her to know when she had to go.

ONE PUPPY LEFT!

We are down to the WIRE with only one pup left! The stunning pie-bald female merle pup with blazing blue eyes (Erik keeps threatening to keep her) is still up for sale. I have to admit . . . she is hard NOT to absolutely be smitten with! She’s a fantastic mix of play, sass and sweet, all rolled into one STUNNING package. Her eyes GLOW bright blue like a sunny day on Lake Superior and her black eye-liner sets them off perfectly!

If you are looking for ONE EYE-CATCHING PUP people will stop to stare at, she’s your girl!

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