From the moment a litter is born until pickup day, your puppy is here with us at our home in the New Hampshire woods, growing into the dog you'll know. What follows is what that stretch actually looks like, week by week, so you have a picture of what's happening here while you wait.
Newborn
Whelping is a careful, mostly quiet process. We're there start to finish with calcium supplements, water, and clean towels, and once everyone is delivered and weights are recorded, the dam gets a bath and a chance to rest with her puppies close. She'll stay with them around the clock for the first week or two, and we watch her too: recovery, nutrition, hydration, comfort.
The whelping box itself is built for two things, warmth and traction. A heating pad sits under soft bedding to keep the puppies in their temperature range, and the bedding gives them enough grip to find their footing as they push toward the dam. If the litter is one where the puppies look nearly identical, we put colored collars on them so we can track each one individually. Weights are recorded from day one, and so is handling: we pick up each puppy daily, short and gentle and deliberate, so human touch and the sound of our voices are part of the world before their eyes ever open.
Newborn days: weights recorded, dam close, heating pad and soft bedding doing the rest.
Week 1
Eyes and ears are still closed; the world is smell, warmth, and the sound of the dam's heartbeat. The puppies do two things, nurse and sleep. Growth is fast: most thriving puppies double their birth weight by the end of week one. Puppies that start a little small often catch up quickly once weaning begins a few weeks on.
Week 2
Eyes begin to open midway through the week, though vision is blurry at first. The daily handling they've had since day one starts to land differently now that they can see who is doing it, and the foundation of human interaction is laid before they're old enough to be wary of it.
Medical: first round of worming medication, to prevent and clear roundworms.
Eyes beginning to open, daily handling underway.
Week 3
Eyes and ears are fully open. Wobbly first steps appear. Littermates start noticing each other and playing in earnest, and the first tentative growls and grumbles show up: communication is starting.
Solid food makes its debut around this week, a first taste of softened puppy kibble alongside continued nursing.
Week 4
Activity picks up. Puppies are noticeably more confident on their legs, littermate play gets enthusiastic, and the first puppy teeth begin to erupt. You'll start to see head tilts, tail wags, and the first hints of individual personalities.
Medical: second round of worming medication.
Wobbles giving way to confidence: first puppy teeth, first personalities.
Week 5
Solid food is now the main event. We soften the kibble with goat's milk, and a typical meal disappears within about a minute. Baby teeth are coming in, which means everything within reach is suddenly a chew toy.
Playtime turns into a full-contact sport: dramatic pounces, exaggerated barks, the occasional somersault. Personalities start sorting themselves into bold adventurers and sleepy cuddlebugs. After a hard play session the whole litter collapses into a puppy pile to sleep. Our four kids are part of the household routine, so the puppies get plenty of human handling at every step.
Weeks 6 and 7
Fully weaned by the end of week six. Some puppies still try to nurse if the dam allows it; mostly she doesn't. The puppies live in our home with us, which means a steady stream of household sounds is part of their daily backdrop: the vacuum, the dishwasher, the washing machine, conversations and footsteps and four kids. Individual voices develop, each puppy starting to communicate in their own way for what they want.
Medical: at six weeks, a three-day course of worming medication for the puppies and the dam together.
Fully weaned, in the swing of household sounds, individual voices coming through.
Week 8
Pickup week. Each puppy gets a thorough veterinary check-up and the first round of vaccinations, along with a second three-day course of worming medication (same protocol as week six). By this point a miniature dachshund puppy is typically around three pounds and ready to head home with their new family.
Once your puppy is home, see Bringing your puppy home for the field guide every family gets: preparing the house, the first forty-eight hours, feeding, looking after a dachshund's back, and the vet timeline.
For the timeline on your end (from reservation to pickup, including the litter announcement and picking your puppy), see Reservation to pickup.