On Monday, Duchess’s litter turned one week old! The first two weeks with a new litter of puppies is either the easiest period or the hardest. If the puppies are healthy and growing, and momma is taking good care of them, then there is very little that I need to do. But if mom or babies are struggling, then I have round the clock care to give.

And this litter is certainly falling into the EASY category. All four of the puppies are strong, healthy, and growing very well. This is Duchess’s fourth litter, so she is a veteran mom. That leaves me with a low-key job. 🙂 Right now, the puppies only eat, sleep, and grow. My job consists mainly of monitoring the puppies’ growth and keeping their bedding clean.

Every day, when I weigh each puppy, I am also doing an Early Neurological Stimulation program with them. I briefly hold them in various positions (nose up, nose down, and on their back), touch between their toes, and place them on a cool surface. This gives them several different stimuli from position, pressure, and temperature. It’s all very brief and gentle, and it gets them used to be handled. During the first two weeks of life, a puppy’s brain is learning and growing at the fastest rate that it ever will. Receiving this early handling helps cultivate a calmer and more confident temperament, so that the puppies are less likely to be fearful, anxious, or reactive as they get older. (Of course, this program does not guarantee a good temperament, but it is one of many building blocks that goes into the foundation of a well-mannered dog.)

I am calling this my “thankfulness litter,” because of the names that I chose for them. These pups will be ready for their new homes the week of Thanksgiving, so I tried to pick names that reflected thankfulness. Each of the names comes from a biblical Greek or Hebrew word. (*Disclaimer* I did take a little bit of creative liberty in the spelling and pronunciation of some of the names.)

I have Jirah, Saba, Hiko, and Doxa.

Jirah comes from the phrase Jehovah Jireh, which means the Lord will provide. Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate the harvest and give thanks for many blessings we have, and I chose the name Jirah to acknowledge that it is the Lord who provides each and every blessing in our lives. And not only has He provided many good things, but He can be counted on to continue to provide for all of our needs.

Saba means abundance. Not only does the Lord provide for our needs, but He provides abundantly! Jesus said in the book of John, “I am come that you may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Hiko comes from a word meaning sufficient. In all honestly, sometimes life doesn’t feel “abundant.” But the Lord promises, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is make perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).” “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed (2 Corinthians 9:8).”

Doxa means praise. Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to our Creator! It’s about praising Him not only for what He has done but for who He is- a loving Father who cares for us.

Here they are, my thankfulness litter, from left to right- Jirah (pink), Doxa (blue), Hiko (brown), and Saba (red). They are four beautiful blessings!