They're too young to eat puppy mush!

Oh goodie!

I get to share about some nasty trolls today!

My favorite.

I love these snotty-nosed beasts of social media.

They are so much fun to mock!

*rubbing hands together, cackling.

I cherish each and every opportunity to call out these lurking know-it-alls who prowl around the Interwebs looking for anything they can devour.

Recently, another of our short videos went viral on YouTube with over 10,000 views.

YAY!

We are really making some big gains on YouTube right now with 67,400 views and +246 new subscribers in less than a month, which only brings out more trolls.

Let the excitement begin!

The title of our latest viral video is: “Puppy using sense of smell to find food for the first time”.

It is a short twenty-second visual representation of how puppies instinctively know what solid food is, even though they have never been presented with real food in their lives.

It corresponds to the incredible reality that puppies instinctively know how to suckle from their mom seconds after birth even though they’ve never done this before.

It’s a miracle and a wonder of nature’s incredible adaptation.

From the huge number of viewers and likes on this particular video, it appears many people understood the correlation.

There may be hope for humanity, after all. *wink, wink

But, apparently, several people didn’t quite get it.

Half of the comments scolded me - an experienced breeder who has raised FORTY-ONE litters and witnessed countless others - that I was doing it all wrong.

Here’s what they had to say:

“Too early, they haven’t opened their eyes yet ”

“Are they even old enough to be eating real food?! ‘Using their sense of smell tells me that they can’t SEE the food yet! Wtf”

“ADOPT… don’t shop.”

“Too much food. Train them early to their own bowls so if you have to put medicine in one, you will be able to. ️ ️”

Mwahahaha!!!

Tell that to the puppies who figured it all out on their own. *snicker

First of all… just to be clear… the puppies eyes were open.

They were very nearly 3 weeks old. I think within a few days.

Trolls don’t care about trivial details, so why check the videos before and after to make sure before spewing spittle in my direction.

Be that as it may, puppies do not use their eyes to differentiate food from non-food for the first time.

They use their sense of smell.

This is because when a puppy first opens its eyes, everything is still cloudy.

They can’t see much except shadows.

They also don’t see far away.

This is why they bump into things and wobble, even though their eyes are no longer sealed.

But why think logically??

It’s not the Internet troll’s best attribute, after all.

And science?? Let’s not invoke any of that nonsense. *Teeheehee

The stages of puppy development are pretty well known now, though.

A puppy’s sense of smell is developed at birth.

Dogs even have a special organ on the roof of their mouth, called Jacobson’s organ.

This organ is a patch of sensory cells within the main nasal chamber that detects heavy moisture-borne odor particles.

It is present and functional in all snakes and lizards, and in many mammals, including cats, dogs, cattle, pigs, and some primates. Some humans may have physical remnants of this organ, but it is thought to be vestigial and non-functional.

Here’s a cool fact for you:

According to the International Wolf Center, “At first, [wolf pups] live only on milk from their mother. By three weeks of age, they start eating meat.”

And as for the woman who thinks puppies should learn early to eat out of different bowls in order to administer medication to a particular puppy, if needed…

*eye roll

SERIOUSLY!?!

Lady… if I have a sick puppy, I ISOLATE IT!

As for other medication, like worming, that is given individually, by syringe, based on weight.

There is no need to separate puppy feeding into individual bowls.

What a freakin’ headache!

Imagine a large litter of twelve puppies each eating out of their own individual bowls.

No thanks.

I’ll continue to do it my way.

They do sell puppy feeding stations, though, so if you want to go through all that, be my guest.

I ain’t doing it, though.

And as for the old adage, “Adopt, don’t shop.”

This one’s getting pretty old, but I will state this little known fact… dog shelters very often (knowingly or unknowingly) aid and abet dog traffickers.

Not to mention the countless euthanized dogs and cats by animal rights activist groups supporting dog shelters and shouting the loudest about evil dog breeders.

That’s right, folks.

It’s not simply the sweet, innocent “saving a life” schtick the narrative promotes.

Despite the many wonderful, well-meaning people who work at them, there is a very dark underbelly to the dog shelter/rescue business.

But expounding on the evil perpetrated by dog traffickers and animal rights activists under the “Adopt, don’t shop.” banner will have to be for a different email.

For now, it’s important to know that the Luck of the Irish litter is 3 weeks old and learning SO much!

This is THE BEST age for being around puppies.

They can’t quite get into trouble yet but are so curious about the world around them.

Don’t miss out on all the fun I’m having with these growing puppies.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for lots of puppy milestone videos each and every day.

https://www.youtube.com/@direwolfproject

Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs.