Ophidian Farms

04/06/2026

Important! And there is some correlation for the developmental fear periods:
"Puppy fear periods are natural, temporary developmental stages (lasting 2-3 weeks) where puppies become suddenly fearful of new or familiar things. They typically occur twice: first around 8–11 weeks, and again during adolescence at 6–14 months. Handle with patience, avoiding forced exposure, and use positive reinforcement to build confidence"

04/04/2026

Well, the puppies both went to their incredible homes today and already seeing pictures of them with their new families and how much love and joy they bring is one of the biggest reasons why I breed and raise them. My dogs are a huge part of my own life and world, and I cannot imagine life without them being such a part of it.
And when I went to check on the goats tonight Inez is losing her plug so we are 1-2 weeks away from new kids. What beautiful way to begin springtime.

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03/30/2026

Pupdate: 5 1/2 weeks old and I am feeling a little bit sad, not going to lie. These sweetest babies will be going home in a couple of weeks and I am going to miss them! 😭

03/29/2026

We got a bit tired out from our outing today. We saw the giant loud feathered things and that was a tiny bit scary because they are bigger than we are. We found some bones to chew on which is great. All in all a good day for two little puppies. ❤ And we BOTH have homes to go to now!!

03/27/2026

Sweet bubby boy has found his forever family!

03/27/2026

5 weeks old and ears are going up!

03/24/2026

Pupdate: Puppies will be 5 weeks old tomorrow, and they have graduated to litter and a crate, so they are being crate trained to seeing a crate as a wonderful place to den, sleep, have a time out. decompress, relax and chew etc. Some kind of bedding is essential at this age because of the volume of urine etc and the fact that they are so active that they just make an unsanitary mess on paper. This way if you provide a litter box (small wading pool --3 feet diameter or a concrete mixing tub) you can have a litter box, and crate in a small area like a puppy play pen or other restricted area if you have to work or be away before they are house trained.
Puppy pads are tough with these guys because they will likely carry them around and shred them.

03/22/2026

Puppies first time outside but they thought it was a tad bit hot.

03/21/2026

4.5 weeks old and changing SO fast! (Please excuse my voice I am a tad ill )

03/18/2026

Quick pupdate: Puppies are 4 weeks old today!

03/16/2026

This is very important to know. German Shepherd's do not reach full maturity until 2 years of age.

Johnjohn Nelson

This is something everyone should see. This xray is of a 2 week old puppy.

When you get your 8/10 week old puppies, please keep this image in mind. Their bones do not even touch yet. They plod around so cutely with big floppy paws and wobbly movement because their joints are entirely made up of muscle, tendons, ligaments with skin covering. Nothing is fitting tightly together or has a true socket yet.

When you run them excessively or don't restrict their exercise to stop them from overdoing it during this period you don't give them a chance to grow properly. Every big jump or excited bouncing run causes impacts between the bones. In reasonable amounts this is not problematic and is the normal wear and tear that every animal will engage in.

But when you're letting puppy jump up and down off the lounge or bed, take them for long walks/hikes, you are damaging that forming joint. When you let the puppy scramble on tile with no traction you are damaging the joint.

You only get the chance to grow them once. A well built body is something that comes from excellent breeding and a great upbringing-BOTH, not just one.

Once grown - around 12-18 months depending on their breed, you will have the rest of their life to spend playing and engaging in higher impact exercise. So keep it calm while they're still little baby puppies and give the gift that can only be given once.