Seven Weeks

First Time in the Car and it was no big deal. On Monday, I piled all four puppies into one of the adult dog's travel crates and drove to my vet's clinic for initial shots and microchipping. The puppies were not at all mildly bothered by the trip - no carsickness or fear. When I got to the vet's, I put two puppies in each of two pet travel bags, slung them over my shoulders, and headed in to the examination room. I was trying to be careful not to expose them to germs in the entry area. The exam room was nice and clean and I let them out on the floor to explore at the vet's suggestion. Several staff had to come in and visit while we were there. The puppies enjoyed being social butterflies. They were weighed on a baby scale, and hearts, ears, and bites checked, given a quick injection, and then had the microchip inserted. All pups are in good health. We gave them kibble treats to make it a positive experience. The vaccine was the DA2PP, with no Lepto, Bordetella, or Rabies- too much too early for all of those. A second shot will be needed in 4 weeks, rabies at 16 weeks. None of them were the least bit bothered by any of this, except to pile themselves on top of the carry bags for a short nap when they were finished. Because my vet handles the microchip paperwork, I needed to select names for the puppies. They can be changed later if their new owners prefer another name. I was very proud of my little guys.

Bad News on Thursday, the Patched Boy would not eat and seemed very disoriented. On Friday, I forced fed him soft food and water, and then made plans to take him to my vet on Saturday. After visiting the vet, I decided to take him to a Specialist on the same day. They gave him fluids and he started eating again, but he is definitely not well. I picked him up Sunday morning to watch him, but his prognosis is not good. I am very worried about the little guy.

On the plus side, the temperament tests were done on the remaining three puppies on Thursday. My observation of their personalities is pretty close to what the results were. They are all somewhere in the middle, with Red Girl being the most active "bouncy", Blue Boy being a close second, and Yellow Girl being the most calm. I will be sure to go over the results with their new owners. Also, all three were BAER tested on Saturday, with results to be given to the owners, also. I visited way too many veterinarians on Saturday, an experience I sure don't want to repeat. I will try to post some more pictures later when I am able to slow down!

These puppies crack me up!

Here are a couple of candid shots after a very busy play session. The cuddler bed is usually occupied by one of the adult dogs when I am working, but the puppies took it over, creating a classic puppy pile. Later, the two girls decided to hang out with Grannie Flojo, who just couldn't be bothered by the early fireworks going on around- sleep is much more important!

Well, it's a first attempt at a family photo.

We need to work a bit on the "stay" part of the sit exercise, but at least it is coming along.

We will try another shot later when we have a bit more time to spend.

Six Week Photos

The puppies are growing like weeds. Speaking of weeds, this week the puppies ventured out into my overgrown garden, becoming more bold and going farther each time. Being babies, they must put everything possible in their mouths to see what it is. Everyone of them has brought a dead leaf back into the house. They are getting more playful with toys and each other. While out in the yard with them, I have been carrying a pocketful of kibble and calling "Puppy, come!" when they are not looking. Right now, they all come running for a treat out of my hand when I call.

Indoors, I have moved their pen from my office to the rec room which has access to a fenced yard. They are quickly becoming potty trained. Indoors, at least most of the time, they do their business on newspaper; if they have access, they run outdoors to do their business. Also, they are now intermingling with the big dogs. My main concern has been a grouchy old foster dog I have had for awhile, who is male dog aggressive. Even he is accepting the puppies and all 3 adult dals now seem pretty comfortable with the pups. They do not hesitate to give the puppies a low growl and a curled lip if they aren't being civilized. Discipline is a good thing. Here are some photos of the pups on their outdoor adventures, and their subsequent discovery of the soft, cushy doggie couch in the rec room. Friday, they had their initial dose of worming medication.

Next week is a big week for the puppies. On Monday, they will have their initial set of immunizations and be microchipped. Later in the week, they will be temperament tested. On Saturday, they will be hearing tested. At that time, I will be making up my mind as to which puppy I want to keep. It's a tough decision because of all the things I want to do with my pick puppy. I need both good conformation and a very trainable puppy.

5 Weeks Old

Another week has gone by quickly as these puppies continue to grow and get stronger. The pups are getting 3 mushy solid meals a day now, and mom Skookum continues to check on them, but prefers to sleep peacefully elsewhere if she can. All of the puppies can now climb in and out of their old whelping box and have been spending time in a new, larger pen outside of the nursery, and have been walked outside and to different areas of the house. For the most part, they manage to do their business in one corner of the nursery, making cleanup a lot easier. They are getting more creative as they play with each other, and I have been very pleased with their interactions with people. The weekend has been extraordinarily busy with visitors and folks dropping byas the predicted nice weekend turned rainy. What a better thing to do than play with puppies in front of the fireplace on a rainy day?

Four Weeks Old Today

This has been a fascinating week in the social development of both mom and puppies. Mom Skookum was a singleton puppy and I have always had to work with her on bite inhibition when she was around other dogs and people and when I was training her. Biting too hard has been an issue for her because she had no siblings to play with and help her learn how to be gentle. In playing with her puppies, the lesson seems to have been learned. She will now take treats from people ever so carefully. That is a side benefit I never expected! In the meantime, the puppies are starting to play more and more with each other and are becoming more and more confident with people. The puppies have now been allowed outside the whelping box to explore a bit, and we have carried them around the house from place to place more frequently. A couple of their young visitors are show above. This week, we continued feeding them a bit more solid food and will start cutting down now on Mom's food to start weaning them. They are definitely not lacking on nutrition, the chubby little rascals.

Three Week Group Photos

What a week! The puppies eyes have opened, they are hearing, and one of them escaped the pen today. They are starting to play with each other. They were introduced to the taste of goat's milk this week as a slow transition to solid food. What a mess! It was hilarious to watch them figure out that white stuff on the plate was edible. One photo shows they really have open eyes. The other couple of photos show their spotting patterns from a couple of different angles. What good looking little puppies, yes?