King of My Domain

They are learning to climb and jump. They are doing really well with the running business and enjoy chasing Nathan. 

Here is one of the upstairs play session today.

Why do we have the pups chase Nathan? Other than it is plain fun, there is a method to our madness. You see if ever they break free of a lead on a walk, if you run in the direction you want them to go, they will now realize that is what they are supposed to do. You do not run after them. We do these things to condition them and set a seed of expectation.

Be sure to check out the videos. Pups went upstairs last night.

5 Weeks 5 Days Old

We had the pups upstairs this morning and everyone played really well together - I mean really well.

But tonight we are still going to go with the plan with 2 litters upstairs and 1 downstairs. All 3 litters will be without the moms. We shall see how it goes. 

Starting today, I am going to do 1 gallery of all 3 litters and place a link on a different blog. I need to reduce my time in creating galleries. I have been blogging till 9 every evening. I need some dog time on my hlap and watching tv with Nathan. It's been quite awhile. 

Tomorrow I will have 3 galleries - 1 of the Ella and Saffron pups upstairs and another with the Cinnamon downstairs. Then the usual all 3 crew together. then hopefully back down to the 1 gallery. Tomorrow is special as it is covering a first.

Here is the 3 crew together!

5 Weeks 4 Days Old

Decisions, decisions. We have decided tomorrow to put the Ella and Saffron pups upstairs without moms and the Cinnamon pups downstairs without mom. We mulled it over and figured we would merge them as they get older during the night.

Here is today's gallery.

Why did we make this decision? I watched the play carefully the last 2 days as I always do before they head upstairs and I noticed that the Cinnamon pups would lay on top of the little ones not to do harm but they would make noise to get out from underneath and the Cinnamons would just lay there on top not moving. It wasn't meant to hurt the smaller ones in any way. It was more of a way to snuggle as they do with their littermates. During the day, if they do this, I can just lift a pup off and eventually they will get it is not welcomed to be squished.

Then, you will notice in today's video a Cinnamon pup being persistent in play that was too rough for the Saffron pup. Every now and then this happens and the smaller always play catchup with the larger when they get to a certain size. They are not there yet. We will continue to have them together during the day but at night we will try this setup till the smaller get larger.

Cinnamon's will most likely be Stone's size in adulthood where Saffron and Ella's pups will be like their mom's size or larger. Ella and Saffron also has a slower growth curve. They grow slow and consistent and Cinnamon's grows fast and stop earlier. We did videos today showing the play between a Saffron and Cinnamon pup. This sort of play I stop not because the larger has intentions on hurting but they are at a stage where they do not understand that its not fair play with these pups but it is with their siblings. They do not get the size difference. This will be good for the Cinnamon pups as they will learn to dumb down their play when they encounter a smaller pup to play with. With their siblings, size is similar. 

They are not there yet but I imagine they will be in the 7 week range. 

As I just was typing this, a Saffron and Cinnamon pup was playing really well together. That happens too.

5 Weeks 3 Days Old

Shall I eat the softened Fromms or should I not?

Here is the gallery.

They all ate it just fine though not as fast as the mousse. 

We will get there!

5 Weeks 2 Days Old

Cinnamon pups have tried to play too rough with the Saffron pups a few times a day. I corrected it and will see how it goes. They have to learn that when a puppy says no, it means no. They will get it. It's not terrible. It is that it doesn't stop when the pup says enough. This is how they learn. 

Meelo was playing with them tonight and they had a turn of it and I corrected.  Meelo is larger so the play is often not gentle till they learn that all play stops when it isn't. Good learning experience for all.

But most of the time the play was great!

Here is the gallery.

Nails at 5 Weeks 1 Day

Boy tri - eyebrows coming out now too.

Girl - she will stay black and white

Girl. She is a sbale

Boy - he is a sable. Sables lighten and darken. We will see how they unfold. 

Here is the nail cutting and hamging out photos.

All pups are together as one now.

5 Weeks Old

There are a lot of changes coming up over the next bit. By Tuesday night we hope to have all 11 pups upstairs together at night without their moms. This crew will be 5 weeks and 5 days old, Ella's will be 5 weeks and 3 days old and Saffron's will be 4 weeks and 5 days old.

Here is the Cinnamon gallery.

During the day we will have all 3 litters together except for feeding. We will take down 1 pen allowing us to put a couch back in when our other son comes back from Skiing on Sunday. 

If the pups do exceptionally well earlier, they will go up earlier. They need to be drinking water. They are eating food well. Water is always a later experience for most. 

This was why we take out all 11 to play. This is called slow conditioning. 

Be sure to look at the videos. 

4 Weeks 6 Days Old

Cinnamon's girl is catching serious zzzzs. 

The Cinnamon's crew is one day short of 5 weeks - already - wow.

Here is a small gallery.

They appear to have handled the food well. We will be offering more solid food again today. This weekend we will reorganize this room so we can easily open up the pen to all 3 litters being together during the day. We will also add water dishes.

When this crew turns 5 weeks, Saffron's will turn 4 weeks. 

First Food and Hall Visit

Be sure to check out the Saffron blog to see the gallery of all 3 litters out in the hallway for the 1st time.

Pups had starter Mousse for the 1st time and they loved it. 

Here is the gallery.

Now we see how they digest. Will they have loose stools or solid or have a tough time going. If all goes well we will feed again tomorrow. We start out slow and increase. This is the start of solid food eating. They will then get water introduced. When they are eating and drinking well, we will consider placing them upstairs without their moms at night. It is a process. 

Be sure to check out the videos.

Getting Older

These pups are ready for food and new adventures.

Here is the gallery.

It is amazing how over 4 weeks just goes by like a blip - at least for me. Life - slow down. 

I can't wait till they are running but for now they are exploring all over upstairs. It's a riot!

4 Weeks 3 Days Old

Today this crew was showing they are older. They were walking all over the upstairs. then they would get lost and fuss about it. Funny and when I said walk a long away, I meant it. They were on a serious walk about.

Here is the gallery of just the Cinnamon pups.

After the Raven pups depart we will start taking them upstairs twice a day. The goal is to get them used to each other completely.

Be sure to check the Ella pups blog for the gallery of all 3 upstairs.

Plus check out the videos.

4 Weeks 2 Days Short Blog

Here is today's gallery.

As you can see the Cinnamon pups are highly curious at the older set. It's a riot to watch. They kiss each other through the bars and talk to each other.

I will try to get videos up but not sure if I will have the energy. If I don't, I will play catch up tomorrow.

4 Weeks 1 Day Old Plus Upstairs Play

I am trying to finish blogs fast as the younger set needs to go upstairs for play before the older set does.

Here is the gallery. 

I am going to miss the older set but it will be good to have time for a couple of play sessions in a day withj this younger set vs. 1. It's the start of time that they need to be coming out to play too.

Today will be their 2nd visit out.

Be sure to check out the videos.

Plus all 3 litters had another play session tonight.

Here is the gallery.

4 Weeks Old Today

This crew turned 4 weeks old today. Here is the gallery of just them taken today.

They had their 1st adventure out of the pen today with the Saffron and Ella pups. To see the gallery, check out the Saffron blog. I put one link up of all 3 together as to not have you think there are 3 galleries only to find out I did only 1 of all 3 litters.

You should also check out the videos.

The pups did really well on their first adventure out. It is truly good that they got exposure to the other 2 litters. This is how we begin the conditioning and then merging of all 3 litters so they can play with each other without an issue. We have merged 10 day apart pups but usually this is done much later. When they are 7 days or less apart in age you can usually merge them when you start early. So we have begun. 

If anything is like today, I think we will be successful. Our hopes is to get them together in 7 to 10 days. We shall see how it goes. This will be the time frame when they go upstairs together without moms at night. We do this to help them be able to separate from mom successfully. It also helps with their pad training and their ability to sleep through the night as time goes on.

This is the start of the journey and today was highly successful. We will do it again tomorrow. No matter how busy we are, this is critical to do, imho. Only from daily exposures can they gain a level of comfort ability. They are on their way!

Short Blog Again

Pups are starting to get truly active.

Here is today's gallery.

I am a bit trashed (tired). I need to focus on dogs vs updates. Tomorrow is a new day. Just so many blogs on a daily basis. I didn't sleep last night so making sense id challenging.

Pups are doing well. They are fun to watch now.

3 Weeks 5 Days Old

It's funny to watch the play. They climb on top of each other, roll on their backs and mouth each other.

Here is the gallery.

They are 2 days short of 4 weeks old now. How did that happen? 

It is fun to see each litter in their own development in play. Saffron's is not so far behind. It's interesting to watch.

Be sure to check out the videos.

3 Weeks 4 Days Old

Dennis thinks we need to start getting these pups upstairs to play but I think they have a few days till then. Maybe before more pups go home. 

Here is the gallery.

The one that appears black is a tri-colour. She has colour bleeding through her. She will not be a solid black. The two sables may end up more like Stone. Time will tell. The black and white will be black and white.

Their personalities are starting to come out. It is now so much fun to sit in each of the pens and have me time with them. I do that a few times a day. It is great conditioning and gets them used to humans hanging out with them.

Be sure to check out the videos.

3 Weeks 3 Days Old

The pups are getting more and more stable on their feet. They are starting to use the pad and play with each other.

Here is the gallery.

I need to find the time to get them in action. I have been trying to be super human. I so try. LOL

We have a lull between puppy pickups so I will have more time to catch them in action. They are a curious bunch. It's nice to have the blanket dividers gone. By Monday even Saffron's will be out of the whelping box. 

It's a crazy time here and I know we will never duplicate this craziness but summer off.... pool - dogs - visitors - sounds nice too. Maybe we can have puppy visits by litters and a swim? Hmm 

3 Weeks 2 Days Old

These puppies are spectacular. They LOVE my hugs and kisses. They are so receptive to cuddles. 

Here is the gallery.

Be still my heart when they hug me my heart skips a beat. Nothing like puppy love!

Over 3 Weeks

We have 1 puppy that sits at the entry way to the pen and whines till mom comes. It works as mom comes running and the others crowd in to feed. I think they designated her the mom caller. 

Here is the gallery.

We have started putting them on the puppy pad. Sometimes they use it, sometimes not. The more we do this, the more they get it. 

I love playing with this crew but Cinnamon wants to play with me the most. LOL

Be sure to check out the videos.