4 Weeks 1 Day Old

The pups may be going upstairs tonight. Last night Dennis had intended on giving them food but no access to moms to test the water with upstairs. It was a bust. At 2am the mothers howled so much to get into the pups that it woke the house up. The pups were fine. It was the moms that were not.

So, we intend on taking the moms to bed with us if Dennis finishes setting up. They are eating food and drinking water.

See the gallery.

Why do we do this? The goal is to give some independence. It also slowly increases their sleep time at night. This way when they go home they will be sleeping all night. It also conditions them to changes that trigger coping skills. Exposures are positive. If they only stayed in their xpen till they came to you they would be overwhelmed with new exposures at your home. Building coping skills is important.

Dennis says he is almost set up so tonight is the night.

Dennis will sleep in his bed for the 1st time in 4 plus weeks. Moms will sleep with us the dame amount of time.

4 Weeks Old

Yes, they are 4 weeks old already having a few play sessions out in the hall. We want to take them upstairs but we haven't found the time to setup but we will.

The pups are really growing up and Nathan thinks the pups all want just him. LOL

I don't think so.

Be sure to check out the videos.

1 Day Shy of 4 Weeks

We are at it again playing out in the hall. It's hard to believe that this crew is one day shy of 4 weeks. They are playing well and enjoying the play sessions. They are also eating and drinking well.

Soon no moms at night. Soon 6 week visits - wow!

Here is the gallery.

26 Days Old

We took the pups out in the hall for the 1st time today - Nathan and I and then later on it was just me as Nathan was napping. I figure 2 times in a day is a good start. We didn't make it upstairs as Dennis has to block the railings and make it safe. In 3 or 4 days the moms may be coming to bed with us and the pups will be without moms till morning.

When that happens the adult dogs wait till we bring the pups down and they feed from moms. Then we prepare their food.

They are growing up. They were slipping a tad on the tile but overall doing well as you will see in the videos.

The gallery will be found on Misty's blog.

25 Days Old

The pups scatter their food all over and are now mostly drinking water. I feel like it's the messy boys but they are wee pups and getting steady on their feet.

Here is the gallery of all 11.

I believe tomorrow they will have a short play session upstairs. We can't take them outside till 8 plus weeks due to the cold. They simply do not have enough body weight on them. I do stand at the window to let them see outside. I want them to realize there is a big huge world out there.

When we take them out we will be using sherpa bags to transport them. They get used to them that way and will soon figure out a sherpa bag means they are heading somewhere fun. This is when Nathan starts interacting with them.

24 Days Old

The pups are heading towards 3.5 weeks old. They are already drinking water - some of them and eating Starter Mousse though it has changed their output. They will get used to it. Already they are adjusting to it. Next stage will be Fromm's kibble softened with starter mousse.This is what they will go home with but it will no longer need to be softened.

They are chomping on my finger so I think teeth will be coming soon. That too changes bowels. This is the only 2 crew that lets me clean their bums as if they enjoy it. They must be water dogs - pool dogs. That is wonderful. I so wish it was summer all year round.

You will find the videos here and the gallery on Misty's blog.

23 Days Old

I am so late today. Pups wanted to eat frequently and that means I take 7 of Misty's out and Sage goes in to feed hers.

Here is the gallery.

Sorry but one gallery now as they are together. Are you having trouble figuring out who is whom?

22 Days and All Together Now

Here is the gallery.

The pups are all together now. Will you be able to tell who is whom? Dennis didn't think so but before he went to bed, I had him hand me all the Misty pups so I could feed them out of the pen and he guessed right so you can too. LOL

In this photo is a Sage pup and 2 Misty pups.

Everything went smoothly with the exception of the Misty gal thinking she could maul and pull the tail if the Sage pup. I think I caught it on video. It was a momentary thing that has not been repeated and I don't think it was anything but play but we monitor them when we merge them.

3 Weeks Old Today

Here is the gallery.

Okay in teh wee hours Dennis did their 1st meal. It was a miracle I caught it as he never told me. A couple of sage's ate but that was it. They are VERY early for having food be receptive as they are only 3 weeks. I tried them myself later and all 4 were receptive. We do slowly as we have to see how their bowels are after having a change added on to their diet. So far so good.

I worked really hard getting the videos up early so you could see their 1st. I love experiencing the 1sts but I guess Dennis does too. The videos are always found here.

The most receptive to food was the brown and cream boy. He is also the largest.

They are getting used to flooring. They are not as steady as Misty pups in the floor but they are also 3 days younger and Misty pups were barely figuring out the floor a few days ago. These pups are no slouches.

A couple of pups make their way to the pad. We put in 2 pads in each xpen to make it easier for them.

We are still talking about taking the divider down. They do play with each other through the bars. It is adorable. Soon we will be taking them out for play sessions.

20 Days Old: Nail Clipping

The Sage puppies had their nails done before we went to Stouffville.

Here is the gallery.

They were getting stuck everywhere. It was overdue.

The pups now have some floor space. Some are walking semi well and some need some work. They are using the pad in a similar way as the Misty puppies. Interesting enough Sage seems to feed more often that Misty but they gain.

We were discussing when to put them all together. maybe when we start feeding.

Now I have to upload the videos.