7/11 Update and Pictures

Good day everyone. Tomorrow the pups will be 4 weeks old and things are getting a little more exciting here. They started on "real" food on Friday - I grind it, add a mild supplement and water to make a watery gruel. They went right to it and made a major mess, walking into it and spreading it all over the whelping box. I included a picture of them at the trough below. As time passes I will transition the gruel slowly to regular kibble so that they will be ready to go home to regular food.

Their eyes are all completely open and it is obvious they can see what is going on. They all have nice sharp puppy teeth. Tails have healed from the docking and the scabs are all gone. The kids are getting more and more steady on their feet and moving very quickly. They climb all over everything in the whelping box. Not one of them is concerned about the movement of the wobble board, they plan the toy piano and not only climb through the tunnel but also up and over it. Their toe nails grow very fast so I trim 56 toe nails every week.

Once they are weaned from mom this next week I will eliminate the whelping box in favor of a crate and they will have a large area to roam and make a mess in. I will add lots more noise and texture stimulus, more tunnels, a bigger piano, more items to tug on and more items to climb into and over. They will be wormed on Tuesday and again two weeks later. At about six weeks I have scheduled them on ducks to check instinct, made a vet appointment for vaccinations and an appointment with the opthamologist for CERF exams. Potty training begins next week as well.

I put a couple of pictures of each pup below and four miscellaneous pictures that I liked of their antics. On the last e-mail I called No 3 pup a Blue Merle Tri but as I look at her I really don't see the tan other a little light tan on her face that looks more like dirt so only time will tell but she might very well be a Blue Merle Bi. Note that all of them look like they have tan on their feet but it is only residue from their food. Several of them sleep on their backs like their dad.

No 1 is a Blue Merle Tri Female.

No2 is a Black Tri Male.

No 3 is a Blue Merle Male.

No 4 is a Red Tri Male.

No 5 is a Red Merle Tri Female.

No 6 is a Blue Merle Bi Male.

No 7 is a Black Bi Male with lots of white on his chest and belly.

There were actually 3 pups sleeping in the tunnel together when I took this one.

Contented pups sleeping in the whelping box after eating.

Another picture after eating. Note the Black Bi sleeping on his back. Several of them do the same thing.

First solid meal at the trough (frisbee).