Under foot....

Cassie, Rose and Serendipity are tucked up under my desk--doesn't leave me much foot room.....

Going on a drive!

Let's all pile in the car and run errands together!

Left to right adult dogs: down in front is Rose (Cassie's daughter); standing in back is Cassie; down in center is Whimsey; standing on the far right is Spanky. Whimsey and Spanky are the parents of the puppies in the crate.

All together now.

The puppies are spending their days together--playing inside and out. We separate them into smaller groups for meal time and to sleep at night. They've all figured out the doggy door--I'll take a video in the next few days of them all trying to go through the door at the same time....

Harry came for a visit--he was sooo popular!

 Harry was amazingly patient with the puppies climbing all over him. What a good boy!

 

 

 

The whole gang going out for a drive.

We have a climber!

It didn't take pink girl long to figure out how to use the crate by the fence to her advantage. There's always one explorer in every litter.... We'll be moving the crate away from the fence right now :)

A puppy nose ring....

Yet another funny sleep pose--yellow boy takes nose ring to another level....

How long have those chickens been there?!

Everyday the puppies become more aware of their surroundings. Just a few days ago, they started noticing the chickens that are along the back fence....

One big happy family!

I had both litters together tonight while I cleaned their pens. They got along really well together. It won't be too much longer before we combine the litters. Once they are weaned, there isn't any reason to keep them separated. Both mama dogs have pretty much lost interest in nursing--I can't blame them, those are sharp puppy teeth!!

First Time Outside

We took Cassie's litter outside this evening for their six-week-old photo session. After we took their pictures, we let them run around--first time free to run in the yard and they LOVED it!

Soooo tired.....

After playing with my grand kids who came for a visit yesterday, the puppies were all exhausted. Blue Boy was getting a drink, and the next time I looked, he had fallen asleep in the dish. He slept that way for about a half hour. That's a tired baby!

A good mama!

The puppies' combined weight now easily exceeds Cassie's. With a group effort they could take her down! She still allows them to nurse several times a day for a few minutes, but when she is done, that's it. She growls at the puppies to warn them away, and they get the message. With a particularly persistent puppy, she growls and gently knocks the puppy over and pins it with her paw until the puppy submits. It's all part of her teaching the puppies respect and the order of the pack. We let the mama dogs do as much of that teaching work for us as we can!

Adventure Box

I found the design for this Adventure Box on Avidog.com and knew immediately that I wanted to introduce our puppies to it. I finished building it today and here is the result. This is such a fantastic group of puppies--they dove right in to playing in the box. I couldn't be more pleased with the balanced temperaments in this litter!

I am constantly looking for ways to challenge our puppies by exposing them to new situations, sounds, people and experiences, and this play box is wonderful! Every week or so, I'll change out the hanging objects to give the puppies more variety. Next week when Cassie's litter is moved to our area with the doggie door leading to the outside dog run, I'll put the Adventure Box outside in their play area--another step getting these puppies ready to go home with YOU!

Lunch in the Adventure Box!

Still the same puppy pile....

....just bigger puppies in the pile. After playing with visitors this morning, the puppies collapsed in a heap and slept for a couple hours.

Morning Greeting

This is the greeting I get every morning from the puppies--I love my job!

There Must be 50 Ways to Take a Nap

Sleep on your back, Jack
Make a new snooze plan, Stan
Don't play with your toys, Roy

Just let yourself sleep.....

Out for a drive.....

We like to take the puppies out and about to get them used to riding in the car. Dogs don't usually experience car sickness from motion. If they get sick driving, it's because they are afraid. We start them young taking frequent trips in the car. Cassie and her pups ran errands with me today--bank, car wash, gas station. Cassie loved getting out with me and her puppies did great! See Millie hiding on the seat--she sneaked in the car for a ride, too. Mama dogs are going stir crazy shut up in the house....

Wow--looking at this picture--Cassie needs a bang trim! I'm on it!

Celebrate!

You may think me strange, but this picture caused a celebration at our house! You should be celebrating, too, because it means your puppy is catching on to the litter box!

Really??

I was so proud of Pink Girl and Blue Boy when they pottied in the box today. Came back later to find them curled up in the corner sleeping. Come on, kids--that's not what this box is for!!