9 Weeks and Counting

Celebrating their 9 weeks... Beckett and Remy.
Both are moving to Salt Lake City.


Remy was a little put off with the grass when she first felt it under her feet, but she adjusted quickly.


Beckett, on the other hand, was perfectly comfortable from the git go!

Tomorrow: Charlie and Elliott

Comes the Dawning

So here's what I figured out today... these are strange puppies! They want food in their bowl even when they're not hungry. The pups have always been a little noisy in the morning... say, around 7-8 AM. Everyone else is generally content to sleep at that hour... well, they were until it got to be so hot by 10 o'clock that they weren't all getting enough time in the yard to suit them. But the pups would be awake and making a lot of noise. Since they're in my bedroom, I notice. I get up, go to the kitchen via the bathroom and fill up a dipper of puppy food which I take back and pour into the pups' bowl. The big dogs usually don't even look up. The pups will go sniff the bowl, MAYBE take a bite or two and then go back to sleep. It's not like they ran out of food some time before lights out the night before and are starving. It's not like they wolf down the food or even eat a measurable amount. They simply want food available IN CASE. So be warned... when I tell you the pups are used to free feeding which means having food and water available 24/7, I'm not kidding. And neither are they.

Last night, they slept out of the pen again. This is just the second time and I really meant to lock them up before lights out.However, I fell asleep before Family Feud even started at midnight... the heat is not my friend, air conditioning on or off... and when I woke up again, around 2, the pups were scattered all over the room sound asleep. You've heard the phrase, let sleeping dogs lie? It's good advice. Especially as there were several FULL bowls of adult food (which the babies like.)

Unfortunately, I woke up a little after 7.

Out All Night

For the first time, I didn't put the Magnificent 8 back in their pen last night. They made themselves comfortable in various spots around the bedroom... under the bed, curled up against a big dog, flat out on the floor in the middle of the room... meaning I had to step over them every time I got up (which is always quite often.) For the most part, they went back to their newspapers in the pen to go potty... not bad for pups under 8 weeks!... and they were generally pretty quiet and well behaved. It always amazes me, litter after litter, when puppies start taking their cue from my adult dogs and tuck themselves into bed as soon as the light go out. The tv HAS to be off or my adults figure I'm still awake, but when the house is quiet, it is QUIET. This morning I cleaned the pen, put down new newspaper and called "Puppy, puppy" and 4 of them walked themselves right in. The other 4 came up as soon as I closed the pen off and they saw there were pups on the other side of the wire. A very strong pack instinct! In a week or two, when I start putting pups back in the pen, everyone I haven't captured already will make a beeline for elsewhere!

Another Puppy Checks In

It always tickles me when I hear from someone years after they've gotten a puppy, especially when they send photos! This is Emma, a Di/Brogue pup who is soon to be 4 years old. Her puppy picture... thanks to her own natural good looks AND to her owner's terrific phtography skills... has been on my website and many of the ads I've placed for years. Any number of you have started you initial email with "I love Emma from PA." Well, here she is all grown up and the most unusual coloring I've ever seen in a Whoodle:


And she's not just another pretty face! This gal can mix it up with the best of them.


This shot looks like it should be captioned
I love you. I love you more.


Thanks for sending the photos, David!

Name Correction
Michelle wants me to get her pup's name right... Lolly is NOT Lulu. She is Lola! Good thing she caught that before I taught her the wrong thing!

Picks

With the second round pick of the male dog draft, Rob takes Eastwood,
a Whoodle out of Tennessee.

Which leaves Marco and Hungry Jack.

Stay tuned!

Picking is Done! New Names
Many of you have picked up on the different names the pups are getting:
Molasses is now Beckett and Dora is Remy. BOTH of them will be moving to Salt Lake city.
Lolly is Lulu and will be making her home in Boulder.
Brother has always been Brother because he was first picked and the family already has a Whoodle... a half-sister to him. He's going to be in Pennsylvania.
Marco is going to Illinois and will tell his new folks his real name after he gets there.
Eastwood is waiting for Rob in California to make up his mind as is Hungry Jack who is going to become part of the country music scene in Nashville... only HE's waiting for Caren to figure out who he is.

Emy
Ms Emerald sends congrats to everyone and wants you to know, she's DONE. Actually, she hasn't even been in to visit the pups for the last several days. They are not missing her. HOWEVER, when they start going outside (if the weather ever gets nice,) I'll use her to help me get them there the first few times... they'll still follow her anywhere. Once they realize the milk machine is turned off, they'll be ready to romp and play with her and she'll teach them a few things about being dogs. She'll also show me which one(s) SHE likes best... and she WILL have at least one favorite.

New Pictures

First time outside... pups somewhat overwhelmed... and since I was hurrying to get everyone's picture before the next storm rolled in, they didn't get time to get settled.

Here are Marco (left) and Eastwood (right.) They never did stand up!



These are Jack (in the rear) and Beckett (Molasses.) Jack wandered a few feet, but Beckett wasn't moving if he didn't have to!


Unfortunately, you can't really see the size difference, but this is Spider.

Puppy Weights

Let me begin by saying my scale is no longer all that accurate... it's about 8-9 years old and has been through a lot! So, take these weights as just a strong estimate:
Jack -- 6-1/2 pounds
Molasses -- 5-1/2
Marco -- 5
Eastwood -- 4-1/2
Brother -- 4-1/4
Remy (Dora) -- 4
Lolly -- 3-3/4
Spider -- 2-3/4
As you can see, Jack makes 3 of Spider!

Now, how do these weights at 6 weeks translate to adult size? Your guess is pretty much as good as mine. For large and giant breed dogs, there is a theory that a pup weighs 10% of its ideal adult weight for every 4 weeks of age. So if these were large breed pups... say standard Poodles or Labs... I would be able to predict fairly accurately that Jack would be 40-45 pounds full grown and little Ms Spider would be around 15. That is a HUGE range within a litter. However, these are small to medium size... depending on how you categorize miniature Poodles (some people think anything under 20 pounds is a small breed...) and the theory just doesn't work out as nicely. Suffice it to say, Jack is going to be a big guy... Wheaten Terrier size... and Spider's not!

First Trip Outdoors Postponed

Because we finally got some rain, the pups didn't get to make their inaugural excursion to the great outdoors yesterday on their 6 weeks birthday. And today is more of the same while the next 3-4 days are supposed to be in the 90s. Looks like they'll be closer to 7 weeks... or more... before they get to feel the breeze in their faces!

No Pups Available
I have decided to take Spider off the market for right now because of her very small size compared to the rest of the litter. I always tend to err on the side of caution although, in all probability, there is absolutely nothing wrong with her... and thevet has already seen her... but often the little tiny ones have a hear or liver problem that doesn't show up until they're older and much more active. I'd just rather not promise her to anyone and then have something show up... better safe than sorry!

Atten: Folks with Earliest Picks
One way or another, I'll get some more pictures this weekend. Picks MUST be made by the time the litter is 8 weeks old. A number of families with later picks already know which puppies THEY'd prefer and the suspense is killing them! The first pick, the black and tan male, Brother, is moving to PA to live with his older half-sister, but no one else has definitely been claimed. Personality-wise, everyone is pretty much the same. Not one bully or recluse in the litter... which is par for the course.

Another Dood Checks In


Skip in Atlanta sent me birthday pictures of 6 years old Cooper, enjoying himself at the lake. Happy birthday, big boy!

Two New Milestones

Emy spent the entire night in another room! She fed the pups around 8 and then went to visit her relatives in the tv room. Everyone went out for a nighty-night potty break around 11 and instead of going back to the pups, Emy returned to the tv room. The puppies didn't even seem to notice she was missing.

Of course, early this morning SHE was ready to get back in the pen, but the pups were still perfectly content without her... until she got close enough for them to smell her, then they started making an unholy racket!

She fed them, cleaned a few bottoms... and went back to her mom and dad and older daughter... where she still is 6 hours later.

Guess the weaning process is full steam ahead!

And the second milestone iiissss
Paper "training"
These BABIES are starting to make all their more solid deposits in the same area. Note I said starting... there is still a pile here and one there, but generally they are going more to the back of their pen. They are a few days to a week early in recognizing that there is a place to put the stuff where it is out of their way, giving them more area to play in.

Moving right along!

This and that again

Belmont
So Ice Box didn't do it. In fact, he finished 9th. And First Dude came in 3rd. Good thing I didn't have any money on it! Some interesting names in the race... it would have been fun if it had ended up:
Dave in Dixie - Fly Down - Stay Put and Make Music for Me.

Hot as you know where here


Here are some of the gang cooling off in the shade... from left to right (above) Diamond, Brogue and Keogh and (below) Cotton and Diamond (again... she likes the camera!)



And just because it's a semi-cute picture, here's Marco Polo napping


And, yes, the wetspot is what you think.

And Then There were Teeth

One day, all there is is gum and the next, there are teeth. And I'm not talking just little eruptions, I'm talking TEETH. The pups are now sometimes crying when another one is chewing on them. Guess why. The next thing will be the one being chewed ON biting back and one of the great lessons of a dog's life will be learned.

Because Emy now wants to be with the pups just to clean up and feed them... probably in that order... she is spending much of her time out of the puppy pen. Right now, she's in the tv room with me and her mom, daughter and Brogue (and Keogh.) She's happy... until I leave the room, then she wants to go back to the bedroom.

The 7 days between the start and end of week 5... which began yesterday... is probably the worse time for the pups AND ME. They're eating dog food with no problem and Em nurses them for a couple minutes every 3-4 hours BUT the transition is really tough on them. They're still little babies mentally and want that nursing but the milk is weak and not very satisfying so they have to eat "real" food. But it makes them crabby and whiny. They get over it pretty fast, thank goodness!

Saturday's Belmont
Last of the Triple Crown races and not very exciting this year. Neither the Derby winner, Super Saver, nor the Preakness winner, Looking at Lucky, are running. Favorites (mine and everyone else's apparently) are Ice Box, who hasn't run in 5 weeks, and First Dude. Going to be a sloppy track. My money would be on Ice Box (if I did any betting.)