The Difference between 12 Weeks and 9

Both Keogh and Di are at least ACTING normally. So that is going well.

Today I took two of the 12 weeks old pups and Esther, who is 9 weeks, to the vet. The older pups are leaving this weekend and all my k-9 kids get a thorough and I mean thorough medical exam before they go. I wanted Jane to check Esther out to be sure she is a normal pup considering her seemingly rough start in life. All three passed with flying colors.

But the point of this post is... the difference between placing pups at 12 weeks and placing them at 9.
The two older pups were NOT happy to discover other Two-Leggers in the world. They were pretty freaked out about strangers looking at them, talking to them, touching  them. When we were in the exam room, before Jane came in, they sort of strolled around, sniffing here and there, but came back to the chair where I was sitting every time there was a loud noise or people laughing or a squeal from some kid in the lobby. Once Jane came in, they retreated UNDER my chair. And when Jane finished each one's exam and put her back on the ground, the pup came immediately back to me and stayed put.

Esther was all over the place. The only thing she DIDN'T do was climb in the water bowl I asked for (because of how hot it got on the trip over and the wait in the car.) None of the noises impressed her, if she even noticed them. When Jane came in, Esther was sitting in front of the door with the exam table between her and me. She just sat there, even when Jane leaned over and picked her up. And when she was back on the floor, she started exploring the room again.

Obviously, it is much harder for the older pups to adjust when they first move into their new homes. So why keep them to 12 weeks? Because the same mental maturity that makes the transition more difficult makes other things a lot easier... like house training, which is a major consideration especially with people experiencing their very first puppy. AND at 12 weeks, they've had two of the three puppy shots, are started on heartworm protection and one of the most important considerations, have learned how to be DOGS. Younger pups, like Esther, could care less about their environment... they are still infants and as long as they are fed, warm and dry, everything is hunky-dory. Potty training is much more difficult... think 9-10 months old babies versus 2 year old toddlers... and frustrating for their people and one of the main reasons dogs end up in shelters. Younger pups haven't learned they are dogs and in the wrong hands, grow up being treated like children until their behavior isn't cute or tolerable any more and they go to shelters... IF they're not eaten by some bigger/older dog at the dog park because they don't know how to read the dog's silent communications. The fact that the younger pup has had just its first shot means a period of almost 2 months when it can't be allowed to socialize with other dogs and learn all the canine ins and outs the older pup learned at its mom's knee. (The older pup shouldn't be out and about with other dogs either until it is 16 weeks and has finished its shots, BUT if it should be exposed to diseases it is more likely to have some immunity than the younger pup.)

For homes with other dogs in residence or people who have had recent successful puppy raising experience, a younger pup isn't much of a challenge. However, most of MY clients don't fall into either of those categories.

And when we got home, the two older pups immediately collapsed and slept for almost two hours... a pup's way of dealing with stress. Esther is still going strong... thank goodness the pups at home had some rest while we were gone!

The Rain is Here to Stay

It has been nearly a week and we have had rain every day, lots of rain... sometimes a Pacific NW misty type, but more often torrential downpours. And so far, I'm surviving quite well without the sun. It's amazing! Gray and ugly as it has been it is such a relief from the hot hot hot temperatures that I don't care! Our temps are going back into the 90s over the weekend and into next week (and probably higher after that) but we are supposed to continue with the rain for another 5-6 days.

Puppies leaving
Two are going home on Wednesday and two more over the weekend. So I have appointments every day next week.

Something that seems to be unclear... these pups are NOT housebroken and I am NOT trying  to housebreak them. First off, there are NINE of them. And second, just like with babies, each one reaches the physical and mental maturity level required for house training at a different time. When out of their pen, MOST of the pups will go back to it and potty on the newspapers. Those are the ones who are going to pick up the go-outside-to-do-my-business concept right away. The others will not be far behind.

Another thing... the pups are not going outside. First off, there are NINE of them and I am too old to be chasing nine puppies around the year when I want them back inside. And second, it's been too hot and now it's too wet. You'll see soon enough how much work goes into keeping ONE pup clean and dry. They like it outside,even on the deck, so they'll take to it quickly.

And one more thing... they are NOT lead trained. First off, ... you already know the song and dance.

Esther
has discovered ME! I've always been there but she accepted me as part of the environment. She  understood  from early on that her mom and other dogs were different beings than she, but I was just there.
The other day she began making eye contact with me... a HUGE step for any puppy... but particularly difficult for my pups because I am 6 feet tall. Yesterday, she started communicating with me. Today I wish she would stop! When I left her in the pen with The Nine this afternoon so I could go take my now routine nap, Esther was not happy. She whined and yodelled for an hour. Peri didn't help... she whined and whimpered back at her from the other end of the house (as usual.) Esther is such a normal puppy and is so well tolerated by her cousins, I may start calling then The Ten!

In Brief

If you've been to the website, you've seen that the issue with my host has been resolved. Have I mentioned, I hate computers?

Which reminds me... at midnight, the FBI is turning off the servers they've been using to protect the US from some bug or other for the last 6 months. If you haven't already, you can check your computer for infection by going to http://www.dns-ok.us. It takes about one second.

Esther and The Nine

This morning, I filled up the water bowl in The Nine's pen. Promptly, the two who are the worse about playing in it were in it. First, I warned one off... several times... loudly and then when she seemed to get the message and wandered, dripping wet. off then I had to contend with the second. A few minutes later, I put Esther in the pen with them. They played their usual good morning game of everyone surround the newby and bark at her until she started barking back at them, then they broke up into groups for wrestling. After a few minutes, Esther went to the water bowl and started splashing in it. SEVEN of The Nine stopped what they were doing and LOOKED AT ME. 

Well trained as I am, I yelled at her to stop.

Weights

So! The new scale finally arrived yesterday and last night, everyone was weighed. This is just for YOUR information since the formula I use to determine adult weight is not very accurate with medium size dogs. At 10 weeks, there is around a 3-1/2 pound difference between the largest, brown & tan dog, and the smallest, pink dino. The other two males and two of the girls are clustered together, while the other three females are toward the top.
Boys first:
brown & tan dog --- just a tad over 12 pounds
reindeer --- 9-1/2
gray unicorn --- 9
Darker females:
cream & gold dog --- 10 pounds
pink dino --- 8-1/2
teddy bear --- 9
Lighter females:
pink unicorn --- 9-1/2 pounds
black & white --- a tad over 11
brown pony --- a tad under 11

The gender line up is m/f/f/f/m/f/m/f/f. The 3 boys average 10.17# while the 6 girls average 9.99#
Over all, a very consistent litter in size as well as absolutely everything else!

Esther
weighed in at just under 5 pounds at 7 weeks.

And speaking of "the natural," she is now chasing the other pups around their pen. That's when she is not standing on all fours IN their water bowl. It is probably a good thing she is the only pup in her litter... she'd have the rest toeing the line from dawn to dusk!

And she gets the award for first to sleep alone all night. Peri kept climbing out of the puppy pen last night, so I locked her in a crate... and fell asleep. Every time I woke up, she AND the pup were sound asleep, so I just left them apart. About 6 this morning, I put Peri back in the pen and they both acted like no big deal.

They grow up so fast!

No Computer This Weenend

In case you did not get the email, my isp is down so I'm off line for the weekend. UNLESS I can find another and get signed up and up and running right away. If you need to get in touch the next couple days, call me. The number is on the website.

Pups are fine except they think they need to be out of the pen most of the time. Even Esther. She spent about 6 hours with the Nine yesterday, most of it unsupervised and much of it standing IN their water bowl. They play with her pretty much the same way they play with each other and I've stopped stopping them from ganging up on her because she doesn't seem to mind. They made her cry a couple times yeaterday, about the same as they do with each other, but she is not afraid to be with them and her teeth are just as sharp as theirs. So, as soon as I get home (I'm at the library) I'll put her in with them. Maybe she'll learn to eat FOOD!

Temp yesterday was 102, tying the all time record for high temp in our area. Today and tomorrow supposed to be about the same. And then a cooling spell with temps falling into the mid 90s.

Email with general health info going out right now!

It's Over

Tuesday, the temperature didn't get up to 80 until late afternoon and humidity was around 22. It was glorious, especially after a week plus of mid 90s with high humidity. Last night, we were one degree shy of setting a new record low for June. Today, the humidity came back and temps got up to the high 80s, but still livable. Tomorrow begins at least a week of high 90s and maybe a couple hundreds. Thank goodness my weatherfolks only do predictions for the next 7 days! We're expecting to break some all time records. Yipee.

I'm into America's Got Talent. Love it! And this week has been a good one for AGT, especially considering the lack of any decent programming this summer. So, in preparation for tonight's 2 hour broadcast, I let the pups out around 8:15, hoping they'd play hard and be tiring out by the time the show started at 9. I brought Esther in to play with us. SHE finally collapsed in a heap at my feet just before 11. I picked her up so she wouldn't get run over every couple minutes and she's been sawing logs on the cushion of my chair ever since. The rest of the gang started giving up the ghost  maybe 15-20 minutes later and now (11:45) all 9 are sound... and I do mean SOUND... asleep. Zonked! They have never played that long or that hard before. Guess they heard the weather report and were taking advantage of their last chance to romp. And Esther... I can't believe how that little baby kept up with them and gave them such a good run for the money! Her mom's been yelling at me, off and on, all evening. She is still nursing around the clock since E's really not interested in eating that dry ol' kibble. I was hoping keeping her away from her mom for several hours would make her hungry enough to eat out of the other pups' bowl. She didn't. And now she's too tired to eat!

Obviously, with the weather what it's supposed to be, the Nine won't be outside and I won't be getting any pictures, even candid shots. But if the ac works reasonably well I'll [i]try [/i] to get some photos in the chair. They really haven't changed noticeably since last week's pictures. This is a slow time for that. Their next big change will be after y'all have them.

Oops! Someone's awake. Guess I'd better get clean newspaper down and round everyone up for the night.

Hot, Humid, Dry

NOT a good combination! Tomorrow, so they say, will be in the low 80s and then Wednesday, right back up to the mid 90s. ONE day is not enough for me! Or for the dogs. They are getting up earlier and earlier in the morning so they can spend some time outdoors and they are staying up later at night for the same reason. The problem is they bark. There are rabbits and deer and other wildlife who are also taking advantage of the cooler temperatures at those times and, according to the dogs, that's not allowed on their watch. The intruders are not stupid... they've rightly reasoned that if the fences keep them OUT, they will keep the dogs IN, so they don't even look up. I hate summer!

Not a good babysitter
The award for "This was not MY idea and I'm not going to do it" goes to Cream & Gold Dog, the first male designated as Esther's babysitter. C & G wasn't mean about it; he just refused to play with that puppy or have anything to do with her while the two were together. After several minutes of trying to entice him into some kind of play, Esther went to the water bowl and splashed around on her own. She REALLY is into the water bowl and LOVES it when I fill it up. Let me tell you, when she's all grown up, you do not want to be on the shallow end of the pool with her... she smacks that water like a champ!

Not Much

Things are status quo. The pups are handling the heat fairly well. Like the rest of us, they are sleeping most of the afternoon. Good thing is they still sleep at night! Of course, I don't usually leave them until midnight... but they are always crashed all over the room by then. I round them up, and they are  beginning to head for the pen when I tell them. There are always a few stragglers that I have to push, but the more they learn to listen and follow orders, the better for me!

The last family is picking now.

There are two girls still unspoken for... pass it on!

Esther is loving the additional space. Haven't heard a peep out of her, mom with her or gone, since I moved them. Like all pups her age, she delights in tearing up newspaper. AND she has discovered the water bowl as a source of... wetness. Not for drinking. Last night she fell asleep with her head IN the bowl. Luckily, it was almost empty!

Maggie and Cisco's kids

These two are Auggie and Rielly. They live together in Georgia. At 7-1/2 months, they are 46 pounds each AND as you can see, still unclipped. Just look at those coats!

I've Created Monsters!

First, Esther. Now she thinks she is to be allowed out whenever her mom is or someone has to come babysit her... me or one of the older pups. The problem with just letting her out in the bedroom is she is fearless and an explorer by nature. She disappears in a flash under the bed, behind the dresser, inside the closet. Which is strange since she's only about 4-5 inches tall and with legs that short, how can she do anything in a flash? If I bring a pup in to visit, I have to supervise. It's all gone well... puppies are amazing critters!... but there is always the chance something 3 times her size could seriously injure her by accident. Think about your 50 pound kid wrestling with the neighbor's 150 pound kid.... This afternoon, I did put Esther down in the computer room with The Nine. It was after they'd already been unpenned for almost an hour, which is a little longer than their energy usually lasts. Of course, their fatigue immediately vanished and E was mobbed as soon as they saw her. Did she run and hide? Did she cry? No, she simply wiggled out from underneath and walked away from the pile-up leaving them sniffing at each other trying to figure out where she was. She makes Seigfreid and Roy look like amateurs! The whole thing wasn't much fun for me because I had to keep saying "ut ut" to get a pup's attention and "no" after I had it and then move on to the next pup and repeat. They are just learning "no" and aren't particularly clued in to "ut ut" translating to "look at me" since they're just babies themselves. And truthfully, Esther didn't seem the least bit intimidated by them, singularly or in mob mode. Maybe it's like a 3 year old riding his trike on the freeway...? It IS important for Esther to learn how to get along with other pups. Ignoring them won't work ALL her life. Will it? One thing that was really cute: at one time, most of The Nine had given up on her and were sprawled out sleeping, but one pup was outside the wire of the pen and E was on the other side. As soon as she saw it, she went into guard dog mode and charged up to the wire, barking and growling. The pup on the other side did the same thing and they entertained themselves for a few minutes "fence fighting." Yeah, it's cute NOW!
The Nine and The Water Bowl... I'e been outsmarted. Yes, I fixed the problem of them tipping it over and dumping water everywhere. However, they've gone back to digging in it and splashing it bone dry, getting water everywhere. All these years and I still don't know how to stop this behavior. At least I don't have to soak a towel for them anymore!

Experiment

This morning, when Peri went outside, I randomly picked up one of Emy's pups and put it in with Esther. The pup I got hold of is the dark female, Teddy Bear. I wanted to see how 4-1/2 week old Esther responded to another puppy since she is rather sedate and well mannered with the adult dogs, even her mom. She knew immediately that Teddy was another PUPPY. Instinctual play is so... instinctual! She pawed, she pounced, she sneaked up on her, she chewed on her face, legs, tail. She tried to mount her... pretty funny with Esther small enough to almost stand upright underneath Teddy. And the older pup? She played nicely. She let Esther lead the way and any time she knocked her over, she stood back and let her regain her feet rather than following through and holding her down the way she does with her brothers and sisters. When she pawed at Esther, it was more like she was just touching her rather than pushing. I was so impressed with both of them! So, from now on, every time I send Peri outside, I'll put another of Em's kids in with their cousin. By the beginning of next week, they should all have met her and I'll put HER in with ALL of them at once and let her stay for an hour or so at a time. Peri is still so protective, I doubt she'll put up with her baby being gone longer than that!

Oh, Teddy weighed in at just shy of 6.5 pounds. And Esther? Right on 2.75.

Emy and Boon's first litter

This is Finn Nelson, clipped for the first time and in full coat just before.

Colors

But first, more about what the pups are doing.
Esther has also started playing with her toy. It is a stuffed animal that is bigger than she is. Originally, I thought she might cuddle up to it when her mommy was gone. She never did. But yesterday, for the first time, I saw her chewing on it and moving it from one spot to another. Also, it is her MOM who is scattering the food around the bowl, perhaps encouraging her to partake?
The 9 have been stymied. I always say the trick is to be smarter than the dog. Ha! They have met their match! The last few days the water bowl has been empty ALL the time. Not because they are drinking the water, but because they are playing in it and tipping it over. So I switched the fairly light weight METAL bowl for a much heavier ceramic one. Mission accomplished.

Coat colors
Several people have asked what color these pups are going to be all grown up and I can't give a definite answer. That is not my department. How much the pups lighten and how long it takes is up to genetics which is Mama Nature's department. Below are pictures taken this afternoon that show coats of the darker pups TODAY.
Starting with one of the "reds"

Now some of the darker ones
Note: these are not ALL the darker pups. Several of the pictures are of the same pup. I just wanted to give you an idea of what the undercoats are looking like.

Correction

In my note to Bob Baffert on Sunday...
please ignore my kicking him in the head. It was not Baffert who got the love tap from one of his horses. It was Wayne Lukas. They don't even look alike!

Cooper is 8 years old
Cooper is a Shadow son, one of my Doodles. And he looks a lot more like his dad than his Mom! In either pose!

Esther
Guess who discovered her mom's food bowl today. She's had her nose in it off and on all day but I don't think she's eating much. She's licking the bowl. And there are lots of kibble bits scattered around. She probably won't really get into solid food for another week or so. Her mom's milk is a lot easier for her and there is plenty of it. Both she and Peri are getting bored. I've heard whimpers from each of them all day. That's one of the drawbacks of single puppy litters... mom is tied up with puppy entertainment which she wouldn't have to do if there was another pup or two to play with. But Peri refuses to stay away from Esther for any length of time IF she is in the house. I can send her outside and she runs all over the yard for an hour. I let her out in the bedroom this afternoon... Esther was sleeping... and Peri drove me nuts running back and forth to the pen from under the bed. I couldn't concentrate on Judge Judy!

This weekend I think I'm going to grab one of Emy's pups and put her in with Esther. (I say her because there are more of them than hims.) I'm hoping putting the older pup in a strange location will disconcert it enough to give Esther time to get comfortable with the invasion of HER space. Maybe by the time they both adjust, things will go smoothly and quietly. Peri will definitely be outside.

Shots this weekend
Emy's pups will be getting the first of 3 shots they'll need before they are 16 weeks old. This one is a "5-way" which is for (actually AGAINST!) parvo, distemper, hepititis and a couple "flus." Sometimes a pup or two will feel a little under the weather for 24 hours or so. That's why I don't let pups go home the day after they get a shot.

Speaking of going home... just in case you missed it the first time around, I will not be shipping or allowing any pick ups on Mondays or Tuesdays. My groomer is closed Sundays and Mondays and since every one has to go to the groomer the day before they leave....
Also, I'll do just one shipping and up to 2 pick ups on the same day.
Wednesday the 18th is booked up.

I'm looking forward to meeting all of you who can make it here. I love the looks on people's faces when they see their pup the first time!