Puppies are now 6 wks. old. (actually soon to be 7 wks, as I am a bit behind on the journals!)
This is the age when I wish I did a spring/summer litter not a winter one! The weather has been horrible. RAIN, RAIN and WIND. We have had several ‘winter’ storms come through with high wind and a ton of rain. Thus, much of the yard is wet and muddy and it is cold out! But, the pups don’t seem to mind too much! They LOVE exploring!!! I have 2 yards that they can go into to explore, so we take turns doing it. Sadly, we also loose any ‘light’ we get during the day (which is NOT much as it is SO dreary!) at around 4:00 pm, so it has been tough taking any good pictures or video tape of the puppies outside.
SO, I am now letting them run through the house! And they are enjoying this experience immensely! We can do a big circle through the house starting at one outside door, and ending going through the family room outside door! They love exploring the different rooms.
I am also working on them getting into the habit of going outside as soon as they wake up so that they can do their ‘business’ outside. They are also taken outside right after they eat, sleep and/or play. Tikka is still cleaning up after them. Tikka is trying to engage them in play outside. I love watching her do this!! She gets them chasing her, playing , biting etc. Tikka is teaching them play ‘language’ and how to ‘read’ another dogs actions etc. I will try and get video of it.
Tikka still loves spending time with them! She is often in their ‘bedroom’ area (she can jump in or out of it) but many times I find her inside laying with the pups. She still allows them to feed when she has some milk to give. When a pup hears one smacking it’s lips on a nipple, the rest soon come running!
I am now feeding the puppies tripe, chicken and beef. I have started to add a bit of salmon oil, kelp and Vit C. Next I will add some veggie mixture. They all look really good and healthy. I have dewormed them all twice now. They enjoy their meals and are chewing bones as well. I usually give them tripe (not mixed with anything else) just before bed and they are so funny eating this. They all ‘talk’ while they are eating the tripe…..guess they really like it!! Their stools are very good (although I seldom get to see them as Tikka is still cleaning up after them and she is GOOD and quick at it!).
They have many different toys to play with and they play with them all. They love to ‘tug’ with each other on a toy and all of them will carry them in their mouths. They are pretty good at stealing the bones/toys from each other and then running away with them!
The pups are pretty active when they are awake!! I find this litter to be quite ‘even’ in their dominance, activity, biting, drive for tug/kong etc. They all also love to get individual attention from ‘people’ and come running initially when you call. They each like some individual attention and time on your lap. It is getting hard to get inside/outside doors without some or all of them following you! They are pretty quick movers! They love to play ‘underneath’ fixtures (tables etc). Usually, you have 2 of them underneath barking away at each other.
Each has their own individual personalities coming out more and more. It is interesting to watch black/tan girl in the house. When I give them the ‘run’ of the house, I usually have Winnie, Dangi and Riggs in their crates. Black/tan girl continually goes up to Winnie’s crate and stands, sits there trying to interact with Winnie. Even when the other pups are running around, or going outside, she stays with Winnie! It is cute to watch. Course, Winnie is inside the crate wanting out as well. Tikka is still a bit protective of them, so I have not let the other dogs ‘run’ with them . Riggs has been amoung them a bit on his way outside and Tikka seems to be o.k. with that. I also had the pups follow me into the family room/kitchen area where Dangi was (Tikka was outside) and they enjoyed him. Dangi is SO good with them! Very gentle, wants to smell them etc.
Stock coat sable boy is usually the first to ‘lay down’ for a break once they have had a run outside. He also is one of the first to want to say ‘hi’ to you after his sleep. Stock coat black/tan likes to be part of everything. He also likes my pant leg! Black collar sable boy and green collar sable boy still tend to be similar in a lot of ways. Green collar boy is a bit ‘cleaner’ in his look. They both like to tug, have something in their mouth, play fight with their siblings and investigate the ‘world’. Black /tan blue paw collar and no collar black/tan boys are also very similar. (in size and temperament). Both are a bit smaller in bone than their sable siblings but still have very nice masculine heads. They are also a bit more compact. They will be very agile adults. They both love to tug, grab things with their mouth, (often ankles/arms!) and love to have some individual attention. Sable girl is also a go getter, always investigating everything. She has good bone and a nice strong head. I often have to ‘check’ to see if she is the girl or if she is one of the boys!
I introduced the pups to the barn this week. They haven’t met the kittens yet though. Think they might overwhelm the kittens (who are 4 months old). They haven’t really seen or interacted with the sheep yet either. That will come next week. I don’t have any newborn lambs this year to test the pups on (have to plan that better next time!!!), but I have a 6 month old lamb that is smaller, so I might try them with her later.
The weather channel is calling for more sunshine next week. That will be WONDERFUL if it happens. Things could dry up, and the pups could spend more time outside!! They haven’t been in the front part of the yard yet. I think they may be able to get through the fencing and I have a big ditch up front, so want to be careful. I will try to put some other fencing up so they can investigate more areas. Hopefully I will get some nice pictures and video tape next week!!!
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