GG (Glory Girl) gave birth on October 22nd beginning at 1:10 pm and was done by 2:55 pm!  All total, there were six pups -4 males & 2 females.  Since this is the Q litter and there are very few locations in NC or SC that have Q names, we had to deviate a little bit in the name schema this time around.  After much consideration, I have chosen to use old, traditional names for English Shepherds.  At one week of age, the pups are pretty close to doubling their birth weight.  GG has settled in nicely here & is doing a wonderful job taking care of the pups.

Week 2 - Puppies have been growing in leaps and bounds over the past week.  They are still sleeping a lot, eyes are open, ears are unsealing and nails have been cut.   They have been visited by their "grandparents" (Logan & GG's folks) this week, so have had a lot of handling.  They are becoming more aware of the world around them - beginning to air scent mom & myself at times, walking around (just beginning to do this), mouthing & interacting with one another & with GG after they nurse.  GG has been a wonderful mom keeping them well fed & very clean!

Week 3 - Puppies have been wormed, had nails cut again, are becoming very active - walking, being vocal, interacting with each other, and beginning to interact with people as well.  The grandparents came again this week!  😉  Puppies were outside of the pen for the first time & were loving the ability to explore.  They were checking out the rug, the wood floor, new places & new scents.  Their ears seem to be working.  I can see them react to sounds.

Week 4 - This was a big week for the puppies as they moved from a smaller pen to a larger play area.  They are eating some puppy kibble, have been outside, seen several sets of visitors this week, have been introduced to "cousin" Holly, nails have been cut & just overall have had a big time this week.  They are all responding to being called from one side of the play area to the other. Some are discovering their voices either by alert barking or during play with some growling here & there.  All in all they are growing & maturing in a nice manner!

Week 5 - The Thanksgiving week was relatively quiet in the way of outside visitors, but they did have folks by on a couple of days.  They are eating more kibble, exploring more, trying to establish their pack hierarchy, playing quite a bit with Holly and being outside more during the daylight hours.  All pups are responding well to being called.

Week 6 - It was a wet week around here, so the puppies played a bit on the front porch, but were not opposed to getting out in the wet grass or the rain to run around.  They are still very responsive to being called as a group & also responding to their individual names.  We have begun the "find it" game with small Milkbones or kibble on the ground.  The trip to Jan's house for the agility equipment experience was a relatively quiet trip.  Sometimes you learn that some pups just don't care for the road trip, but this group settled down quickly in the crates, rode quietly & did not get carsick (always a plus!).  In spite of the cold at Jan's, they did very well for 6 week old puppies in a new situation, with new folks. All were very willing to go with Jan or Sandy when asked to do so.  We are spending a lot of time outside & having a great time running around.