Roper & I traveled to TN to meet up with April Gilliom and Duke in June. With all the Covid-19 issues going on across the US, I wasn't sure if it would work out or not. In some states, hotels were only open to essential personnel & I wasn't sure that this would fall under those parameters. 😉 Thankfully, we found a place to stay and were able to get a couple of natural breedings before heading back to NC. I really wasn't expecting the litter until around the 26th of August, however, I was getting ready for things just in case the pups put in an earlier appearance. On Friday, August 21st, I had taken note that Roper's temperature had dropped some, but really wasn't too concerned about it. Sometimes temperatures fluctuate going low one day and then back up again by evening or the following day. Roper was still eating well that day. She woke me up around 4 in the morning to say she really needed to go out and potty. On our way back in, I checked her temperature again & saw it had dropped a little bit more. When breakfast time rolled around, she refused her food. You must know that Roper never, ever refuses food, so I knew that day would be the day! Puppies started arriving shortly after 11 am, with the final one arriving around 5:30 that afternoon. She has been an excellent mom caring for the 7 pups.
We usually base our puppy litter names around places or things associated with NC or SC, my home states. As bountiful as the W names were for boys, there were very few that lent themselves to be a girl's name. My daughter suggested that we use W for waterfalls found in NC. So here we are ...... In spite of many of the puppies looking like they could be black and tan, there are only 2 pups that are. The rest are going to be more like the color of Roper, which is sable with some limited white markings.
Week 7 - During this week we took our field trips - one to Autumn Winds Agility Center in New Hill and the other to Claire Apple's for their herding instinct test. As you can see on the individual pups' pages, there were a good number of folks who hung around after agility class to work with the puppies. These were folks the pups had not met before and they were more than willing to socialize, plus do what was asked of them while we were there. The following day we went over to Claire's place where she put them on ducks to see what sort of herding instinct the puppies might have. I made those photos a little larger on the page since the ducks and most of the pups were about the same color! Hopefully you can spot the puppy coming up behind the ducks in the photos. On top of the trips, we had several new visitors out to the house to play with them as well. Pups have been working on going in and out of the house quickly, hanging out with Nana Holly or Mom Roper, barking, digging, playing and more. It has been a great week! It's hard to believe that next week this time, most of the puppies will be in their new homes. They will be located in VA, TN, SC & NC.
Week 6 - Puppies continue to learn new tasks this week which included the introduction of the "Find It" command. This is a matter of scattering tiny Milk Bones on the ground and asking them to find it. This teaches them to use their noses to seek out the treats. They have also mastered going in and out of the front door of the house, plus leaving the pen and going out the door without too many accidents. They are beginning to watch and wait when we go outside - the only problem is they like to wait right in front of me, so it is sometimes hard to maneuver past them to get down the sidewalk. However, they are getting better about doing an automatic sit before I put the food bowl down or waiting nicely for me to reach down to pet them. This past week included three separate visiting families, one with two preschool boys. Several of the pups were not quite so sure about the young ones, but others were extremely happy to climb up into their laps for hugs and pets. It was really very cool to watch.
Week 5 - Puppies are pretty much weaned off of Roper, so are eating kibble meals 3 times per day. Each day brings new challenges for the pups in their everyday lives. The inside pen is as large as it can be. Instead of setting up the complete activity box (which takes a lot of space), I have set up 2 sides of it and attached it to the inside pen. Need to get over to Lowe's and buy some more "elbow joints" so I can set up at least one more. The two panels I have set up involve plastic cups on one & parts of a wind chime on the other. Puppies will walk through the panels, set off sound & motion, plus they are being touched by moving parts. Sometimes they intentionally set off the motion as a part of interactive play. It's pretty cool. As wet as it was at the end of last week, I moved their tunnel inside. They enjoy running through it, plus playing & sleeping inside of it. They have also been introduced to & mastered going up our 2 front steps - that was one problem solving activity. The second problem solving activity involved figuring out how to go around the gate when it is open and get out of the pen. Sounds simple, but when you are a puppy looking through the gate & seeing what is on the other side, sometimes it doesn't make sense to have to back up and go around to get to where you want to be. Pups have also had four different outside visitors stop by this past week.
Week 4 - Puppies are raring to play, eat, sleep and interact with others. 😉 The inside pen has been expanded again & soon will be getting larger within the next day or so. Brian set up the outside area Saturday afternoon & we went out there today for the first time. Pups said it was a little chilly, but it felt good to me. I have used this past week to seriously begin weaning the pups. Not quite there yet, but are making progress. I introduced kibble mush to them this afternoon, along with goat's milk. They had been eating baby rice cereal with goat's milk at least twice a day for the past 3-4 days. Roper is still doing a limited amount of nursing. Holly is still "nursing" the puppies as well as cleaning the food off their faces after they eat. What a good Nana! Riker has introduced himself by hanging his head into the pen over the short side. They fascinate him. Puppies have been introduced to 3 types of feeding bowls this week, 3 new surfaces and new toys. They respond well to a kissing noise & will come running towards you. Sitting in the pen with them makes them very happy. They tend to play hard and then sleep!
Week 3 - Puppies are continuing to progress with their motor skills. They are now climbing over my leg when I am in the pen with them, playing with each other, reacting to sound, etc. Roper continues to feed them, but I can tell it is time to start introducing them to their first food within the next day. They have been introduced to a few toys, had their nails cut again and were de-wormed this past week. The most interesting thing that has happened is Holly has decided she wants to help take care of the litter as well. I saw this when Roper had the 2 boys back in 2018, but that happened within the first week of their arrival. With this litter, Holly had been stepping into the pen, sniffing around and then stepping back out. I assumed that she just didn't want to deal with 7 puppies. I was extremely surprised when she walked into the pen, laid down with the puppies & commenced to caring for them. They did try to nurse, but nothing was there for them. Whenever Holly comes into the room (Roper is not in there at those times), Holly beelines for the pen to spend time with the puppies. It's pretty sweet.
Week 2 - (I just found that the information I posted last week has disappeared, so am trying to reconstruct "Week 2" from memory.) The pups continue to grow and are being well taken care of by Roper. The dark sables continue to lighten up some in color. Eyes and ears all started opening up at 10 days with them being fully opened by 2 weeks in age. ENS with each puppy was finished up on day 14. Nails have been cut and the pen area was enlarged to allow more room for the puppies and Roper. They are starting to be more vocal with each passing day.
