The litter arrived on November 21st. Everyone is healthy and growing bigger on a daily basis.This litter has 6 girls and 1 boy, with a variety of colors and white markings. The parents of this litter are Dillon and Kira.
I am deviating from my normal litter names, which usually are based on NC or SC locations. I truly did look at the maps, but just couldn't come up with enough reasonable names. So, Litter G will be in honor of my Grandparents, and be based on family names. I figure it is the right thing to do, since my grandparents were the ones who introduced me to the wonderful world of English Shepherds.
Week 1 - All the pups are growing bigger on a daily basis. They can quickly find Mom whenever she enters the pen. Eyes will be opening during the coming week! In the picture of Kira with the pups, the coloring on Holly is truer to life than the individual picture of her below. You can also see Roz's sable coloring beginning to show up more as she gets older. The tan on Cara is "tanning up" so you can really see she is b&t now.
Week 2 - Eyes began opening up on the 10th day with Roz & Holly being the first to open. By day 14, all puppies had opened their eyes. With this major development, pups are beginning to truly walk around and "see" what is going on or if Mom is nearby. They still do a lot of scent work (sniffing the air to see who is nearby, but out of sight) which is kind of neat to watch. When awake and calling out for Mom, they can raise quite a ruckus. 😉 Otherwise, they still do quite a bit of sleeping and are beginning to explore the world inside the pen.
Week 3 - Pups became steadier on their feet so they can run around. Teeth have erupted & they are learning to be a little more careful with their teeth as they nurse. Kira is handling it well. Pups are coming out of the pen, into the den, playing on some mats covering the rug. They are walking not only on the mats, but the wood floor without too much trouble.
Week 4 - I have finally begun giving them some semi-solid food several times a day. Kira is still doing the bulk of the feeding. Puppies are interacting with one another, Kira & Grandmother Bec (when Kira is outside!). They generally come when called, all seem to love to be held & cuddled. E. C., Cara & Clo are beginning to carry their tails curled up over their back, with Cara's being the tightest curl.
Week 5 - Pups are making daily trips in and out of the house, still nursing some, but eating quite a bit of regular kibble now as well. They are getting quite a bit of time with Bec, who they adore. All pups seem to know their names, pretty much come when called and get terribly excited when the food pan is presented. They learned in one day (normally takes longer) how to climb the set of 3 steps to the porch, and within 24 hours, how to safely go back down. They now quickly and easily perform this feat!
Week 7 - I didn't realize I had forgotten to update this page last week! The pups are in their final days of being at my house. They all definitely have a lot more energy, so can play longer before crashing. They are sleeping through the night, eating hard kibble (not softened), playing hard with Granny Bec & Mama Kira (at separate times). They would love to socialize with Dad & Bela, but the boys really would rather not. 😉 We did the agility equipment trip early in the 7th week, so those pictures were included with the 6 week update. They also traveled to Claire Apple's house for the puppy herding instinct test a few days ago. Most of the pups will be leaving within the week and going to their new homes.
