We had not planned to breed Asia this time around, but Truman had other ideas, which he implemented in the way of tearing through a new heavy-duty kennel run to make it happen. What is done is done and now we have 6 beautiful puppies here at my house. Like the last time, Vicki got Asia here about 4 days prior to her due date because Asia's temperature had dropped. Within 24 hours after her arrival, the pups were making their way into the world. This time they were delivered early to late evening, so Vicki wasn't able to observe the delivery.

This is the Y litter. I have known for sometime what the theme of this litter would be and it is a departure from NC/SC places. Welcome the Mouseketeers! You may ask why the Mickey Mouse Club? It is because I hear part of the closing song every time I say Y Litter.

M-I-C (see you real soon)
K-E-Y (why? because we like you) - okay so I substituted Y for Why in the explanation, but I think you get it. 😉

Check back each week for updates on our little Mouseketeers!

Week 7 - This will be our final installment on the litter. They have continued to grow, learn & master new things this week. Both Asia & Holly (separately, of course) have been taking great care of the pups. Pups have had their first vet check, along with first set of shots. We also made the trip out to Claire Apple's farm for their puppy herding instinct test. That was the first time I have driven to Claire's and back in a silent vehicle. Usually, there is at least one very unhappy puppy in one of the crates. This crew just settled down, went to sleep or just enjoyed the ride. They will begin to leave here for their new homes near the end of this week. While this is a bittersweet time for me, I also know that each puppy is in need of his/her new owner. I will miss their sweetness though!

Week 6 - As we are trying to dry Asia up, Holly is spending most of her outside time with the puppies. As you can see, she helps clean them up after they wipe out a bowl of kibble with water in it. And boy, do they wipe it out quickly! Puppies are responding well to being called either by clapping hands, whistling or making a kissy sound. In fact, we were watching an episode of Castle last night. The theme song is whistled. Everyone of the puppies started looking for the origin of the sound & located it on the TV screen. It was pretty funny. 😉 We made our trip over to Autumn Winds on Wednesday and had a great time with my classmates who helped put the puppies through their paces. Also are working on mastering the front steps (2 of them), as well as going in and out the front door. I have to say this group has been very easy to get them to understand the concept of inside & outside.

Week 5 - This week has brought about a number of major changes for the pups. They are spending most of their daylight hours outside with either Asia, Holly or myself. They have had a good number of visitors as well & when they were not napping, would do some interacting with them. They are eating kibble three times a day. Asia still feeds them some. Holly enjoys being with them outside and takes her job seriously as their Nana. I will still sit down in the pen with them, although they are a little more rambunctious these days. Am working on trying to teach a gentle mouth - sometimes that is more effective than others! 😉 They are getting new items to interact with both in the outside pen & the inside one as well. I have not seen any fear of the items, but definite curiosity and checking them out.

Week 4 - Once again the inside pen has been expanded to allow for puppies to run & frolic while in that pen. I am sure that this coming week will allow for one more expansion with the inside pen as they continue to grow & play. And they are running, not just toddling around these days. Pups have taken trips outside for the past 3 days. The outside pen is almost set up and soon we will be spending a good part of our days out there. Asia is still feeding the puppies and continues to play with them as well. They have been started on their first solid food & will transition over to softened kibble this coming week. Hence the need to have a safe outside environment for play, eating & pottying. Holly has decided to become Nana to these pups and now looks for opportunities to get in the inside pen with them. She does her share of cleaning puppies, watching over them & playing with them as well. She is a good helper!

Week 3 - Puppies are moving fairly quickly around inside the pen. I did double the size of their living quarters this past week, plus added toys to the mix as well. All seem to have good hearing as was testified to today when I took them outside for their pictures. Everyone reacted to the click of the storm door latch. 😉 They are interacting with one another, plus playing with Asia. It is always so neat to observe "mom" not just serving as the lunch bar, but teaching very young pups how to interact/play appropriately with her - it's very low key. Nails have been trimmed. They also received their first dewormer this past week.

Week 2 - The puppies have done an extraordinary amount of growing over the past week. Eyes & ears are open. Nails have been cut. We have finished up the ENS protocol. Plus they are not only standing up, but are walking! Asia continues to take good care of them - they are all well fed & clean. It is always amazing to me to see how much they have changed in just one week by looking at their pictures. Nana Holly & Cousin Roper take trips into the pen to see how the pups are doing. I have expanded the pen so they have space to move around in.