The Litter N Pups
Nan
Nantahala, NC
Cherokee for Land of the Noonday Sun
Located in Western NC
Nan was the first pup to put in an appearance on October 19th, 2013, weighing in at 15 oz. She is basically a black & tan girl with very limited white markings. I fully expect her white toe markings to either disappear or be less obvious when she is grown. She does have a black mask, a fairly good amount of white on her chest & white on all four paws. Her face should continue to "tan up" so her markings will be more obvious.
5 weeks - Nan is developing into such a nice looking girl. I love the white chest. 😉 She is usually one of the quieter ones (if you can say that about a litter of 8!). I can find her at my feet looking up & waiting for her turn to be in my arms. She can rough & tumble with the best of them, but still be a very loving pup. I am liking what I am seeing with her.
6 weeks - Nan is a simply gorgeous pup. Still a fairly quiet type of girl - more a follower, than a ring leader. Overall, I continue to really like what I am seeing with Nan. I am having a lot of fun with this pup!
Nora
Norlina, NC
Town was based around the railroad, like my town of Apex!
Located near the NC/VA border near Lake Gaston
Nora was the second pup to put in an appearance on October 19th, 2013, weighing in at 15 oz. She is our only tri-color female. Nora was born with double rear dewclaws which have been removed. She has a full white chest, elbow length stocking on her right front leg, a little shorter stocking on her left front leg, white back feet, a half collar, tip on her tail, muzzle & a fairly small blaze. The blaze will get narrower as she gets older. Nora also has a black mask.
5 weeks - This week, Nora would like to be one of the ring leaders in the litter, along with her sister Nicky. She can be quite cuddly & sweet. She is quite a character, with confidence to boot! Nora is usually pretty busy while we are outside checking things out.
6 weeks - Nora continues to be a "busy" pup while we are outside. She, along with Nicky, are the investigators & will travel out a little bit further without the back up of the whole litter. 😉 She does have an opinion about how quick I should be putting the food pan down, but other than that, she can be quite a love.
Nicky
Nichols, SC
Located in Marion County (where I was born!)
Nicky was the third pup to put in an appearance on October 19th, 2013, weighing in at 13 oz, which made her the smallest pup in the litter. She is basically a black & tan girl with very limited white markings. I fully expect her white toe markings to either disappear or be less obvious when she is grown. She does have a black mask, a fairly good amount of white on her chest & white on her left front and both back paws. Her face should continue to "tan up" so her markings will be more obvious.
5 weeks - Being one of the smaller pups (not by much), also creates the need to develop one's confidence in dealing with most situations. I can say that Nicky is a fairly confident little girl. She started out as my watcher & thinker of the group, but I figure she was just sizing up the situation. 😉 In another few weeks we will see how confidence translates into bravery when we make our field trips. All in all, Nicky is a fun little pup who enjoys her people interactions as well. She can be spunky at times, but I can also see that translate into a smart, fun type of pup
6 weeks - Even though Nicky is still the smallest of the girls, you wouldn't know it by her "presence" when she is with the other pups. She is a fun loving little girl. If I am missing Nicky, I can usually find her right around the corner of the house checking out things over there.
Nakina
Nakina, NC
Town was well known for producing flue cured tobacco until the 1990's.
Tobacco was one of NC leading cash crops for many years.
Located near the NC/SC border
Nakina was the seventh pup to put in an appearance on October 19th, 2013, weighing in at 14 oz. She is basically a black & tan girl with very limited white markings. I fully expect her white toe markings on both back feet to either disappear or be less obvious when she is grown. She does have a black mask and some white on her chest. Her face should continue to "tan up" so her markings will be more obvious. Nakina will definitely have the Kira curls on the back of her neck. You can see the waves in some of the photos already. Nakina & Nine are very similar in build & looks. Nakina was born with rear dewclaws which have been removed.
5 weeks - Nakina has always been one of my favorites in the litter - remember that I am a black and tan fan! I can count on her to be there when I call. Like all the girls, she can be rough & tumble when needed, but also is very willing to lay in my arms & just be "my girl" for the moment. I also love the curls that she will have when grown. Should look a lot like Kira when she is grown.
6 weeks - Nakina is still one of my middle of the road kind of pups. I don't usually have to look too far to find her. She does enjoy being held & loved on as well.
Nine
Nine Times, SC
Located in Western SC
Okay, I have to admit that the Trekky aspect of my nature has come through with the name for Nine. For those who used to watch all the Star Trek spinoffs, you will remember the Borg & how their captives all carried numerical names. On Voyager, there was one character called Seven (Seven of Nine). Kira didn't produce 9 pups, so unofficially I am calling this girl Nine of Eight. 😉
Last, but not least, Nine appeared as the eighth pup on October 19th, 2013, weighing in at 18 oz (1 lb, 2 oz). She is basically a black & tan girl with very limited white markings. She does have a black mask, a small amount of white on her chest & white on one back paw. Her face should continue to "tan up" so her markings will be more obvious. Like Nakina, you can see the curls already showing up on the back of Nine's neck.
5 weeks - Even though I can find Nine in the midst of the going ons around here, I would say that she is very much like Nash in observing situations before making a decision. She is also another pup that knows her name & will come when I call her. Such a cuddly kind of girl, but of course that wavy hair makes you want to hold & cuddle her all the time! She seems to have a quiet confidence about her. We will see how all of that pans out over the next few weeks
6 weeks - Found it interesting watching Nine trying to be an enforcer of rules with her mom this week. Whenever I would throw the ball for Kira (who is a big ball player!), Nine would try to grab her whenever Kira returned with the ball. This is a controlling type behavior & I usually see it with my dogs as a kind of prelude to being a very rules oriented ES. We will see how that plays out with Nine. She is still quite a fluff ball of hair. It always amazes me that she isn't any heavier than she is when I pick her up.
Nash
Nash County, NC
Named for Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Nash
Located just east of Wake County (where we live)
Nash was the fourth pup to put in an appearance on October 19th, 2013, weighing in at 16 oz. He is our only tri-color male. Nash sports elbow length white stockings on his front legs, white on his back feet, tail tip, chest & belly, muzzle & a blaze that connects back to his white neck markings. This is not a full collar, but will give the appearance of one when he is grown. His blaze will be narrower as he gets older & there is a good chance it will not connect to his neck markings as an adult. He does have a black mask. Nash was born with one rear dewclaw on his right foot. It has been removed.
5 weeks - I believe I can say that Nash is my watcher & thinker of the group. He observes before committing to the fray at hand. 😉 There's nothing wrong with that at all! Another love bug in the group, I can usually count on seeing Nash waiting his turn at my feet, whether we are outside or in.
When Holly was finally allowed to play with the pups this past week, Nash was one of the first ones to approach her to play. It was pretty sweet to see how he had processed his watching & thinking into knowing she was okay.
6 weeks - Nash continues to be a hang around sort of guy - does some exploring, but usually comes back quicker than some of the other pups. 😉 Calm (as much as a pup can be), cool & collected in most situations, although I can see him beginning to stand up for himself at times. Quite a sweetheart - actually all the pups are!
Nebo
Nebo, NC
Town was named after a Methodist Campground that existed prior to the Civil War.
Located in Western NC
Nebo (I love this name!) was the fifth pup to put in an appearance on October 19th, 2013, weighing in at 14 oz. He and Nan are similarly marked and will be the twins of this litter. He is basically a black & tan boy with very limited white markings. I fully expect his white toe markings to either disappear or be less obvious when he is grown. He does have a black mask, some white on his chest, white on all four paws and a white tail tip. Nebo was born with rear dewclaws which have been removed.
5 weeks - Right now I can always look for Nebo to be close by, especially when they start getting sleepy. There has been more than one occasion when he has fallen asleep on my foot. Not sure how many more weeks I can expect this to happen, but am enjoying it while it does. He is probably the most in inquisitive pup of the males. Not afraid to inject himself into things with his sisters either! 😉 He can be a very sweet & cuddly boy too.
6 weeks - Nebo continues to be one of the explorers. I can usually find him with Nora & Nipper out just a little bit further than the rest of the group. Still enjoys individual loving. He can be one sweet boy at times, while mixing it up with some of his littermates at other times.
Nipper
Nipper is my only pup not named for a place. He does carry the name of one of Ed Lynn Jarratt's dogs from NC.
Nipper was the sixth pup to put in an appearance on October 19th, 2013, weighing in at 16 oz. He is basically a black & tan boy with very limited white markings. Nipper does have a small amount of white on his muzzle, under his chin, chest, all four feet and a tip on the tail. He does have a black mask & the tan on his face should continue to tan up as he gets older.
5 weeks - Nipper is pretty much right in the middle of the pack - not too pushy, not too laid back, although he has gone to sleep on his back in my arms. 😉 I am starting to see perhaps a little bit of his comical side. He usually can make me smile!
He does respond to his name & if I tell him to use the steps instead of trying to fly off the porch, he will come to the steps to get to the ground. How smart is that?!
6 weeks - Nipper is becoming more adventuresome this week, but is still more of the middle of the pack type of personality. Still comes when I call him by name, even when he is pretty far away!
