Zeke & Holly

The R Litter

October 9, 2016

Click here for more information about the parents.

Three sable and white girls arrived late on the evening of October 9th.  While I was certainly hoping for more, I have to think that maybe this time we are looking at quality, not quantity.  All three girls are reserved.  We are just not sure which girl will be going to which home yet.  That is a decision left until they are 7 weeks old.  Check back often to see updates as the pups grow.

2 weeks - Since there are only 3 pups, they tend to eat very well!  Eyes opened on day 9 for Ronda, day 10 for Robin & Roper.  All pups are "walking" some, but still doing a lot of sleeping at 2 weeks of age.  Nails have been cut once, but it is time to do it again.  Holly checks in with the pups to make sure they are clean & fed, but doesn't stay there 24/7 any longer.  This next week will be a big time of change for the pups as they begin to discover the world around them & realizing the world doesn't revolve around them. 

3 weeks - Pups are continuing to grow at a little faster than normal rate.  😉  At 3 weeks, they are all walking around, beginning to play with mom, with each other & are wanting to interact with people.  Toys are being introduced with different textures and sounds.  They are definitely hearing at this point & are picking up on footsteps coming down the hall and such.  I have seen them eyeing the short side of the pen & am wondering how soon they will figure that could be an escape route!

4 weeks - The pups had quite a few changes to their schedule & environment this week.  They are now in a larger penned area when they are inside.  They began their outside trips this past week, along with meeting their first visitors and have begun eating puppy mush (goat's milk & baby rice cereal).  Their activity level has really picked up & are showing a great interest in interacting with people.  Robin was the first one I noticed wagging her tail.  They all pretty much do that now in the form of a greeting.  During this next week I will be incorporating some new things with the pups.  It's going to be a busy week!

5 weeks - We are spending more time outside & as a result, I introduced them to a kid's play tunnel & a puppy-sized Dogwalk.  I did not try to encourage them to perform, but allowed them to investigate on their own.  As a result, they were thrilled to play in the tunnel (even when it was moving) and played around on the Dogwalk as well.  We had a couple of windy days & I was pleased to see that even with the tunnel being blown around, they took it in stride.  I am trying to introduce new things each day.  They have been exploring down to the end of the house, dug in the dirt, pulled bark off the Crepe Myrtle tree, among other new experiences this week.  They are beginning to sit as a response to being petted or picked up.  I am trying to make this a default behavior in them.  Like small children, they can get ramped up right before they crash for their naps.  Like small children, they will outgrow this behavior as they mature.

6 weeks - How they have grown .... when you go to look at the photos, look at the ears from week 5 and compare them to week 6.  They are beginning to look like "little" dogs now, instead of puppies!  This past week has brought visitors, a new outside pen area, a new indoor activity box (will have to post a picture of it soon), plus some new things for their outside play.  On a whim, I bought a K9 Fit Bone that you will see in some of their pictures.  This has been a cool thing to have for them because it is not flat, steady surface.  They haven't missed a beat as they walk across it.  This upcoming week we will be taking our field trips.  Hoping to get lots of pictures of the pups while we are there!

7 weeks - This has been a pretty busy week for the puppies.  We went to Claire Apple's place in Pittsboro on Tuesday for the herding instinct testing.  Pups got to meet a couple of very calm cats, see sheep & other livestock, but only worked with around a half dozen runner ducks with Claire.  All were very willing to go with her, away from me, which is one of the things I was looking at while we were there.  On Wednesday morning, we took the short ride over to Jan Santel's place.  Three of my classmates helped put the puppies through their paces there.  Again, each pup was very happy to work with folks they had never met and in unknown surroundings.  All of them were very food motivated & followed the cheese!  There is only one more week before the pups head off to their new homes!