6 week old puppy pics

Pool party!  The pool was an instant hit - it was a toasty 80+ degrees today.  Again, an exceptionally confident litter. 

Robin pondering her options

 Mynah thinking of taking a dip

 Mynah telling off Dee

 Eagle

 Only Falcon and Rosella have managed to get up on the porch by themselves so far.

Two little cuties

6 week old

The pups are still growing like crazy.  Weights ranged from 7 lbs 7 oz (Wren) to 9 lbs 6 oz (Eagle).  Unlike other weeks, the weight gains were more uneven, so time to start individually feeding the pups.  I will bring in a couple of small plastic crates and start positive crate associations by feeding them in the crates.  Otherwise, the pups have had lots of outdoor time.  They are starting to venture all over the backyard.  Whereas initially they startled when loud cars drove by, now they accept that and even dealt with a large riding lawnmower yesterday (they were behind a chain link fence).  I am impressed with their level of confidence for this age.  I just started playing sound effect CD's for them in the house. They also win brownie points for handling.  One of the most accepting litters I can remember.  When you pick them up they relax and go limp, readily accept being cradled on their backs, love tummy rubs, and continue to be exceptional for nail trims.  Good puppies!  Bridget is in the process of weaning the pups, and is down to 3 c of food per day.  On the other hand, the pups are up to 12 c of kibble per day and looking for more.  We have already gone through the first 40 lb bag of puppy food.

A few more pics

 Wren has poor Ori by the tail

 Puppy play

 Puppy rumble

 Pups at my feet after the "Puppy Puppy Puppy" call

Martin with toy

5 week old puppy pics

 Eagle close up

 Eagle - good looking boy

 Dove practicing her retrieving

 Dee playing with visitors

 Martin sitting pretty.  Looks like Dee in the background.

 Finally a pic of Mynah that is more than a black blob

 

 Wren with a new found toy

Ori giving us the eye

5 weeks old

The pupsters are growing like crazy.  They have been ravenous for their kibble and milk, and I thought I was limit feeding them, but based on their weight gains, they were getting plenty.  Almost everyone gained 2 lbs last week, and all weigh over 6 lbs.  Together, they now weigh more than mama Bridget.  Weights ranged from 6 lbs (Mynah) to 7 lbs 1 oz (Eagle).  Yesterday, the pups managed to climb over the gate, so the pen is now closed up - Bridget can't get in by herself anymore.  We have started the weaning process.  Bridget's food is decreasing (will be down to 6 c on Monday), and she is spending nightime away from the pups.  The pups are also ready, and doing very well on kibble.  They no longer go into a feeding frenzy every time they see Bridget, and Bridget is growling at them if they nurse too long.  The pups have been very busy.  This is prime time for socialization and letting them explore the world.   I rotate the toys, and the last batch that made lots of noise was a big hit, as was the braided tug that they can drag around.  Lots of time out of the pen, loose in the house or out in the yard.  Friday evening, they got to explore the backyard for the first time (previously just in the front yard). Out in the yard, I have been taking the pups for walk abouts - moving away from their comfort area and encouraging them to follow.  Initially, I will have the entire puppy pack at my heels, but as I loop around the landscape bed, the less confident pups go back to the familiar spot.  Yesterday, only two pups followed me all the way around, today after lunch 5 pups made the loop with me.  Rosella has consistently been a follower.  Today, I introducted the pups to thunderstorms.  There was some distant thunder, so I opened the windows near the puppy pen.  Then, the pups had lunch on the lawn while the distant thunder continued and there was some light rain.  A good positive introduction to Midwest weather.  They were equally accepting of the vacuum yesterday.  The pups were exceptionally good for their weekend nailtrim - very accepting of the handling.  Unfortunately my camera didn't save all the pics from their Friday evening play session out in the backyard.  I recharged the battery and it seems to be still functioning, so will hopefully get more pics later today.

More pics

Chickadee "Dee"

 Mynah and Falcon

 Wren with tug

 Rosella with tug

 Wren on stuffed toy

 Puppy pinwheel

Group "hurry"

4 weeks old

These first 4 weeks are always my favorite times with a litter.  I never get tired of watching baby pups mature from helpless newborns to engaging pupsters.  This litter is fully ready to explore the world.  They enthusiastically interact with all new toys, and after a possible initial hesitation, are willing to take on new challenges.  I weighed pups and have been clipping toenails this weekend.  In contrast to other litters, these pups have actually become calmer as they have gotten older.  But still a spunky bunch, very people orientated and engaging.  Yesterday evening, I hung up some tugs on the sides of the ex-pen and multiple pups immediately started tugging.  The one baby blanket/puppy bed I still have in the pen has gotten dragged all over the place and will be retired once it gets washed.  Personalities are starting to emerge.  Mynah is the little baby girl, more cautious than the other pups, and always wanting to be held and cuddled.  Robin is the glutton, takes mealtimes very seriously and by the end looks like a stuffed tick.  Dove is the independent explorer.  She was the first to wander off when the pups started going outside, and continues to show that confidence.  Dee Dee is the fussy pup who isn't as game to try new things.  She was one of the slower pups to take to goat milk, and absolutely wants nothing to do with water from the baby bottle.  Although black in color, Mynah has more Golden traits than the other pups - a finer build, a different head shape, and wavy coat (still short).  The other pups all look like little yellow labs - stocky little puppies.  The pups had impressive weight gains last week, all gained over 1 lb.  Weights range from 4 lb (Wren) to 5 lbs 4 oz (Eagle).  Most weigh around 4 1/2 lbs.  Bridget is still eating 9 c of food per day, and looks great.  The pups are currently eating 4 1/2 c of soaked kibble and approximately 24 oz of goat milk on their soaked kibble per day.  You can do the math, and together, they already weigh around 45 lbs!

Puppy pics

 Expanded puppy pen.  Some of the simplest toys are the biggest hits.  Pups love the little plastic step stool and exercise step.  Small cardboard boxes have also been popular with past litters.

 Crashed on the exercise step

 A Goodwill or garage sale find - another hit. 

 At the pen gate, looking for attention.  Mynah is off at the far right side.

 Mastering the front porch steps

Rosella on the step

More adventures

The pups have had a busy week.  I have been trying to toilet them outside as often as possible, which not only shapes good habits, but also reduces how often I need to change the litter box.  Outside, some of the pups make a major effort to move away to toilet, sometimes going out 5-10 ft, and then hustling right back to the pack when done.  They are keeping an exceptionally clean pen - yeah!  This morning, I bumped out the pen to full size and brought in two tubs of puppy toys.  The pups were busy exploring their new toys.  We had multiple escapes this week, pups climbing over the half gate.  So Friday, I finally had to swap it out for the higher gate.  I was worried that Bridget wouldn't be willing to jump over the higher gate, but that hasn't been an issue.  The pups are fully mobile.  They bounce and run around the pen and out on the lawn.  They have already mostly mastered the front steps going off my front porch, but I cover the steps with a comforter to act as a crash pad at this age.  I can already lift the pups out of the pen and call them out the front door, and some will follow me down the steps to the lawn.  Likewise, I can call them back up on the porch and into the house.  When feeding, I use a "puppy, puppy, puppy" call which also ends up being their recall cue - and these pupsters are already catching on fast.  Works really well for rounding up the pack.  The pups LOVE their chow.  They are getting kibble and milk three times a day, plus nursing.  I have to use two big puppy saucer bowls since they are such aggressive feeders  - typical Jammer pups.  Otherwise, the less assertive pups wouldn't get their fair share. 

3 week old puppy pics

 First meal of soaked kibble, relatively civil little darlings

 Feasting away

 Post prandial crash

 First visit to the great outdoors

Dove with Bridget

More firsts

The pups have been very busy.  Last weekend, they had their first trip outside.  Just a short outing to the front lawn, and most of the pups were keen to explore.  On Sunday night, they had their introduction to soaked puppy kibble with milk, and that was a big hit.  As I transition them to solid food, of key concern is hydration since until they learn how to drink water, they depend on milk for most of their fluids.  So at this time point, I add a low bowl of water to the pen, but it can often be 5-7 days before I see pups this age drinking on their own.  Not this litter - at least two pups were drinking from the bowl the very first day!  Tomorrow I plan to bump out the ex-pen another panel to give the pups more room, and I have already removed the crib bumper so the pups get a better view of what is going on around them.  Bridget is starting to have mixed feelings about the puppies.  Looks like she would love to ditch the pups and go home and be a reading therapy dog again, yet at other times she voluntarily goes into the pen and and is quite motherly.  The pups are starting to nurse from Bridget when she is standing, and they are getting their first baby teeth.  Poor Bridget.

Puppy pics

Martin and Ori

Martin sleeping on stuffed bear

 Pups in bed

Wren with stuffed bunny

3 weeks old

Tub of puppies wearing their new collars

3 weeks old, and happily living life in the puppy pen.  The pups gained around 1 lb this week, and everyone except Wren and Mynah are over 3 lbs.  The little girls weighed in at 2 lbs 15 oz and big boy Eagle weighed 3 lbs 10 oz.  Once again, the puppies calorie demands took a big jump over the weekend.  They are now consuming a 1/2 of canned food 3x daily, downing 2 bottles of goat milk twice a day, and Bridget is in peak lactation.  I plan to introduce soaked puppy kibble mush tonight.  The pups received another nail trim and their first brushing.  The other big change is that they received their first real collars.  They look like little dogs now!  Other than keeping them fed, the biggest challenge is keeping them in the pen.  They have set the record for how fast they can climb over the low step-over gate - basically immediately, not even 3 weeks old.  As I have said before, this litter is very vigorous.  They are strong pupsters, and when Bridget was on the other side of the gate, the motivation was high to get to her.  And it wasn't just the bigger pups.  Wren and Mynah both went over this morning.  Since Bridget will not jump over the higher "half gate", I strung a plastic tube suspended by a thick shoelace over the top of the gate, so that the pups won't be able to gain any traction (tube will spin).  We'll see if that contains this bunch.

Puppy pics 2 1/2 weeks old

 Eagle smooching Ori

 Ori playing around

 Puppy rumble

The great escape

I have been fretting this week when to move the pups from the pool to the pen.  The pups had been spending part time in the pen when I was home, but seemed a bit stressed and cold.  But they were also rapidly outgrowing the pool.  Finally on Friday AM, they looked very relaxed in the pen, and I almost left them out when I went to work, but figured best play it safe and wait until the weekend to make sure Bridget was OK with the new open living arrangement.  Nancy came over midday to feed, and she took Bridget and the small pups to the pen for a private nursing session.  When she went back to collect the other pups, 5 had climbed out of the pool and were wandering around my bedroom!  So the pups moved into the puppy pen Friday afternoon and did great last night.  They are already champs about using the litter box.  You will see a pup purposely get up from a nap, march down to the litter box and take care of business.  Although it is common to see the pups only make it half way, a pup will get its front into the litter box, but forget about the backend.  So I have a "buffer zone" of newspaper between the bedding and the litter box.  In the litter box, I use shredded office paper.  Works great - clean, absorbant, easy for baby pups to walk on, and OK if ingested.

A bigger world

 Pups in puppy pool with toys and new beds.  Look how much they now fill up the pool which is 4 ft in diameter

The pups started being able to hear on Monday.  On Sunday, I vacuumed in the puppy room, all the pups were sleeping, and no one reacted by lifting their heads - so no evidence any of the pups were hearing at that time.  Yet by Monday, the pups were starting to react to voices.  So all senses should be working, and the pups are starting to really explore their environment and each other.  Today, I started giving the pups some time in the puppy pen.  They have even christened the litter box a few times - good puppies.  Always amazing how easy it is to litter box train baby pups.  We are burning through a whole bunch of calories over here.  Bridget is up to 9 c of food per day, doing an admirable job keeping up with the puppy demands for milk, and she looks great.  The pups have started in on their third gallon of goat milk and second big can of canned food.  The pups LOVE the canned food.  Fortunately their puppy diarrhea is finally clearing up, so they are no longer stinky puppies.  Weight gains have been impressive so far this week. 

Pups checking out the little bed in the big puppy pen

Better view of the cute puppy faces with eyes open

2 weeks old

Eagle and Dee sleeping on Mynah

Rosella sleeping on her back (again)

Two weeks old and growing up fast.  All the pups except Wren have their eyes fully open.  Now that they can see each other, there is a bit more interaction which is always fun.  The other night, I saw Dee and Robin doing the beginnings of a mouth wrestling game.  Weights ranged from 1 lb 14 oz (Wren) to 2 lbs 10 oz (Eagle) - very normal for 2 week old retriever puppies.  The pups have some puppy diarrhea, fairly common, although usually occurs closer to 3 weeks of age instead of this young. The pups are otherwise acting fine, just a bit messy.  This morning, the pups received another nail trim and their first worming.  They eagerly took the wormer, thinking it was milk, and then made a funny face.  I followed it quickly with the bottle, and all was quickly forgotten.  And they had their first taste of solid food today.  Again, a pause and a funny look on their faces, processing the new texture and taste, but they all thought this was a good thing and were looking around for seconds.  Admittedly 2 weeks of age is a bit young, but I have done this with the last few litters, and it has been working well.  I just give them 1 tsp of Iams canned food 2 to 3 times daily to get them used to the idea of prehending solid food,  Also starts getting their systems used to solid food and by 3 weeks of age (the more typical age to introduce solids), they are very ready to transition.  Not only will I increase the amount of canned food per serving, but also introduce soaked kibble mush in a bowl for their dining pleasure.  Yesterday, I set up the puppy pen.  I expect they will be ready to make the move up to bigger quarters with their own bathroom (litter box) sometime this coming week.  If it was warmer in the main part of the house, they could probably move in today.

Puppy pen - litter box at the far end, low wooden step-over "gate" in front so Bridget can come and go.