Today is a long awaited day. The day the puppies leave our home to join their new families. When Maddie goes to sleep tonight she will only have two little girls sleeping nearby.
It is sad to see the puppies leave, we have loved them for almost two months. I have spent countless hours caring for the puppies and watching them grow. At this point I know their little personalities and love to play with them and watch them interact with my older dogs. I will miss their fuzzy little faces and the laughter they bring.
However, it will be nice to have not have a houseful of puppies. I will not miss the early mornings and the it will seem so much easier to care for my house-broken dogs. I will not miss the extra holes in my pants and shoes and it is so much easier to walk around when there are not puppies under foot.
It is also easier to watch the puppies leave when I know they are each going to great new homes! Each puppy is joining a family who will be able to provide them with some undivided attention and training that I am unable to give to the entire litter. While they may miss their siblings for a few hours they will quickly bond with their new families, many of the puppies will have endless hours of fun playing children and grandchildren in their new homes. My hope is that they will learn quickly and train with ease so they can become positive and loved members of their new families.
Before the puppies started leaving this morning I gave each one a short bath. They still do not seem to enjoy the warm water in the sink, although most of them stood quick nicely as I washed them with the soap. As I bathed them and while they played in the house this morning I took several videos and some pictures.
I just love their blue eyes
Most of the puppies' ears are starting to get stronger
and have started to stand up a little
too tired to play anymore
They love to play in the big girls' rooms
and resting there too!
playing is hard work
It won't be long until her ears stay up like this all the time!
Everyone has a new rope toy
This is what most of my pictures look like,
just seconds too late for a super cute picture.
The puppy-sized tennis balls were a hit!
One last nap in Miley's room before she leaves
Even with all the toys the shoes are still a favorite!
Maurie and Miley won't mind not having to share
all their toys after the babies leave. I tried to take a video of
Maurie pulling the little ones along as she tried to get her toy
back but I wasn't quite fast enough
The puppies have been spending the majority of their days in the fenced part of our backyard. The yard is a nice size that they can explore but restricts them enough that I can be certain there is nothing they can get into that will cause them harm. I usually have two of three dishes of water available for them during the day and a large dish of food that they always have access to so that whenever they are hungry they can have a little snack. There are also two separated rooms in a heated dog house, one where the puppies can rest when they get tried and one where Maddie can go to get away from the puppies when she wants to.
I was just out to check on them again a bit ago and they were spread out in the yard, some had found sunny spot to sleep while a few others were playing the sticks or toys and one puppy was sleeping in the dog house. However, as soon as they heard the sound of the gate opening they all jumped up from where they were and mobbed the gate. They love to be petted and be played with and while I am giving attention to one puppy the others are usually chewing on my pants or shoes. I have learned the hard way (again) that I must where jeans because if I wear a lighter material they will quickly chew holes in the bottom hem of my pants.
I also decided that today I would be extra patient and get some better pictures of the puppies. I have lots of pictures of puppy back-sides and blurry puppies running toward me but here are some of the best shots.
Maurie and Miley are just not sure what that little ones are doing.
Her eyes are bigger than her mouth!
This rug belongs in their dog box, however
it appears they decided that outdoors rugs are nicer.
I tried for several minutes to get some good candid shots of the puppies today but they were just having too much fun running around in the fenced yard. I would wait for one or two to sit down but if they saw me coming they would just jump up and come running. They just love, love, love to chew on pant legs and shoes or to chase after anyone or anything that moves. They have not yet figured out how to bring toys back to me but they they will run after toys that are thrown a short distance.
Since I was unable to take any pictures I did take a few videos, but realized when I uploaded them that I was moving the camera a bit quickly and sometimes in circles so I hope that you are still able to see the puppies well and that you are able to pick out your little ones.
There is a small tea set that sits in the yard and the puppies have determined that they love to sit in the table. At one point five of them were trying to sit on the small platform, I had tried to take a picture but again I was just not fast enough!
The puppies are now six weeks old. They are completely weaned from Maddie at this point and no longer get any milk. Maddie still likes to play with them for short periods of time but prefers to play with Miley and Maurie. The puppies all really enjoy playing outside and having free run of the fenced-in grassy area in our backyard during the day. They are doing a great job learning to control their bladders, many of them will hold themselves until they are outside in the grass.
Today was a big day for the puppies. They got their first bath. They had been playing outside with their sisters and had found the mud so before we could go to the vet I decided that they needed to be cleaned up a bit. After their baths were finished I took some photos while they were drying off.
L-R, female - back, female - rump
L-R, female - tail, male - back, male - head
female - rump?
female - back?
L-R, ? male - back, female - tail
I also took this short video of the puppies playing after they had their baths.
We also went the veterinarian for their six-week check-ups. We used two large crates, with four puppies in each crate to travel to the vet's office. They did a fantastic job riding in the car, they slept most of the time in the car and waiting room. After the veterinarian checked each puppy she also clipped their toe-nails, which none of them really enjoyed but now they look much better.
some of the girls
spot on the head female (L) and two males
When we returned from the veterinarian's office we took individual pictures of each puppy. They are to the point that I can no longer have them sit somewhere while I take the picture. They just want to run after their siblings and play so I had to hold them for the pictures and even then they would watch the others while we took pictures.
