Merry Christmas!

from our girls, Maurie, Maddie, Miley

Merry Christmas! We hope that you all enjoyed your Christmas, especially those of you who had a new addition to the family to celebrate with!

our last little one, the boy with the spot on the head.

Over the last few days we have said goodbye to ten of our little friends, the house is much quieter, although one puppy and a few dogs do still make some noise! We do still have one little boy who is still in need of a good home.


Christmas is too exciting to sit still

This morning our little buddy joined his sisters and mom for their morning walk to the woods. We did shorten the walk a bit so that we wouldn't tire him out too much, but he did a great job keeping up with the girls and really enjoyed running through the fields and smelling all the new things that he discovered.


It is increasingly had to take good pictures of a puppy who would rather run and play than sit still so here are a few videos of our little guy as he explores the fields on his walk.

Seven Weeks Old

I just realized that in the business of this past weekend I never posted the puppies' seven week old update. The puppies' growth in the past two weeks has been remarkable, they are now in the stage of almost constant growth and change. They are starting to look  a lot more like little dogs and less like baby puppies. I saw for the first time yesterday that one of the boy's one ear was standing straight up for a few minutes but then fell back over as he was playing. Some of the puppies' color is also starting to change and their shoulders and hips are starting to grow a few lighter colored hairs.

As I look back over the puppies' weekly pictures from the past two months it is fun to see how much different they look but also how much they still look like the same little puppies.

"SAOIRSE" - the Kelley's Puppy
Female - spot on the head

"DIESEL" the Krautkramer's puppy
male - spot on the head

"RILEY" - The Clarke's Puppy
male - spot on the shoulder

"BELLE" - The O'Brien's Puppy
female - spot on the shoulder

The Greene's Puppy
female -spot on the back

"STRIKER" - the Hennemuth's Puppy
male - spot on the back

"ZOEY" - The Wildemore's Puppy
female - spot on the bum

"GRETA" - The Engle's Puppy
female - spot on the tail

The Onifer's Puppy
female - spot on the hip

"CHUI" - The Choi's Puppy
male - spot on the bum

The Merrit's Puppy
female - spot on the elbow

First Car Ride

The puppies had their first trip away from the house today. We needed three large crates to hold the puppies on our short drive to the veterinarian. The puppies did really well, I think we only had one mildly car-sick puppy on the way home. They didn't really like being confined in the crates at first but by the time we arrived at the vet's office most of them had settled down and took a little nap until the doctor was ready for us.

The puppies got lots of attention from the ladies who work in the office while we waited for our appointment. Dr. Ewing examined all the puppies; he checked their eyes and ears, took their temperature and checked their heart rates during his exams. All eleven puppies are healthy and received their certificates before we left the office. The puppies also received their first puppy vaccine today.
After our trip to the veterinarian the puppies played in the front yard. I was really happy that for the hour or two that we were gone most of the puppies held their bladders but as soon as we left them out of their crates they ran off to the grass to do their business. I forgot to take any pictures at the vet's office but we did take a few while they played outside this afternoon.

 

Dalton, your mom is going to LOVE this little girl!

 

Six Weeks Old



Today the puppies had another first: their first baths! I used our laundry sink to bathe the puppies and the sink makes a louder than normal sound when it's turned on and the new noise added to the water seemed to surprise most of the puppies at first, but once they were wet they didn't fight the bath too much. I used a liquid ivory soap that's gentle on their baby skin and now they all smell so nice!

After the excitement of playing outside and having a bath the puppies slept for most of the rest of the afternoon. They seem to really enjoy sleeping in boxes, before I took this pictures six of the puppies were piled into this box!

Her big yawn lets you see their super-sharp baby teeth

The puppies all gained at least two pounds this week. They are starting to look less and less like babies every day. They are able to play and run around outside for close to half and hour before they start to get tried and are ready to come back in for a rest.

The Kelley's Puppy
female - spot on the head - 9.2 lbs.

STILL AVALIABLE
male - spot on the head - 10.9 lbs.

The Clarke's Puppy
Male - spot on the shoulder - 11.0 lbs.

The O'Brien's Puppy
Female - spot on the shoulder - 10.2 lbs.

The Greene's Puppy
Female - spot on the back - 10.2 lbs.

STILL AVALIABLE
Male - spot on the back - 11.6 lbs.

The Wildemore's Puppy
Female - spot on the bum - 10.0 lbs.

GRETA - The Engel's Puppy
Female - spot on the tail - 10.8 lbs.

The Onifer's Puppy
Female - spot on the hip - 10.2 lbs.

The Choi's Puppy
Male - spot on the bum - 10.2 lbs.

The Merritt's Puppy
Female - spot on the elbow - 9.4 lbs.

and one more because who couldn't love this sweet face!

First Snow!

Last night we had a light dusting of snow here in Gap. Our dogs have always loved to play in the snow so we were really excited to see how the puppies would respond to the layer of cool wet snow this morning.

As on most mornings they ran outside and chased after Maddie trying to get a little something extra for breakfast, Maddie has been sleeping away from the puppies but they all seem to enjoy the time together in the mornings. Some of the puppies seemed a bit surprised by the new snow and others seemed intrigued and tasted a few bits of it. They didn't seem to mind the snow as they chases after each other and explored the yard, although the bits of snow on their chins was just too cute!

 

 

There is so much that is totally new to the puppies at this stage in their lives and the attrition of the snow today has just made it a bit more fun to watch them figure out their world. They usually explore in groups of two or three, as if it's safer or perhaps more fun to do it with a friend. They seem to enjoy finding small sticks to pick up and chew although we now must be are careful that they are not actually eating the many things they discover.



 



Playing Outside

Despite the rain the puppies are still eager to go outside and play. We still have MANY accidents inside but when we go out most of the puppies are going at least once. They have started to explore a bit farther into the yard, it isn't going to be long before they will be ready for short walks around the house.

I didn't realize until we were all back inside but all my pictures from today are really fuzzy. I'm not sure what happened but perhaps we can get some better pictures of them outside tomorrow. The videos are a bit short but I think you can see the puppies okay.



You really can never have too many toys!

Stoney View Cody

Cody is the father of Maddie's current litter. He has a wonderful temperament. I have visited his family several times and have enjoyed his playful attitude. He is also a great watch dog, usually when I approach the door he is quick to bark and stands guard at the door until someone lets him out to investigate me. He smells me and when I pass the test he is quick to want to be petted and played with.

 Cody is will turn three on January 9th. He has a darker coat than Maddie and is also larger. He is also much larger than our girls, he is a very muscular 95 pounds.

Five Weeks Old

girls with spots on the hip and elbow

Its hard to believe that the puppies are five weeks old already! They have grown so much in the past few weeks and are starting to become much more active and oh so fun to play with. They do still love to sit on our laps to cuddle and give kisses, although they are starting to chew on everything, including pant legs, shoes and fingers. They do respond well to a light snap on the nose and a stern "no" but they are still very much puppies. They are also learning to use their voices, a few of them have started to figure out that they even have a bark. They have also started to make the best facial expressions and sometimes do the cute head tilt when they hear a new sound or are extra curious about a new thing.

 

 In the last few days we have started taking short trips outside to play in the grass. We go out first thing in the morning and then a few times throughout the day so that they can learn to "go potty" outside. They are starting to venture farther into the yard and seem to enjoy chasing each other and having a new space to explore. The older girls also love to have the extra time to play with their siblings.

 

 

Here again are photos of each puppy.

the Kelley's puppy
Girl - spot on the head - 7.3 lbs.

Boy - spot on the head - 8.4 lbs.



The Clarke's Puppy
boy - spot on the shoulder - 8.6 lbs.

The O'Brien's Puppy
girl - spot on the shoulder - 8.1 lbs.

girl - spot on the back - 8.0 lbs.

The Wildemore's Puppy
girl - spot on the bum - 7.9 lbs.

boy - spot on the back - 9.0 lbs.

"GRETA" - the Engle's puppy - 8.6 lbs.
girl - spot on the tail

The Onifer's puppy
girl - spot on the hip - 7.8 lbs.

boy - spot on the bum - 7.9 lbs.
his little left ear is trying to stand already!

girl - spot on the elbow - 7.4 lbs.

 The puppies are getting to the point where they love to play and it is getting a bit harder to take good pictures without them running toward the camera or wanting to climb off the chair to explore. As a bonus here are a few extra pictures of some of the puppies as they aren't cooperating but are still just too cute!

girl on the tail

boy on the shoulder

girl on the elbow