Pupdate: October 3, 2006
The puppies turned 6 weeks old today. Very hard to imagine they are a month and a half now. Where does the time go???? They are continuing to grow like the proverbial weeds and are becoming more playful and interactive everyday.
Nykeita and all the pups went to work with me and they were good travellers. The boys were neutered today and the girls will be spayed on Thursday. The neutering went very smoothly - see the Week 7 link for details and pictures.
Kiara gave us a HUGE scare today when she crawled thru the drain opening at the back of the run into the adjacent run. That run is the spare one and it accumulates stuff so the back cannot be seen. We were taking pictures of the pups and only had six. Panic, rapid heartrate and breathing, etc all threatened to set in but we heard her whimper and figured out what happened. How puppies manage to squeeze their chubby little bodies through the tiniest openings just amazes me!
Tara is still the largest female and she is one of the more mellow pups right now. And little Monty -- well not so little he is catching up with the larger pups in weight or so it feels -- is a thinker. He sits back and watches things. He is going to be a very smart one for sure - he, Blackjack, & Jade are my three thinkers.
The puppies are gettng SO big. Little Osiris is not so little anymore. He weighs a whopping 8.9 lbs today. He is a very friendly, outgoing, and affectionate puppy! Jade is still the smallest - she is going to be very petite and agile not to mention smart as a whip! You can just see her little brain working when she sits and looks at things or you!
The other puppies fall between 7.8 lbs and 8.5 lbs. Tara continues to the be the largest female weighing almost as much as Osiris - 8.5 lbs She is a bit independent but friendly when you get her attention. Bongo and Monty both weigh 8.2 lbs but there the similarities end. Bongo is very outgoing almost pushy. He is friendly and very bold. Monty is very shy but affectionate once he "warms" up to someone. He is also a thinker and just sits and watches at times.
BlackJack is the smallest male at 7.8 lbs. He is a bit aloof but very docile and affectionate. He is another of the watcher/thinkers but he occasionally surprises you with a pretty good sense of humor antic! And finally Kiara -- she is a naughty little escape artist but she escapes to come to people as she is very people-oriented. She is medium sized weighing an even 8 lbs today.
And Nykeita is doing very well. She wants to spend more and more time away from the puppies but with those little needle teeth I can't blame her - little pirahnas! Interestingly I have observed that every puppy will come lick her chin before starting to nurse and if one tries to nurse without doing that she knocks it off. Nicely taught deference -- good girl!
The puppy interactions are becoming more frequent and more intense. They play hard, squabble occasionally, poor BlackJack got a cut on his ear from an evil sister tooth, and sleep hard. They are becoming more vocal and are responding to some cues such as running to the front of the pen when they hear/see me or gathering around the feeding area when I whistle for them.
There are lots of pictures on the Week 7 page and individual pictures are all up on the specific puppy pages. Several puppies have homes, others are still needing homes. So if you know of someone who would give them a good home please send them our way!
Some pictures -- one of the three boys (Bongo, Monty, and Osiris) about 5 minutes after surgery. All 4 boys shortly after surgery (45 minutes or so). And then all puppies about 2 hours after surgery - -boys are up playing and eating! The white tape on Tara's tail is to help me tell her from Kiara - those two are so much alike unless I put them side by side and compare heads I can't tell them apart.
