Finally a day with no obligations and no rain. The pups and I enjoyed it. They entertained themselves on the porch in the pup corral while I did a deep clean on their pup habitat. They are doing a fantastic job of sleeping on the crib mattress, keeping their eating area clean and doing their business in the area with shavings. While this doesn't sound like much, it's simplified my life, and should make house breaking more of a breeze for everyone.
Cleaning task complete, the pups mastered puppy challenge 101 and were out of the porch corral in no time flat! At this age they're still a little unsure of the great outdoors, tend to stay close to to each other and are reluctant to venture too far away from their home base whatever it may be at any given time. It makes keeping track of everyone pretty easy.
They're beginning to get inquisitive and as all pups do they're quick to discover, with their mouths, the various foliage on the grounds and everything else that isn't tacked down. Now would be a good time for everyone to take a look at their own grounds and do a google search to make sure you have nothing growing that's toxic for dogs. They will eat almost anything for the next six months or so, so preventative measures are best.
The group as a whole enjoyed their time of exploration, and then individually, as it was back to the task at hand. Weekly photos for their individual pup pages... a little late but better late than never as they say. As were the weights. It's true, I skipped an entire week! I weighed the pups on Sunday after work and have yet to post them but will today. All in all, there are no big surprises with he exception of one. Brown. Not sure what to think about Brown. He's a character for sure but lacks the puppy fat the others have. While all the pups will begin to lean out in a month or so, Brown has already entered the leaning phase. He's more refined in general. Leaner face and head, smaller bones and feet... and healthy as a horse. I always identify one pup in a litter that I declare as "the firecracker." Brown is on his way to claiming that title. I didn't need a scale to know he would gain the title of lightweight. I don't need a Vet to tell me there's nothing wrong with him. Maybe a faster metabolism, maybe just carrying the lean gene. In any event he's more dog like than any pup in the litter. He's confident and agile and most responsive of all. One to watch, one to run with and one most likely to excel in agility. Below are a few photos of him in action. While some may look at the weight and think "Brown's failing" I and he are here to prove that assumption would be wrong. There's something... something unique about Brown!
And yes... he does eat, as you can see, with flair! For photos of the other pups, please venture over to their individual pages. I ran out of daylight and didn't get Orange Girl captured but will see what I can do about that this evening. I've posted some of the "extras" from our photo shoot in a slideshow just below the "Protected By Doberman" sign! If the slide shows don't roll automatically for you, there's a play button hidden in the top left hand corner of each.