Puppy, GO HOME!!

Seven weeks old and ready to fly the coop (so to speak!) and boy, are we ready for them to get to their homes. They are a sassy bunch and are quite offended when they are not let out to play every time they wake up.

 

We had another road trip this past weekend, and they were as unimpressed as they were the week before with such travel plans. I definitely was smart enough not to take the poor little tortured things through the Starbuck's drive through this time!

The results, of course, were Puppy Nirvana and they had plenty of fun in and out of the water. It might not have been the best plan to wade into the water (think mucky quicksand-like mud) with my brand new smart phone, but luckily it turned out just fine.

 

These puppies are socialized to the max. I don't have to twist arms for the help!

Back at the ranch, it's business as usual. Cat toys, water bottles, shoes, rocks, fingers, hair, feathers and sticks are all on the current best seller list for play time.

Okay now.....SHOO.....GO HOME!

The Great Outdoor Escapade

The party continues as the puppies get out for more exploration. They got to go for their first car ride, and oh, could they be less impressed!!! On the road, a Starbuck's run through the drive through was necessary (for Puppy Wrangler, the little monsters need no caffeine to get them more pumped!!). Well, that was an event not to be repeated!!  They were screaming at the top of their little lungs, making sure the baristas and the rest of the world knew the plight of their abuse while in captivity. I'm sure the people behind me were so thrilled to be subjected to these lovely noises, but honestly, I couldn't see their faces as I was slunk down in my seat pretending to be somewhere else.

Life was perfectly fine once they were released from jail!

Yellow and Purple

They did go wading and for short swims, though there was no way to think I would keep my camera dry once they really got running around.

Black

Pink and Lavender

Purple

Orange, Purple, Blue, Pink

As usual, they played with a few toys, but were much more fascinated with sticks, rocks, dirt and weeds!

Teal

Blue

Yellow

Peach

 Orange

Then it was time to go home. Amazingly, they were so tired out from all of the running around, they were passed out the entire trip home and didn't make a peep!

Have I mentioned a tired puppy is a well behaved puppy????

The Adventures Continue

Exploring life in the great outdoors has begun! They have lots of room to wrestle and run donuts in their kennels.

Lavender Girl and Blue Boy

Puppy agility is practiced daily, though they have found plenty of obstacles on their own when let out of lockdown.

 

Black Boy

Their teeth are razor sharp....better to munch food, fingers, the agility course and each other!

There are rules of 7 that applies to puppy socialization; one such rule is to expose puppies to seven different surfaces by the time they are 7 weeks. In the house, they got to walk on fabric, plastic, newspaper, painted wood and carpet. This week has brought exposure to concrete, shavings, rocks, dirt and grass. Rumor has it the heat will be arriving late next week, so they may be interested in getting into the water, or at least splashing in it!

Lavender Girl

Purple Boy

Yellow Girl

Orange Girl

Teal Girl

Pink Girl

Peach Girl

Now that they have had a taste of the great outdoors, we hear about it anytime we don't let them out of "lockdown" status! By the time they are 8 weeks old, they will have NO problems adjusting to their new homes!

They love finding hiding spots, so as play time winds down, it can be like a scavenger hunt to try to find them all to put them back in their proper sleeping spots. Really, their lives are pretty good these days!

Time To Move To The Big House

The puppies have changed a lot over the past week. While they weeble-wobbled quite a bit to begin with, they now are confident in getting around.

More Puppy Sushi

Brothers

It's a messy business, but this crew was ready to start on puppy smoothies early. Tess has very healthy and hungry puppies, and she's having a time trying to keep up with their demands. They will be on hard food soon, as their teeth are coming in, but this gets their calorie intake jump started. 

 The puppies ended up looking like they had rolled in their food the first couple of feedings. Tess was more than happy to clean them off!

 

Within a couple of days, they have learned to let us know when it comes to meal time! The earlier practice in making their voices work has payed off....it's hard to ignore the racket! The play and the eating is exhausting though, and nap time comes around frequently.

There's a lot of nanny time, and at this point, Tess is happy to have the help. You can just hear her, "You take these monsters for a while, I'm going to take a nap!" With these two around, I don't think we'll ever have a dirty puppy in the house.

Once they've been fed, aired and housekeeping has been in to provide clean linens, they are much more quiet and better behaved. They get pretty excited when I'm around, but Mom still commands their attention.

They have been exposed to our Puppy Sounds CD, created to help desensitize puppies as their brains are developing. This is a useful tool, but it's nice to be able to shut the door to the puppy room, as we really don't need the desensitization!!!! Thanks, Monica, this is a gift that has kept on giving!

They are getting around so well, it's time to move them down to the kennel. They will have much more room to romp, explore and be exposed to new sights, sounds and smells. For now though, it's time for another power nap.