They celebrated with me today!

The puppies and I celebrated our birthdays today. They are seven weeks, and I am........... :+)
After a lovely breakfast out with a breeder friend, I went shopping for ...yes the puppies. They like their new toy. It is a small tunnel that we BOTH enjoyed - them playing with it and me watching. :+)

Clara Belle wanted to see if there was a way to get into it from above.


"Hey, what do you think is in there?'


'Is that a head I see?' asks Black Boy.


I believe they are now 'tackling' it from the sides. I think they have 'Super Bowl' on their minds!


'I think we need a second one - they are hogging this one!' pouts Rainbow Girl.



Here are their 7 week weight updates:
Navy Blue - 7.8 lbs.
Red Boy - 8.8
Orange Boy - 8.0
Olive Oil (Purple) - 6.12
Black Boy - 8.4
Green Boy - 9.4 lbs. HOLY COW!!!
Clara Belle (Pink) - 7.4
Turquoise Boy - 6.8 (definitely will be the smallest in the litter)
Rainbow Girl - 7.12

We need more room!

Since the pups have been doing so well with pottying in the pool AND they outgrew their little playgym, it was time to do some reconfiguring with their space for the new toy. So now the puppies are utilizing about 3/4 of the room which leaves very little for anyone else!


This is their new toy. It is a Playskol Tunnel for toddlers. This is a wonderful stimulous toy for them. It has peek-a-boo holes on the sides; an attached rattle row; space underneath to peek through as well as a 'slide'. They were having a ball with it and no one showed any timidness when I placed it in their pen.


Here is Orange Boy having the best time spinning the rattles and trying to bite them.


I nearly died laughing and almost missed this fantastic shot! Green Boy was absolutely mesmerized by this t.v. show about brides getting their hair and make up done. It was precious watching him. :+)


If you could have heard these two! The ones on the very bottom (black pup laying on floor to the left and cream on floor to the right). They were having quite the conversation as they peeked under the tunnel at each other. It went on for quite some time. I wonder what they were saying???

Remember When?

The litter was just born, and Annabelle nursed them all laying down comfortably in her warm soft bed?


Well, Annabelle still wants to go into the pup pen and nurse her pups at six weeks old. However, she really has a hard time standing up! They literally need to 'scrunch down' to get their gulp of milk. Actually, I don't think Annabelle has any, but they still love to suckle and mommy doesn't not mind at all. I guess she is a huge pacifier and it is bonding time. :+)


Part Two of 'Remember When' follows.

Remember when? Pt. 2

At the amazing milestone of six weeks, look at the difference of the size of the pups and their activity level between this pic, taken at 3 weeks...where they wobbled onto the mat and could hardly look up enough to see the little dangling toys, and....


the total dominance of the playgym in this one below! It is now time to put this toy away and introduce another more 'durable' one to keep them stimulated.


And remember when I introduced their special 'gruel' at two weeks? I actually had to use my fingers to smudge it on their noses to get them to lick. Oh golly what a sticky mess!!!!


And now their true 'wild heritage' shines through in this pic. (not for the queasy) They were growling, scattering all over the pen with their prizes and protecting their bounty like the dogs in the wild do. It really brings to mind where dogs evolved from and how much man has done to dominate the species.

IT'S DRESS UP DAY!

I thought I would do something a little different for their 6th week single shots and dressed up the pups! I had fun - I hope you will enjoy the 'fashion show'! :+)

Is this not a stunning outfit on Olive??? Okay...where is the Red Carpet??? And... she is a svelte runway weight of 5.12 lbs.!


Clara Belle is showing off her beautiful shoulders in this lovely floral 'designer' sundress. Her 6 lbs. of fluff and curl compliment it perfectly.


Rainbow Girl is all set to play a game of tennis! She sure has the spirit! Don't let her diminuative size of 6.8 lbs. fool you - this girl can compete with the big ones!!! Martina....move over!


I woke up Orange Boy from a deep sleep for his photo shoot. Although very cooperative.....naptime is calling.....snore. He is at 6.12 lbs. this week.

It's DRESS UP DAY! (continued)

PREEESSSENTING....SUPER DOG! This is actually Turquoise Boy 'busting at the seams' at all of 5 lbs. this week!!!! :+)


'Howdy ladies! Do you like my fringe?' Navy Blue Boy is a swanky cowboy at 6.1 lbs.


'Is something falling on my head'? Green boy seems a bit concerned but he need not be at a whooping 7.8 lbs.! I think he is a 'Body Builder'!!!!


Red Boy is in the military and does he not look dashing in his uniform???? He also is fit as a fiddle at 7 lbs.


BLATTTTT!!! 'I don't like this medicine even if I am a doctor!'
Black Boy weighs in at 6.8 lbs. this week.

Leading up to Five Weeks Old!

The zebra is put into the pen every other day or so for them to 'meet' a new and odd toy as well as for them to smell, chew and taste.


This is one of the pups favorite toys. It is actually a baby toy, but the pups love to chew on it and carry it around.


'Hmmmmmmm....can I get my mouth on you'? says Red Boy.


I know lots of people love to chat around the water cooler, this lends a new twist to that theme! These guys all want to sleep on or near their water bowl!


Perhaps a water dog in the making?

'Funtown' at the Tabor Homestead!

Oh my goodness, didn't they have fun with the playgym today. What a difference a week makes. If you remember, I introduced this to them last week. This week they REALLY got into it and investigated every nook and cranny.


The flowers on the floor pad 'crunch' and it drives them crazy with the sound! They just love it.


They tugged on the little attached toes among other things.


Finally, they spotted the 'danglies' and that was a whole new dimension to this interactive playmat.


It was so much fun watching them totally absorbed into this playgym. I let them do this for about 15 minutes and then put it away. They all fell soundly asleep afterwards. :+)

FIVE weeks old today and we continue to gain and grow!

Hi all,

Sorry, I am a bit late getting these up today. This post is about eating and weights. They are doing well as you can see.


They really clean up their plate like good puppies should. :+) If anything is left, Annabelle makes sure the dish is sparkling!


What goes in must come out. I am so proud to report that all these pups have been using their litterbox 100% of the time since they turned four weeks old. Phenomenal!!


Once fed and 'relieved', it is playtime. Red Boy has ahold of poor Blue Boy's tail! Ouch!!


They have quite a bit of energy after a feeding and are always looking to get into something.


Here are their weights at 5 weeks:

Navy Blue Boy is 4.12
Red Boy is 5.10
Orange Boy is 5.8
Purple Girl is 4.12
Black Boy is 5.4
Green Boy is 6.0
Pink Girl is 5.0
Turquoise Boy is 4.2
Rainbow Girl is 5.6

Maple Sugar came for a visit today. :+)

My guardian for Maple Sugar came over today and I was so happy to be able to take some outdoor pics of this 7 month old baby from Annabelle's last litter of (1). Yes, this was her only child. But she is a beauty! I was surprised at how spiral-y her coat has become. At this time, I would describe it as a spiral fleece. I don't know if it will remain that way, as it can take up to three years for a mature coat to evolve. This is the type of coat her daddy, Trout has.


You can see her spirals better in this pic. I just love her white tipped tail. :+)

Maple is considered a red and I am not sure if she will darken or lighten at this point. She will, however, always have a reddish cast even if it turns to a strong apricot. Cute as a button and very sweet. She behaves very well and gives you the 'High Five' if you ask for it! Thank you Kate for being such a great guardian and you too, Emily, for teaching Maple new tricks!!

Is there a better job than this?

If there is a better job than this, I don't know what it is. Yes, you do have to clean up lots of poops; endure lots of teeth as you condition them to not bite; drag several pups attached to your pant legs as you try to clean and prepare lots and lots of meals, but ....
the kisses, licks, wagging tails and pure joy they provide justifies all the work and time. :+)

I just sit on the stool my husband made more than 25 years ago, and enjoy these moments.

VISITATIONS!

Hello,

It appears that some of you don't always get my emails. I have had many of them 'bounce' back to me saying 'undeliverable'.

So, I just wanted to let you know that now that the pups are 4 weeks, we do schedule visits. It is important that the interaction with the pups be short for now - only about 1/2 hr. maximum. Typically, they won't be up for that long, but I am here to answer questions.

I limit visits, so please schedule them in a timely manner. No visits before 11:00 am please. It is important that you follow my protocal, so no 'drop ins' without an appointment.

Thank you.

Our 3 to 4 week milestones.

This week I was able to make the pups new collar bands. I decided to use snaps this time and I am hoping that they hold up over the next couple of weeks. I did switch colors on several pups a few times, but the colors posted on the single pup pics are correct.

I introduced their 'baby gym' this week and they do enjoy it. I don't keep it down all the time, but when they wake up and have done potty, I bring it out for stimulation.

The bright colors of the pad are wonderful with neat 'crunchy' sounding flowers and 'toggles' to pull and taste. They really enjoy it.

This guy is fixated on the green tassle. It will not be long before he will grab it and yank it down. This gym is used for only about two weeks and then we move up to other stimuli.

'Okay....is this what they call a 'Trojan Horse?'

'Hey, how about a game of tug?'

So this past week brought new assigned color collars; an intro to a colorful rocking horse and play gym; a second potty box added and they are now eating meat and bones (ground up) as well as snacking from Annabelle. Big strides!