The two tribes have merged, says I in Survivor-ish jargon. They (meaning the remaining Litter M and N pups) are all now snug as bugs in a rug out in the Puppy Cottage. Since there are only three Litter M pups left (Maverick, Mowgli and Milo), I figured the Litter N pups wouldn't be so overwhelmed by the bigger pups because they have the majority. Now that both momma dogs are done nursing, the only issue was whether or not the larger pups would trounce on the smaller ones. So far, so good.

When I first considered combining the two litters, this morning I brought Maverick into the house from the cottage and put him in with Litter N, he was a bit overwhelmed by the flood of attention from the smaller pups and looked a little forlorned, you know the look, big sad eyes and all. Momma Benelli wasn't too keen on the issue though and growled and snapped at him for being there, so I realized that she needed to be removed from the situation immediately. Once the overprotective momma figure was removed things went well. That's when I decided to try a complete merge to the playpen in the puppy cottage.. I captured a video of the merge, and have posted to YouTube, video entitled "The Tribes Have Merged". ENJOY!
 

Maizy and Maya left today for their new home with Kris and Angela, they will be going to live in ND and will have the opportunity to hunt. YAY!!    Maverick, Mowgli and Milo will be going home next week, so they are staying a bit longer.  I'm just glad they have each other for company. It's so hard for one little puppy to be the final one left without any littermates to play with. It won't be too long now before they are all happy and content in their new homes.  
 

WOW, these guys are getting so BIG! Only four of the nine pups have gone to their new homes, so Milo, Maverick, Mowgli, Maizy and Maya are still playmates in the cottage. They are now about TWICE the size of the Litter N puppies, even though they are only two weeks older, but the difference is uncanny.  This is why the two litters cannot ever be merged together as I think the littler ones will get tromped on.  

The Llew Crew of Litter M are wreaking havoc on the playpen. Because they are bored, they get into all kinds of mischief and are now pulling up the rubber flooring and digging at the corners. They are literally busting at the seams wanting OUT! They will LOVE the day they get to leave here and go live in a home where there's lots of stuff to do.     
 

Now that these pups are faster, larger and MUCH heavier, it is near impossible to get weekly portraits by myself as I can't hold them up in front of the backdrop with one hand and take a photo with the other hand like I used to.  I didn't have any help last week, so I'm sorry we had to skip Week 6 portraits, however this week I got creative and just took the weekly portraits with the pups sitting on my lap instead of holding them in front of a backdrop... not as "professional" looking, but at least you can see how much they've changed.  I plan to get some more litter photos posted soon.    
 

So sorry folks, as you can imagine I have been extremely busy with pups going home and getting puppy documents and information packets ready to go with pups that are leaving, plus with Litter N puppy selection and invoicing and now that they are weaning I'm feeding them meals along with Litter M getting fed meals and final wormings, not to mention microchipping and updating health records, I haven't had much time to blog in the evenings or post any photos, but I will try to make up for that soon.

Several puppies have gotten to go to their new homes this week, so far Merlin, Marley, Mimsy, and Morgan have flown the coop.  Maizy, Maverick, Maya, Mowgli and Milo are still here and will be for another week or so.   
 

I have uploaded two new videos for your viewing pleasure this evening.

The first video entitled "Chaos in the Cottage" shows exactly that, how chaotic it is in the Puppy Cottage right now during dinner/playtime. The pups are everywhere and getting into all kinds of mischief. They love ripping apart the eggcrate bedding and making a huge mess. No matter how clean the floor was to start with, it always ends up covered in pine shavings, bits of green foam and kibbles of food in a total of about 15 minutes.

The second video shows how I get all the puppies back in their playpen after "Playtime's Over". So funny to see them all come running! Sorry the video isn't the greatest, it's hard to film and manage the sliding door at the same time but still thought you'd all get a kick out of it anyway.
 

Puppies are now fed dry food only in preparation for going to their new homes NEXT WEEK already! WOW! Amazing how fast 7 weeks has gone by with this litter.

The Puppy Cottage is literally chaos now during dinner and playtimes. The pups are running and darting everywhere, so I have to be careful where I step because more than likely there's a puppy under foot.  I have to block off the playpen area while I'm cleaning otherwise the pups are in there tugging on my waste bag, or my pant leg, or trying to get in my lap as I'm squatting down to scoop out the old pine bedding.  I am planning to get a video of this later today so you all can see how much they've grown since the LIVE Puppy Cam was last broadcasting this litter.  

Puppies are old enough now that dinner and playtime is now referred to as "Chaos in the Cottage"!  The pups are into EVERYTHING, tugging on pant legs, chewing on shoestrings, biting ankles through my socks, OUCHIE! They love to pull the towels out of the laundry basket under the deep sink and drag them around the floor like a big woobie blanket. The pups are also now very curious about the doggy door that momma HOPE disappears through. They test it with their noses and the door swings a bit and they sit back.  Then they will try again.  If it were warmer outside, I would teach them to go on through the door so they could play in the covered dog run outside, but temps have been in the mid 40's here and it's just too darn cold, BUMMER! I love taking puppies out in the yard at this age and watch them romp in the grass, but it doesn't look like this litter will get that opportunity because of the temperatures.

I just posted the 5 week Puppy Portraits this afternoon, ENJOY!  :0)~ 
 

Puppy selection has been finalized and now we know which puppies are still available. I have one male (Milo) and one female (Mimsy) that are unspoken for at this moment and the Puppy Applications are starting to come in.  Hopefully those two beautiful pups will have a new family soon as well.  

The pups are now eating dry Earthborn Puppy Vantage kibble with just a little bit of wet food mixed in with it .  I am no longer soaking the dry kibble to soften it before the meal. This will be the last week that they will have some wet food added and have the opportunity to nurse, at six weeks they will be put on dry kibble only in preparation for going to their new homes at seven weeks.  At that time I will start feeding three times per day instead of two times since nursing will also have been eliminated.
 

I have removed my "Breeder Pick" from the reservation list as I have decided that the timing is not quite right for the addition of a new puppy into the household, therefore I have an extra female which will be available from this litter.  Just FYI... if I had chosen a pup it would've been Maya, not only because I love the tri-chestnut coloration of her coat, but mainly because I love her spunky and affectionate personality. She's quite the little dynamo, very quick and agile and she will make someone a fine hunting companion.

I am still waiting to hear from the rest of the folks about their female puppy picks.  I will update the pup status as soon as I hear something.

Just posted a new video entitled SUPPERTIME showing how excited the pups get when its feeding time! EMJOY :0)~ 
 

Puppy Selection starts today!   A new statistic has been added to the pups tables above for "Status", this will indicate Reserved, Available, or Pending for each pup.  Once a puppy has been selected, the status will change to reserved.  We do have some puppies still available out of this litter, so after the people who have reservation deposits have chosen their pups, the remaining ones will be marked available and sold on a first come first served basis. In the event someone wants an available pup and have committed to sending a reservation deposit, the status will show as Pending until the deposit is received. 
 

Week 4 puppy portraits have just been posted!!  ENJOY! :0)~

In preparation for Puppy Selection coming along later this week, I have started to post puppy Personality Profiles to help those on this litter's reservation list choose the puppy that will become a part of their family.  

FOR THOSE THAT HAVE RESERVATIONS:  Puppy selection begins at week 5.  (Thursday 10/30). Whenever you have made your choice, send me an e-mail letting me know your first, second and third pick pups and the reason for selecting each particular pup.  Then, once everyone has sent me their picks, we can determine which pup will go where. Hopefully the process won't take too long as I'm sure most people have been watching a particular pup or pups since the beginning.  It will be fun to see how this all pans out, but usually it ends up working out well.

Pups had their 3rd worming today.   
 

Noise desensitization is going very well.  Each time I am with the pups I try to make a few small and large sounding noises.  When I first started this a week back, all the pups would immediately stop what they were doing, shrug down closer to the ground and look around.  Now the noises don't really bother them, not even the larger sounding noises I make.  Now it's getting harder and harder to get their attention because they are not phased by my "attention getters". This can be a good thing and a bad thing for obvious reasons.   
 

Today we had a couple special visitors who flew in from Ohio just for a short puppy visit.  Pete and Kelli Heins were here to see the females of the litter, sit and play with them and try to figure out which little girl they want to call their own when its puppy selection time. Lots of photos were taken (some of which I will post on this page in the miscellaneous week 4 section), and puppy kisses were given. They've narrowed their choices to two of the four females, it was a produtive visit and should help them make their final decision.  
 

Puppies have been seen going to the water fountain to drink after their kibble meal, that is a really good sign that they are figuring things out and staying hydrated.

Another thing that is noteworthy is that they've only had TWO poopy potty accidents outside the playpen during playtime.  These pups are so smart that they will go back into the playpen and do their duty in their potty spot. That is awesome and will play a good part in helping to house/potty train them when they go to their new homes.  

Lastly, I will mention another fun thing. These pups are so social and LOVE human companionship, so I will sit on the floor over in the corner during playtime and they will all come and pile on me and want some lovins.  I've tried to take a few photos of this, but the angle isn't always great when shooting the camera towards my lap.  Then when playtime is over and I need the pups back in their playpen, I will go in there, squat down and call them and they all come running to me! This way I don't have to run down each one individually and put him/her back in.   John couldn't believe they actually came running to me, needless to say he was impressed.
 

Weaning has officially begiun.  The pups were only on goat's milk and rice cereal for a couple days and have now graduated to canned food and wetted down dry kibble.  I will soak the dry kibble for the next couple days and mix with the canned to get the pups used to chewing their food instead of licking and swallowing.  Once they are pros at this, I will no longer soak the dry kibble and just mix it with the canned food. I am currently feeding the pups twice per day, plus HOPE is still a full-time momma and nurses as she sees fit. Once HOPE starts to wean her pups herself and cuts  back, I will supplement by feeding three times per day. By the time the pups are six weeks old they will be completely weaned from momma's milk and eating dry kibble.  
 

This morning I removed the temporary whelping box barriers and let the pups have the entire puppy play pen! They now have access to the automatic waterer so that they can get a drink whenever they want.  Most pups are very curious at this age, so when I swish my fingers around in the water they are curious as to the sound it makes and they come flocking over.  Most will dip their muzzles in the water not knowing it's there because it's clear, but it doesn't take them long to take a taste and some started drinking right away.
 

Today was the pup's first introduction to weaning cereal.  I mix Gerber Baby Rice Cereal with goat's milk until it reaches a pasty consistency.  At first they aren't really sure what it is after accidentally dipping their muzzles in it, but after the first taste has registered, they come back for more and eat ravenously. It doesn't take long to get them hooked on the goat's milk cereal and then they are on to soft canned food pretty quickly. I caught their first cereal experience on video and I have shared it on YouTube (click here). ENJOY!  :0)~
 

As many of you who watch the LIVE Puppy Cam have probably already noticed, I swtitched out the bedding in the whelp box from the grey carpeting to pine shavings.  I usually move the pups out to the Puppy Cottage around 4 weeks of age, at which time they would be bedded down on the pine shavings, so I essetially switched them over a little earlier than normal.  These pups are doing great and are plump and healthy, so I was not worried about making the switch.

Later this week I will begin offering a weaning cereal to the pups a couple times per day to get them used to lapping up a meal from a plate.  This will begin the process of weaning them off momma's milk and eventually on to dry food.

Puppies had their 2nd worming today.
 

I just posted miscellaneous photos for Week 2. View them here.
 

Pups are really becoming active in the Cottage, they are wagging their tails, barking and playing with each other.  I hope that you all have been able to witness some of their playtime on the LIVE Puppy Cam lately.  

They are also very snuggly at this age.  I love to cuddle a cooing puppy, because this stage won't last for long and pretty soon they will be struggling to get out of your grasp so that they can wreak havoc in the playroom.  

Their puppy coats are getting really thick and plush too. I love to run my hands through their coats as they are so soft and fluffy right now.  

I have also started conditioning the pups to noises.  Before they had their eyes open they were sensitive to touch and would startle very easily when I went to pet them. Now that their ears are open, it's the same thing; they startle very easily at the slightest noise that seems out of place.  I am starting to lightly tap on the walls or clap my hands together or whistle.  They all will stop what they are doing, sit up and look around to see if they can tell where the noise is coming from.  At this point, if the noise is too loud, the pups will try to retreat to a hiding place, so I must be careful not to cause trauma, but just supply enough noise to peak their curiosity.
 

This afternoon I switched the LIVE Puppy Cam back over to this litter! YAY!! The pups are so cute right now, playing with each other and being rolley-poley, there's much more activity with this litter right now, so thought it would be more fun to see!
 

Tails are a waggin' in the Puppy Cottage! Now when you talk to the pups sometimes you can elicit a tail wagging response. This morning a few came over to see me and when I talked and petted them they wagged their tails! I love the episodes of interaction with the pups at this age.  They are just SO CUTE now that their eyes are opened.

Next, I'm sure you've all been anticipating the Week 2 puppy portraits, so you're in luck! I've just posted them.  I feel I must apologize however because these are not the best photos I've ever taken.  Since their eyes have recently opened, I don't like to take too many photos flashing the bright light in their eyes, so I didn't get the style of glamour photos I ususally get, but to minimize risk for the pups, I only take two to three photos of each pup and pick from the best.
 

Puppies are now becoming very interactive now that their eyes and ears are opened.  They notice noises and start to come to the edge of the box to greet us.  They also are past the point of being startled when you touch them and seem to enjoy being petted and scratched.  They are also starting to exhibit interactions with each other such as mouthing a littermates muzzle or biting a tail. Pretty soon they will be full-on playing! I love this age!!

Here's the latest eye opening update:

Pups had their first worming today.

If you haven't read the blogs for other litters regarding worming days then I will mention it again here. This is NOT a fun task.  In recent years the manufacturer changed the formula for the wormer from something that the pups used to love, so they would lap it up from the syringe wanting more, to something they absolutely hate, so they shake their heads, try to spit it out and foam at the mouth while doing it.  I feel bad putting them through this necessary evil...  

I will be working on taking portraits for week #2 this afternoon sometime and hopefully have them up sometime this weekend.  My apologies too, it just dawned on me that I have not taken any videos of Litter M,  I will take some in the puppy cottage this afternoon and get them posted to YouTube.  
 

The pups are already two weeks old!! Can't believe how time flies. Here's how they weign-in at two weeks:

Here's the latest eye opening update! It seems by past experience that the larger the pup, the slower the eyes open. The tiniest of pups eyes usually open first.  

Benelli woke me up at 4:00 am frantic to go outside.  Thinking this may be the beginning of whelping for Litter N, I moved HOPE and her pups out to the puppy cottage to make room for Benelli's Litter N.  Momma HOPE and the pups are all settled into the cottage and are under the warming lamp. They will not be featured on the LIVE Puppy Cam for a while as Litter N will take the spotlight for now, but here are a few photos of their new setup in the cottage.

There are only two pups so far that only have one eye all the way open, and that's Maizy and Morgan.  The rest of the pups are just starting to peak open at the corners.

I just posted the pup's one week portraits! ENJOY! 

As I was shooting the photos today and held each pup in my hand again, I noticed how nicely the pups are gaining weight and strength.  They all have nice round bellies too which tells me they are getting plenty of milk from momma HOPE.  I used to offer her measured meals morning and evening, but now I am putting out a bowl of food and keeping it full so that she can eat free choice. She now goes through about 4 to 6 cups of food daily along with several gallons of water and I really think that has been adventageous for the pups.
 

I cannot believe the pups are already one week old today!! I have even seen a few pups try to get up off their bellies and take a step instead of scooting. Here's how the pups measure up at weigh-in this morning.

I hope to take one week portraits within the next day or so and post them on this page and to Facebook. Stay tuned!
 

I had someone ask me recently, "At what age does the ticking start showing?". I love answering this question because it's a great one. The answer is "within a few days after birth".   I like to use the analogy that the pups are like a polaroid photo and as they develop the color gets darker and darker.  Did you know that they won't get their full color coat until they are nearly one year old?
 

Here's a snapshot of Maizy's belly where the spots are easiest to see.  She is only 5 days old!

Through her thin white baby coat you can see her pink skin underneath is already developing pigmented spots which will eventually grow colored hair we call "ticking".
 

As I suspected, that one 5-minute nursing session with Benelli helped Morgan get the boost she needed! She is now gaining weight at the same ratio as the other pups and I'm very pleased about that.

Every morning during the Super Dog exercises, I have the opportunity to look over each pup with a critical eye. I noticed their paws where dew claws were removed are all healing nicely, the belly button where the umbilical cord was attached has also healed nicely, and they all have good muscle tone and feel nice and plump when held in my hand.  
 

Today we started the Super Dog program. For those of you who don't know what that's all about, (read more here). We will be performing the "Super Dog" techniques from now until day 16.

Pups are all steadily gaining strength and weight, with the average being 1 to 2 ounces daily. Here's how the pups currently measure up.

By now, I hope you all have had a chance to view the LIVE Puppy Cam and see the darling little wigglers for yourself. If not, here's a few snapshots I took this morning. (check out the LIVE Puppy Cam Snapshots)

This evening I discovered a nice benefit to having Benelli's litter due a couple weeks after HOPE's litter. One of the puppies (Morgan) is very tiny and after three days of not gaining as much weight as I'd like her to and HOPE not having enough milk for extra nursing sessions for her I noticed that Benelli's milk has already come in! So, I put the pup on Benelli and let her get her fill. Benelli allowed it and it worked out great! Not sure momma HOPE felt the same way due to her desperate yips from the nursery telling me she wasn't happy I stole a puppy and disappeared with it, but it's really all for the best. Hopefully that will be the boost Morgan needed to start gaining at normal rate.

Pups are all doing great today and all have gained weight. Each morning I take pup weight measurements to make sure they are gaining an adequate amount of weight since the last weigh-in. It's especially important when there are more pups than milk faucets. There's a real chance that some pups, mainly the smaller and weaker ones, won't get enough nourishment in a 24-hour period and I can tell that from the weigh-ins. When a pup weighs the same or less than last weigh-in, then I will make sure s/he gets a few extra private feeding sessions at momma's milk bar or supplement by bottle feeding goat's milk. I stocked my fridge today with a quart because I assume I will need to do this within the next few days for some pups.

Pup's dew claws were removed today.

This evening HOPE got her much needed, post-whelping bath because frankly, she STUNK, and not that she needed to be any friskier today. You know how dogs get that after bath spunk, she was running around here like crazy!

Still no 10th pup this morning, but HOPE seems to be doing great, she's hungry and is eating well and doesn't seem to be in any distress.

The LIVE Puppy Cam is now online, and I am working on getting puppy portraits cropped and posted. I hope to get photos done today and post sometime soon.

Thanks to everyone who played the Litter "M" Name Game on Facebook, you guys came up with some great suggestions. There were a couple I hadn't thought of myself which I ended up using (Mowgli and Merlin), thanks Lisa and Rich for those cool names!

UPDATE: Birth day puppy portraits are now posted. I love all those little pink noses!

6:45 am - HOPE is doing her pre-labor panting and pacing now. I'm so happy she's decided to do this first thing this morning instead of last thing at night! Hopefully this means that puppies will come at a decent hour today instead of in the middle of the night. I can only HOPE!! ;0)~

Pups are coming!!