It was a busy day yesterday for both the puppies and us going to the vet. Puppies took the whole experience in stride; they did great on the car ride and they did great at the vet office and for their individual exams.
Car packed with puppies!First crate and car experience… CHECK!Can you just hear them all… “Are we there yet?”!
Of course EVERYONE thought they were simply adorable! I had a few people ask me if any were for sale? And I had EVERYONE want to touch and pet them (and that would be a NO! The last thing I want is for a puppy to get ill from any type of cross-contamination!) So to answer to all of the “can I say ‘hi’ to the puppies?”… You most certainly can but not with your hands! (I’m so “mean”, LOL!)
It was an incredibly well-run appointment with each puppy being weighed, temp taken, examined, and then vaccinations given (DA2P/Parvo plus oral Bordatella). All hearts were normal; normal heart sounds and all boys had testicles palpitated (a good thing!)
Puppies relaxing in a heap of course! These are the calmest puppies ever…even with the commotion going on around them! Crates on our crate dolly all tied and wrapped and ready to roll!
Of course, we are watching closely for any adverse reactions. Everyone ate well last night and again this morning. Poops look good. No one is lethargic afterwards either… Whew! I’ll keep an eye on them over the next few days to hopefully continue this trend/behavior!
This CAN’T be comfortable but… When it is time for a nap, you just have to close your eyes!
The drive home was again taken in stride by these confident pups and once parked, they were “let loose”! All come when called (they answer to “puppy” so folks… that may help you as you transition them to learning their real names!)
Ah… Freedom at last!
Another milestone achieved in the puppies lives! Good job babies!!
Yeah! Pups are 6 weeks old today! Folks out to meet puppies last Saturday and although cloudy with a breeze, the heat was still stifling for the fluffy pups. What a brilliant idea of Mark’s to bring out the kiddie pool and soak pups to cool them off! Pups went from lethargic, hot, fur-balls looking for shade to perky, playful puppies which is their normal selves!
Pool Party!Thinking about jumping back in!Pups SO LOVED meeting people and time outsidePerky puppy now that they are cooled down! (Again, I purposely did NOT post any photos of children! I will send those photos privately!)Patiently waiting for a turn in the pool and being “splashed”!
Puppies continue to be GREAT little eaters now eating solely solid food (no more nursing!) The benefit of this is better poops! You might expect some softer poops upon the transition to your home(s) when you first take home puppy but with consistency and patience, poops should firm up quickly again. Until pups are acclimated to your new homes, I would recommend you NOT feed any additions to their diet at least not right away… At least until they have their “sea legs” again and are getting used to yours and their new routines in their new homes.
Today was much cooler out, although quite humid! Pups are now doing single steps and followed me out to the “dog room”. There, Beanie (the French Bulldog) proceeded to bark at them and as everyone knows, her bark can be a bit shrill. Poor pups just looked at her wondering what on earth was HER problem? Kudos to the pups who walked right up to her and licked her nose! They probably thought she was one of them? She IS their size!!
We didn’t stop long but proceeded to work on learning “doggy doors” today! Again, stepping up and over was no problem for pups (as long as I held the flaps open for them to see where they were going!)
Once outside, a whole new world opened up to them! First and foremost was “chasing the broom” as I swept! After dining Al Fresco, pups enjoyed running up and down the covered run (on cement; another surface mastered!) Because we had rain on and off all day, I didn’t pull out a ton of toys but they all enjoyed running through (and trying to climb over) the tunnel!
I need to prune these evergreens! And tonight, Mark did just that for me so we won’t have sticky/sap puppies!
But the outside slide was the “big hit” of the day! Pups climbed through the tunnel-like slide and enjoyed “spinning” the toys hung on the side of the slide. Funny to watch the pup on the inside of the slide spin the toys back to the pup on the outside of the slide!
It was a full day for pups being outside in the covered runs and then back through the doggy door and back inside everyone went. Some play time, some napping, and then dinner was eaten outside again this time on the grass. Pups had a “mini-bath” since the grass was wet from the rain. Inside just before the rain started again, this time with a bit of hail! Definitely a full “puppy day”!
Weights for this week:
Blue (M): 7 lbs 12.6 oz
Black (M): 8 lbs 8.6 oz
Purple (M): 7 lbs 13.6 oz
Green (M): 8 lbs 1.2 oz
Hot Pink (F): 8 lbs 5.6 oz
Lime Green (F): 7 lbs 12.4 oz
Red (F): 8 lbs 1.2 oz
Yellow (F): 7 lbs 8.2 oz
Orange (F): 7 lbs 5.8 oz
This is probably the biggest weight difference between puppies since birth. Heaviest puppy (Black Boy) at 8 lbs 8.6 oz to the lightest (Orange Girl) at 7 lbs 5.8 oz. Nine puppies all within essentially one pound of each other means… VERY UNIFORM weights between all puppies! The weight difference is really negligible. Puppies de-wormed again today as per their schedule. You will get this info, along with their feeding schedule, when you pick up your puppy to let your vet know. It is standard protocol to de-worm puppies, based on their weight, at 2, 4, and 6 weeks.
And while this probably won’t mean much to most people, both Mark and I have felt both testicles on ALL the boys! That’s a good thing!
Puppies Playing Outside As The Sun Is About To Set
The Golden Hour, in photography, is that hour or so just before sunset (or after sunrise) where the light is just magical. Add nine bouncing Golden Retriever puppies and that hour just became MORE magical!
I am very thankful for my “help”! Mark thoroughly cleaned the puppy pen then met us outside to help. Andrew watched (and counted) pups while I got the chance to “focus” (tee-hee!) on taking photos.
So here you go… a ton of shots taken of puppies once the temps were cooler as the sun was setting. The only editing I’ve done to these shots is fix my horizon (straighten the shot), changed my ratio from 2:3 to 4:5 (just a bit more square) in some shots, and in some, brought up the shadows. IOW, these are pretty much “straight out of camera”! I’ve tried to get every puppy. If I missed any, well, there is always tomorrow night! 🙂
Enjoy!
I realize this photo is “out of focus” but wanted to show off her beautiful top line!
Black BoyBlack Boy (fluffy butt! DEFINITELY a wide body!!)
Deja is pretty much “dried up” but that doesn’t stop the pups from “trying”! At this point, this is more of a pacifier than food!
Puppies first bath… And I did all nine of them, WHEW! I’m so glad we did this yesterday (7/14/18) when it was 90+ degrees and sunny outside; today it is much cooler. We’ve already had a bit of rain and looks like we’ll get more?
Pups did awesome with their bath. It was a positive experience for all and something they will have done the rest of their lives so… I was very careful to NOT soak their heads or get soap in their eyes and as you can see in the vid, I AM quite obsessed about rinsing! My mantra re: baths… rinse and then rinse again! Pups then were air-dried outside in the sun (learning to be blown-dry is a lesson for another day/bath!)
Have I ever written about Beanie? I don’t think so? And I don’t even think I’ve ever put her photos on the web site??
Beanie is our French Bulldog. This is a breed of dog I always thought was so unique. I thought I might look into them more seriously later as perhaps my “old lady dog”? And then one day at dog class, a gal walks in with several Frenchies. Being polite, I inquired about them and to make a long story short… her co-breeder had a litter of two fawn six-week-old girls. Two weeks later, we came home with an 8-week-old fawn French Bulldog!
“Beanie”
French Bulldogs, affectionately referred to as “Frenchies”, are a unique breed of dog. They do not melt into you like a Golden does because of their tubular body shape. And with their pushed in faces and bat ears, they are just… CUTE!
Of course she retrieves!
Beanie is almost a year old now and she thinks she rules the Goldens. I really wish the Goldens would “put her in her place” but they do not. They tolerate her jumping up at their ears to pull them down to her level. And she keeps up with them so by now, she is incredibly muscular! We have had to make a few fencing changes to keep Beanie OUT of the donkey paddock! I think she would go after them, too, to prove she is in charge! Now that would NOT be a good idea!! Donkeys, in general, do not like dogs!
Beanie keeps up with the big dogs… even in the snow!
I always swore that I would teach ANY dog to walk “nice” on lead but because of their throat/trachea issues, Beanie wears a harness when out walking. I swear… It is easier to walk ANY of my Goldens or multiple Goldens than it is to walk Beanie! She pulls like a sled dog!
This harness is almost too small for her now!
Our latest endeavor with our little Beanie Baby is to make sure she is crate trained! Ironically, she sleeps with the Goldens snuggling up to them for warmth. She will bark incessantly when they are outside and she insists they come in to lie with her to keep her warm! Now that we are crate training her, she is doing beautifully sleeping through the night in her crate and no longer barks at the Goldens. Bad us for not doing this sooner!
Rooster and BeanieRooster and Beanie
I have had inquiries on whether I will breed Beanie? Hmm… at this point, I do not know? For now she is exactly what we wanted… A little French Bulldog to love. She has fit in well with all of our dogs and with her clown personality, makes us laugh daily at her antics. Cool Beanz!!
Jema Golden Retrievers 