Weaning Progresses

The Arboks are enjoying the outdoors!  Letty

The Arboks are having a great time in the yard.  They'll get more outdoor time on Saturday as we will do our puppy socialization outside too, weather permitting. 

Yesterday the Arboks got to try their first solid food and did a great job on chicken necks.  Letty and Sloan did not get theirs finished, but the others ate the whole thing.  Not that chicken necks are very large, but they DO require a lot of chewing with tiny teeth.  Next they will try wings - they won't be able to chew up the wing bones yet, but will get most the skin and meat and have a great time doing it.   It's so much fun watching instincts kick in, as the pups use the same tearing motions that wolves use when consuming their prey.  There's always at least one pup in a litter that hums while eating, this time it's vocal Letty, which is no surprise.

It's so much neater weaning pups on a raw diet.  Much less odor and far less clean up because there is so little waste.  The pups digest almost all of their raw meal, rather than passing all the undigested grain like they do when eating kibble.  They'll get a few kibble meals later, since a few may go to homes that will not feed raw, but mostly they'll eat a diet similar to what the adults eat.

Grass!

Virgil enjoyed his first trip outside

Pups enjoyed their first trip outdoors yesterday.  They were all very brave about exploring, but didn't go too far away.  That won't last long though, so tonight I will set up some portable fencing to restrict their activities and to keep them out of the flower beds - or maybe not as I am tired of gardening by this time of the summer! 

Am chatting with a gentleman who has owned a number of part Paisley dogs in the past and is looking for a new puppy.  The timing may not be right for him as he wanted a pup later in the fall.  I suppose it's time to start thinking about puppy placements.  Already!  I had a number of reservations for pets, but most were for females or for livers, and I need a good pet home for a darling black-spotted boy.

Sloan continues to be the cuddliest pups

As is so often the case, the person at the top of my list for a pet male couldn't wait, found a puppy elsewhere, and never bothered to let me know.  I hope she bought responsibly, but I am afraid she may not have.  This was a first time dog owner who will need a lot of help, and I hope she bought from a person who will be able to provide it.  People never seem to understand that puppies are not something you buy on a whim, and that you get exactly what you pay for. 

I'm forever amazed at all the people who only want a female pup.  Having owned many Dals of both sexes over the years I have found males to be wonderful companions, and most of my favorite Dals have been boys.  Marla and Josie are very special, but in general I find the boys to be more devoted, more giving, more playful, and far more tuned in to me. 

If the pups were more completely weaned I would send Reebok home with Rosie this weekend, as she is very tired of pups and very bored here.  She feeds the pups grudgingly, but would rather be upstairs with the rest of us.  Rosie says her dam was the same way.  Some bitches would tend and nurse their pups for 3 months, while others think 1 month is more than enough!  Tonight I'll start walking Reebok again as she really needs something to do.  

Exploring With The Arboks

Weather learning to be a Bad Dog

Big day for the Arboks, as they got to come upstairs last night.  It's interesting to watch the various reactions to totally new situations, and this group was amazingly brave and adventurous.  All pups immediately started wagging and exploring, though Letty did a bit of stress whining - but was actually the most adventurous and kept slipping through the dog gate and in to the dining room.

Ron has not had much to do with the pups until now, but he really enjoys them once they come upstairs, and is a good puppy socializer.

That's Weather, Lucas and Sloan in back

After work today the pups will go outside for the first time.   I'll have to set up the temporary fencing to keep them out of the flower beds and away from the gates they can slip under.  Perhaps I'll just set up the large pen at first, but it's a lot more fun to watch the pups explore the yard.

Virgil killing the Dino

Jess came over to visit the pups yesterday and agreed that they were extremely pretty pups, really good cosmetics.  Weather has always been her favorite pup, but she particularly liked Lucas who is such a handsome guy.  

I'm torn as to my favorite.  Letty for spotting, Weather for structure, or Lucas for being so attractive.  Virgil is a little lightly spotted for my taste, but such a pretty pup, and Sloan is very cute and the most cuddly.  Wish Letty had his personality, but she's a bit more independent.  Four of the pups have Velcro personalities like Argus and Reebok, but Letty is a bit different and more inclined to do her own thing.

The Arboks are eating two meals a day now, one with milk & yogurt, one with ground turkey added.  Need to pick up something different for them tonight.  Tomorrow they can have a few chicken necks to practice using their teeth on something other than each other and their poor mother.  Reebok still feeds them, but spends little time with them otherwise.  Time for Dad Argus and Uncle Watson to take over the babysitting duties.

On Sunday I will pack the pups into a dog crate and meet Rosie in Albert Lea so she can see the pups.  She owns two of them and wants to have a look at the litter now and get an idea.  I suspect her favorite will be Weather, but we'll see.  She had actually wanted a liver boy from the litter.   Reebok co-operated by being liver-factored much to our surprise, but she got the color and sex mixed up on the puppies.

Dog Parks And Puppies

Making new friends

Although I have always been leery of dog parks, I know there are good ones that are visited by well socialized dogs with sensible owners, and I've been trying to find one for Argus.  Because he is so eager to meet other dogs I figured he'd really enjoy it, and that turned out to be the case when we visited Rice Creek Dog Park.  Argus was delighted to meet all the dogs, although I was more than a little nervous when the three Pitbulls came over the hill toward us.  Forced myself to keep my mouth shut and let Argus sort things out which he did.  Whew!  No problems at all.  We did the half-mile loop three times, me on the path and Argus racing around with a weird variety of dogs.  Pitbulls and crosses, Husky-types, a Boxer, lots of Terrier mixes, Lab-wannabes and a couple of well-bred Labs.

Argus had a busy morning since we went over to my mother's for coffee after the dog park, and later went to Paws On Grand where we met even more dogs, and an even weirder variety.  After years of seeing an increase in purebreds, I am now seeing more mixed breeds.  If they were "accidents" that someone adopted, that's fine, but if they were intentionally bred to be mutts,that makes me crazy.  Designer Dogs are nothing more than mixed breeds, no healthier, certainly no smarter than purebreds.  Can't for the live of me understand why anyone would spend so much money to buy what used to be considered an Oops.

Virgil looks like a stuffed toy.

The pups had a busy weekend with lots of company, including kids.  The boys especially, are very cuddly.  Lucas finally woke up and went from being the quietest to being one of the liveliest.  Sloan is particularly cuddly, and Letty is the least cuddly though was quite sociable this weekend.  She's still inclined to go off and sleep by herself rather than piling on her littermates.

Weaning is going well and the pups are now eating two meals a day, one with goats milk and yogurt, and the other with ground turkey added.  Tonight they will come up into the family room for the first time, and tomorrow if the weather is good they will go out on the grass for the first time.  Such fun that will be, with lots of photo opportunities.

Lucas is sitting on a sandal, chewing the other.

Sloan is checking out a bone.