It's time for updated head and body photos! As they grow we're pleased about their consistent, true to type appearance. It would be hard to tell most of them apart without their collars! On some I forgot about the flash so their beautiful golden-rust coats look a bit washed out. They all have the georgous coats! Here are the girls, Yellow, Orange and Pink:




Yellow's pictures don't show the beautiful rust color of her coat as well as some of the others. I forgot about the flash.







And now... the boys

Oh my gosh, they're getting into everything! Mobility isn't much of a problem and they have identified xpen 'doors' and who can pick them up and get them out of the pen. They've been carried about the house, set loose on the slate floor of the kitchen and we're thinking of introducing them to the fenced in area in the 'Big Dog' kennel. Sophie, our declawed older kitty has no fear of dogs, in fact I think she believes she is a dog. She'll sashay around the puppies, demanding attention just like they do. She'll even let them sleep on her on our laps, just so she can be there too. Our big cat, Manly, goes to a high place when they're out and about. For puppy owners with cats, having a new puppy shouldn't be a problem if your cat doesn't mind!

There are more short video clips on You Tube! You'll see short bursts of puppy play as they practice interacting with each other.

http://www.youtube.com/user/basaltbluffsvizslas


And here's Big Blue, exhausted after the play session. I've changed the towel in the crate and freshened the pads so they all wake up to a clean area.

We're adding new things to explore and try out. Here's Pink, deciding the baby crate we used to carry Caper back from Illinois is a pretty great place to hang out.


And several times a day someone picks each puppy up and shows them how great people can be. Here's Steve with Yellow:


This morning I was furious.... got an odd email request for a puppy last night. The inquiry was short with little information about the potential owner, just asking how much a puppy would be. No phone, no name, no address, no information other than fee. I wrote back with the fee for a puppy and requested information that's very important to me: telephone number, how much time will you spend with your puppy, what is your family like, where will puppy spend time when it's not with you, etc.

The response this morning was: "I am a Doctor and I have a house. I want a puppy and I'll send you a cashier's check. A currier has been contacted to pick up the puppy and the fee to pay that person will be added to the cashier's check." 

We've added a new dimension to the puppies world... an open whelping box and and x-pen area to explore!. We're soft, squishy puppy food several times a day and you can see the pan behind Black in the photo below. They wake up to 'Puppy, puppy, puppy,' and I place a bowl of soft puppy food ouside the whelping box in the x-pen area. Out they come, so enthusiastic for the new food! After food they sniff around for the puppy pads and most are great about eliminating fairly close to the papers . Then, explore, explore... here's Black after a meal.


New adventures for today! We introduced a long furry toy with a crinkly plastic bottle inside! Lots of fun! We had our three week old babies pouncing, shaking their heads and taking on that toy like big dogs! Oh they had fun! Here are Yellow and Red playing with their new toy.



And here's Baby Blue investigating a chewy - yes, their teeth are coming in!

Finally! I've been able to post a couple of videos on You Tube. Here's the link to short clips of their first experience outside on grass.

basaltbluffsvizslas

Every day our babies get a chance so snuggle with a human. Tough job for us! Here's Orange, just awake from a long nap in my arms.



And here's Red, checking out how my son's fingers taste.



And here's Black. We just plucked him up a play session and he's ready to go to sleep in our arms. Big Yawn!!!

Puppies have been outside! We set up an x-pen on the grass and let them explore for a little bit:







Big Blue is the happiest puppy of the bunch. He loves to snuggle, he loves his littermates and, he especially loves his mom. We let Curry in the pen with them and caught this snapshot when he noticed her standing behind him.

We explore!

Puppieshave been exploring the area around their box and are quite comfortable with going in and out. Whenever they are out we set puppy pads on the floor and most at least get their front feet on one when they feel the urge to eliminate. So funny because at this stage they really don't know what their back legs are doing! Here's a photo of the boys on the rug. That's 'Big Blue' making a break for it on the far left.


Yellow girl checks things out...


Pink girl & Black boy find the toy...

 

We're now able to really ramp up the socialization! They're so mobile and with eyes open and hearing sharp they're responding to all kinds of stimulation. We've moved from Curry's feeding only to learning how to lap up puppy milk from a pie plate to well-soaked and smashed puppy food mixed with puppy milk. They're so enthusiastic when they hear 'Puppy, puppy, puppy!' They know I'm about to set a plate of delicious stuff in front of them and they jump up and start running in circles in anticipation. From this :


To this: