8 weeks old and heading home

I can't believe that the pups are 8 weeks today.  When they say that dogs live the equivalent of 7 human years in 1 of their years it makes sense if you have ever raised a litter of puppies.  Each day brings so many changes and challenges - everything is NEW all over again or just different enough to make it interesting. 

They have been poked, prodded and scrutinized in many ways over the past week and thankfully they are still the happy little souls that they were when we started all of this data gathering! 

Here is a pic of the pups savoring a few moments together -- they are ready to head to their new homes in one way or another.  I am excited for what their future holds. 

Another milestone

The pups are 7 weeks old today.  They are a lot of fun and they have honed their sense of adventure as they love to explore new areas of the yard.  They have had a full week of new obstacles in the pen (loved the ball pool), new foods and new visitors (including an impromptu visit by 5 awesome neighborhood kids who took puppy selfies!). 

They continue to gain skills or refine existing ones, such as:  

  • using the water bowl as a finger bowl (I guess their feet were dirty)
  • digging
  • eating plants
  • digging
  • chewing anything and everything, especially if it has been pulled into the play area through the ex pen
  • puppy karaoke at 5 am
  • chewing
  • digging in the water bowl
  • attacking pant legs, feet, and flesh

The rainy days and colder weather have limited their outdoor time, but we continue to do clicker work with them and give them some individual time, frustration exercises, plus increased exposure to our other adult dogs who are surprisingly tolerant.  The litter box is still quite successful -- I am a convert even if Vesper isn't.   I also love the breakaway collars - Electra's and Q's are the ones most frequently found loose (and being used as a chew toy) this week. 

The pups have another busy week ahead of them - more visitors,  conformation evaluation, temperament test, grooming, eye exam, vet exam and then they will start to go to their new homes. Whew!

And since Jody asked on FB how these pups compared to the litter of Boca and her sibs, I'm sharing a link to some photos I took of the Rubi x Taiko litter at 1 day and 8 weeks here. 

Yes, I am behind in posting older photos (but at least I have them somewhere), but here are a few photos from the past week: 

Criminal Minds

When we posted the first group photo at 4 weeks, my friend Terry LeClair commented on FB that it was 'baby's first police line-up'.  We figured they would earn that setup sooner or later, so Marci and Thomas (SunRunner Photography) came over to shoot the puppy line-up at 6 weeks. 

Photo by Marci Thomas, SunRunner Photography

From L to R:

  • MoneyPenny:  Charged with hit and run (ignoring the pup-pup recall)
  • Vesper:  Charged with public indecency (inappropriate potty behavior)
  • Electra:  Charged with reckless driving (ankle biting and sneak attacks)
  • Mr Green:  Charged with possession of stolen property (food hog)
  • Q:  Charged with breaking and entering (escaping the ex pen and invading the bedroom)

Back in the saddle

Boca returned to agility this weekend, running at the NorCal Golden Retriever Kennel Club AKC agility trial in Santa Rosa.  She was short just over 150 points for Tulsa when she was bred in July and since the qualifying period ends Nov 30 we figured we'd give it a try.  While her conditioning isn't at top form and she has a few flappy appendages, she was certainly happy to return to the game!  She won her first class out of the gate (and several others) and QQd all 3 days! 

Dave also ran Cadence, QQing with her all 3 days as well and finishing her requirements for the NAC in Tulsa next March! Clearly Cadence is happy to work and get some attention for herself (those puppies sure are attention hogs!). 

In Texas Jody took on AKC herding and Buck earned his HT!  

Below are a couple videos of Boca and Cadence's runs thanks to Silvina Bruera of Agility in Motion!