Week 5

Red and Orange have their forever families!

What a difference a week makes for these little guys and gals. They are all eating really well now and don't have to be coaxed to eat their solid food. Nursing sessions are down to about 2-3 times per day. As you can see from the spreadsheet, they are packing on the weight now. Their fur is much fluffier and some of them are looking quite curly. Especially after they eat and get mush all over their heads and feet.

Some were reluctant to explore around outside or in the kitchen last week but now they've gained some confidence and will walk around sniffing and climbing under things without too much whining. They are sleeping in a big pen in our kitchen and their supervised outside time is mostly in a large pen on the grass. We do feed them out of the pen on the cement to keep too much debris out of their food and for easier clean up. As they finish they wander around a bit. When the whining starts to get loud, it means they are sleepy and want a nap. Honestly, they are just like toddlers, not knowing why they are upset but wanting someone to fix it.

The majority of the time they go potty outside. I'm hoping as they grow they'll be very familiar with going potty outside after their naps so that they'll be well on their way to house training. The trick is to take them out as soon as they start stirring after a nap. And they usually go again after eating if we let them explore around some more. We always tell them "good potty!" and give them a little pat on the back when they go. This method has worked well in the past for all of the dogs we've house trained.

Katelyn bought them some toys and they love to lay on them or chew on them. They chew on us a little bit but we discourage it. It's adorable and not at all painful now, but in another month it will hurt and won't be fun for their new families. When they want to chew on us we stick a toy in their mouth instead. They're incredibly affectionate and climb all over us if we sit down. If we don't sit they'll still climb on our feet. Be prepared for lots of snuggles!

A few more pups have names now!

Red is going to be Bentley.

Yellow is Daisy.

White is Ellie.

Orange is Charlie.

We are going to keep Pink but she and Brown don't have names yet. That just leaves Teal and Purple to find their new families!

Ellie (Miss White)