Gallery Week 3

  It has been a very interesting three weeks. The puppies have already developed in leaps and bounds. From being born with very little fur to holding their own for the first outdoor feeding, they have already past some important milestones. I am happy to say that ALL the pups are doing well and developing nicely. The size differences have diminished and they are starting to venture a little farther from their cozy basket.
  The time has come to give them something more substantial to eat and they have been gorging themselves on a mixture of puppy milk and fresh meat...YUCK! They seem to love it and manage to completely cover themselves with the stinky mixture within a few seconds! Of course after the “feed fest” it was time for a relaxing warm bath and it always amazes me to see how comforting the warm water is to them.
  This series of photos was taken in the last two days and clearly show what "little pigs" they can be! The biggest development in this week as been their response to my voice. All i have to do is softly call " Puppies" and they wake up and come running to me. They do this even if " mama milk bags" is in the room and that is saying something!

  Week four began with the pups having to sleep the whole night through without mama. This is the beginning of the weening process and none of them seemed to mind at all. Their razor sharp teeth have erupted and they have no difficulty devouring their food, and the occasional finger if your not careful.
  Last night was their first night in the out door kennel. It is spacious and allows them to move freely between their basket and the courtyard. The paper by the door opening has been removed and we encourage them to leave the kennel to pee outside. They seem to like the new location and love to jump up and race to the gate when they hear a visitor.
  At 3:30 in the morning I heard a puppy screaming. It was peach. She was awake and in the courtyard by herself, apparently in the mood to play. She came inside and we had an enthusiastic wrestling match for about 20 minutes and then she felt tired again and gladly went back to her bed.
  The kids have taken up residence in the kennel with the pups. It is an easy time for the kids because the puppies don't know they have really sharp teeth yet! In the next week they will start to test their strength and then all bets are off. For now we can all just enjoy them.

  Week five saw many new developments for the puppies. They were introduced to their outside play area for the first time and were thrilled to have more space and things to do. They helped unwrap the new tunnel and had just as much fun rolling it around the garden as running through.
  Later in the week we opened up the connecting path to the inside and outside kennels and they could come and go as they pleased. Some pups took to this immediately and others had more difficulty realizing that they could come and go at will. Some pus like to sleep in a formal basked while others prefer to curl up under a bush.
  Oddly enough we found that if the all the pups curled up together in an outside basket, they would remain piled up there even if it started to rain heavily! They did this even though the door to their inside kennel was only a few meters away!
  They enjoyed many visitors and spurts of good and bad weather. Even though three of the pups still had head colds it was a good week for all of us.

  Week six began with he chipping of the puppies. They were all very brave and there was only one that made a slight peep when chipped. Some of them didn't even flinch!
  Three of the pups still had a head cold at this time so the vaccinations were delayed until the whole litter could be done at the same time. The colds didn't slow the pups down any and all the puppies spent their time sleeping, playing and EATING! Mealtimes began to take on a circus atmosphere with the bigger pups eating far more than their bellies were meant to carry. It was time to feed them separately. Pink and Blue Stripe eat so slowly that all the other pups are ready for another meal before those two are even finished. I've never seen a Ridgeback eat slowly so this is new territory for me.
  The playing continues in week seven and this week can be summarized in two words - SHARP TEETH!. The kids coloured a nice play castle for the pups to retire in with a nice roaring fire so they will feel at home. We spend our evenings out in the kennel with the dogs while they beg for attention and cuddles. They really are as adorable as they look although picstures don't convey how loud they are!